Thrill of the Hunt

Hunting the rare and endangered Orange Inflatable-Necked Manga Rat

Utterly Beautiful

I’m just back from church where I understood very little of what was said during the three-hour service. The frustration of missing out on what everybody else seemed to be enjoying was a small price to pay for the glorious singing. It really is futile to try to describe the rich, joyful sound of African worship. I have a recurring thought in Zimbabwe:

I think that is the sweetest sound my ears will hear this side of Glory.

I thought that when I heard the staff singing at Matthew Rusike; I thought it again one Sunday when a men’s choir filled a little church with blissful sound; I thought it again one morning at dawn when a child at Matthew Rusike sang a plaintive song whilst doing her chores; I thought it again when a dancing throng in a village sang like angels…and, of course, I thought it again this morning!

Although it is futile to try to describe the way Africans sound at full voice Mark Twain made a worthy attempt -

When Mark Twain visited Switzerland in 1873 he heard an African-American choir in a beer hall. Inside was “…was a crowd of German and Swiss men and women…with their beer mugs in front of them – self contained and unimpressionable looking people…The singers got up and stood – the talking and glass jingling went on. There rose and swelled out above those common earthly sounds one of those rich chords the secret of whose make only the Jubilees possess, and a spell fell upon that house…Away back in the beginning – to my mind – their music made all other vocal music cheap. It is utterly beautiful to me; and it moves me infinitely more than any other music can” 

Amen Mr Twain.

Grant 

Big Sunday

On Sunday 27^th May, there was a huge celebration at the Matthew Rusike Children’s Home (MRCH) called Matthew Rusike Day or The Big Sunday.  Methodist Church folk from all around Zimbabwe came to Epworth to celebrate the good work that is being done with orphans and vulnerable children.  They brought generous gifts from their church community to share with those at MRCH. It was powerful to see how God can work when His people are willing to share.  

Anthea

Mama Africa

This dear lady is well over 100 and still works busily on a farm.

Powerless

I have been known to groan a bit when the power goes off…and it goes off a lot! Sometimes it happens when you have got your meal cooked and there’s enough boiled water and it’s daytime. Sometimes, though, it cuts out when you’re roasting something in the oven and there is only a little water and it’s dark. That’s when I groan. The power goes off almost daily for about 8 hours. Having said that, there is no real pattern. At times, we have continuous electricity for two days but at other times it will turn off for a long stretch, come on for an hour and then have another lapse.

There are a couple of reasons for the cuts. There is load sharing at the moment because winter makes much greater demands on a pretty old electrical infrastructure. There is also an issue with Mozambique. They supply some of Zimbabwe’s power and the unpaid bill is escalating. There are also some malfunctions. This causes some irritation for us but it is far more serious for businesses and other services in Harare.

Recently, I enjoyed a short stay in a remote rural village where there was never any electricity. Somehow never having to rely on it felt more relaxed. But to be honest, a lot of the hard work was being done by our hosts. I also admire the stoicism of the Mama’s at Matthew Rusike. When the power fails at night they often have to light a fire to be able to feed the ten children in their care. It turns a big job into a big, smoky, long, uncomfortable, difficult job.

We have also been known to cheer when the power comes on. Late in the evening, if we are sitting quietly in the dark and the lights come on, we whoop and then scurry around boiling, recharging, cooking and other electricity-related verbs.

Festive

We went to  HIFA (Harare International Festival of the Arts)  and we saw Bollywood dancing. I bought a pink chameleon made out of beads and wire. Clare got a hippo and Abbey got a chilli. We also saw trapeze artists and one of them hung  upside  down and nearly fell off. I thought it was funny and I enjoyed it.

Bridie