Saturday sunday and a Jumble

April 21, 2007 Kame Ruins.

On Saturday Pastor Bonani and his wife Perseverance took a trip out to Kame Ruins, some spell it Khayme Ruins. It was a nice day out there viewing the ancient walls and in their small onsite museum there were artifacts from the stone age when the Bushmen occupied the area. Cindy, I found that game you asked me about, the one with the glass beads. Dakotah knows how to play it. This park once again describes how the Bushman tribe was pushed out of their lands by other tribes. This one though was from the North. They built platforms on the slopes and hills out of what look like bricks. These bricks are actually brick shaped pieces of rock. The granite rock of this area fractures in layers with the heat and cold weather. They peoples broke those rock layers into brick shaped pieces and built terraces on which they constructed the houses of the superior ones in the community. There is a set of these structures high on the hilltop where there is a 360 degree view. But, the river is far below. Right near this hill top we discovered a cross constructed on a large flat rock. It was made of stone and mortar flat on the top of this low flat rock. There was money placed on this cross, all sorts of coins, from when Zimbabwe had coins, old money and some of the new banknotes too, there was some money scattered on the ground around it that may have blown off. It seemed quite strange, we asked the fellow from the museum and he said that there used to be cultural rituals carried out there and a Portuguese missionary or church came and constructed that cross. It is a sort of wishing well I guess. The paths in this park were pretty hard to follow as they hadn’t been cleared in quite some time and again we were the only car in the car park. It was very interesting to see.

After the ruins we headed back into Bulawayo and went to the National Gallery. We were able to see the children’s works that are displayed there. Our friend Admire works with Youth for a Child in Christ. They had done an activity where the children painted pictures. Then Admire arranged to have them shown at the National Gallery. These paintings were great. We had a look at the other paintings displayed as well. There are a few I would like to have on my wall at home. We splurged and sat down in they café there. Dakotah had a milkshake and we shared a piece of cheesecake.

April 22, 2007 Pastor Godwill’s Church

Cowdray Park Baptist Church. Up until I saw a sign I thought this place was Caldray Park…There were about 30 adults and twenty kids in this church. Another church under development, this place had loo buildings constructed and a classroom. The main building is still to come so they have church in the classroom building. Over the last few years they graduated from a canvas tent to an asbestos roof on poles as a shade, to this brick building that is nearly complete. I thought it was great that since there was not enough people to fill the building they placed the pulpit in the middle of the room and everyone sat at one end. The Sunday school now meets under the shade (not shed). We sang and danced accompanied by the sound of ET horns and stereos blasting. There are piles of bricks which are to be the new church and a hole dug for the well. This afternoon we had lunch with Godwill and Sihle and their little one. It was a good day.

A jumble of thoughts:

-Shelley maybe you can make a frame with the paper and then frame it. Ha.

-Dakotah is healing up just fine. Her sores on her chin, cheek and lip are completely healed, no scars. All you can see are un-tanned patches. Those ones on her knee are all scabbed up and gradually coming off. She has a little, annoying, sniffley cold now though.

-I have yet to see a snow globe here. I may have to get one in the airport in South Africa or maybe Namibia. I’m pretty sure they sell things made in China there.

-Wan, I hope you are reading and I hope all is going well. I think exams are over now. I am praying for you.

-It’s just over a week to go now and we leave for Namibia. I look forward to meeting new friends there and seeing new places but will definitely miss the friendships we have here. I already miss Pastor T.

-Pastor Temba, we are still praying for you. I look forward to hearing how all of your presentations are going.

-A big hello to people at Clearwater New Life Assembly and Gateway. And if anyone from Hillcrest is watching I think of you lots too.

-Dakotah got an Mbira, thumb piano, for her birthday and is creating some nice tunes. We have to work together now with me on drum.

-Oh and I forgot to mention we had Kapenta for lunch back at Khayelihle. That is little dried and salted fish, eyeballs and all. Dakotah thought it tasted like seaweed; I have had much nicer seaweed than that. I tried to eat all of mine, but ended up leaving about half of it. I think Dakotah only had one.

-Mom, its good to know you had an understanding with Love.

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