We were amongst the first TEAMers to arrive and were very impressed with the condition that they have maintained the resort in. Tshipise is a hot spring feed resort that is primarily a campground and rondoval chalets resort. But they also have a small conference facility that works very well for a small group like ours. Dad and I were assigned a rondoval with two rooms that we shared with Ross McCordic, the Regional Director for TEAM in Wheaton, also out to talk with the Zimbabwe TEAMers. What fun it was to be reunited with so many friends we haven’t seen for many years and to meet those that have joined the ministry area since we left in 1990. It felt like we had never been away, yet it felt so strange to be in that setting. It really was a surreal feeling and Dad kept saying, “I have to pinch myself that I am in Africa”. We ate our delicious meals in the regular restaurant that served a small buffet each meal and were able to enjoy many of the African delicacies that we have missed or rarely had. Each main meal had sudza as well as a regular starch, so it was easy to get your fill. It was great relaxing and to be in the hot spring pools even if they weren’t maintained at the hygiene standards we have in North America, but it wouldn’t be any worse than in a lake or river, and we were all seasoned “Africans”.
After breakfast each morning, one of our visiting team would share the devotional. We then had business meetings until lunch and again in the afternoon on most days. Some days we would play volleyball, swim and play tennis. The Tshipise grounds are large and as we would walk around, we would regularly run into the troop of vervet monkeys or the large group of mongooses (or is it ... mongeese ... mongui ... ok, we saw a mongoose and many more of them). The African sounds were in abundance from the doves, to the guinea fowl, to the baboon’s barks echoing off the kopje beside the resort. Thursday evening was the family fun “skit night” that has been a tradition for TEAMmates since anyone can remember. There were cute skits from the few kids and young people, then one from the Karanda nurses, and an “oldly wed” game featuring Doug and Nancy Everswick, Bud and Mandy Jackson and Dan and Julie Stephens. It was an evening full of laughs and stories, reminiscent of the the conferences as a kid.
Friday was an opportunity for Bud, Mandy and I to present some of the research and information we had gathered on available resources, partnerships and Networks relating to further HIV/AIDS ministries. The Zimbabwe Ministry Area had been discussing that week the options and opportunities that were presenting themselves for involvement in Orphan ministry. We were excited to see how some of the ideas and options could fit with their potential ministry initiatives and with the emerging relationship with the national Evangelical Church that has been reconciled with TEAM.
TRIP HOME TO HARARE
Saturday morning, January 10th, started early as we wanted to get through the border in good time to get back to Harare before dark. Little did we realize how long that day would be (Our plan was to leave by 7am and we pulled out around 8am). We were at the South Africa/Zimbabwe border a little before 10am and although the lines were
n’t really all that long. So we began the slow process of exiting South Africa, especially the tax refund process for the many basic goods the missionaries were trying to bring back to Zimbabwe for survival and comfort. The amusing thing on the South African border side was the sign in the washrooms that exhorted the user to not use “cardboard, cloth, Zim dollars or newspaper” in the toilet. Obvious reference to the worthless billion dollar notes being used as toilet paper. 
A humorous item when we got to the Zimbabwe side was being told to go and collect a “Custom’s form” from a window and only to find it was a torn ¼ sheet of 8 1/2”x11” bond ... but it was blank. After enquiring what we were to do with it, they told us to “fill it out” (... fill out the blank form?) by writing our particulars on it. So we dutifully wrote our name, passport number and what we were bringing in. It was immediately stamped and made official. We were able to be on our way shortly after noon, for the 6+ hour drive to Harare. Near Chivu we encountered one of the countless police road blocks. As it was getting dusk, they noticed that the trailer that we were pulling had no lights. The police told Doug Everswick that we would need to fix them before we proceeded and held his drivers licence to ens
ure we did. We found the local police yards and pulled in to begin solving the problem. As we pulled to a stop, Bud Jackson smoothly charmed the off duty policemen hanging around the depot and Ross McCordic was eager to utilize his “handiman” skills, acquired while growing up in Tchad. With the help of some of the now extremely friendly police, we were able to rewire the connection well enough to proceed in the dark, after about an hour's work. It is interesting how appropriately used Shona and the ever present “Karanda Hospital” signs on the van smooths the way, all over Zimbabwe. These are our early experiences of how the long built reputation of the ministry at Karanda has impacted people at every level and location in the country. Regularly in days to come we would hear people (including police at the road blocks), exclaim “KARANDA” and then proceed to tell us how they or their family had benefited from being there. Unfortunately driving in the dark on Zimbabwean roads is one of the most dangerous undertakings one can make. Potholes, stray animals, pedestrians along the road and c
areening longhaul trucks are just some of the enemies of night driving. All was going fine and we were gracefully dodging the caverous potholes until we were encountered a large truck at the same time that a large pothole was on the left edge of the road and we had nowhere to go but through it. With a terrific thud and the instantaneous sounds of air coming out of a tire, Doug began to wrestle the car to a stop. Two blown tires, the left rear tire on the van and the left tire on the trailer were both flat and the rims bent. The Lord had protected us though because the result may have been much different if the van front tire and back had both been blown. It could very easily have gone out of control and the many wrecked vehicle carcasses along the roads speak to how often this has probably happened. A time of prayer before changing these tires, perched on the side of the road while vehicles whiz by, was our full acknowledgement that only God was going to provide safety at this point. The resourceful missionary kicked in for all of us and we got stuck in solving our dilema. Another hour lost to mechanical problems, but the Lord protected us the rest of the way home and the rest of the week on the trecherous Zimbabwe roads and after 14 hours, that eventful day was over. But we had a a lot ahead of us on Sunday and we needed to get some rest.
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