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The congregation at Esther Helden mission site

We arrived safely in Washington DC at 6:30 am, Friday, August 13, our hearts full but heavy with saying good bye to our new friends in Zimbabwe. It is the work of the Spirit that you could love people so deeply in such a short period of time. There were more than a few tears shed at parting. In DC, the 14 of us separated to fly to our different destinations. Now our challenge is to bring the story of our twinned congregations, and other congregations that we met that do not yet have a twin, to those members of the Upstate NY Synod that wish to be part of this special relationship.

We had some adventures along the way. It turned out that the trailer that carried our luggage from Bulawayo to the revival in Manama was “hot”. This was discovered at a police checkpoint and resulted in an extended wait at a service station in Gwanda while the wheels of bureaucracy turned. I am not sure if everyone in Zimbabwe knows everyone else or they just act if they do. We had no shortage of people to talk to at the service station where locals gathered hoping to catch a ride. Many there were heading to the Lutheran revival in Manama. We ended up piling the luggage into several other trucks going our way once the officials were convinced that we had not stolen the trailer!

At the revival there was lots of singing and talks that revolved around themes. The church deals with the crisis of 60-75% of the population being HIV positive head on, encouraging testing and marital fidelity. During the final communion service we were each asked to introduce ourselves, the ELCZ presented the Upstate NY Synod with a large banner signifying our relationship, they sang for us, and we sang for them. Then to seal the relationship, we were each presented with a “marriage” certificate. Bishop Shava expressed the hopes that this relationship would not just be between those of us who are involved now, but would be passed down to our children and our children’s children.

After the revival, General Secretary M.M. Dube drove us down to Shurgwi. We stopped at a community garden and watched in wonder as the landscape changed from flat savannah to rocky and rugged with huge boulders stacked one on top of another. Goats, donkeys, and oxen graze along the road and often wander across the road. Lisa was particularly taken with the donkeys. We passed traditional homesteads with round cooking huts thatched with grasses cut from the surrounding fields.

For the next three days, Rick, Lisa, and I traveled through the parish of Shurugwi in a cattle truck, men in the front, and the women sitting on the trailer bed, over roads that we would never take our own vehicles down. It made for some really severe bumping and not a little bit of praying. One advantage of riding in an open vehicle was the incredible beauty of the sunsets and night sky with the Southern Cross hanging high above us. The women would spontaneously break into song, when they weren’t trying to keep from being jarred out of their seats. I am sure the men wondered what we were talking about back there, especially when we would all start laughing.

Some have questioned if it was wise to spend money on airfare for 14 people to go to a country that lacks: maintenance for its infrastructure, adequate transportation, and basics like electricity, school uniforms, safe drinking water, and hot water. Pastor Shumba and his wife, Doreen of Shurugwi provided the inspiration for an analogy that Lisa, Rick, and I used when we spoke to our congregations about the importance of this visit for us. Pastor Shumba and his wife have twins that are about 2 years old (see picture). When twins are first developing in the womb, they are not aware of each other. They grow and develop individually, like our congregations have done in our separate countries. At some point twins in the womb become aware of each other and their growth becomes intertwined. Once they “see” each other, they cannot imagine the non-existence of the other. There is a bond that is special and strong. For us, this awareness included seeing smiling faces, holding babies, singing together, physical closeness (just how many people can you put in the cab of a truck?), touching and hugging, sharing meals, houses and bathrooms, bumping down dirt roads on chairs in the back of a cattle truck laughing at the same things we laugh at here at home, the giving of gifts, of selves, of trust. We now have the people of the congregations we visited in our hearts, and we are in theirs. It is not the beautiful country that draws us to these partners, but a oneness, together in the body of Christ.

