Untukmu Para Pengunjung

I wash my hair in the kitchen sink every morning. I find that it's easier than in the tub, because there is only one faucet. This morning there was a big wall spider in the sink. I honestly don't mind these wall spiders on the wall - they're fairly calm and make for nice decoration. But I didn't particularly relish the thought of one climbing through my hair. So, I had to get my (very manly) husband to come rescue me from the insect. My hero...

Last night we had our first Zimbabwean dinner guests. We were expecting a whole family, but just the mother and father came. Our secret plan was to have everything ready when they came, so that I could simply serve the meal and give the illusion that I had cooked the entire feast. Things started to go wrong when they arrived early, and then became a bit disastrous when I burned 2 pounds of rice. Cooking stresses me out - and oh man, I was stressed out! So, I had a little cry in the washroom and then let John help me finish the meal. The meal turned out ok, and the fellowship was really nice. At the end, the amai (wife) said, "now John, I noticed that you were helping out in the kitchen. In our culture, men don't do that. But, you know, I liked it! Maybe you should teach my husband some things!" A sigh of relief. When you're new, there's a lot of pressure to fit in. I'm certainly not your typical African woman, but I'm praying for people here to show me grace and accept me as I am.

And finally - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! I love you lots, and I'm sending hugs across the ocean. My dad is a good man, and the best dad I could ask for.

I wash my hair in the kitchen sink every morning. I find that it's easier than in the tub, because there is only one faucet. This morning there was a big wall spider in the sink. I honestly don't mind these wall spiders on the wall - they're fairly calm and make for nice decoration. But I didn't particularly relish the thought of one climbing through my hair. So, I had to get my (very manly) husband to come rescue me from the insect. My hero...

Last night we had our first Zimbabwean dinner guests. We were expecting a whole family, but just the mother and father came. Our secret plan was to have everything ready when they came, so that I could simply serve the meal and give the illusion that I had cooked the entire feast. Things started to go wrong when they arrived early, and then became a bit disastrous when I burned 2 pounds of rice. Cooking stresses me out - and oh man, I was stressed out! So, I had a little cry in the washroom and then let John help me finish the meal. The meal turned out ok, and the fellowship was really nice. At the end, the amai (wife) said, "now John, I noticed that you were helping out in the kitchen. In our culture, men don't do that. But, you know, I liked it! Maybe you should teach my husband some things!" A sigh of relief. When you're new, there's a lot of pressure to fit in. I'm certainly not your typical African woman, but I'm praying for people here to show me grace and accept me as I am.

And finally - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! I love you lots, and I'm sending hugs across the ocean. My dad is a good man, and the best dad I could ask for.

Well, we had another interesting Zimbabwean weekend. The highlight had to be coming within metres of giraffes and zebras! Saturday afternoon we walked to Mukavisi Park. We paid extra to get a "safari walking tour" and it was worth the money! I was so excited to be within metres of my two favourite animals. Being in the wild did feel very "African," I must admit. Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera... sorry - no pictures.

Friday night we went for Chinese food with some friends. The food was delicious, and the company was great too (although it made me miss my Chinese friends in Toronto). There are actually a lot of Chinese people in Harare. One result of the "look East policy," I suppose.

Yesterday we spent most of the day at a retirement service for a Salvation Army Divisional Commander. The service started at 11:00am, but we were VIPs from THQ (territorial headquarters), so we skipped the first part of the service and got escorted into a separate building for lunch. The sadza filled me up for the rest of the day! John was covering the event for the "Salvationist," so felt a bit unsure about missing some of the actual event, but when in Rome... (especially when food is involved!) We entered the service around 12:00 and it finished around 5:00pm. The first few hours were very lively. I just love dancing in church here. People stare at me, but then again, people constantly stare at us no matter what we're doing, so I figure my bad dancing skills are not necessarily a reason for concern. So, yeah, the first few hours were great - lots of music, hoshoes, and timbrels/tambourines (which, I must admit, I enjoy more here than in Canada!) But by the last couple of hours, when the focus was mainly on gifts and monetary offerings (of course, each section of the division had to make its own presentation - men's fellowship, youth, band, family members, etc.), I was a wee bit bored (it was also very hot in the jam-packed service, and although having someone translate the whole time is immensely helpful, it's also tiring). I almost laughed (better option than crying) when the meeting continued on for another 30 minutes after the benediction. Of course, all of the special guests have to be thanked for just being in attendance. It's all very formal.

