Going hog wild at Shadreck Muchenje's pig farm in Chinhyoi, 2023.11.18
Another busy week on the temple site as the progress of landscaping has begun. Bruce and I took another drive out to Emerald Seedings to visit the temple plants being propagated there. It was fun to find a nest of baby birds in one of the temple palms. I send photos to Lucas, the temple landscape architect, and he's always grateful. The plants look very healthy and cover about a 2-acre area. Two of the gardeners wanted a "bible" from us so we gladly shared a Book of Mormon with them. We always express how it's "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" similar to the Old and New Testament but an ancient record from America. We bear testimony of Jesus Christ's full gospel within the pages and mark 3 Nephi 11 so they can read about the resurrected Christ's visit to the temple. We stopped at Pamona Market on the way for a lot of nice fresh fruits and vegetables and of course lunch at the taco truck nearby!
We shared Books of Mormon with these two workers at Emerald Seedings. We had this cute little visitor from our ward show up to the Welcome Center, Miracle Peace. Love his name!
On Tuesday, Nov. 14th, we fed the sister missionaries serving in the Highland area. These sweet sisters always come to pick up "rubbish" litter in front of the temple every Monday for their preparation day. Sister Waltman, Makura, Day, and Smith all enjoyed "American" or rather "Mexican" tacos; something that's hard to find here in Zimbabwe. Although we served a simple dinner they were thrilled to be invited and fed. It was Sister Mukura's first time for tacos; she is from Losotaa the land-locked country in South Africa.
Muchenje's Pig Farm in Chinhyoi, 2023.11.18
A glorious day of blessings in Eastview, 2023.11.19
We shared Books of Mormon with these two workers at Emerald Seedings. We had this cute little visitor from our ward show up to the Welcome Center, Miracle Peace. Love his name!
We took the Muchenje's to the Chinhyoi Caves on Saturday. We were going up to finally see his cousin, Shadreck's pig farm. Shadreck is Cephas's cousin, he owns "Strive or Shannov Construction", which employs all the masons on the temple site. We've been trying to come see his pig farm for the past 4 months. Shadreck was driving a large truck with wood and roofing so he got there 3 hours later than planned. I only had planned snacks not knowing we'd need to feed 3 extra people. We stopped at the only place we could find in Chinhyoi "Chicken Inn" to get mediocre fried chicken and "chips" which are french fries in Zimbabwe. There was a very long line for service and after eating the warmed-over chicken, I'm not sure it was worth the time and effort. We went and enjoyed the caves and a picnic while we waited for Shadrek. The Muchenjes are now caring for Fortunate's younger half-sister, Nokutenda, who is 14 years old. Nokutneda is a beautiful quiet teen; I think she really enjoyed the trip.
Shadrek and Juliet Muchenje finally showed up in their big truck bedded down with supplies after 3:00 p.m. They'd been pulled over by the police and had to pay a bribe. We followed them another 30 minutes to a remote farm land which was Juliet's family's kamusha. It was nice to meet Shadrek's wife and little boy, Prosper. The pigs were surprisingly clean and Shadrek even sat down right in the pen for a photo! We also walked down to another pen to see the sows. Bruce brought home a brick handmade on the farm. The farmers look for the ant hills where trees grow and the ground is raised. They make the bricks out of that fertile soil. Building out of bricks is very common here. You can buy 1,000 bricks for $100 USD, which Bruce says is dirt cheap. The labor is cheap too so they build all the walls including framing the interior walls out of brick and then plaster over it. Wood is scarcer so they don't stick frame like we do in the U.S.A.
Shadrek needed his truck bed unloaded so the 4 men helped. It was getting late and we really didn't want to drive the treacherous potholed highway passing trucks in the dark. We didn't leave until 5:00 p.m. so we knew the sun was going down soon. Many old cars, no registration or inspections required, drive without break lights or even lights. It's pretty scary seeing a car driving in the dark without lights and there are no street lights either making driving extremely dangerous. Many of the combi drivers are unlicensed and drive crazy without any thought of killing their passengers or the oncoming traffic. They just expect people to "get out of their way!"
We made it back to Highlands and had Muchenje's take a combi back to Eastview. We were exhausted; especially Bruce for doing all the defensive driving. I had to make brownies and get things ready for Sunday's luncheon the next day.
We were excited to attend the Eastview Branch again in the morning. Elder and Sister Orr followed us to the chapel; it was hard to find. Bruce was able to confirm both Cephas and Fortunate and Elder Yav confirmed Munenyashe and Keisha. When Bruce asked Cephas who he wanted to give him the confirmation of the Holy Ghost he said, "You, of course, you've got to finish what you started!" The Muchenjes brought Nokutenda to church too. We introduced her to Elder Yav and Day to teach her the missionary lessons. I also found 3 sweet girls her age to take her to Young Women and befriend her.
We were excited to attend the Eastview Branch again in the morning. Elder and Sister Orr followed us to the chapel; it was hard to find. Bruce was able to confirm both Cephas and Fortunate and Elder Yav confirmed Munenyashe and Keisha. When Bruce asked Cephas who he wanted to give him the confirmation of the Holy Ghost he said, "You, of course, you've got to finish what you started!" The Muchenjes brought Nokutenda to church too. We introduced her to Elder Yav and Day to teach her the missionary lessons. I also found 3 sweet girls her age to take her to Young Women and befriend her. 
After church, we all crammed into our truck. I didn't want Moforo on my lap in the front, due to the airbag, so we put Nokutenda in the seatbelt and I sat halfway on the gear shift and kinked my back for the 20-minute drive home. We had a nice pot roast with carrots and potatoes cooking in the crockpot. The Muchenjes loved the traditional American meal with fruit and rolls and brownies with ice cream for dessert. We played a card game "Sky Jo" with the whole family; which they loved. I was super impressed with the kids after dinner they did all the dishes! I got up and Nokutenda and Keisha were doing the dishes, Moforo grabbed the broom, and Munenyashe started wiping down the tables. This was done without any prodding from their parents. Wow, they've trained them well to help out in the kitchen. A nice time was had by all and Bruce drove them home without me. Amazing they all live in a little cement 2-room home with only one bedroom and a small kitchen Cephas rents for $80.00/month. They all sleep on bedrolls and don't complain there is one extra person now in their small living quarters. Happy poverty as we call it!
Celebrating Muchenjes baptism and confirmation, 2023.11.19
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