Zimbabwe Trip - Morgenster

Our trip to Zimbabwe was successful. It was a very long two day journey, with 5 of us driving in a little Honda Jazz (small car). We were quite packed with our food supplies, working materials, and food donations that we brought with us. Crossing the border took many hours with seriously long lines, but thankfully, other than missing a kids projecting vomit on me, it was uneventful and we made it through without any issues. I recommend carrying a book with you if you attempt to get a visitors Visa in Zimbabwe.

http://vimeo.com/14870109

Our destination was Morgenster, which was founded in 1891 and still remains today as a well known Mission Base. There have been about 3-4 generations of the Murray Family who were born and raised here and continue work at the mission base. It is quite famous for its “Henry Murray School for the Deaf”, but also has about 10 other programs, like a hospital, Theology School, etc. The ladies are never allowed to wear anything but skirts, which of course I didn’t bring, so Mrs. Murray gave me a few skirts and some wraps to put over my shorts and pants while I was there. I reacted nice and calm, (even though I felt like an idiot and was totally embarrassed), while the 4 guys in the group held their best poker faces, trying not to laugh. I gladly put on a skirt, did a little twirl and we all had a good chuckle.

At Morgenster the students all wear uniforms. There is no internet, limited electricity and very little water. During our stay we filled the buckets of (cold) water to boil for drinking, shower with, flush toilets, brush our teeth or cook. It felt like “Little House on the Prairie” with our candles and was thankful that someone remembered a flashlight. The church service was amazing although I didn’t understand one word. Thankfully Mrs. Murray was handing me notes about what was being discussed. The church welcomes and urges the congregation for spontaneous singing when they feel prompted from the spirit. The pastor would be talking then suddenly stop to answer a raised hand. What I understood was, “Great, come on up!”, which was followed by one or many ladies walking to the front to sing these absolutely BEAUTIFUL songs together with no instruments and only their voices. It is a memory I will cherish. The pastor attempted to get someone in our group to come up to sing. Thankfully they didn’t force me (as the only Lady in our group) and I kindly declined. I would have had to hand out ear plugs first.

Our goal of the trip was to support the Murray family with whatever service projects they needed. We spent two days in a food pantry of one of the oldest houses, scraping the paint, filling in the holes, priming and painting. What we hadn’t planned for was the other things we ended up helping with which ended up being the coolest part of the trip. We met with one of the groups: CBAP (Community Based Aids Program) and discussed how STC (Serve the City) could partner with them to help with projects. One topic we discussed was a summer camp for around 150 orphans whose parents have all died due to AIDS. Sadly, after many years, their on-going sponsorship for this annual camp has pulled out so they need financial assistance or they would have to cancel camp. We also discussed immediate needs which was creating a web site, making a sponsorship promotional video and starting a monthly newsletter - all efforts would help get CBAP’s name out there to other parts of Africa. The goal would be for CBAP to receive more financial assistance to purchase food, medical equipment, medicine, text books, school uniforms, etc. During our remaining 2 days at Morgenster we drove to the many rural schools outside of the community to interview and film the headmasters, teachers, volunteers and students. The needs were much greater then we assumed and capturing them on film was long overdue. Miraculously Walter (our gifted film guy) pulled together a 10 minute promotional video and was able to deliver before we left. After he posts it on the web I will post a link on my blog. It is very cool.

When we interviewed some of the patients who had AIDS they were thinking we had the financial resources to purchase this medical equipment they needed, or with the volunteers, sewing machines to help sew school uniforms for the children. Our response to them was that we unfortunately didn’t, however our prayers would be that the video we created would get into the correct hands and that God would help us connect the dots so they would receive the items they needed. The summer camp for the Orphans would cost $2,500 annually. On our drive home, we received a phone call that a sponsorship for $2,500 was received because of our efforts. Unbelievable! That made us all smile and confirm that God uses whatever talents (big or small) we have to help his people... in this case it was video making. My $300 trip cost was well worth what CBAP will hopefully continue to receive because of our visit. One can only imagine.

I am grateful for what I am already learning here in Africa. It is not necessarily about what I am actually doing, but about the people I am meeting, the relationships I am building, and how it will change me. The question is what will I do with this new Katie? I am learning about the world and realizing how spoiled we are in America without ever realizing it. We take so much for granted. From the minute I arrived in Africa I have been out of my comfort zone, both mentally and physically. I went from a safe and friendly environment to a broken and dangerous world with hunger, disease, sickness, rape and crime. In America, we may complain and feel depressed claiming our lives are so difficult, when in reality people would do anything to have 1 day in our easy lives. We want more and more and think that material things will make us feel better. We get upset when we don’t get the promotion or raise we think we deserve. We have so little love for one another. We are selfish and lacking in community and relationships. We put our careers above our families. It is all about ourselves, how much money we can make and how far we will move up in our own little world. The more success we achieve the less time we seem to have to love one another and care for others. We put ourselves first and become more prejudice and judging. It seems to be a vicious cycle which enables more selfishness. God wants us to Love one another. Love our neighbors.

Of course these are only my thoughts and there will be no way to explain any of this to my family or friends. What is changing in my heart cannot be described or grasped, even with all the conversations or pictures I post. People need to see it themselves and I highly recommend short term mission trips (anywhere) to get perspective of the life outside of your home. A one week trip has the ability to re-boot ones heart. It is amazing to see how little everyone here in Africa has and how much Faith they have in God. It makes me ashamed and question my own Faith level. They are so happy and always praising the blessings they receive. They don’t seem to take anything for granted and thrive off of community time together. In Zimbabwe we were driving down the road and so many people were just sitting under trees in the shade doing absolutely nothing but hanging out with each other. They have nothing else to do, nowhere else to go, no to-do lists to cross off. They eat off the land and have next to nothing in their little huts, but each other. As the economy gets bad in the U.S. everyone freaks out about their stocks and savings plans and seem to sink into a slight depression. Our depressing little lives with unlimited electricity, hot water, vehicles, multiple 40” flat screen, I-pods, blackberry’s, internet, smart phones, more food than we can eat before it goes bad...blah, blah, blah.

Doesn’t seem so bad now does it? Spread the love my friends.