Gift-giving is huge here. There was a table set up at the front of the retirement service for the money counters. All large financial donations are counted, tabulated and announced in the service. It was the same thing at the wedding. Giving in secret does not seem too popular! Actually, when we got home, a couple of girls came over for a visit. One of them (a teenager) told me she had a gift for me, and gave me $100,000. I must admit that I had no idea what to do (beyond, obviously, showing her that I was really grateful for such a nice gift). What would you do if someone gave you $100,000? :) Adjusting to culture is full of adventure and fun, but can sometimes be stressful too.

Just to clarify about my husband's new friend - it was the outside of his thigh! (see below)

My Africa day was fairly uneventful. I cleaned our little house, and vacuumed everything in sight - including blankets and the bathtub. I was on a dust-destroying mission to alleviate John's allergic reactions. I did a lot of laundry too. Unfortunately, you have to iron everything that goes out on the clothesline because of little bugs that can get in the clothes. Consequently, I've been keeping some things inside to dry. It was a bit embarassing when a guy came to visit and there were underwear and socks draped over every piece of furniture! Oh well.

Yesterday was Africa Day, so we had the day off work. Rochelle stayed in Harare, but I travelled to Masvingo with the Territorial Youth Secretary to meet with the Divisional Commander, the Divisional Youth Officer and other youth leaders and representatives to plan the territorial youth councils happening there the end of June. Wow, there was a lot of official titles in that sentence. Anyway, Masvingo is over 390 km away, which is quite a trip if you're familiar with African roads.

Since the TYS doesn't have a vehicle (only Cabinet Secretaries have vehicles) and couldn't get one from THQ for the day, we had to take a bus to Masvingo. We left home for the bus terminal at 5:30 am and got on a bus at 6:30 am. We arrived in Masvingo around 10:30 am. It was quite a trip. I saw baboons, monkeys and breathtaking scenery. We stopped in Chivhu to stretch our legs and have some bananas. There was a large sign there that said: "In Chivhu, anyone can get HIV/AIDS, and anyone can prevent HIV/AIDS."

The DC and DYO picked us up in Masvingo and we went to the DHQ compound (includes DHQ, a corps and the home of the corps officer and DC). The DC mentioned that it's not safe for them to live there these days as thieves keep coming and stealing their property. The thieves came recently with knives and forced the children to open the doors, telling them that they would kill them if they didn't let them in. Many officers in this territory have been robbed recently. Please pray for the safety of Salvation Army personnel in this territory. (I thought that someone was trying to break into our home earlier this week, as I woke up in the middle of night to the sounds of dogs barking and the doors and windows rattling. It turns out that I was only experiencing my first earthquake tremors.)

The planning meeting was very fruitful, and I'm really looking forward to the event. There will be a prayer tent, all-nights of prayer, a march of witness, three or four open airs with door-to-door campaigns, six workshops, sports ministry (soccer and netball), praise and testimony meetings and holiness meetings. Youth are coming from across the territory, so we're renting school classrooms in the area where youth can sleep and have some shelter from the cold (it's winter here). There was a lot of prayer put into the planning, and I continue to be impressed and challenged by the spiritual maturity of this territory.

After the planning, we had a quick meal of sadza and spinach and then rushed to find a bus to take us back to Harare. But there were no buses. So we went to the main intersection leading out of town and waited for possible transport (ie hitchhiking). Don't worry, the DC waited with us to make sure we found a ride. After an hour, we found a driver with a pickup willing to take us. And 15 other people. The TYS and I jumped in first and got the prime spots with our back to the front of the vehicle. We were very crammed in, as people had groceries and belongings with them as well. After an hour or two, most people got off at their destinations so we had a little more room in the back.

