From Zimbabwe #2--Sept. 2010

So here's the second edition of the news from Zimbabwe, brought to you by the letter "A":

Anxious Automobile--as we departed from Harare for Bulawayo, about a 5 hour trip, we had many delays. One of the biggest was needing to get new tires for Philip Mdzidzi's car as one was flat when we got out of the training sessions in Harare. That tire was balder than me, and another one was no better. So with a long trip through lots of desolate area we knew we had to do something. With a few other delays we left Harare around 6 pm, still hoping to get to Bulawayo. But a couple hours into the trip we developed transmission trouble which finally came to a head with the car stopped late at night in the middle of an intersection in a town along the way. Fortunately, we were to pick someone up in that town, and they helped us limp into a 24-hour gas station. The transmission fluid was gone, so we filled up and took extra with us. For the rest of the journey we had to stop periodically to top off. We limped into Gweru, a little more than half way and the home for the Baptist Convention offices and the seminary, a little after midnight. In the morning we continued on to Bulawayo, stopping all along the way to keep pouring more fluid in for the transmission--obviously a serious leak going on, but we finally made it!

Another training--because of our delay in getting to Bulawayo, we had to shorten the training. But we had a good group. About 2/3 of the group was youth, the others older adults. The pastor of the host church was the student dean of the seminary. We had about a day and a half of training on conflict transformation and nonviolence. The church invited the police to come and be a part (a long and interesting story). Two women community officers came and talked about various crime issues. I had some interesting discussions with them and found out that they were developing community policing, pre-trial mediation and restorative justice practices--so that bodes well for the future of Zimbabwe. Meanwhile I had a great time especially with the youth, encouraging them, helping them find their voices, and stretching their horizons. On Sunday I preached at the host church (Ebenezer Baptist Church), and some folks from other churches who had attended the workshop came with the blessing of their pastors.

Antelope and other Animals--Sunday afternoon we got another late start for Victoria Falls (late starts are a constant theme here). That was about a 5 or 6 hour journey, and soon night fell. But along the way we saw antelope near the roads. I was dozing when a small herd of zebras crossed--bummer! We pulled into a cheap lodge (look up to see Motel 6!) around midnight. Then as we came into Victoria Falls the next day we saw lots of baboons, a sight we were to see a number of times on the trip back. Later when we got to Gweru and had some off time, Philip took us to a private game preserve. We went on a ride through the preserve seeing herds of impalas, water bucks, wildebeests (gnus), zebras (so I did finally get to see them) and giraffes. We saw elephants at a distance going down to a lake to drink. The park also has a special 500 acre enclosure to rescue lions from bad captivity situations or injuries and then raise cubs that can be returned to the wild. So we saw lions, but not out in the bush.

Awesome--Victoria Falls is one of the 7 natural wonders in the world as recently designated by the United Nations, and without a doubt it is awesome. It's the widest waterfall in the world, with the falls spanning 1.7 kilometers in a fairly straight line, broken by a couple islands, and plunging into a gorge at a height about twice that of Niagara Falls. It's the dry season, so the Zambesi River is lower (not it's lowest), still creating the awesome sight and sound that gives the falls its indigenous name that translates "Smoke that Thunders." Opposite the falls the mist creates a permanent rainfall and lush rain forest. We were soaked, but quickly dried off as we backed off from the falls. I rejoiced in the majestic work of the Creator--truly awesome!

Accident--on our way back from Victoria Falls, we were only 20 or 30 kilometers out of town when we came upon a typical poor country accident. A pick-up truck had been carrying a full load of passengers in the back, riding on bald tires like we once had. A tire blew out at high speed (maybe 90 to 100 kilometers per hour) and the truck flipped over slamming the unprotected passengers into the pavement. We were about the third or fourth vehicle to stop. One woman was seriously injured and needed to be moved by professionals. Many others had severe cuts and abrasions. We gave people water to wash their wounds. An ambulance had been called for, but the nearest hospital was about 45 minutes away. We took a woman with a bad head wound and a mother whose baby has a bloody scrap across its forehead, shoving everything into the "boot" so we could make room for them. Then we drove them off to the hospital in the next town (where they happened to reside as well). In a place like this everyone needs to work together in such a crisis. If there aren't Good Samaritans, there is little hope.

Also, we're now in Gweru. I'll tell about that in the next letter. I started this two days ago but computer problems at the Cyber Cafe prevented me from sending it.