Journal 3
May 3, 2018
Greetings from Zimbabwe,
Bill and Joyce have left to return to Colorado. Yesterday they made a trip to the Great Zimbabwe for a bit of sight-seeing. I am lonely without their company. However, there is a lot of work ahead.
Sunday, Albert took them to the bridge that was built in the early years of this mission. Last year a plague was placed there in memory of Ralph, the community and the District Counsels effort to make crossing the river safe for the children and community.
This morning as I returned from morning meeting, I found women in the maize field outside my house. They were beginning to harvest the maize that has been drying. Of course the little ones come along. From the sounds of things, they are protesting loudly.
Some of the early crops have not produced well and in some cases they had to replant because of the lack of early rains. In spite of this, some later crops have done well.
The picture on the left is a group of gentlemen from Harare that visited us on Saturday. They are carpenters, electricians and plumbers. The fellow in the white shirt on the left is a Rotarian with Albert, who assembled and brought these gentlemen here to give us quotes. He grew up in the Guzha area and graduated from Nyamshato Secondary School. We are anxiously awaiting their quotes so we can move ahead completing the building. Yesterday, a double door was installed in the building to give easy access for the dryer. The dryer is scheduled to arrive in Harare today. I am very concerned about getting it here safely over these rough roads. Rotary is handling all of the clearances for HCOC. We only have to pay $10.00 duty is my understanding. I believe they said that we would also have to pay vat tax.
After more than 20 years of traveling in and around Zimbabwe, I had never seen a red dragon fly. This one we spotted at the bridge when we visited there recently. It wasn’t terribly bothered by our picture taking. What a beautiful specimen! The white around the eyes were really noticeable.
We have had to do some alterations of windows in the processing building, which were incorrectly placed. The work is complete now and we are ready to move forward as soon as we receive the quotes on plumbing, electrical work and ceiling plus insulation. A restroom for the workers is also important. I am concerned about the costs that are adding up.
A water catchment system is needed so that some of the water from processing can be reused for irrigation in the fields close by.
I had planned on purchasing a different vehicle for the Orphan Care Center. The Toyota is one Ralph and I drove and is about 16 years old, I think. It is beginning to cost too much to keep it running. The odometer no longer works and so we have no idea how many miles are truly on it.
Saturday, some of the orphans and caregivers came to help harvest the maize crop. Only a small group gathered, since many of the orphans had gone to spend the term break with relatives and had not returned. School resumes on Tuesday and so the children will be back by then. When the group had finished one portion of the field, they filled the bed of the pickup completely full. A good harvest! The best part for the children was eating when the work was done.
Please pray for these children that have experienced so much loss in their young lives. The sad look on their faces is heart wrenching. Getting them to smile is next to impossible. May God guide us in helping them to smile again.
In His Service, Roberta