Dear Family,
I promised Ruth I would get a letter in this month, and even though it won't be a complete report--or on time--I must follow through.
Bruce and I are in Harare, Zimbabwe, on our next-to-last day in Africa. Today we've been participating in a youth camp/conference. Bruce taught the 350+ kids a new game called “courtball” (played on a tennis court, using volleyball rules and a soccer ball, but only allowed to kick it over the net with feet) that he just learned. After he got the local leaders acquainted with the game and running the workshop, he spent much of his time picking up litter on the grounds, of which there seems to be a neverending supply. I co-taught a workshop on Faith, taking the kids on a "faith walk" (rope course around obstacles while being blindfolded and listening to "the still small voice," ignoring other voices trying to get them off track). With the limited facilities of the run-down school although apparently one of the best private boys' schools in this capital city), I was lucky to find a short length of yellow plastic nylon rope to run from the handle of a garbage can to a broken school desk, in and out of a dry and debris-filled ground level cement fountain and on to a rickety school chair where a somewhat worn picture of the Savior borrowed from a local leader was propped against Bruce's yellow legal pad. Despite the less than pristine materials used, the youth got the idea and shared meaningful insights about "holding to the rod" and being the kind of friend that would help others hold on, too.
The best part of the class was hearing the youth's insights on a dozen pictures depicting Jesus Christ in various times and locations in His life. These kids really know what faith is: "Hope for things which are true which can't be seen," they shared over and over. It is probably because they have so many challenges: many of them are orphans because of the HIV/AIDS problem here, most of them don't have an intact family and certainly not one that has a stable job (90% unemployment in the country), and many of them are the only members of the Church in their family. Their opportunities for education are limited because even public school is not free here. Many want to go on missions but have no hope of earning enough money to even pay for their passport, visa and medical/dental costs, let alone for the mission expenses, and to go to the temple is a distant dream. It was an enlightening experience to listen to their testimonies and to see the optimism with which they face a very daunting future.
This part of the world, I must tell you, is strikingly different than home! Swimming in any river is a nonstarter because of the crocodiles and hippos just waiting for a tender morsel of man to fall into their jaws. The vegetation is decidedly unfamiliar, with such trees as lucky bean and Mopani, jacaranda and acacia. Many brightly colored flowers cover the trees and bushes even though it is the end of winter here--the brownest time of year. Because many of the leaves are off the trees, we were able to fairly easily see a great deal of wildlife. Lots of elephants, giraffes, baboons and monkeys, warthogs, crocodiles, impala, Cape buffalo, a pod of hippos, eland and sable antelopes, guinea fowl, hyenas, a civet cat and even a leopard, which is hard to spot (no pun intended). Hearing elephants trumpet in the night close to the little house in Botswana where we were staying was attention getting, particularly since an elephant had recently stepped over the 6’ fence to browse in her yard before daintily stepping over the gate at the other end to leave. We also saw a rat that was actually as big as a large cat, caught by the dogs in our Zimbabwean hosts' yard and carried by the tail to the garbage bin by their 4-foot tall, 78-year old black housekeeper, but that’s another story.
One day we walked on a sandy path through towering trees and scrubby underbrush to Victoria Falls. On the way, a troop of baboons crossed our path, warthogs trotted purposefully from side to side, and some black-faced monkeys eyed us for the possibility of snatching any treats we might be carrying. We stopped at one viewpoint and watched a man drop off the 400 ft. high sheer cliff, swing across the deep gorge and come back to rest nearly at water's height. It took my breath away to imagine dropping from that great height--not something I'd do if offered a large sum, let alone pay for the "privilege" myself! The falls were absolutely breathtaking; more than a mile long and so deep that the thundering water rises in a mist high above the cliffs, watering the surrounding area to a deep, dripping emerald green. An almost constant rainbow arcs 240 degrees, which thing I never supposed--always thought a rainbow only went from ground to ground, 180 degrees.
Another day we went on an elephant ride through the bush. Bruce and I rode behind the elephant's handler on the back of the alpha elephant, a very large animal! It was fascinating to see the land from that perspective and to listen to our handler tell us about the various trees and topography as we passed, all the while slowly rocking on the elephant's back. Tuska, our elephant, would periodically stop to rip a 2" branch covered with fresh green leaves off of a tree and munch it as we went along. I thought about Emily's affection for elephants and wished she were with us!
