Journal Entry 9/17

After a wonderful breakfastof raisin oatmeal prepared by Taps, we walked over to the orphanage to meet up with Choigoi and others.

Funny thing, Tobey got on a motorcycle that was WAY small for him and rode through the camp! LOL.

Then, all 9 of us piled in a forerunner to head to a secondary school that the government was handing over to Pastor Choigoi. Tobey decided to drive - SCARY! I was in the back with Cynthia and Tab and Katie was laying across us - sitting mostly on my lap! Had I known that we were a good 45 min from the school, I would have positioned myself differently, but as it was my leg became VERY sore!

Arriving at the school, you would have thought we were royalty! They had students assigned as ushers to show us around and tell us about the school and life. The three girls and I had Josephine as our guide. She is 17 and in Form 4 (our Senior). Her goal is to be an airline stewardess. At the school, they had a beautiful garden. Talking with one of the teachers, he explained they are hoping to teach the kids how to grow a garden to feed their families.

Following the tour, was a LONG 3 hr ceremony presenting the school. It was in Shona but basically the government recognizes that Pastor Choigoi can run and provide for the school better so they placed it in his care and supervision. He will be free to witness and teach about God there.

After the ceremony, LUNCH! This was our first experience with traditional food. We were served a meal of beef liver, rice with sauce, and cabbage salad. YUCK! I did manage a small piece of liver and the rice but didn't eat the salad not knowing how the produce was washed. They do not use silverware there but use their hands - the rice wasn't too bad.

After lunch, which was actually at 2:00 we came back to camp. However, this time Judy, Cynthia and I rode with 3 pastors and another lady. The pastor that drove was very nice . He said since we were very important people he was driving slow - welcome change after Tobey's driving!

Back at camp, we had a little down time. I decided to try a shower. Taps and Edden have set up a tarp area for a shower with a bucket hanging from a tree - you pull a lever to get water. It was cool but I did wash my hair so it was refreshing! Not sure I will use the actual shower again as the wind shook it a lot and well - that was SCARY!

We have figured out how to wash our hair in buckets - MUCH easier!

There was another church service this evening, This was the opening of the Zimbabwe Southern Baptist Convention. Again - very moving. One thing that hit me during this service was how in Heaven, we will worship together, people of all Nations and speak one language! It was hard to stay awake as it had been a long day but so fun to worship!