Sitting in the back, I had a prime seat to watch a stunning African sunset. And then, once it got dark, to examine the multitude of stars in the sky. After a while, it started to get really cold. And I mean really cold. Shivering and shaking, I thought to myself: "I'm sitting in the back of a pickup truck that is driving fast along a bumpy African road on a four-hour trip and this is official Salvation Army business?" Life is very different here (I think this will be a recurring sentence in my blogs). It's unbelievable that this is how the TYS travels. I can't imagine Dave Ivany, my father-in-law and the TYS in Canada, having to do this.

The other man in the back of the pick-up truck kept pressing his body into ours to stay warm and shielded from the cold wind. At one point his face was pressed into my thigh. As we said goodbye, he said that he was sure we would meet again. He's probably correct, as in some cultures, we would probably be married now.

I made it home safely (I won't tell you about getting dropped off in downtown Harare and waiting to get picked up again as I'm just remembering that our mothers read this...) but what an experience. Tomorrow is the first day in a month where we have nothing planned (so far), and we're looking forward to the opportunity to just relax and unwind. There's a small gamepark about an hour's walk from us, so we might take an afternoon trip there.

The Shona people of Zimbabwe have totems, which are symbols of identity similar to clans or tribes. A totem is an animal such as the lion, elephant, zebra or monkey. Addressing someone by their totem is highly respectful and very formal. From our very first day, people have been asking us what our totems are. As foreigners, there’s the freedom to choose our own totem, but from what I understand, most people receive their totem based on their family heritage or what region they come from.

Most people assume that my totem is Shumba (lion), which seems as good a totem as any. Rochelle naturally gravitated towards Twiza (giraffe), but I’m pretty sure that the twiza isn’t actually a totem animal. But let’s keep that a secret between us and let Rochelle keep on believing…

I’m not sure how the totems fit into the traditional religion, but I’m sure they played a significant role in worship. It’s interesting that the Shona continue to have totems, even though most would consider themselves Christian. From what I’ve witnessed so far, many seem to possess a combination of both traditional African and Christian beliefs.

The chief secretary has been suggesting lately that The Salvation Army should be the totem of Salvationists. I think this is a pretty cool idea. This would be helpful for officers’ kids, as they find it difficult to have a regional or tribal home since they move around so much. Amai Commissioner (mother commissioner) is so concerned about this lack of traditional upbringing that she is discouraging the thought of marriage between officers’ kids. She says that officers’ kids are brothers and sisters, so they can’t get married. This created quite a stir in the combi ride home when the officer wives discovered that we were both officers’ kids and therefore brother and sister. But it’s all going to work out, as there’s a traditional ceremony involving a large white chicken that will make it okay for us to be married. I’ll let you know how that turns out…  

I've been feeling really cut off from the world - not being able to access the www, not having a t.v., etc. but yesterday I got a hold of some newspapers. I read an interesting story about a couple from Kenya that actually took place 2 years ago. There was a writer who returned to Kenya from self-exile, and the first night he was back, he returned to his house, and was heading into the bedroom, where his wife was already sleeping. 4 gunmen broke into the house, ransacked it, and demanded money. Even though they were given the money, they started raping the wife - in front of her husband. A tragic situation. But the article I was reading was about all the debate that has surrounded the case ever since - basically around whether or not this husband should divorce his wife. Most agree that he should - because she has been violated - and right in front of him. Tainted goods. The article was saying that actually most African women keep rape a secret - even from their husbands - so that they will not have to face divorce. For the men, this is connected to pride and shame (staying married to a woman who has been with another man), and also HIV/AIDS. I was shocked and angered at this article. Honestly - a woman undergoes the trauma and violation of rape, and then she has to keep it a secret so that she will not further be divorced and isolated and rejected?

In other news, my dad sent me an article about the recent changes to legislation in Canada, allowing for temporary residence permits of up to 120 days for trafficked persons (as well as exemption from the processing fee and eligibility for health coverage under Interim Federal Health). These were elements of a proposal I wrote up for government, so it's good to see that I had such a big impact so quickly!!! :)