a day in zimbabwe
Wake up to the roosters calling and the women in our room getting up to cook breakfast.
Get up and put on a sweater to walk to the bath house. Mornings are cold here.
Use the restroom and gaze at the sunrise as you wash your hands.
Get dressed and greet your Zimbabwe family as you see them going about their morning. Mangwanani my brother. Mangwanani my sister.
Gather for breakfast outside. Pray. Wash your hands. Serve yourself beans, bread, a boiled egg, and a cup of tea. Sit and enjoy the fellowship before the kids leave to walk to school.
Clean up your dish, grab your bible and journal and gather outside for morning devotional. Afterwards, listen to the day's debrief and head to the boys dormitory to get to work.
Scrape the walls. Paint. Sweep. Paint some more. Stop for a PB+J sandwich, a monster sized avocado, some of the best bananas you'll ever taste, and some laughs.Get back to work until the kids come home from school.
Greet everyone as they come home. Masikati, friends. Maswera sei?
Tinotenda will probably test your Shona when he sees you with a smirk on his face. Casta will quietly come find you and talk with you a bit if you are off by yourself. The other Tinotenda will blur past you in his red sweatshirt with a soccer ball or with something to show you.
The sun begins to set as you occupy yourselves until dinner. Maybe tonight you'll play soccer or chess. Or maybe you'll climb one of the mountains. Perhaps Anna will catch a turkey. There's no doubt there'll be music and laughter.
Just after it get's dark, dinner is about ready. Everyone lines up to wash their hands and then serve themselves chicken and peanut butter greens and sadza. Maitabasa sisters. Sit with someone new and see where the conversation takes you. Bryan will tell you about his speech and debate team. Takudzwa will tell you how he wants to come to America and that he picked his English name, Klein, after the famous American designer Calvin Klein.
After dinner, Anden and Anna and I will prepare the bible study for the evening and set up the crafts and games for after. Ephraim, Lauren, Anden and I will pick some music for the night. Everyone gathers inside and the fire crackles as we start with a scripture and close with a prayer. Momma sits humbly by the fire with Ernest watching her kids share their stories with us.
After games have died down, Anna and Lauren and I will probably go lay outside in wonder of the night sky and the beautiful place we're in and the friendships we have made. Caleb and Kyle and Luca are probably playing with some of the boys, Ephraim might be teaching someone guitar or laying down some african rhythms for the kids to dance to. Lexie and Lauren laugh in bed together and say that if anyone needs to go to the restroom in the middle of the night to wake them up and they'll go with you.
Cadet and Thierry are probably unnoticeably listening to some of the kids stories and creating true relationships with those they meet. Boone is hanging out playing games with everyone too. Sarah, Scott and Julie will mingle with the adults and the kids alike while watching out for all of us.
Our little family has grown in this new place we call home. Through every sunrise and sunset, God is present in all our moments and memories. Each day couldn't possibly be savored enough.
Thanks as always for reading.
Blessings,
Jenna
