It has been several days since I have updated, in part because we had a couple of off days and in part because I got suddenly busy. This is Wednesday morning here in Chiredzi. We are headed out in a couple of hours to another church I don’t know where it is and can’t say the name of. It is Mkwasine (maybe). More on that when we get back.
Back to Sunday, We were at a church here in Chiredzi that meets on the campus of the ministries halfway house for boys from the orphanage who are over 18. There is a cover on the campus and we met there on Sunday morning and also Sherry spoke to the ladies on Saturday afternoon. Both services went very well. I must say we are enjoying meeting people and worshiping with them. As with so many places here and others I have been, the people are hungry to learn and grow in their spiritual walks. Sometimes they need some encouraging as life here is not easy. Then again life is not easy. There are troubles everywhere, some unique to the third world and some to the first. Last week several members of our mission team lost loved ones so there has been pain and grief just as there is back home.
Yesterday we traveled to a church that meets in the yard of the preacher’s brother. This gathering was mostly women yet they had a great spirit and eagerness to learn. I shared for about an hours and a half and Sherry added twenty minutes or so as well. There were several turkeys (the bird kind) there and the males were strutting their stuff, trying to impress a hen. This was first time I have competed with real turkeys while presenting a lesson.
After the meeting with the church we visited a local dam which was very impressing. We were provided with an employee to serve as a guide. He explained in great detail the dimensions of the dam (all metric which I had to mentally translate into feet, kilometers to miles is a little tougher) and how it worked. It is just 4 years old and yesterday was the anniversary of the dedication. Oh, that we ran into a man wearing a Seattle, WA t-shirt. I am unclear as to whether he was from there, been there, or just found the shirt in a used clothing store, but still, what are the odds. In the case 100%, I suppose.
We left the dam and made our way back home, stopping for a minute at the pastor’s house. He has two churches and we will be visiting the other church on Sunday. That one meets under a tree not far from his home. He is a preacher, teacher in the primary school, and a farmer. He has an marvelous garden, chickens, and quite a number of cattle he is raising. It was then home, traveling in the dark. Truly a great, full day to be sure. More to come.
