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!
