It has been a while, too long, since I reported out our Zimbabwe journey. We are still here and working. We have had a little down time as well. All is good and we are mostly well.
The work at Dine (Maranda) went well. We were there doing some work on the kitchen for the guest house and delivered items to the clinic. We also went to the new church site at Mlelezi where Sherry helped paint new bathrooms, and taught some teenage girls how to paint. We are excited with the progress there and the workmanship done so far. The fence should be about done by now, sand delivered, and cement should have arrived. They will be building blocks soon. After staying there a couple of days, we started home to Chiredzi. The roads to Dine are typical rural roads. I am not complaining but roads are what they are. The weather was raining, and the dirt had turned to mud. I am thankful for those days driving ditch banks on farms, snow and ice of Illinois, and all those years in Haiti. There were only two times when thoughts of trouble. We made it home and will be returning in a couple of weeks to do some training and preaching.
Yesterday we made a trip to Mashoko hospital. We had a great visit with Dr B and Suspicion (#2 in command). We talked about the clinic at Dine and the painting job for the hospital at Mashoko. As a side note, we are thinking about putting a Fall trip together for a 10 to 14 days to be part of the project. We had other business and news. The drama of this trip revolved around our truck, again. This time we lost our brakes going up the mountain. Again, I was glad for all the driving experience as I was shifting up and down to control our speed. The only issue I had was when I got to the Village and approached the gate. With no brakes and the emergency not working, I slowly rolled up and I was pulling the e-brake, drifting closer and closer to it. Then I touched it, not hard, but it made opening it just a little bit of a challenge.
This morning, I took the pickup into our mechanic to have some suspension work which was planned before Mashoko, and now check the brakes. The problem was worn out rear drums. So today we are depending on friends and our house host to get us around. I have lots of computer work and lesson planning, sermon writing to do, so it is a good time for the work to be done.
One last part of the adventure. I have reported about my interaction with the local police department. Three of the last four days I have had the privilege of talking to them as they stop traffic. Today, as I as headed to the mechanic with no brakes, I encountered yet another stop. As I pulled up, I was frantically trying to stop. I managed to come to a stop right next to a sergeant. He asked my name, where I was from and staying, and whose house it was. He noted that he had seen me around a lot, going here and there. I mentioned that I went to Mashoko yesterday. The brake issue never came up. He wanted to know why and what we did. It was quite a friendly visit. When I told him I was here until April 11, he said, “See you around, often.” Then the conversation concluded with his just wanting to greet me. And off I went. It was a most pleasant interaction.
So, we are still here. We have a busy week this week with revival at Chiredzi Christian Church on Friday thru Sunday, a teaching trip to Rutenga (four hours South) on Saturday Morning and visa renewal on Friday. Your prayers are always welcome. We feel blessed and continue to do what God has called us to do and be while in Zimbabwe. Ahead there are three days in Mozambique and eight days in Kenya, but that is a while ahead. God bless. Greeting from Zimbabwe.