On the Road Again

The past few days have been extremely busy, but very meaningful for our Ubuntu team.  We can't express how much we've learned from our Zimbabwe sisters and each other.  Below is a brief overview of what we've been doing.  Our internet access has been limited or slow and it's been challenging to load photos and put out posts.  I will share more details after our trip.

Monday was a day filled with many activities in Mutare.  We were able to see the Old Mutare Mission Hospital and the Waiting Mothers Shelter there.  We also visited the Fairfield Orphanage and then ended our day with a learning exchange with our fellow United Methodist Women in Old Mutare. Tuesday we toured around Africa University and then we were back on the road again to return to Harare and our host families. 

Wednesday it was back in the group van for our drive to Nyadire Mission.  The last hour of our drive to the mission was a dirt road that had many large ruts from the recent rains.  But it was great to see the rural areas of Zimbabwe along the drive.  Plus along the ride there were no bathrooms to use so we finally had to stop and go alongside the road in the bushes.  This just added to our African adventure!

There was so much to see and learn in Nyadire and we only saw a small piece of the puzzle.  We met with the heads of the various programs at the mission to hear the challenges they face and the needs they have.  Then we toured the Nyadire hospital, their Waiting Mothers Shelter and their orphanage.  Then we were back in the bus headed back to Harare just before the rain came down.

Today we met with the Bishop and had a debriefing, followed by lunch and some local shopping.  Everyday has been go, go, go and it was nice to stay in Harare today.  Tonight we will be hosting a dinner to thank our host families for taking care of us this week.  Tomorrow we look forward to seeing some programs here in Harare.  Saturday we will then depart for our personal travel part of the journey and head to Victoria Falls to see the second largest waterfall in the world.

All of our group members feel extremely proud to be United Methodist's after seeing the good work being done here in Zimbabwe.  Those of you back home should be prepared for us to come back with a passion for helping further the resources and programs that we have seen.  Thank you for supporting us in our calling to be a part of this trip.  We wish we had more time here to see and do more, but we are excited to return home and share our journey with all of our friends and family back home!