Saturday, April 23rd, 2022
Sometimes on a Sabbath morning I manage to have a second cup of coffee. Most of the time I’m going over my sermon notes, getting everything gathered up, loading the car, getting things set for the dog, remembering to put on shoes and a jacket, and then Lena and I head out the door. Thankfully today was more relaxed than that. I did had a chance to go over my notes, and also some time to meditate and pray about a few things. Breakfast was later than the day before, but Mabasa had planned to pick Matt and I up slightly later. Matt made some real coffee for me for my second cup since we did have some extra time. Mabasa and his family are staying at his sister’s house nearby. Since she had planned to join us for services there wouldn’t be enough space in the pickup for everyone all at once. So Mabasa dropped the girls off at services and then came and got us.
Although we were early for services by 15 minutes, we decided to start a little late since a few of the members hasn’t arrived yet. However, Menashe and Tatenda both came running up the stairs separately just a few minutes after the regular start time so we didn’t delay by very much. Thankful Matt was able to prepare to speak the night before since he was formally warned ahead of time this time around. He gave a message about praying for the gospel to have free course in this world. We live in an ever changing kind of place where people are willfully forgetting God even though there is evidence of Him everywhere. Prophecy is unfolding before our very eyes. Even more so as the return of Jesus Christ approaches, we have to be doing the work that our Father has called us to do. We must be prepared to be part of spreading the gospel message, if not by using our God given abilities then definitely by praying. Matt contributes primary through the graphics he designs for UCG publications (you can find some of his work here).
I’ve been impressed with how the Harare congregation is able to pick out the tunes and sing the hymns without musical accompaniment. I didn’t ask, but I suppose it comes from having to do without at times. After a while something like that becomes a habit and in fact becomes enjoyable. When there is no piano and no prerecorded voices, you can really hear the harmony in the room. Mike and Mabasa already have plans to use a Bluetooth speaker and play the hymns after they download them. While singing a cappella is definitely beautiful and unique in most of the congregations in the world, there is also something inspiring about singing together with music and with many other voices. Mike led hymns, Mabasa gave announcements, and I have the sermon. My topic was the stirring up of the knowledge, the wisdom, the zeal within us which God has placed there as He purifies us through His word and this Spirit, so we might not be among those who willfully forget Him. We must remain steadfast in our watching for the return of Jesus Christ, and in striving for God’s righteousness. This works desperately needs the Kingdom of God.
After services we gathered outside for a few photos in the garden as we had the day before. This time there were a few more of us so we definitely needed an updated photo. After the Sabbath Mike needed to check a few things on Mabasa’s pickup to make sure it would be prepared for heading out to Gokwe on Monday morning. This meant that he would have the pickup. This also meant that he had to take several trips through the neighborhood to drop us off. While Mike was delivering the first group the rest of us sat in the garden and talked for a while. I think we must have been hungry because we got stuck on the topic of foods in different places. The US doesn’t really have one staple food like a lot of the world. If I had to choose one I might say bread, but then again I might say meat and potatoes. Tatenda jokingly asked if it might be a Big Mac and fries. Actually, in some places I think some people do live off of fast food. Tacos were in the running alongside pizza. I had forgotten to mention pasta and casseroles. Really it all depends on where a person lives and who else lives nearby. Lena and I eat chicken more often than anything else. Really my personal staple is coffee. Tea is definitely more common in countries such as Malawi and Zimbabwe. Both countries grow and sell both tea and coffee. I haven’t had a chance to try the Zimbabwean varieties, but in my opinion Malawi has the second best tea in the world. Sorry Malawi. Ceylon tea from the island of Sri Lanka is the best tea I’ve ever tasted, although the really good stuff you must actually visit the island to taste.
Matt and I were taken home in the second wave of passengers. Mike said he was delighted to go back and forth as needed. He figured since we had traveled half way around the world to visit them, the least he could do is drive us across town. Mabasa was with us as we rode through the busy streets of Harare. At a certain point Douglas and Elizabeth jumped out of the back of the pickup while we continued on. We talked about all kinds of things as Mike dodges cars, trucks, semis, buses, and pedestrians. One topic that was obvious and kept coming up were the different vehicles in Zimbabwe. There are some cars and trucks that aren’t sold in the US, but they are used commonly in Zimbabwe. This might be partially due to differing safety regulations or simply due to taxes and embargoes. There are definitely some bush vehicles that I wouldn’t mind driving through some of the streets of NYC.
