On Sunday, February 28, the Riverside One-day Church crew headed Southeast, for Mukuyu Outreach in… I can’t remember the name. But I can tell you it is a mission directed by Hein and Melissa, and that they are originally from South Africa. The mission was started by his brother, Yohan, but after he was mauled by an elephant in 2005, Hein came and took over.
The mission is located right on the Zambezi River. Their house is only about twenty yards from the bank, and their bathroom is probably the coolest bathroom I’ve ever been in. It is open on the side facing the river, so there is a great view and cool breeze while you do your business. They also have four Jack Russells that are pretty cool.
There is also a lot of wildlife in the area. There are tons of hippos in the river, and they are constantly grunting, snorting, and mooing. At dusk you can hear lions roaring across the river, and at night you can hear hyenas howling. I didn’t even mention the monkeys, which are everywhere, constantly looking for mukuyu figs to eat.
While we were there, we put up five One-day Churches. One will be a office/slaughter house/freezing room for Hein (to support the mission, he raises and sells sheep), two more are churches, one is a school, and the last a community center for the elderly.
Unfortunately the rainy season is still here. Since Hein’s place is so close to the river, there was mud everywhere. To get up the hill descending to Hein’s, we usually had to get the tractor to pull up the Land Cruiser, then block the wheels of the Cruiser and winch up the trailer. By that time, the tractor would be stuck, and then we would half to winch it out as well.
Overall it was a great trip. We even got a chance to take a boat out and do some fishing (I hung three fish, but all of them got off. Those tiger fish are tough!). We also got to go see Lake Kariba, two crocodile farms, and the dam (twice).
I would also like to ask for you prayers concerning a the school building we put up. Half way through the building process some guy showed up claiming that it was his land, and wanted us to take down the building. Therefore Hein has some work ahead of him to try and get that worked out. Hopefully we won’t have to deconstruct our first One-day church!
