What city I'm in: Harare, Bulawayo
Where I'm staying: In Harare, I stayed with Brian & Pamela Jourdan. They live across the street from the Vice President of Zimbabwe, so we were pretty safe. In Bulawayo, we are staying at Thuthuka, a rehabilitation center for street children.
What I'm doing: We were only in Harare for three days, but in those three days we did a lot. We played with children who were victims to HIV/AIDs, gave a sermon and worshiped at a church in Epsworth (a village in the bush), and helped clear land for the Jourdans before they got their horse. I was also in charge of doing a lot of logistical things and ran a lot of errands with Brian and Pamela. We've done various things in Bulawayo as well. Our main ministry is to play with, give attention to, and teach lessons to the children at the rehabilitation center. We also have been going to an area called Cowper Park, where a woman named Violet single-handedly runs a school for children who can't pay to go to the government schools (which are something like $40/month, more than most people make in a month) for free. We help her teach the kids, and take some of the burden off of her. Each day we've been going to different services and preaching and praying for people as well.
People: The people in Harare were much busier and lived at a faster pace. The main city area was really crowded and everyone seemed like they were in a hurry. That being said, the people we met were so wonderful and hospitable. One of the nights we got to go to a prophecy meeting, where we learned about the gift of prophecy, and got prophesied over by complete strangers. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. When we visited the school in Epsworth, we were greeted by kids who ran to greet and hug us–they were SO excited to see us. It was so precious, and they loved to play and sit on our laps and love on us just as much as we loved on them. In Bulawayo, life is much slower paced. A woman in Harare said that Bulawayo is "a good place to retire." I'm not sure about that, but I do know that the people here are much more laid back, which causes me to feel a little more at home here even though we're in the desert. It still seems like in both areas that some people, especially men, are unemotional outside of cat-calling to women (especially the white women). Outside of the people I've met in church, a lot of people are standoff-ish when we try to engage with them. Not all, but most. Of the people we've met in the church–holy wow, I'm going to have to write a blog explaining that. I've never believed more in my life that we serve one God and that there's one body of believers. I've seen worship singers that stand at the front of the church and worship just like I remember Mrs. DeJong worshiping, I've seen pastors who wear black plastic-rimmed glasses, I've received hospitality from church women just like I did at my parents church in Woodinville, I've met brothers and sisters who are in their late teens and on fire for God just like the high schoolers that come to Resonate, and I practically tear up at any woman in their early 50s because they all remind me of my mom.
Language: English, Shona, Indabella (in Bulawayo)
Food: We've been making and buying our own food, living on a budget of $3/day each for food & water. The traditional food meal is sadza and greens, and on special occasions fried chicken. They eat sadza and greens every day. We've been mainly living on rice and veggies (sometimes with beans), eggs, and a LOT of pb & js. We've definitely switched it up between those meals, but that's mainly what we eat. There is a surprising amount of produce out here too, which helps a ton. One night in Harare Stef cooked us this awesome meal that had a salad, pasta with TVP (textured vegetable protein), bread, avocados, mashed potatoes, and for dessert the African version of a papaya (I forget what it's called). Bomb. Oh–and there's coffee (or tea) available every morning. PRAISE THE LORD. Also, sometimes we use our own funds to get chocolate bars, so between that and the coffee I've been a pretty happy camper food-wise…it's a lot like how I ate in college because I didn't really eat a lot of meat. This hasn't been the same experience for everyone on the team though. God's teaching us all different things during this time regarding our relationships with food, especially because the kids we're staying with often go starving and literally only eat sadza and greens. I can't help but think that they're better off than the hungry kids in America though–over in the States we feed our starving children processed and sugary foods because they're what's cheap, but over here they have fresh green vegetables and a grain that they make themselves. They're at least getting some nutrition. But starving is starving and it breaks my heart walking by them with a pb & j when they only get a piece of bread for lunch. We're going to give them our extra food and whatever we can spare from our personal money so they can have food, because they literally have no money, and live based on donations from the church. They have the potential to make money from gardening, but because of the water issues in Bulawayo, they've struggled to get a good crop this year.
