April 24, 2018
Journal 1
Greetings from Zimbabwe,
We arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday the 19th. Joyce and Bill were able to sleep some at the hotel. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky. I slept very little on the plane and so was really ready for bed when I arrived at Elizabeth’s house. I slept soundly and certainly felt better the next day.
We arrived at HCOC about 3:30 in the afternoon on Friday. A large group of people had gathered at the gate and escorted the vehicle down to the house, singing and dancing as they went. They had planned a short program of welcome and then they left to give us time to settle in. We had grocery shopped and so had to attend to that first.
Saturday was a quiet day for Joyce and I. Bill traveled with Albert to a Rotary gathering. They had a day of tree planting and Albert had taken a selection of Moringa starts to add to the task. Afterwards they attended an outdoor barbecue before returning home.
Sunday, Joyce, Bill and I attended the church that Stewart attends. It was a very lengthy service and full of children. The children were really involved. Singing and dancing was a large part of the service. I recognize many of the people that were present. They all made a point of shaking my hand.
The pastor is a member of the Board that oversees HCOC. He asked me to speak. So I briefly summarized the history of the mission for the benefit of the orphans. I emphasized that the mission began before any of the children present were born.
Today, we spent a great deal of time viewing the status of the processing building. I was disappointed that it was not farther along. Building always progress slower than one would like. We discussed placement of the dryer and window arrangement. It is a long way from being ready to begin processing Moringa. I am hoping my presence will speed up the work. I don’t want to leave until everything is operational and I have people trained to operate the dryer. I must stress the importance of sanitation with the workers in the building once it is operational.
This is a view of the worm compost bins that have been constructed. As soon as the space between the rows of bins is cemented it will channel the run off to a pit. This liquid will be diluted and used to fertilize the Moringa fields. It makes excellent fertilizer.
These women have been harvesting Moringa and cutting the trunks down close the ground. The trunks will be put through the chipper and sent to the compost bins.
Notice that in this picture there are rows of beans planted between the rows of Moringa. When one crop is fertilized both crops benefit. The same is true for watering. This will reduce water usage. The crops are looking pretty good.
Tomorrow we will be going to Harare. It is Rotary day. We are all going along to run errands. I am hoping to find a place to send this email.
Please pray for safe shipping of the dryer. It should be on its way. We are anxiously awaiting its safe arrival.
In His Service, Roberta