Visit Every City

Thursday, April 28th, 2022

My eyes popped open at just about midnight. It was silent in our little cabin except for wind blowing ever so slightly through the window and under the door. And then the rooster roosting in a nearby bush began to crow. Off in the distance was a neighboring rooster calling back to his friend. Suddenly I could hear a whole chorus of roosters reaching out to one another back and forth, round and round, taking turns letting the otherwise silent midnight hour know they were still alive. I turned over and kept my eyes shut. I prayed for a while and then tried to get back to sleep. Instead I ended up awake, writing for a while before returning to my slumber. Perhaps it was the anticipation and anxieties of having to leave in the morning. I knew we would have to say our goodbyes and also start off on a long drive back on those same difficult roads we had come in on.

I was up again sometime just before 5am. I slipped on my shoes and stepped outside to find the crescent moon perched above the round hut across the yard. Above the moon I saw three bright stars neatly in a row going straight up into the night sky. I grabbed my phone and took a picture of these lights which God has placed there to rule the night sky. I spent the next hour or so trying to capture the beauty of the beginning of the day, and try to get some cell phone service. I discovered two things: I had run out of data the day before which is why the Bible study was cut short, and taking a time-lapse video of the sunrise is better done with a tripod than just by holding your phone very still for a very long time. I also discovered that I needed a sweater and a hat that morning before the sun came up.

Vensen was up sometime not long after me, and so was his wife. Mrs. Moyo and her granddaughters were already hard at work building a fire. Mrs. Moyo said she was going to boil some water so we could bathe. I knew we were going to try to get on the road early so I told her we only needed water for coffee. I went and grabbed the last bit of my instant coffee supply to share with everyone and then headed back inside to pack my bags. The day before one of the ladies in the congregation had brought us some food from her garden including some round nuts, a few ears of corn, and some fresh chicken eggs. Mrs. Moyo had boiled the eggs so we could have a quick breakfast. For her I think it might have been bittersweet having everyone leave, but I don’t know for sure. I say this because for about a week she had to coordinate food and a supply of water for all the people who had come and stay at her home, and now it would be back to her usual routine. That’s how it feels having house guests. It’s wonderful to have them visit and it’s wonderful to take care of them, and when they leave it’s a bit of a relief but it’s also sad to see them go.

Vensen was definitely sad to see everyone go. He was trying to express his deep appreciation for us coming all the way to visit the brethren there and mentioned he didn’t quite have the words for it. I think we all felt the same way act. Matt and I were very well taken care of in a place that we’re not used to, with routines we have never or rarely experienced. Mabasa jokingly said, “Well, if you don’t have words you could always slaughter a cow!” We all laughed. This was in reference to a conversation we hear the day before about villagers having to slaughter a cow before appearing in front of a chief to present a matter or in retribution for an offense. Mabasa and Paul were gearing up mentally for the ride back through the tough terrain. There was a sense of accomplishment in having to head back home after having done all the things we had set out to do. Bittersweet for sure.

We headed off down the road on the sandy paths through the village, across the bottom of the valley, and up the other side. We crossed several of the would-be rivers and actually rivers, some with water and some very dry, some with nearly proper bridges and some with a simple concrete slab bridging a gap. On the first leg of the journey between Chemba and Manoti we had a few extra passengers including Vensen, Misheck, and a motorcycle. Vensen was inside between Matt and Paul while Misheck and the motorcycle enjoyed the breeze and the warmth of the morning sun in the back. We also carried with us two watermelons, a bad of peanuts, a bag of round nuts, and a chicken in a cardboard box. I’m glad I noticed the chicken before I set something heavy on top of her. Vincent and Misheck were going to be dropped off in Manoti where they know a mechanic who is good at fixing motorcycles. After a few minor but essential repairs they should have been able to ride back home. Hopefully we’ll hear how they made out by morning. We unloaded the bike and the men, repacked the truck, and again we were off down another dusty, sandy road.

