Getting Here Safely

One of the challenges of this trip is now accomplished--arriving safely! The airline flights were uneventful, other than some rough air while coming into Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

Each flight departed--and subsequently arrived--more or less on time. The flight from Kansas City International (or Kansas City Inconvenient, for those who lived in Kansas City in the 1970s) to Dulles International took about three hours. The flight from there to Johannesburg, South Africa took about sixteen hours, divided into two eight hour segments with an hour and a half on the ground in Dakar, Senegal.

Along with the time of the flight, we moved ahead seven time zones! The last flight from Johannesburg to Harare was about an hour and forty minutes.

Our luggage all arrived on the same plane with us in Harare, which was a blessing. We made our way through the entry process without incident, and there was a welcoming committee from Mutare on hand to greet us--and provide transportation to our hotel in downtown Harare.

We stayed at the Jameson Hotel, and got situated about midnight. It was up for breakfast at 7:30 am.

After a typical English breakfast, we walked to the headquarters of the church in Harare. It was a busy, active, noisy journey. No one that we hoped to see was available. We left what messages were possible and then visited a craft shop operated by (or at least on behalf) of The United Methodist Women in Zimbabwe and the printing press that is still used there.

The next leg of the journey was by van. There were five of us on the VIM Team, the driver, and his wife. There were several police or Army checkpoints along the way, but that is fairly standard these days. The trip from Harare to Mutare took about three and a half hours. We stopped for the noon meal at "Half Way House," logically located half way between Harare and Mutare.

We arrived in Mutare about 3:15 pm, had a brief orientation meeting, and then departed to be with our host families. I am staying with the Masunda family.

Now to get some rest and ready for the real reason for the trip!

Goals for the Trip

"What do you hope to accomplish or experience on this trip?" was the question that I heard over the phone on my way to the airport Wednesday morning. It was a fair question, and it is probably one that I should have answered for myself--and others--before now!

After getting my luggage (and myself) checked in, I gave that some thought while waiting in the airport in Kansas City. Here is the list:

• I want to be a blessing to others in ways that make a real difference.
• I want to experience what God has in mind for me in Zimbabwe.
• I want to learn more about the life and work of the church in Zimbabwe.
• I expect to be challenged and humbled--perhaps simultaneously.
• I plan to eat whatever is set in front of me.
• I hope to be genuinely open to people, places, and possibilities.
• I want a deeper experience with God.

Doing My Possible

Today (Wednesday, July 22) is when I begin my Volunteers in Mission trip to Zimbabwe. Everything is packed that can be packed. Everything is done that can be done. Some things--actually, many things--had to be left behind or remain undone.

I always begin new ventures with a grandiose vision in my mind of what can or should be accomplished. Such visions are typically far grander--or least more complicated--than can ever be implemented. This trip is no exception.

Along my journey, I have learned to remind myself of a phrase I learned in a conversation with a missionary to Korea. All that is required is that we "do our possible," and I believe that I have done so in my preparations for this trip.

I am taking a variety of gifts for people there, but I cannot take something for everyone I meet. I am taking money for different purposes, but I cannot possibly carry enough to make an enduring difference. I am taking the greetings of my congregation, but I cannot convey adequately their good wishes, prayers, and hopes.

And yet I don't have to take everything or do everything or be everything. All that I have to do is "my possible," and--by God's grace--that will be more than sufficient. Thanks be to God!

Learning about "Chabadza"

"Chabadza" is a Shona word that means, at least according to one interpretation, "working together." It is "a clarion call used by families working in the fields when they need help. Chabadza can also be initiated by people who are willing to offer help to a family engaged in any other agricultural work."

I first encountered the reality of "Chadabadza" quite unexpectedly when helping to unload sacks of meal at Mutsago in eastern Zimbabwe in January 2007. This was part of a Volunteer in Mission experience with ZOE Ministry, undertaken while the General Commission on Communications was meeting--and working--in Zimbabwe.

As we arrived at Mutsago, children began flocking to where the truck carrying the sacks of meal stopped. As the adult volunteers began to carry in the sacks of meal, we almost had to compete with the children who were eagerly helping to carry the sacks of meal--usually one sack per child.

The protocol seemed to be for the boys to carry a sack of meal on their shoulders, while the girls would carry it on their heads. They helped as long as there was need of their assistance. They probably unloaded as many sacks by themselves as we did.

I was not surprised by their eagerness to come and see what was going on. The area around Mutsago offered a great deal of scenery but apparently little to do. I could remember the complaints that I uttered in childhood that "There's nothing to do," and I suspected that there was a Shona equivalent for such sentiment.

But the children were not coming to get a look at these peculiar strangers from a far distant land. Instead, they were there to help--without being asked or directed to do so. It was unlike anything that I could imagine back home in the United States.

I shared this experience with someone with more experience in Zimbabwe. He introduced me to the concept of "Chabadza," saying that it simply means that everybody helps until the work is done. Another interpretation is that "Chabadza" means that we are "obligated to help," if only for a short time. My own variation is that "Chabadza" means that we "can't not help!" Perhaps the best biblical example is the story of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, who stopped to lend the help that he could.

As I anticipate my Volunteers in Mission trip to Zimbabwe, I trust that it will be an experience of "Chabadza," with the opportunity to worship with the people of the Streamview United Methodist Church, to work at the Zimunya Skills Training Centre, to visit children at the Fairfield Children's Home, and to talk, pray, and plan with others interested in and committed to work in Zimbabwe.

I cannot stay and work until all the problems or difficulties are solved, but I can do what I can at least for a little while. And the journey will continue, with a new blessing of friendship, partnership, and help--with "Chabadza."

A Prayer for Zimbabwe

A year ago, I took the opportunity to find--or write--a prayer specifically for Zimbabwe. In looking through The United Methodist Book of Worship, I came across one of the prayers "For Those Who Suffer." As I pondered its words, I decided to tailor it for the situation in Zimbabwe.

What was particularly striking in the prayer--at least for me--was the reference to the "rock of God's faithfulness." The name Zimbabwe itself means "house of stone," and rock formations characterize this remarkable country.

The Rev. Tazvionepi Nyarota, District Superintendent of the Mutare District, is translating this prayer into Shona to share with the pastors and people of her district.

Feel free to use this prayer in whatever ways seem good to you.

A Prayer for Zimbabwe*

O Healer of Galilee, you are afflicted in the sufferings of your people and are full of compassion and tender mercy.

Hear us as we pray for those who suffer, especially our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe.

Give them the peace and power that flow from you.

Set free the souls of your servants from all restlessness and anxiety.

Keep them in all perplexities and distresses, in all griefs and grievances, from any fear or faithlessness; that, being upheld by your strength and stayed on the rock of your faithfulness, through storm and stress they may abide in you. Amen.

*Adapted by Mark Conard from the Prayer “For Those Who Suffer," in The United Methodist Book of Worship # 546