Maybe a quick note tonight. We went to Damarakanaka today. Most call it Dama. It is a church, clinic and two schools in the bush. The ride as pleasant through some flat terrain. Sherry found a really interesting tree that had yellow bark and red wood underneath. It peeled off like a Madrona. We also a very, very large Baobab tree. Sherry posted a picture on her Facebook. It was huge.
After a couple of hours cruising through some of the most interesting parts of Zimbabwe we arrive at our destination. We met the preacher, his family, and the parents of a man who works for the ministry. While Sherry and I toured the parsonage, Alone was whisked away for a medical situation. He is a preacher and a nurse. We followed to the clinic building and were greeted with sad news. An expectant mother was in distress. Without going into details, she and the baby were lost. This was the first death for this team of nurses at the clinic and they were a bit lost. As Alone helped them do what needed to be done Sherry lead the women at the clinic with a devotion. It is unclear if they knew what had happened at the time. She did a great job. I was offered the chance to do the devotion, but my wife is much better at talking to new and pregnant mothers.
We concluded our clinic visit and walked over to the church where I delivered my stewardship teaching. This is the third time I have been through it and I am doing better every time. We had a very good crowd for a weekday, about 40 men and women. Two churches were represented. The congregants were very appreciative and ask a couple of great questions. We prayed and then they asked Sherry to meet with some church ladies under a cover near the building. While she was doing that, I took a tour and pictures of the church. It has been freshly painted, as was the clinic. It looked great.
Once the teaching was over it was time to eat. Most every church visit has included some food. As the cook finished the preparation, the minister’s wife came and ask, “Do you eat African chicken?” I didn’t know exactly what the meant, it meant good. We also had rice with some nice sauce. Then they brought out Fruitaide. It is a super sweet orange drink that needed to be watered down but was very taste. We then left and went home. The route to and from went through quite a large number of sugar cane fields. Tomorrow is an off day so I will be doing some computer set up. And looking to go to the banana market tomorrow. Good night and God bless.
