Tuesday, April 12th, 2022
I was up before the roosters began to crow this morning. 5am is a reasonable time to be awake so I decided to stay awake and begin my day. When it’s quiet there is time to think and pray and study and plan. We all need some quiet time at least once in a while, but I’d still prefer to have my usual travel companion with me. Lena is home preparing for the Passover and for hosting a few visiting ministers who will help cover my duties in NYC while I’m away. We’re staying at a guesthouse in a suburb in the Northwest part of the city where there isn’t too much traffic early in the morning. Quite a contrast from Brooklyn, NY where many people get started with their day very early, and they aren’t quiet about it. Matt, Mabasa, and I all have our own rooms at the guesthouse which means I won’t wake anyone up if I get in and out of bed, pace back and forth, or brush my teeth loudly (not that I’m prone to loud toothbrushing).
The guys were both up and out of their rooms by 8am. We sat and talked about our plans, discussed some more about the work of the Church in the country, and drank some freshly brewed coffee that Matt had made. Thanks Matt! Our host made us a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, beef sausage, and bread. We had time to finish breakfast and have most of a second cup of coffee before Mike arrived in the pickup to take us around.
We had one main task to accomplish this morning: get tested so we can legally leave Zimbabwe and travel to Malawi tomorrow. Each country has constantly changing entry regulations which nowadays includes much more than a simple visa in some cases. Thankfully it seemed, once again, that God is blessing our travels. We accomplished our main task and had time to accompany Mike buying parts for Mabasa’s truck. Since Mabasa lives far away from the capital city, car parts are much more expensive. It only made sense that since he had to be in Harare he might as well take advantage of the lower cost for parts he needed anyway. Plus Mike is an experienced mechanic who knows a thing or two about vehicles, prices, and negotiations in this particular city.
The middle of the day was restful. Mike dropped us off and, while Mabasa took care of some business, Matt and I had the chance to go for a casual walk in the neighborhood. It’s always interesting to look at the different varieties of plants and animals in different places. We saw many trees and flowers that looked familiar and a few that didn’t. The most interesting thing we saw was some kind of large bird which neither of us got a very good look at. I speculated that it might be a kind of condor. We may never know for sure.
With the start of evening came a few guests to the house. Mike had arrived with two young adults from the Harare congregation who had both been counseling for baptism. They had come prepared with a change of clothes in case this was to be their final counseling session. As a group we went through a discussion of the meaning, purpose, and importance of baptism, as well as the importance of counting the cost before entering into such an important commitment. “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62). These two, Elizabeth (Mike’s daughter) and Munashe, were ready so we filled up one of the bathtubs in the house and baptized them. It was a wonderful and enjoyable evening. What a blessing to be able to be part of the lives of so many of our brethren in different places!
I used some of Matt’s photos in my blog today, and will probably use more along the way. Matt posts photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to see more of them.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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