Pouring in Zimbabwe

Now that our work is done, it is time to sit back and enjoy a bit of Zambia’s beauty. We have spent much of our stay here absorbing culture, living amongst the people and soaking the beauty of the country…or at least we thought so. The team packed the Hiace once again for an overnight stay in Livingstone, Zambia. We have heard so much about this place, and we were eager to see Victoria Falls. Though Livingstone is only 120 kilometers away from Choma, it took a solid 3 hours to get there due to detours and potholes in the road.

We arrived at Victoria Falls early in the afternoon. It is truly an amazing thing to experience! The falls are so high that the pounding water creates a mist that rises for hundreds of feet in the air. As we walked along the falls, this mist showered us like a steady rain. The mist also makes visibility very poor – we were unable to see the full length or height of the falls. I think it was a reminder for us all how awesome our God is to be able to create and sustain such a natural wonder!

After seeing the falls, about half of the team (Ron, Larry, Matt Ndala and our guest Kristen) decided to take a hike down to see the “boiling pot.” After the water from the falls hits the Zambezi river, it gathers and churns before taking a sharp turn around the gorge. As we hiked down to see this, we saw dozens of baboons on the cliff. There were big baboons and small baboons, playful baboons and lazy baboons, friendly baboons and shy baboons. Many of them played along the path we were hiking on, and we came very close to them. It was so much fun to see these interesting animals up close. We finally made it down to the boiling pot, after fording streams, climbing over wet, slippery rocks, and taking a couple spills in the water. It was a great adventure for us all!

No trip to victory falls is complete with an attempt to get into Zimbabwe. The whole team went through immigration and got access to walk across the bridge into Zimbabwe territory. Since the currency is no longer being used, there are marketers selling the bills as currency all over the place. It was a neat adventure walking all the way to the border. Matt, Jess and I tried to get a stamp so that we could go through the border but the police said it required a $30 Visa. $30 was not a worth a 10 minute walk into the border of Zimbabwe and back. Our time was greeted with a Warthog which was something many of us only remember from the creatures in the Lion King.

After our time spent in the market and a delicious dinner, our team decided to return to Victoria Falls this evening to witness a phenomenon called a moonbow. Since it was a full moon, we could see dim rainbows over the falls produced by the light of the moon. I must say, it was absolutely incredible and something none of us have seen before. According to the reputable Wikipedia, the moonbow can only be seen in three different places in the world – Kentucky, Hawaii, and Zambia.

Bishop Hamukang’andu called us last night with some sad and shocking news. We found out that a lady named Charity, who was one of the most enthusiastic and gifted members of the tie-dye coop, was killed in an accident yesterday. She was in the back of a bus with many other people returning from a funeral when a tire popped and the bus overturned. As far as we know, at least one other person was killed, and we’re not sure if there were more casualties. Of course, this news hit our team very hard, especially for Christine, Jess, and Ali who spent so much time working with Charity over the past few weeks. Our team gathered back in the lodge last night to grieve and pray together. Please be in prayers for Charity’s family and the families of others involved in this accident. Please also pray that our team is able to minister to this family as we go and visit later today.

This morning we are going to the game park in Livingstone, then we’ll return back to Choma. We would ask for your prayers as we finish up the last couple days of our stay in Zambia.

-Larry and Matt