Water Situation: In Harare, we had water pretty much the entire time. It was cold and when the power was out the water was out as well, but we had water. They even had a pool! We were really blessed there. In Bulawayo, it's a different story. Bulawayo is going through a really bad drought and it hasn't rained here since last April. There is a ration out here, and for two days the water gets turned on, and for four days it gets turned off. We've been using a lot of baby wipes out here, and most of our budget goes to buying water bottles. I think this has been more where God's teaching me than anything–I love my warm, long showers and being clean every day, and I totally take for granted having water constantly at my fingertips. Washing dishes is even a challenge. I can't imagine having to live without water all the time–I seriously thank God when I turn the faucet on and it works, when we have the freedom to actually do our dishes like I'm used to in the States, and when I have the opportunity to take a "real" shower (btw, mom, I'm so glad I got that shower bag…it's been SO wonderful and when we leave the bag in the sun we get hot water).
Bed Situation: In Harare, we tented. It was awesome. I had my own space and got to wake up to the birds singing. I also LOVE my sleeping pad. It makes camping not feel as bad on my back, because I've got 2.5 inches of goodness under me. It's so great and was so worth it. In Bulawayo, we're all sleeping in one big room on our sleeping pads and with our sleeping bags. It's kind of like having a slumber party every night since we're all girls, but at some points that room has felt like a death room because of people sleeping and how the heat gathers in it. In addition, if you didn't know already, there are bugs galore in Africa. Cockroaches, giant spiders, ants, mice, mosquitoes, flies, moths, etc. I don't even want to think about what crawls on my face each night. Not even on my face–but one of the girls found mouse poop in her bed one of the nights, and I wake up each morning with new mosquito and spider bites (PLEASE pray for no malaria ridden bugs). I'm covered with bites. Praise God for After Bite. Even with the heat, I sleep in my bag, because I can't bear the thought of any more limbs being exposed. I've been working long hours each day though, and I really don't think much about it. Bugs don't bother me too much, I just wouldn't want someone videotaping us while we sleep because ignorance is bliss at the moment.
Power Situation: The power goes out daily, in both places, and for long periods at a time. This has been the largest factor for our eating pb & js, but some of the girls at the rehab center have taught us how to use the fire. By the way, there are 5 teenage girls who live here, and they are some of the sweetest girls ever. I'll tell you about them in my blog about the people, because they are SO great. But it's nice having our headlamps and flashlights, because they've come in handy almost daily.
Internet: HA. There is none, except for when we go to the city and pay for it. Even then, the internet is practically AOL-dialup modem speed. But to be honest, it's been really nice to have a break from being constantly connected. Last week I got internet 2 days in a row and I felt like I was wasting my time sitting on the computer when I'm in Africa. It's a good detox…but I still miss being able to talk to everyone.
Transportation: Transport has been very interesting. I've already written about the bus ride to Harare, but travelling to Bulawayo was COMPLETELY different. We had the choice between one bus company and a Com-V (which I'll explain in a second), and so we chose the bus. The bus gave us a meal and water, had reclining seats, and a TELEVISION. We couldn't believe our eyes. Our other form of transportation is called a "Com-V." Com-v's are 15-person white vans that go around town, but the drivers can fit between 20-30 people in them. It's cramped and hot but it's cheap and gets you where you need to go. This is why figured it would be better to not drive 5-6 hours in one of those on the way to Bulawayo. We take these practically every day out here though.
What people do for fun: People here get creative for fun. Most of the time there are games like "Tomato Sauce" or "Hello my Children" that get played in "A cercle, a cercle, a beeeg beeeg cercle!" There are little piano/xylophone type instruments outside that the boys play a lot called marimbas, that we all dance to. We tried to ask them how to dance like Zimbabweans and in return we taught them the chicken dance last night when the power was out. It's also fun making strobe lights with our headlamps for dance parties.
What people need prayers for: RAIN. RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN. Rain and food. Mostly rain, because with rain brings food.
