*** Thankfully my teammate, Jochem, had the patience and energy to write this blog because I'm absolutely zapped. So please enjoy his words as you read of our first team adventure. ***
Written September 17, 2012
On Wednesday, September 12, 2012, our team (Fierce Pursuit) and another team (P31) were scheduled to depart the conference center we stayed at in Johannesburg, South Africa and head to Harare, Zimbabwe for our first month of ministry. We had expected a 16-18 hour bus ride, not a 24 hour haul that landed us plenty of adventures. Check out this timeline below to see what happened throughout Wednesday and Thursday:
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
12:15PM- Of the 12 people, 6 of them leave the conference center to head to Park Station in downtown Johannesburg. They arrive at about 12:45PM.
(Downtown Jo-Burg) : (Where we stayed for 2 nights in SA)
1:15 PM-The other 6 people leave the conference center to head to Park Station. They arrive at Park Station at about 1:45. We meet our other 6 teammates at the station. Ben, our squad leader, prays with us and then leaves the station.
2 PM- We leave the public area of the station and proceed to find where our bus will be. We find it with no problems about ten minutes later and set down our packs and wait for the bus.
(Team Leader Angela and I at Park Station) : (Waiting for the bus)
2:30PM- The bus is supposed to be here. It is supposed to start loading luggage at this time.
3:00PM-The time the bus is supposed to be leaving
3:30PM- We know that this is Africa and everything is a bit late, but we are really hoping, praying, and expecting the bus to be here at any moment.
3:45PM- Bathroom break. Some teammates head inside to use the facilities. There are about nine other bathroom breaks that happen later that I won't mention.
4:00PM- We're expecting any bus coming inside the station to be an Eagle Liner bus. Trans Lux, Inter Cape, Greyhound-none was ours.
4:15PM- I make some small talk with a local Zimbabwean, Jacky, who had received a text from the bus company saying the bus would be two hours later and expected around 6PM.
5:30PM- We start getting excited because we are convinced that the bus will be here in 30 minutes
6:30PM- The bus is still not here
7:15PM- Our team got to know Jacky, and another friend Brian at the bus station
8:00PM- The bus arrives. We 12 World Racers start cheering and clapping, which is obviously not done frequently because everyone starts to stare at us, even more than normal. The bus starts to load the bags into the "boot."
8:20PM- Angela and I are wondering how they will fit the remaining bags into the remaining boot space since a couple people are doing some heavy importing/exporting and have many things with them.
9:00PM-Everything is packed, everyone is accounted for, and the bus leaves the station. Because of the delays, we are promised free food by the bus driver. That got me really excited since I hadn't eaten a meal since 9AM.
10:00PM-Bus stops in Pretoria, South Africa. Some people get off, some get on. There is a lot of commotion and people talking in languages we don't understand.
11:00PM- Bus leaves the Pretoria station and we are off.
Just after 11:00PM- Bus is pulled over by the South African Police. There is a lot of commotion again, and since we don't speak Shona we are the last to know the news. The police won't let the bus leave again until a tire is replaced. The tire is bad and the police are worried about our safety. We pull 500 feet ahead into a gas station/food stop.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
12:15 AM- Our team heads into the gas station to grab some things to eat. We grab chips and juice to hold us over for the time being. We're now waiting for the mechanic to come and change the tire; meanwhile the police are waiting patiently.
1:45 AM- Waiting for the mechanic to wake up and come.
2:45 AM-Mechanic comes. Changes the tire with another guy in about 10 minutes, Police gives us the ok
3:00AM- We're off again. I'm in the aisle lying down trying to sleep surrounded by bags and purses and legs. No one can sleep; the seats are almost straight up.
5:00AM- Trying to sleep, frustrated, still driving, sun will be up in an hour, nothing is really new.
8:00AM- Reach the South African border. Get off the bus, go through customs which was in a large tent, then receive the stamp and get back on the bus. Informed the free meal was supposedly just a joke. I really wasn't ready to let that be a joke at the moment.
8:20AM- Go through no man's land
8:30AM- Reach Zimbabwe border. Get off the bus, and then we got into line for them to create us a visa. We looked through the windows to see them taking the entire luggage off the bus. We received the visas and then we had to stand by our luggage for the Zimbabwean Revenue Authority to check them out. Right before we got on the bus again I had a small but stern chat with the bus foreman about basic business principles and how we should be entitled to some sort of compensation for the delays that were encountered.
10AM- My chat with the foreman and driver must of helped. We stopped at the Chicken Inn and everyone was treated to a free chicken brunch courtesy of Eagle Liner. We were very very thankful!
11AM- Bus leaves.
3PM- Bus stops for fuel and for us to use the bathroom and grab food
6PM- Bus stops to drop people off at a city. I forget the name of the city. We're told Harare isn't far.
9PM- Bus arrives in Harare. Brian, our ministry contact, is waiting for us.
10PM- Bags are unloaded one compartment at a time to prevent theft. We finally receive ours last.
We could have complained about many things that went wrong on this bus ride. I slept maybe a total of two hours. I was never comfortable. I was almost always hungry. I was frustrated. God provided my team and I some valuable lessons about patience, perseverance, and being sleep deprived. We had many things to remain thankful for in this trip. We learned after arriving in Harare that outside of Park Station in Johannesburg is one of the most dangerous areas in Africa. We thank God for protection. We learned the bus mechanic almost didn't come because it was not his normal working hours. Though we waited some hours for him-it could have been worse. There was also absolutely no problems or slowdowns at either side of the border, it all went very smoothly. I'm proud of myself and my team for maintaining a very positive attitude throughout this insane bus trip. Welcome to the World Race.
I'm now in Rusape, Zimbabwe assisting a young pastor (Ngoni) with his young church. We are going to the bush tomorrow to witness there. Two days ago on Sunday night we led his church service which was AMAZING. Stories to come about that include inviting a totally plastered guy to the service, my first "sermon," and the surprisingly interesting location of the church gathering spot. Stay tuned!
