Bulawayo, Zimbabwe visit

With Johannesburg on the skyline (as seen in the first photo) Ron and I drove to the airport on Thursday, 18 November 2010 for a flight to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Springtime grass growing in the median was being cut by handheld weedeaters (second photo). Notice the woman on the crew is delivering two cans of petrol to the cutters, one container being carried on her head.

Saucer-sized blossoms on long, sturdy stems are seen in vibrant blue and white across the countryside.

The purpose for our two day trip to Zimbabwe was to train 17 stake and unit leaders in Bulawayo Stake regarding priesthood stewardship of meetinghouses. The evening concluded in visiting with a number of them about their lives and stories of their conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.






A highlight of the trip was spending a couple of hours the afternoon of our arrival with Rachel Sibanda and her niece Melanie at our hotel. They had taken two taxi vans to reach the hotel at a total cost of USD3.00.

Rachel is a remarkable woman whose friendship began a year ago in Johannesburg. A widow of 9 years who carefully saves money monthly to attend the temple every 4 months, Rachel rides a public bus 13 hours each way (at cost of USD99.00). She stays in temple patron housing (each night's stay costs USD3.18), arriving on Monday, attends sessions Tuesday-Friday and returns home on Saturday. It costs another USD3.18 a day for three meals in the patron housing kitchen. Besides her 18 year old son Rachel has raised the four children of her deceased brother and sister-in-law for the past five years. They are now ages 17-23.

It was in the dining area where Ron and I were at lunch that I first met Rachel. Sharing her table we began visiting and I felt an easy, heartfelt bond with her as we conversed. Throughout 2010 as she has arrived in Johannesburg we have visited further, in March, July and October. In September Rachel began an 18 month service mission in her stake as the Liahona (Church) magazine representative, her first month enrolling 41 subscriptions.

Ron and I scheduled our departing flight for Friday afternoon and arranged for a driver to take us to visit Rachel at her home in Nkulumane township. The brilliant red blossoms engulfing Flamboyant trees in full bloom along the streets made striking contrasts to the rural settings through which we passed. It was a true delight to spend an hour with Rachel, be shown her modest garden, yard and home and see photos of her with her good husband. It is refreshing how friendship transcends the world into which we are born.