VIM to ZIM

Today was a full, but more restful day. A leisurely breakfast, then a short bus ride to a church in Chikanga, a section of Mutare, started the day. St John’s United Methodist Church was already hopping when we arrived at 8:45 a.m., with a lay man leading a Bible discussion from passages in Genesis while the choir rehearsed outside. At 9:30 a.m., the service began, ending at 12:00 noon. Many of the announcements and most of the preaching were in Shona, the local language, but the choir sang some songs in English. The guest preacher sprinkled in just enough English phrases to keep us alert and give us some sense of what his main points. After our Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team sang a couple songs and Gordon greeted the congregation, the leader of a VIM team from West Virginia gave a short message that at least some of the congregation understood. After the service, we were invited back in for refreshments - cookies (called “biscuits” in the British manner) and soda (OK, “pop” to those from Michigan).

For the afternoon, the two VIM teams gathered at the home of Africa University’s Information Office head. She hosted us for a lavish feast, called a “braai” (pronounced to rhyme with “cry”), which is the Southern African version of a cookout. The menu included grilled pork ribs, beef sausage, and chicken; rice with vegetables; potato salad and a variety of green tossed salads; fried flat bread; ending with a delicious banana cake and ice cream. Some of us took the opportunity before the meal to enjoy the cold and sunny pool, surrounded by flowers of many kinds, as the tantalizing aroma from the grill wafted through the air.

Looking back over the week just ended, the successes of our Tennessee agriculturalist stand out in my memory. She discussed three projects with the Africa University Agriculture school (known as the “Faculty of Agriculture”), which were immediately endorsed as carrying out their own dreams for expanding their outreach. The first is to start a piggery at Hartzell Primary School with two young pigs donated from those at the Africa University farm. Her long wait in line ended in successfully acquiring the cement needed to pour the floor of the new piggery this week. If the weather cooperates, the donated pigs will move to their new home at Hartzell Primary this coming week.

The second project will found a Dream Farm, demonstrating the synergies among diverse components such as honeybees, crops, animals, and fish ponds. The acreage for the Dream Farm has already been identified and the saplings for the living fence around the Dream Farm are ready for planting, having been started while it was still only a dream. The Dream Farm is expected to become self-supporting quickly, raising enough to feed those running it, with extra to sell or barter for items they don’t produce themselves. The Dream Farm will also offer one-day intensive courses to farm workers covering specialized topics, such as growing mushrooms and raising rabbits. Those attending each one-day course will receive a midday meal and a certificate of completion for that day’s topic.

The third agriculture project will offer a three to five day workshop to community animal healthcare workers. They will learn basic health care such as how to give injections, dehorn cattle, and take care of hooves. The first workshop will be offered in November 2008, taught by a veterinarian and our agriculturalist.

While we are not able to stay connected 24/7 on the Internet, a few personal cellphones are working and some of us have left messages on various answering machines!