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8:30am [Road to Chegutu] - On the road again! We left at probably 7:40 this morning. Originally it was going to be 6am, but things often slip…especially when there is so much for Fanny and Martha to do and keep track of organizationally/logistically. Just making sure we have enough fuel and getting fuel reserves is a real chore as I’ve already covered. Had to fill both vehicles from the Botswana reserves we brought back. We are heading to Kasimure near Karoi for the rural Bible Conference there today and part of tomorrow. It’s a four hour trip and of course the road is not smooth, but walking is not an option, so we feel very blessed.

The countryside is dotted with villages and farms that are uniquely African and Zimbabwean with the signature thatched roofs and clusters buildings.

9:45pm - An amazing day here in the farming community of Kasimure. Right now I am in a house in Karoi (maybe 10 miles north) with Rick, Aaron, Steve, and Justin. Judging from the pictures on display, it belongs to a white family who I believe are in Harare for a few days. The others in our group are staying at a place that a different white farmer rents who was basically kicked off his land when the land redistribution initiatives went into effect.. Anyway, there is no power at this house either, so I must journal by flashlight.

Breifly, we made the journey which took us over four hours. We lost Justin’s van at some point and kept waiting for him to show up, but he must of passed us earlier for he was there with the rest of our group when we arrived at the church. It is a rural church which is a very interesting change in venue for us. Kasimure is just a one street community with dilapidated businesses and bails of cotton stacked here and there. I guess it provides a good central location for various churches in the region to gather.

I’m sure the actual numbers for just the Kasimure church on Sunday morning are much less than what we witnessed today, but I talked to some that walk two hours to come to church and walk 2 hours back every Sunday. There are others that walked 15 km or more to attend this conference. The little building was definitely packed out.

The people sang and waited for us. We had one session with Claudio speaking before breaking for lunch in the early afternoon. Claudio is always very animated and the people respond.

Then starting at about 3, we had the other three sessions. All the sessions are interspersed with singing, dancing, and the beat of the drum (no other instruments except shekere shakers). I really enjoy it. The people are joyous and love to worship just as has been the case everywhere we have been in Zimbabwe. Different groups of them like to sing specials, so we were treated to those again today and I tried to capture some of it on video. The children are beautiful and smile shyly around cameras. Various young people and leaders introduced themselves to me and others in the group. They wanted to know what I did in the states, how the church was there, and if we could exchange contact information. The people in the north seemed even more friendly than those from the city. It was really impressed upon me that these people had truly looked forward to this event. Some images from the day: All the young men wanting to marry Melissa; Aaron discovering a tree with medicinal purposes including the treatment of tuberculosis; lying dogs; roaming chickens and guinea hens; cows hauling a cart; the people eating a lunch of sadza and goat meat; and kids kicking one of the new soccer balls that we brought.

Click here to see more photos from the conference...

Click here to see more photos of children at the conference...

Again, we are treated too special here. We are given places to sit up front facing the people, some of us on old sofas that were pulled from the ministers house. While the men sit on a few low benches, and most of the women and children just sit on the concrete floor on dusty blankets that they have brought along from home. The comment has been made on several occasions during this trip that Dale Meyer’s crew could come and have a hey day building pews for churches all over the country. The people are hungry…just need to get more of the men reached. As in other cultures, the women and children make up the majority of the worshippers, but there is a lively group of elder men here at Kasimure that provide excellent role models. The men will sleep out on the ground, while the women will sleep on the floor of the Kasimure building. We brought sleeping bags and other items to be able to join them, but Fanny has arranged for us to stay tonight in these two houses that were available in Karoi. We appreciate the convenience and thoughtfulness of these accommodations, but sometimes feel even more removed from the plight of our brothers and sisters here except for things that affect us all (like electrical power).

I sat next to Martha in a row of regular chairs against the side wall in the corner. She had her Shona Bible as well as the hymnbook and she was kind enough to let me use them to follow along with the parts of proceedings that were in Shona. I enjoyed that and it was interesting to hear the different pronunciations of Shona words (dialects) from people who came from slightly different regions of the country.

We had supper with David (the white farmer) and Jessie. Jessie is his daughter, and not his father as in the case of a certain biblical narrative, and she made us the meal. David’s wife lives in Chinhoyi right now as part of their complicated situation. One great thing about spending time with them is that we get closer to the historical realities that I’ve only read about in the past. Tonight I heard first hand about being driven off your land and 45% of your former employees having succumbed (death) from beatings, AIDs, other sickness, or quick riches. He is one of the few white farmers left in the region still trying to make a go of it on different, rented land. He was born in Zimbabwe and says that the land situation is a serious mess and will continue to be so even if the country turns around economically in other areas.

David evidently owned a large farm, employing quite a few Zimbabweans prior to 2002. He spoke about his experience in a very matter-of-fact way – no bitterness that I could detect, just resignation as he explained that their situation was not unique. Many other governments at various times have seized and redistributed land. But Zimbabwe is an example of just how wrong it can go. The land reform actions began in 2000, but didn’t affect David until a few years later. And when it did, it was not exactly with some official action (60 days notice for example) like you might expect. One day they had lunch at their place before leaving for the weekend, and having no idea that would be the last time they would share a meal together there. While away, they got a call from their foreman basically saying that it would not be wise to come back as the farm was overrun. I’m not sure if any of the original workers were able to stay on, but I got the impression that things fell apart rather quickly. Zanu-PF didn’t provide any support, training or equipment for the new tennents of these farms. In some cases, the ones who were able to seize control of the land were just thugs, living high off the hog until resources ran out. Others would try to make a go of it, but a lack of skills and bitter feelings in the community just led to poor results and equipment breaking down. David was allowed back on his place at one point to pick up personal items, but I guess by that point, much of what they had was destroyed.

Tonight I am staying in the master bedroom with full mosquito netting over the bed that the caretaker set up for me. There is also a huge bathroom connected to the bedroom – quite a contrast to other dwellings.

Windows Media Video clip(s):

Addressing Kasimure 0:43

Soccer balls 1:57