Visit Every City

Day 5 – 18th January 2023

It was just after noon when we headed out to meet Ngoni. His family owns the land that we recently purchased. Our small plot is actually one of more than 200 plots which are part of a very large farm that has been portioned and zoned for sale in the area. Ngoni is the member of the family entrusted with the business of selling the plots of land and managing the business side of things. He’s a quiet, soft spoken individual who has a reputation of being thorough and methodical when it comes to business. This is to our advantage as buyers since it means all the paperwork for ownership will be done properly and in good time.

Mabasa felt it would be beneficial for Ngoni and I to meet, so we dove into town, pick him up at a local shop where he had arrived from Gokwe, and headed up Moth Hill, the highest point in Kadoma. Looking at the hill from below, it appears to be just another tree covered hill, but it boasts some interesting historical artifacts as well as great views of the surrounding area and a very reputable restaurant.

As we drove up the hill we spotted a mother monkey jumping from branch to branch with her baby holding tightly to her. When we reached the top the first thing we saw was the tower on top of the restaurant. The small metal gates at the entrance to the tower steps are labeled with white block letters spelling out “MOTH.” Just above the gates tucked under the platform on top of the building is the name “Churchill.” Directly in front of the building at a slightly lower point stands the MOTH memorial: a Celtic cross style war memorial. MOTH stands for: Memorable Order of Tin Hats, an organization originally founded in South Africa in 1927 as a way to help and give honor to ex servicemen and women. The building is called The Moth Hill Club which has a very highly rated local restaurant.

Besides what Mabasa had mentioned to me about MOTH, and the fact that the club was at one time a whites only club, it was difficult to find much information about the history of the tower or the memorial, or the small tank that sits off to the side. Briefly mentioned in a case study about MOTH in Zimbabwe, it seems the tower itself might be called the Churchill Monument (yes that Churchill) and might have once stood in the center of Kadoma (previously called Gatooma). The history is intriguing and the views are incredible! Mabasa mentioned that he enjoyed the view especially at night (of course if the electricity is on in town).

Unfortunately for us Ngoni had other business to attend to in Kwekwe so after our brief chat on our short excursion, we drove back to town and dropped him off at the bus stop. Soon we were back at the house. After settling in, off in the distance I could hear thunder. Dark clouds quickly followed, and soon the heavy rains began. These were the type of rains that bring flooding if they continue for too long. It wasn’t long after the rain began that I lost phone service. I dropped instantly from four bars to nothing. Quickly after, I noticed the wifi went out as well. That meant the power was gone. When the power goes so does the water. I made sure to take a few videos of the rain from the safety of the house (videos don’t tend to load very well on the blog site using the wifi).

As I walked from the bedroom through the hallway and into the kitchen to get another video from the patio, I noticed a young boy in a school uniform sitting at the dining table, his backpack on the table as he sat quietly waiting for the rain to stop. His English didn’t seem to be that great, either that or he didn’t understand my accent that well, but we were able to make introductions. You know what goes well with a rainy afternoon? You guest it! A hot cup of coffee. I started getting out a mug and the coffee grounds, and then looked for a pot. The maid, who had just come back in the kitchen after closing the windows in the house, found a suitable pot for me and tried to fill the water from the tap. Since the power was out there was no tap water. Thankfully everyone here is used to power outages, which can affect daily life, and there was some fresh water stored in the pantry. There was also a small gas stove in the pantry for just such occasions. She boiled the water and brought out a plate of tea biscuits while I sat and watched the rain with the boy. Once the water was done the maid poured some in my mug and I stirred thoroughly, grabbed a biscuit and dunked it in the coffee. I offered the boy some cold water and biscuits which he gladly accepted. I didn’t think I should be the one to feed coffee to small children. The three of us sat listening to the rain. I shared a few photos of Lena and I as well as of Lola. Sometimes when you can’t understand one another so clearly it helps to share pictures.

After resting a while and communicating with a few colleagues and brethren, Mabasa came in the kitchen ready for a cup of coffee as well. He mentioned the boy was a student of Chisomo’s in previous years. He lives nearby and usually rides his bike to the house and either walks to school or catches a ride with Chisomo. It seems he had arrived just before the rain began and was waiting it out inside. I figured he wasn’t just some random child who had wandered inside to seek shelter from the rains. Mabasa boiled some more water and sat and drank his coffee. The rain let up enough and the boy headed home with his bicycle. Mabasa and I, as usually happens, sat and chatted about life, the work of the Church, caring for God’s people. He has his thoughts and I have some of my own. We do enjoy sharing our thoughts and plans and working through difficulties together. It’s interesting being a younger pastor than my fellow pastors who I am a senior pastor over. Compared to some of them I have been ordained an elder longer, and yet they have been practicing God’s way of life longer than I have and even serving God’s people in an official capacity longer, first as deacons and later as elders. Despite any of that, we are able to all work together to help serve God’s people and advocate for one another’s needs. One advantage of having a younger senior pastor is that I am still able to physically handle jumping on a plane at a moment’s notice, flying half way around the world, and heading into the bush for a visit. I’m thankful to God for the strength He provides as well as the opportunities to serve alongside the men who serve in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, I took at least one brief nap today. It’s a good thing because soon enough Chisomo arrived home with Layla, and Mabasa went to pick up Christal from school. I need my energy for the evenings. The rain had affected everyone in different ways it seems. Christal said her jumper (sweatshirt?) got wet in the rain and it was cold in school. Layla didn’t say much about school. At the beginning of the day she said she wasn’t going to do anything that day, and she confirmed this prediction in the afternoon. Chisomo said the road outside of her school was flooded and she had to walk through water that was probably almost a foot deep. She showed me a picture she had taken of the road and it looked more like a river. Thankfully the power was back on before they made it home, and the water followed shortly afterwards.

Christal taught me how to knit while Layla tried to use me as a human jungle gym. The cartoons weren’t that interesting so at a certain point we went outside. I attempted to video call Mr. Matt (my nephew Matt Hernandez who accompanied me on my previous trip) but the wifi signal wasn’t strong enough on the patio. We ended up playing catch while we waited to try again during his lunch break when he would be heading home to feed puppies. As planned we called back. The girls ran around screaming which I think meant they were excited to see him but a little embarrassed to be seen on camera. He asked them questions and they showed him their toys. Chisomo and Mabasa also had a chance to say hello. We were able to watch the three little French Bulldog puppies as they quickly scarfed down their lunch. We let Matt go so he could have a moment to hopefully eat his own lunch before heading back to work.

Soon enough it was time for dinner. We had another delicious and filling meal. After we cleared the table and lamented having seconds, Chisomo brought out a beautiful welcome cake she had asked a friend of hers to make. From my experience it can be tough to find good cake in some countries. This cake was very good and elegantly decorated. There was also ice cream … I only slightly regret finishing my portion.

The best part was sitting together, enjoying our dessert, and being lulled to sleep by the nursery rhymes in the children’s cartoons. The girls finished their homework and headed to bed. Mabasa, however, was wide awake. There was a Manchester United match on television and he didn’t want to miss any second of it. I stayed up for a while kind of paying attention to the match. We chatted about the plans for the Sabbath and I started looking through my sermon files to see which message I might give in Bomba. The brethren from Kwekwe are planning to join us there as well. I gave up on watching the match and headed for bed. I had a chance to call Lena before falling asleep. It’s always nice to see her face.

– Lewis VanAusdle