The people of Zimbabwe have endured three years of drought. They have gone without. They have endured severe political upheaval and oppression. But we were greeted and cared for as special guests. Children and parents slept in the same bed so that we could have a bed. They rose early to carry water and heat it over wood fires so we could wash in comfort in the morning. They lit precious candles so that we could have light when the electricity went out. They spent days shuttling us around, sometimes in borrowed vehicles, so that we could meet the members of the congregations spread out over the land that defined the parish. They cooked and prepared for our visit, sang and danced at each place we arrived (see video). These are the lessons that we bring back: have faith and hope in the face of hardship, sing and dance with joy in the Lord, be generous with what you have, and greet each other with sincerity. The Lutherans of Zimbabwe are excited about the opportunity to be our partners. They are curious about us, about how we worship and how we sing. They want to walk with us, support us, and pray with us. They are not envious of what we have, but wonder why our churches are not growing and why everyone in America is not happy when we have so much!

Ask us to share our stories. We are full and cannot help but tell what we have seen and heard. To arrange a visit from one of the travelers, or to find out more information about twinning with a congregation, please contact the Upstate NY Synod office.

Oh the stories to be told

Greetings from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe!

The pictures above are from left to right:

Students on the last day of school in their uniforms.

Rick greets an older woman who walked slowly down a dirt road to greet us as we toured a site being developed for a new congregation. We walked her back to her house and she insisted that we come in much to the surprise of the niece at the house, who then walked us back to the car.

The group has reconvened at the guest house at the ELCZ headquarters in Bulawayo, back from four nights with local families. We have all had very different experiences and have been sharing stories all evening despite being pretty tired! Tomorrow we head for Manama and the national revival.

I can only tell you some of what Rick and I have experienced. I will try to get the others to stop telling their stories to each other long enough to write some of them in the blog!

Rick and I spent our last day in Bulawayo visiting a school associated with the maximum security prison in the area. There is a village adjacent to the prison that houses the families of those working there, including the Lutheran Chaplain. The road to the prison is 12 km of extremely rutted and potholed pavement in a car with very few shocks. We were invited to meet the parents and children associated with a self contained, special needs classroom of about 11 students that was part of the school. These students ranged in age from 5-14. Special challenges included Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and developmental and physical delays. There was one teacher and one aide for the 11 students. The bathroom was about a quarter mile away on a dirt road. The parents talked to us for a long time about how they supported each other, their dreams for their children, and their desire to be connected to others with children like theirs. We had time to interact with some of the other students, and have chicken and sadsa (a thick corn porridge) at the Chaplain's home.

The graciousness of these people, even those with limited resources is unsurpassed. One of their customs includes pouring warm water over your hands before you eat, and you are offered refreshments everywhere you go. Everyone greets you with a smile, handshake, and sincere inquiries about your health. We have learned the three stage handshake, the clapping that occurs as thanks, or out of respect, and the slight dip in the knees (for females) when receiving something from an older person.

Lisa observes that people here do not hold grudges. They are hopeful, and love their country and want it to be better. They get frustrated with the power outages but do what they need to do to cope. The literacy rate is 97% and the school system has been one of the best in Africa, but now struggles as teachers leave the profession to find other jobs that pay better, and parents who can not afford the required uniforms and fees to attend.

The music is incredibly spontaneous and filled with spirit. We brought With One Voice hymnals with us, but wonder what the response will be when we present them to our congregation in Shurugwi. The music for the choir here is written out for the choir director only and is done with Do, Re, Mi notation in four parts.

We struggled with the dichotomy of nice houses built of stone or brick, in a country that we were told is poor, but now understand that this country is experiencing what the US experienced during the great depression. The buildings stand, but there often isn't enough money to purchase even basic needs, and electricity is rationed. Some of the ability to buy food is tied to the amount of rainfall during the rainy season. Zimbabwe experienced three consecutive years of major drought and during that time crops failed. There was absolutely nothing to buy in the stores since little was grown in country. Families often had one meal a day in the evening. Pastor Mlilo tells us that students often fainted during school from hunger and their parents would be called to come and take them home. The children in our family ate whenever food was offered, and plates were piled high for dinner and completely cleaned up. It was as if they remembered being hungry and wanted to eat when they could. When offered the choice they will choose a meat pie over a sweet. The rainfall has been adequate the past two years, but there is no telling when another drought will occur. It is hard to imagine what these children have experienced when we can walk into Wegmans and buy whatever our heart desires.

