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.
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.
Thank you for the detailed update. Wow. What interesting observations. So much to discuss when you return home. God be with you!
ReplyDeleteBeth,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your detailed update. It's a blessing to hear about the growth of African churches.
Laurel, I'm glad you have arrived, and you're in my prayers.
Linda
Laurel,
ReplyDeleteBob and Bonnie Loomis send their love. Jalisa is arriving for her two week visit today.
Linda