January 31, 2015

Masikati (Good day)
Hi Everyone,
Tomorrow is our two month anniversary on our mission.  What an adventure it has been so far.  Something new happens every day.  For example, we sent five ads of companies who are getting ready and have started to interview people to hire to the Bishops and Branch Presidents here in Harare and received over 300 applicants.  So for the past two weeks we have turned into an employment agency.  Some of the members here have never worked or interviewed with a company, so we set up interview training classes on Monday and Wednesday until everyone has attended. There is a Sister Leocardia Murenza who is teaching the classes for us.  She had done this for her business and is an excellent teacher.  She understands the people in English and Shona.  We are still trying to get a handle on understanding those who are supposedly speaking English.  Our part is to tell them about the companies we are contacting, the process of resume writing, and doing practice interviews with each one.

We have an office in the Highlands chapel building.  The internet rarely works there so we walk across the parking lot to the mission office and use a conference room to do our computer work.

Our mission president assigned us to go to Bindura District on Sundays.  There are six branches in their District.  We have now visited all of them.  Two branches meet in one building, three in another and one branch meets in a little community center which is sort of like a cement hole.  There are two different churches meet right next door.  They sing and shout to the top of their lungs during our Sacrament meeting.  The Primary meet outside under a tree.  We have never been so amazed at the fine talks and singing in their meetings.  They sing beautifully without a piano, organ, or keyboard. The chorister sings the first restrain and then everyone sings.  The talks are awesome.  Some of the people have been members for only a year or two, including some of the bishop's and branch presidents.

Last Saturday for fun we went to the Lion and Cheetah Park.  We couldn't find it at first, but came back to the mission office and got directions and went back and found it.  They have 31 lions.  One of the places you just drive your car through and the lions are loose.  In another part of the park the lions are in cages.  Also in the caged area were hyenas, crocodiles, a pair of white lions and a monster size tortoise that they said is about 300 years old.  They also have a place to drive through where there are giraffes, zebras, elands, ostrich, monkeys, baboons, water buffalo, and lots of birds.  Some of the lions were sleeping way up high on some rocks.  One great big male was just laying in the road in the shade.

Last Sunday we took a few pictures of some of the places people live on our way to church in Bindura.  Many do not have indoor plumbing, but there is a satellite dish on the roof.  Many walk for very long distances to get water and go to church.  We see women carrying five gallon buckets on their heads filled with tomatoes and other garden produce taking it somewhere to sell.  Many are out every morning hoeing in the maize fields.

We are still waiting for the new self reliance books to arrive.  It is very frustrating as we were promised they would be here the end of January.  We are going to make an attempt to train Bindura District on the new curriculum tomorrow at 4 on the computer without the books.  That should be interesting since this new curriculum is "hands on".  The people here need this training desperately. Everyone here buys something from somewhere and tries to sell it on the street.

Today we went to the Chinese mall.  It is a huge store with all the China junk you can imagine.  We did find a few things for our office like a stapler, paper clips, white board markers and eraser.

 Lion in the road would not move

Large male baboon 

Biggest lion 

Us and Debbie & Larry McMurdie 

 Homes  on the way to Bindura

Homes on the way to Bindura 

 Beautiful trees on the road where we walk each morning

 Modern Zimbabwe dish washer (the water is Very Hot)