Midsummer Random: Day 1, Harare: Wednesday, August 19, 2014

After a blissful night's sleep (thank you Benadryl), we embarked on our first day of the itinerary. We ate our free breakfast in the dining room and then bus number 18 picked us up at the gate (all 6 lodges/rooms have delegates - mini family!) and took us to the Greendale (English) congregation for a day in the ministry. When we were down the street from the Kingdom Hall, we could hear singing! They welcomed us by singing several songs. They told us that each of the choirs for the delegates have been practicing for over a year. I hope some of you have been able to see the videos. I am having a hard time getting it to upload. I will try and post some and see if they ever go through. You can tell that everyone loves to sing and dance. We had our meeting for field service and were divided in groups 10. My partner was Lissa, and our car group added Sasha (at our hotel) and Lissa's mom. I did gat witnessing for the first time. People will actually talk. They ask for the latest issues of the magazines. If they don't have a call box, you use a rock to "knock" of the gate. We even spoke with a soldier. Being how this country is though, I can't really discuss much. Even though everyone speaks English, almost everyone prefers Shona. It's such a beautiful language to hear. In case you are wondering, it is not the clicking language. That is Ndebele, the third most spoken language in Zimbabwe. Everyone we have met is so friendly and welcoming.

Ready for service!!

Greendale Congregation Choir

Even the water is special!! A brother works for the company that does the purification.

Car group.

My partner Lissa and I.

The street we worked.

4 congregations share this Kingdom Hall.

We were to report back to the Kingdom Hall precisely at noon for lunch and a program. They had veggie burgers!! Another sister, who is also a vegetarian, accidentally took a bite into the (chicken) samusa. Her face was so sad. After eating, we went inside where there were interviews and more singing. One brother was head pastor of the Protestant church in 5 countries. His wife was assistant pastor in charge of teaching, prayer, Sunday school, etc. after they began studying, they resigned immediately. He had to write a letter to the bishop, who was in the USA. This bishop flew from the US to Zimbabwe to try and convince him not to resign. Obviously, it didn't work. Then they sang for us some more. Most everyone had tears running down their eyes when they sang "see yourself when all is new" in Shona. After that, we were dismissed to go back to our hotels. First, they had a surprise for us! They gave us a wrapped gift of all handmade items. They told us to be careful, as they were breakable. We said our sad goodbyes, said Tatenda (Shona for Thank You), and went back to rest.

Greendale choir 2.0.

Leaving our hosts.

Bus shenanigans.

Gifts!!

After getting some much needed rest, we were picked up by Anna to take us to our evening gathering at the Rainbow Towers. If I haven't said it before, driving here is insane. People drive all over the place. There are guys selling junk at every light. Which you will catch because it's wall to wall traffic. There are no crosswalks, so people (children included) just walk out in traffic in front of cars. They just assume you will stop before hitting them. There are also beggars that roam the street asking for money. What broke my heart was a little boy, about 7/8, disheveled, came over and put a little hand on my window and started saying something pitiful sounding in Shona. The sister driving just shook her head. I couldn't even look. I wanted to cry. On a happier note, we arrived for our evening gathering. There were interviews, singing, traditional dances, videos, and eating. Of course. A bonus was that the kids got to come and sing! But they shooed them out almost as soon as they were done. Which was very sad. We all wanted to meet the children. After the gathering, we talked and went back to the lodge to sleep.