Welcome home Ammermans and welcome Bailey

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On July 2nd Bailey Lui from Seattle, Washington arrived.  She came to help us with some ministry projects and helped at the hospital.  She is from the same church as Cheri and Larry Gail--our Friends of Chidamoyo founders and they encouraged her to come.  We have enjoyed her and her willingness to help in everything.  She brought with her school uniforms donated by a school in Seattle and we gave them to Dandawa Primary School.  They were excited and thankful.   Their PE team performed for us in the uniforms!

We were happy to welcome back home Bruce, Tod and Amy Ammerman (Fagan) after 42 years ago leaving Chidamoyo and moving to Harare and then 37 years since they left Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia).


John and Rileigh Schunk have spent the winter (US summer) with us before leaving for Kenya.  Rileigh is the daughter of Tod Ammerman.  She wanted her family to come back and see Chidamoyo while she was here and so she invited her grandfather, Aunt and father to come and see her.


On the 8th of July we welcomed them back to Chidamoyo.  They were only going to be here for 5 days and so we had to fit a lot in a very short time.  I am living in the house that Bruce and his wife Carolyn built in 1963--so it was interesting for them to see the changes and see the yard so built up after  so many years.


On Thursday we toured the hospital with them, went to a program at the Primary School--Dandawa- that Bruce built.  We toured and then the school did a special program for them.  When he built the school they had 200 students--they now have 950 students!


On Friday they went to Bashungwe to see the primary school he built and how it had change.  They especially enjoyed the terrible road to get there.


On Saturday morning we invited all of the community who remembered him in the early days of the mission and had a special time for everyone to see him and introduce themselves and how they remembered him.  We killed an oxen and cooked beef and sadza for the 175 people that came.  I put all the visitors to work cutting up vegetables and serving the food.  It was a wonderful day and lots of memories.


We left after the meeting with Bruce to take him to Harare so he could spend his only Sunday here, at Glen View Church of Christ in Harare which he built up from a small group meeting under a tree to a building.  As we walked in the packed church there were tears of joy to see how the church has grown.  They had a wonderful service and Bruce preached.


After church they had a wonderful lunch and brought him up to date on the church and how they have progressed and have started 7 churches in Harare from this congregation.  What joy it was to hear how well they have done.

We left there and had to go by the house of Raphael and Chengeto Nyamutora--who had prepared another feast for us!  Raphael worked with Bruce for the 6 years he was in Harare doing correspondence course work.  We had to be polite and eat a little more!  We travelled home very full!  We got home at 10 p.m. very exhausted.

They spent Monday at the Secondary School where John and Rileigh have been working and then put up at back board and new rim and basket on the basketball court at the mission.  The Secondary basketball team (just started) has been practicing there.  They need some help and John has been helping them.  The first question the coach asked was "how many people are on the team?"

Tuesday they took off for Rhino Camp in Kariba to see some animals.  They enjoyed that and saw a lot.

Yesterday I drove into Karoi and met them coming from Kariba, with all the luggage and we came on to Harare to spend a day before they leave tomorrow morning.  Bailey is with them and she leaves tomorrow too!  

It has been a very quick and busy trip, but it has been wonderful to have them all here!







Preschool presenting at school program Dandawa Primary School


 Bailey and the PE team at Dandawa Primary School

Bruce, Amy and Tod



The community party for the Ammermans

 Bruce preaching with Major interpreting

 Raphael and Chengeto Nyamutora with Bruce



Bruce with people at Glen Norah church




Bailey with her friend Ngoni

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 30, 2015 at 12:18 PM

    Hi Kathy remember that plant that would cause DIC and bleeding issues in pregnant patients while we were there? Was it the Gloriosa superba or flame lily? I could not remember the local plant that was used in pregnant women. I hope all is well!! We miss you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 3, 2020 at 7:24 PM

    My parents were teachers at Chidamoyo during the Ammemans era

    ReplyDelete

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