There was one spot in a level area where the sand had become very soft, most likely because of some large trucks that had passed through the area since the last time we were on those roads. The pickup slipped at first and nearly came to a halt. Mabasa geared down a bit and Matt and I began rocking from side to side. Slowly we climbed out of the sandy soil and we’re back in business. The roads going back seemed worse overall, except for the gullies we had driven through which bathed the truck in muddy waters. We knew what to expect there and at least the dry patches of ground were relatively smooth and solid. Some of the roads used to be covered in tarmac and a bit of it still remains running down the center of these roads. But having decaying blacktop for a road makes them worse in many ways because as the sides of the road shift with the rain and movement the hard surfaces only break up and form large potholes everywhere.

Originally we had planned to leave Chemba by 8am. We managed to be all packed up and on the road by 7:15 which means we were pulling out of Manoti before 8. By 9 we were driving through some small towns on the hunt for some refreshing cold cokes. Between the four of us we had enough cash but mostly larger bills. It’s tough to make change in small remote towns when business is slow. We managed to put together enough small bills, a combination of USD and bond notes. All we had to do was find the right shop. The first town we stored in had a few bottles of coke in town in one shop, but they were warm. On to the next town, Nesigwe.

Nesigwe is yet another small town along our path somewhere just north of the Gweru River. We parked the truck. Paul hopped out and went on the hunt for refreshments while Mabasa pulled out a back of freshly boiled round nuts given to us before we left Chemba. Paul went to a few different shops and came back with only two bottles. He went back out to another shop and came back with an energy drink. Mabasa opted for the energy drink while the rest of us split the cokes. I pulled out my coffee cup and filled it with the cool soda. There is a version of Coca-Cola that has coffee in it. I’ve heard mixed reviews from various coffee experts. Matt said it wasn’t that bad. I still had two packets of instant Starbucks coffee. I thought perhaps I could make my own version of coke and coffee. As we continued on down the bumpy road I opened one of the packets and dumped it into my cup of cola. Instantly the new brew began bubbling and foaming, nearly breaching the top. Thankfully there was a little bit of room, enough for the foam to settle a bit. I stirred it and swirled it. I took a taste. Not bad! Since Matt is a professional when it comes to these kinds of things I showed him the froth that has formed on top. “Nice” he said (or something like that). “It’s a cocaccino!”

On the way to Chemba we listened to music on two USB drives. One contained some jazz and some local Zimbabwean music. The other had hymns from the UCG hymnal which we had left in the village for the congregation to use. When the going got tough as we made our way through the water filled gullies we sang hymns. This time we listened to whatever music Matt and I had saved on our phones. Sure, we didn’t know all of the songs and could hardly sing along, but it made for some entertaining and energized driving. On the return trip, as we entered “Gulley Highway” there was no hesitation from Mabasa. He knew exactly what to expect this time. No gully was too deep. This time we decided to count the gullies as we passed through or around them. Not including the “baby” gullies which hadn’t yet fully developed into full grown gullies, there were 55 giant puddles to navigate. I can’t imagine being able to drive on that road during the rainy season. Impassable!

We dropped Paul off at his house in Kwekwe. I anointed his wife Pauline because she has been having difficulty walking because of pain in her legs. We had a few moments to say hello and goodbye and snap a few family photos of the Pombis before heading out again.

After Kwekwe the roads were smooth, the music hardly cutout, the volume control on the stereo cooperated (it sometimes has a habit of lowering when you turn up the volume), and we made good time to Kadoma. We arrived at about 2pm, unpacked, settled in for a late lunch (which included a very delightful strawberry ice cream), and enjoyed being out of the truck. We watched some cartoons in the evening, reminisced about our trip with Mabasa, Chisomo, and the girls. At the end of the evening Matt made us some really tasty espresso drinks to enjoy. Travel in many parts of Africa can be stressful even if you are used to it. The drive is difficult but it was all worth it getting to spend so much quality time with our brethren from the Gokwe region of Zimbabwe.

– Lewis VanAusdle