Mike dropped Matt and I off at the guesthouse and we solidified our tentative plans for the morning. If Mike could get everything on the pickup sorted Saturday night then we works be leaving early Sunday morning for Kadoma where we would stay the night, leaving for Gokwe on Monday. We planned for that. After changing out of our suits and settling in for a moment, Matt and I decided to head back into the neighborhood. We had no idea how happening of a place the Mabelreign Shopping Centre would be on a Saturday afternoon. There are multiple bars along the strip and each one of them was full. There were also families doing their shopping, people selling goods, people exchanging their bond notes (as the current Zimbabwean dollar is referred to) for USD which can sometimes be difficult to come by. Officially the bond note is the currency and is supposed to be used everywhere and exclusively but in reality the USD is the common currency. Our first goal was to find some cookies. For some reason that just sounded good.
We set off down the street in the direction of a supposed bakery I had found online. All we found was the end of the street and a gas station with some beautiful flowers planted out front. We turned around and headed back through the crowds which seemed to be increasing all the time. After all, what better time for folks to be out and about than on a perfectly comfortable Saturday evening. We decided not to venture into the outdoor market across the street since we didn’t want to shop for souvenirs on the Sabbath. There were a few grocery stores around which might just have some cookies or some sort of baked goods we could snack on before dinner. Matt had to buy a mask to be able to go inside the store. There were plenty of street vendors who had some. We pushed past some persistent money changers who happened to get a glance at a few USD in hand, and found a helpful lady who was willing to sell one mask and actually give what we think was the appropriate amount of change in bond notes (we didn’t look up the exchange rate before leaving the wifi at the house).
With mask in hand we headed for the door of a grocery store. As we were walking in we spotted our host, Tapiwe. He was out enjoying the evening as well. He asked one of the staff at the store to help us find cookies and reassured us that we could pay with USD since we didn’t yet know how to use the local currency properly. She showed a small selection of cookies and then went back to work. We looked around the store, partially to see what they had and how much things cost. With cookies in hand, and unsure of if we would need to exchange our money or not, we stood in one of the checkout lines. It turns out that only one of the lines took USD and we didn’t yet have enough bond notes to pay for our things. We moved out of one line and into another. This time we were in the right place but our bills were too big to make change. We would have to either put something back or wait until the cashier had a five dollar bill. We opted to wait. About ten minutes later I noticed someone paying with a five. That was our chance! The cashier rung us up again and made change for us using the five and multiple hundred bond notes. To be perfectly honest the cookies might not have been worth it, but at least we can say we have experienced a grocery store in Zimbabwe.
We headed back to the Chicken Village / Village Pizza where we had eaten the night before. This place was happening on a Saturday night. The tables were almost all full when we walked in. People were coming in with boxes of wine, bottles of beer, and coolers of all sorts of beverages to enjoy with their chicken and pizza. We casually walked past the tables and headed for the Village Pizza counter. Half the menu had tasty sounding options but most had ham, pepperoni, or bacon on them. We found one that sounded good to us and had only clean meats on it, and then asked the lady at the counter what a “double stack” was. It’s essentially a pizza with a cheese and tomato pizza on top. How does that saying go … “When in Rome!” Except we didn’t bring any booze with us. Instead we opted for soft drinks to go with our double stack and cookies. That was too much pizza for just two guys even on an empty stomach.
After enjoying our meal we walked casually back to the house and settled in for the evening. There were still some minor interior renovations on the house being finished when we got back so instead of using the common lounge we relaxed in one of our rooms for a while. The internet was working well so we took the time to send messages, make some calls, watch a movie, and update blogs and social media posts. All in all it was a quiet and relaxing evening until we remembered that we had to pack up all our things and get up early the next morning. On our way to bed we found a praying mantis in the hallway. It was a great photo op. Matt got the little guy (not actually so little) to climb onto his shoe so we could take him outside for the night.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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