Reflections

We departed Eden Children's Village yesterday morning for Harare, stopping along the way at a small shop known nationally for its "biltong": Zimbabwe's name for beef jerky. Most of us call Kansas home and Kansas is home to some of America's best beef. We couldn't resist the opportunity for comparison. The conclusion: biltong is thinly sliced (easy on teeth) and well seasoned, but there's nothing like a good piece of Angus beef from southwest Kansas. We bought plenty to bring home, so we'll let you be the final judge.

Our group spent most of yesterday in Harare, meandering through various stores and shops, bargaining with the venders for souvenirs. I spent most of my time in a local grocery store, procuring a one-year supply of tea, "drinking chocolate", biscuits, and other tasty African treats.

We had dinner at an authentic Chinese restaurant (which may sound peculiar as we are in southern Africa, but the Chinese presence here is growing quickly due to their interest in Zimbabwe's natural resources) and then spent the night at Gateway Mission, a boarding facility for visiting mission groups. Including a full English breakfast, our group of 22 people paid a total of $307.00 for room and board. ECV's relationship with Gateway Mission made that possible.

Today was spent on a daylong safari at a small, family-owned game park called Imire, which gained international fame when it was featured in a 2007 Animal Planet program called "There's a Rhino in My Kitchen". Imire is home to three of the world's few remaining black rhinos. One of the three, "Tatenda", was raised from 3 months old (literally) in the home of Imire owners John and Judy Travers, after his mother was killed by poachers. The Travers' daughter is our hostess here. Maddy and Hailey fed Tatenda his lunch by hand. The picture above is of my shoe in front of the elephants that five of us will be riding tomorrow morning. They were about 20 feet from our open trailer.

Tonight, our team spent a few hours together in reflection. We processed our experiences and worked through how to share what we saw with our supporters, friends, and families.  Barring any issues in the next 24 hours, our team is going to have some funds left over that we can use to bless the missionaries who live here. Tonight, we discussed the recommended use of those funds as a team. After some discussion, we decided not to earmark any of the funds we give the missionaries as these people are as prudent stewards of natural and financial resources as anyone we've ever known. 

Our meeting tonight concluded with a charge to remain in some way connected to what we saw here, not out of guilt, but through a sense of empowerment. We are not all called to the same task of service to vulnerable people, but the Gospel of Matthew is clear that we are each commissioned to serve vulnerable people the way Christ calls us to do so. Through prayer and time in Scripture, we are to listen to the Lord's call for our lives. 

See you in a few short days. We love you all.

-Benjamin