Happy Sunday events in Harare, Zimbabwe -- Victor Kubik

January 13, 2013

I would have loved to add photos to my blog, but do not have an card-reader for the Nexus 7 that I am using.  On this trip I have no laptop and for the future have figured out how to get photos.  I will add pictures to this blog after I return home.

It rained all night. I heard that people were disappointed that the rainy season came to an abrupt halt, but now has started up again and there is a sense of relief.  I hope the rains are like this in neighboring  Malawi which was headed for drought and possible famine. 

Michael Mukarati, now the new elder here in Zimbabwe came to drive me to the Russell Hotel where hs is staying where we will baptize four people.  I would have walked, but it's raining. 

A family of three from the Harare area, Mike and Mavis Nyamasoka along with their adult son Sydney are being baptized as well as Morris Gumbo from Mbalabala which is out towards Bulawayo. We all changed into our swimwear and went out to the pool where we baptized in the rain.  We got a little shelter from the huge bamboo tree next to the pool 

This is indeed a happy day here in Zimbabwe to see the addition to the churches.  There are now 51 people in regular attendance in Zimbabwe.  Unfortunately, they are from all over the country and meet in eight different congregations. They rely heavily on the 8-pack video sermons that I put together from the home office. It's interesting to be out "in the field" to appreciate the far-reaching effects of the various support items we send from the home office, whether it be printed matter or media materials. 

After the baptisms we parted company with the now new members of the Church.  The Mukarati's and Chichaya's then came to my hotel room where we spent several hours going over administrative matters relating to reporting, budget, Festival and more.  Most of the brethren are very poor and 90% are unemployed and are subsistence farmers.  There has been some aid given for goats and LifeNets expanded the scholarships.  LifeNets South Africa manages the LifeNets details here in Zimbabwel 

We are all hoping for a great regeneration of the church and hopefully a more solid regularly meeting church in the capital Harare. Mike and Primrose live in the far east of the country in Mutare right on the border with Mozambique. He is a Human Resources director for a manufacturing company.  Mobasa and Chisomo Chichaya live to the southwest of Harare in Kadoma.  There, Mobasa is one of the directors of a gold mine. Both these families are truly the church leadership of the church and doing a great job at it.  I've had al our elders give me maps of their countries showing the distribution of churches, members and leaders.  I love studying maps and look forward to having them up in my office to look at more. 

I have really enjoyed being with all the people here in Zimbabwe, particularly the Mukaratis and Chichayas.  I had never met Mabasa and Chimoso before...and had not seen Michael and Primrose in nine years. 

They all left and I'm going to be by myself for 24 hours before my flight to South Africa tomorrow, Monday.  Tinashe Mukarati, the Mukarati's son was going to stop by and visit, but never did. 

I really need exercise and went for a walk.  It's rather quiet here on Sunday.  I walked a few miles into the very centre of Harare, a city that has a sparkle to it...a gem from the past that is not as bright now, however. There are many large and multi-story buildings around.   The sidewalks and streets are in disrepair and there are big holes in the road that could be very dangerous. You would never want to walk at night...it could be fatal.  It was fun to see regular bustling life.  I felt safe.

You always want to look right before crossing the street.  A mistake could be fatal as well.  You have to get used to the movement of and flow of traffic which is totally opposite of the habits we are accustomed to in the US. 

The last half hour it started to rain harder and I just walked in it.  I got quite soaked and it felt good getting back to the hotel.

I miss Bev....love it when she travels with me, but this trip is done at rock bottom expense.  I got cleaned up and went to the restaurant which was not going to open until 7 pm.  So, I sat in the lounge watching a Manchester United vs. Liverpool football match from the UK. The crowd in the lounge was loud cheering one side or the other.  I'm not into soccer, but for some reason this was enjoyable. I also finished reading a book during the two hour wait.

I was about to finish dinner, when a relatively young man sat down at my table and asked if he could join me.  He said he didn't want to sit along.  OKkkay.   He told me he worked for an NGO from London and just arrived. This was his first time in Africa.  His name was Mark. He told me he lived in St. Albans which I'm very familiar with having gone to Ambassador College in nearby Bricket Wood.  It was enjoyable talking about the common knowledge of St. Albans and its history going back to Roman times. 

That's about it.  My Internet would not work in the room.  Probably because I exceeded the bandwidth allowed.  They are quite particular about how much bandwidth you use...so it's maybe better I don't have pictures to share at this time.