Scatterlings of Africa: Zim III-- Bulawayo

Young girls meeting our bus at Sizenda CCAP Congregation, Bulawayo.

Bulawayo is home of the National Railways of Zimbabwe bc of its strategic position near Botswana and South Africa. Following economic collapse, many trains stand abandoned.

The second day of visiting Congregations of CCAP Gweru Presbytery, we spent in the city of Bulawayo. It is the second-largest city in Zimbabwe, after the capital, Harare. Similarly, Kitwe is the second-largest city in Zambia, after our capital, Lusaka. But Bulawayo is almost 3 times as populous as Kitwe. But Bulawayo, like Zimbabwe as a whole, is more developed and seems a bit more slick than Kitwe. Perhaps this is due in part because Bulawayo was founded about one hundred years earlier. Certainly it is due in large part to the fact that prior to independence, when Zambia and Zimbabwe were part of Rhodesia--and later the united Northern and Southern Rhodesia, respectively--the Brits focused development on the Southern sister, Harare even being referred to as "little London."

I have to admit, my initial reaction to Zimbabwe was surprise at what I found. First of all, since we came on the trip at the last moment, I had not done much research prior to visiting. Second, I had consumed by passive osmosis most of the US media coverage of Zimbabwe's economic crisis and political instability from 2005-2008. Hearing stories of no food on the shelves of grocery stores resulted in a naive impression of Zimbabwe as a generic African country with nothing. But after visiting parts of the country, and hearing more history from our Zimbabwean travel companions, I now have a different impression. Far from a place that had nothing, it is rather a place that lost everything.

What we found in Zimbabwe was a country in recovery--with food on the shelves, a stabilized currency (using the US Dollar), a working if tenuous political balance between President Mugabe and the rightfully elected President-made-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, entrepreneurs scraping out a living and slowly rebuilding the economy, and water and electricity flowing reliably (even though there are regular outages).

We visited 3 congregations in the city: Sizenda, Lobengula (both suburbs), and Bulawayo. As usual, the welcome was warm and enthusiastic, and the hospitality was abundant.

Downtown Bulawayo

Court building.

Sizenda Congregation

Women's Guild of Sizenda leading our bus down the street.

The Sunday School at Sizenda singing a song.

The Sunday School children sang really funny songs where they twisted their bodies and were singing with their tongues out by the end. The little girl in the green knew all the words to every song, even those of the adult choirs.

The MAPC Delegation. From left: Jack Hobson (unofficial photograher), Fred Anderson, Jeff Miller, Don Wahlig, Lauren Logan, John Carr III, Ryan Dowell Baum.

Some of our Zimbabwean partners/traveling companions.
From left: Mr. Elson Banda, Mrs. Susan Phiri, Mrs. Ponchisi, Grace Boloma, Susan Chirongo, Stella Phiri.

Lobengula Congregation
We had a brief visit with Lobengula Congregation, a very short time of singing and greeting in the church building, followed by a time to mingle and greet members informally in the courtyard, while lunch was being prepared.

The women who prepared our fabulous lunch. In the manse kitchen.

Don stirring the nsima/sadza pot.

Molly stirring the nsima/sadza. It's getting thicker!

Ryan stirring the nsima/sadza. By this time, it is very thick and very difficult to stir--like cement!

Bulawayo Congregation
The evening at Bulawayo was the main event, with all three congregations represented, and jointly hosting the program. We heard from each of the congregations and had many excellent choir performances and inspiring speeches all around. Followed by a late dinner in the manse. Most of the time, our delegation would be served in a room separate from the rest of the congregation. This was no exception.

Bulawayo Congregation was where Libias & Grace Boloma were serving prior to his appointment as General Secretary of the Synod of Harare. During that time, they had a "capital campaign" type fundraiser to purchase building materials. They raised 182 billion in cash and 69 billion in pledges--from which they were able to purchase one sheet of sheetrock!

Mr. Elson Banda, Secretary for Bulawayo, speaking about his congregation. Secretaries of the Lobengula and Sizenda congregations seated. Bulwayo youth guild in background.