We have a long bus ride to Manama tomorrow and little connectivity for awhile. Keep us in your prayers, as we do you. We can not wait to share more with you!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your spirit does not rest in one place, but circles the earth and connects us all. Help us to learn graciousness from our brothers and sisters here as they host us, care for us, drive us around in precious family vehicles, and share their food with us. They have welcomed us into their families, trusted us to hold their babies, and shared the light of candles on dark nights and mornings. Hold them in your care. Keep us and those we love safe until we return home. In your name we pray, Amen.

Monday

August 1 Monday
I don’t know when we will have an opportunity to post this entry but I need to write down my thoughts as they are fresh. We are all visiting different parishes until Thursday. On Thursday, we will all reconvene at the Parish Youth Center in Bulawayo, where there are guest rooms. We will share our stories, insights, and inspirations that night. I am sure there won’t be much sleeping that night! There is much to tell. The next day, we will head to Manama for the revival.
Driving is on the left here, and steering wheels on the right. The roads are heavily potholed so traveling is an adventure! There are LOTS of people on the road all the time, walking, visiting, selling things. It is a much more social environment. When people are together the conversations are prolific and fast. The air is full of talking and sometimes spontaneous singing. These are a hopeful and happy people and have been open and generous in their hospitality to us. It is so different from our austere neighborhoods where you seldom see people outside. Between dodging potholes and people our trips feel like a carnival ride. Hang on and pray!
There are houses that range from very poor to very nice. Rick and I are staying with a family where the father is a developer consultant who is currently working in South Africa because there are no jobs here. The mother has five children of her own, including a 3 month old baby, and cares for 4 others. This is a very large concrete poured home that is probably three times the size of our house at home, but the walls and ceilings are still plain concrete because once it was begun the economy went south and there were no materials and no money to finish the inside. Imagine having a house that you have worked toward and then having to live in it with only the floors finished, no hot water tank, no electricity, no way to pay for upkeep. Slowly, a really nice house begins to degrade. You live as if you are always camping out: heating water to wash in bathrooms that are half finished, cooking over a wood fire in the backyard, having candles ready should the power cut off unexpectedly. Many of the people that we have met are well educated, but there are no jobs. They are reduced to finding money any way they can. Many find or buy things in bulk and try to sell it along the roadside. Many of those who do have jobs are paid way below survival rates. Teachers for example earn about $150 a month. Loans for education are far and few between, so the general education level of the population is decreasing in a country that really values education. The economy now runs on the American dollar or South African Rand, which has helped reduce the outrageous inflation.
We were in church from 9am – 5pm yesterday with the Nkulumane congregation. The first 2.5 hours were the church service. This was a special Sunday of thanksgiving where people brought gifts to raffle off for the building fund here. There are three congregations and one preaching point in Bulawayo South. All are served by one young female pastor, Rev. Simangele Mlilo who just completed her studies. The congregations all met together on Sunday to greet us. Pastor Mlilo rotates between the congregations, getting there by public transportation. The church structure was a low concrete block building with a tin roof and dirt floor which the women draped with cloth on the inside. We were given special seats draped in silky material alongside the pastors and asked to get up and speak during the service to convey our greetings from Bethlehem and the Upstate NY Synod. The challenge for this parish is that they are growing in numbers as the church represents a place of hope, support, and safety during a time of difficulty in the life of these people. But many people have little to bring to the church financially. The land for the three parishes has been leased from the city. They have to follow a plan for improvement or lose their leases.
Women’s groups and youth groups are strong here. The challenge is to engage the men. We have attached a picture of the place that we worshiped on Sunday. We are sending this via the art gallery internet café in Bulawayo.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us and those that shepherd us here safe from harm. Thank you for the hands that prepare our food, heat our water for bathing and introduce us over and over again. Be with those we love and keep them in your care while we are away. Amen.