A BUSY WEEK

Last week was full of activity around the D.S.'s home where we are living. The week before the annual women's (and men's) revival demanded much work by both Givemore and Ruth Chimbwanda, including seeing to the butchering of a "beast" (we would say steer) and handling all of the meat to feed people at the revival. The revival, which took place at Nyakatsapa, about 30 km from Old Mutare, brought thousands of people for the services which began Friday evening and continued until Sunday morning--an all-night program Saturday night. Annette and I attended most of the Saturday program, and I had the incomparable privilege of preaching to the crowd Saturday afternoon shortly after lunch break (when we ate part of the beast), substituting for Abiot Moyo. My sermon, ably interpreted in Shona by Mr. Mukwendiza, a sixth-grade teacher at Hartzell Primary School, was just about the only thing in English the whole time we were there. We recognized few words, but the spirit and power of the gathering was unmistakable, an amazing experience. On our trip back to Old Mutare I was in the back of the pickup with Ed Wentz, a water engineer from North Carolina doing a study of the water supply for Hartzell High School, whose presence will be a very interesting addition to our experience here. Our trip in the darkness, with the clear, starry southern sky above us, was another special time.

Adding to the busyness of last week was the visit of the United Methodist bishop of the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference on Thursday. Everyone around all of the units of Old Mutare got to work cleaning and making the premises beautiful. The bishop visited each unit and pronounced all in topnotch order.

Annette's and my tasks went on somewhat nornally. I am now teaching 13 classes in the weekly schedule, plus spending time at the hospital doing data entry that is far behind. Friday I got the rare privilege of speaking to the Hartzell students, about a thousand of them, in morning devotions. I wish I had words adequate to express the feelings I had looking out into a thousand faces of young people and feeling the magnetism of their acceptance. Annette was at the hospital two days counting pills into little bottles, and she is preparing for the next session of her quilting class this coming Saturday. Tomorrow I will visit a third-grade classroom at Hartzell Primary School and will think about my third-grade friends in Jacksonville, whom I miss greatly. Yesterday's worship service at Old Mutare UM Church was another highlight, as we were among at least 2,000 worshipers, most of them Hartzell boarding students, whose singing is marvelous. We were treated to a dozen or more numbers by a visiting church choir, which in the U. S. would be considered up to professional standards. It was another outstanding experience for us to add to our rapidly-growing collection.

A NOTE TO OUR REGULAR E-MAIL FRIENDS: I have yet to be able to access my Earthlink account and thus do not know if you have written and am unable to send letters. Also, I was counting on regular Earthlink access for my addresses and can remember few. Forgive me, please. I hope to find a computer soon that Earthlink will accept. I am so sorry not to be in direct contact with you. I want you to know that Annette and I well and continually enjoying our close contacts with people who are becoming very special friends.