One night we went for dinner at a restaurant that specializes in providing a rich local cultural experience. On arrival, we were "dressed" in traditional African cloth tied over the shoulder (right for females and left for males, curiously enough) and a few paint strokes were dabbed on our cheeks. The dinner was prepared and served in a round, canvas-walled tent supported by a framework of cut tree branches, with the center open to the sky to allow smoke from the barbecue fires to escape. We were served slices of smoked crocodile, lake bream fish and guinea fowl for appetizers, then helped ourselves to the salad buffet before standing at the smoky grill to order our meats of choice. We tried kudu, warthog, boerewors (a local sausage), and even a Mopani caterpillar. The meats were all tender and flavorful, and warthog was our favorite. The Mopani worm had a gritty, unpleasant texture, but gratefully the flavor was not that distinctive. Drummers and dancers in typical African dress twirled around the center of the tent and then a drum was handed to each diner and we were invited to participate. They taught us how to elicit the right sounds and several patterns before combining our efforts to create a thundering native percussion band. Couldn’t help but think of Jeff and how much he would have enjoyed it!
Sunday we visited three Church units. One was a city center "cluster" unit which meets in a rented hall and is attached to a branch somewhere else; the attendees were clearly economically and educationally ahead compared to the other units we visited, but few could afford the $1 one-way private bus fare to get to the branch, so this unit was created to which they could walk. Another was a rural branch held on the grounds of a mining company's employee housing, which was so dilapidated and primitive that I was surprised to see electric lines running to some of the buildings. The Primary and youth classes, which combined all ages in their respective organizations, met outside in the heat on plastic chairs placed at either ends of a drying grass expanse. The 15 or so youth were taught by one of their own number, and the Primary had only a president to teach the 25+ children gathered around her. The last was a suburban ward which actually met in a pretty basic Church-owned building with tile floors, chairs in the chapel rather than pews, and boasted a little plot of grass on the side, the only green spot in many blocks. Wherever we went, the Saints shared wonderful testimonies and were warmly welcoming—even the children, who would come up to shake hands and introduce themselves with solemn or dancing eyes, depending on the child. In the two units that had Primary, children led the singing and the others would crowd around a few copies of the Children's Songbook to be reminded of the words. I was grateful that they speak English as well as their local language; all but the preschoolers could carry on a conversation in English.
Another highlight was when we drove out to a squatter's housing “development” as big as a small city. People who have nowhere to live find discarded building materials--a few bricks, cement blocks, corrugated metal, a sheet of plywood or length of plastic--and combine them to build a home. Periodically the government comes and razes all the homes, but the people just build them again. There are no city services—no running water, no electricity, no paved streets, etc. The residents there have banded together to build a school and actually have half a dozen trained teachers. They have next to nothing and were so delighted to receive the desks, chairs and movable chalkboards we brought. None of the children have textbooks, there are no support materials such as a science lab, but they value education highly and teachers work diligently to provide quality instruction in such challenging circumstances.
The mostly barefoot and raggedly-dressed children patiently and appreciatively stood in line in the red dirt courtyard to receive a bar of soap, a toothbrush, two pencils, a few pieces of taffy, a skirt for each girl, and a copy of the Friend magazine. A hundred other children who could not afford the $10 per term to go to school gathered outside the barbed wire fence where we gave them a few candies and copies of the Friend magazine. At the local preschool (which houses mostly orphans), the little ones enthusiastically sang and followed the motions of their teacher who led them in activity songs before sitting down in the red dust to receive their small pile of gifts. It is amazing how truly little it takes to make people happy.
When one sees situations like this, it always makes you want to do more. We saw a little girl, maybe 7 or 8, who had what looked like a previous compound fracture on her leg near the ankle. The skin had grown and healed over the break, but the leg bone jutted out at the juncture. Despite her handicap, she limped along quickly, keeping up with the other children. Hopefully, the Eyes4Zimbabwe group who brought the goods we helped distribute can make arrangements for a proper repair.
Our prayers have been with Ruth and Bob as they have dealt with a difficult health issue, and we’re so impressed with Ruth's faith and good humor! We unite our prayers and faith with yours, and are so very grateful for your strength and love, knowing that our combined faith can make a difference. We send our love to each of you and are already getting excited to gather with you in Nauvoo next summer! May the Lord guide and bless each of you in your righteous desires. With love, admiration and warm appreciation.
(Aunt) Jean & (Uncle) Bruce
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