Zimbabwe, Sixth Entries

Sixth Entries: 5-23-10

Sitting on the back deck of Pamula (said puh-moo-la, signifying “rest), our home in Kezi, the view is of ostrich, grazing and “dancing” as Sam says--their mating routine. The generator sputters in the background, allowing Sam, Molly and Marlene access to the internet. Pamula is the Cunningham’s ostrich farmhouse-and it’s beautiful. It looks out across the fields and bush of Kezi and onto beautiful mountains of granite-one looks like the other half of Half Dome. I am wanting to watch The Lion King now, since I feel like I’m living it.

The backyard at Pamula

We headed out to Kezi at 8am this morning and rolled in on roads that went from ok to bad to worse. We arrived safe and sound, and then had prayer with the Crossroad church at Ebenezer, since the tent they usually meet in was destroyed in a recent storm. Church was so lively! The Zims sing a different way than we do, with one person leading and the others repeat or follow, sometimes saying the same thing, sometimes different-it’s well worked out between the members. Lots of dancing and hand motions too. Some shared scripture. One older woman came up and testified about God lifting her heart after the death of her daughter a few weeks ago, and about receiving the ability to speak after 40 years. When she came up, she sang first, then spoke and then sang again to finish her testimony. It truly was a celebration of what the Lord had done for her, especially in a culture that instructs people to mourn for a year after someone’s death. Stephen told the story of Acts 4, bringing the story to life and then dialoging with the church. Then we prayed for a few people who needed healing, it was intense. Everyone was so happy to have us and I was so happy to be there.

After the service, Stephen told us about a few things that were important to knowing the community. There are these bones up the hill at Ebenezer, of a 16 year old girl of the village, who was raped, beaten and killed in the genocide around 1983-5. This was Mugabe’s “moment of madness,” which I referred to before, which resulted in the death of upward of 25,000 people in Matabeleland (in the south). It greatly devastated this area. When Stephen and the church entered, they wanted to bury the bones to honor the woman, and involved the village out of respect. But, the chief said several rituals have to be done since it is “something bigger than them.” After 3 years, still nothing has been done with the bones. Then, when there was no rain for months, the chief said the exposed bones prevented rain from coming. But, Stephen and the church prayed for rain and it came before the bones were collected. Praise God. Also, this weekend, Stephen and all of us prayed for a mist for the fields, which is unseasonable in this time of year. But guess what?! It came! For the past two days! Why mist, you may ask? Because people walk 10 kilometers or more to get to church, and rain would keep them from coming. :)

After eating and chatting a bit, we went to Pamula. Sam took the team to the dam, a beautiful structure that would survive an 100-year flood. It was gorgeous and has a good story behind it. Peter Cunningham had a desire to build a dam in Kezi, but most everyone thought it was a waste. He had a dream that he would meet a man to make the dam. He called an architect, and wouldn’t you know, that man had had a dream, that he would build a dam, it would be his last project. The man drew up the plans for the dam, and died 2 weeks later. The dam was built, filled within a month, despite other’s thinking it would never fill, and now there is water for the region of Kezi. After a few pictures at the dam, we returned home for a good night’s rest.

The dam at Kezi