What does a week in Africa look like?
So I’ve been dreaming of coming to Africa for a LONG time. I’m not really even sure when that desire started. Probably the first time I watched the Lion King. So now that I’m here what does it look like? How does it compare to what I imagined?
First, It is just as dusty. Second, it is not as hot. Third, the music is even more on point and yes, everyone here has rhythm. They’re just born with it. I was at a children’s home the other day and one of the babies was bouncing and clapping with more rhythm than me. I love it!
We had the opportunity to go to church the first Sunday we were here and experience an African church service. It was similar to an American service, just with way more passion. There was a point in the service where an elder led the church in a voice offering (or I think that’s what they called it…). He said “on the count of three I want you to give the Lord the loudest shout you have in you. He deserves your loudest and your best.” Now, I have been to my share of Christian conferences and worship nights where this sentence is said almost verbatim. The typical American audience gives about a 50-60% shout (I’m rating a freakout concert shout at about an 90% shout). But when this elder counted…3…2…1
The whole church erupted! I’m talking every single person had drawn in a full breath and released it at their maximum decibel capacity. Not only that, but guys were jumping around like their favorite sports team had just won the championship. Never have I ever experienced a Holy Shout of that degree. If the Israelites had that kind of holy fervor aimed at Jericho, it’s no wonder the walls came tumbling down.
Throughout the rest of the week we have had the opportunity to visit a number of different ministry sites throughout Chinhoyi. We have visited two different elderly homes and an orphanage. The vision of the children’s home was one of the best ministry visions I’ve seen on the race so far. Their aim is not to be supported by domestic or foreign funds, but to be self-sustaining through the sale of their garden grown vegetables as well as eggs from their poultry project. They want to be a blessing to their community, not a burden. (I will devote a whole other blog to Good Shepherd Children’s Home.)
The old person’s homes that we went to were…good? It is hard to describe them because, by first world standards they were seriously lacking, but by the relative standards of other homes I’ve seen on the race, they are pretty decent. The first was better than the second, in that it had a dining hall, an actual kitchen, a garden that was well maintained and living spaces that were well kept. The second home as harder because it was further out from town, clearly not as well supported by the community and lacked some of the basic necessities. Their funding barely covered the food costs for each day. My guess is that the people who work there have to buy the milo meal for the sadza (imagine grits the consistency of playdough and as flavorful as sand).
The heart breaking thing about all of these places is that they all really have potential. They all have the things necessary to provide a proper level of care. This is undermined however by the reality that the country/city itself lacks the sufficient infrastructure to support them. For instance most of the day there is no running water….anywhere. the municipality only turns the water on between 4-8:30am and some places, like the second elderly home, don’t even get water during those hours. Electricity is another part of the infrastructure that is often lacking. First it is very expensive, so using it for a stove is simply not feasible for ministries that are struggling to buy milo meal. Second, the power is off often. So even if western organizations come in an build beautiful compounds or provide lots of food or money, it doesn’t matter if the underlying necessities are not available, making all the potential go untapped.
That has been the hardest part of being here. So much potential. So little ability to follow through.
