Today I travelled from Zimbabwe to Zambia. The flight was at 8.50am, so I told Samson and Valerie that I would need to be at the airport by 6.30, and stressed that this had to be “Mzungu time, not African time.” I was up at 4 to finish packing my bags and get in at least a bit of prayer time before they were due to arrive at 5.45. And yes, they were there right on time.
Before we left for the airport, Samson surprised me by handing me an envelope – they had actually taken an offering for me on Sunday! (This was after they had taken care of me all week, and been reluctant to accept the small contribution I was able to make toward costs.) I tried to donate it back to the church, but he refused, suggesting that they would be insulted if I didn’t accept it. This is certainly not something I expect from our African pastors, and I pray that God will bless all those who gave a hundredfold. I couldn’t help thinking of the stark contrast between this generosity of spirit and the attitude of a pastor in another country, who flatly refused to contribute anything to the cost of my ministering to his people. (As a result I am not going to that country. If they put so little value on the ministry, they would not gain anything from it.)
My flight from Harare to Victoria Falls was with Fastjet. I definitely give that company five stars. Their service was fantastic. My ticket said that I was only allowed one checked bag, and no cabin bag just a personal item. I thought my cabin bag would have to be checked as excess baggage, and that I would have to pay a fee. But no, they were able to do something called “Drop and Fly” in which I took the bag to the plane, then someone took it as I was about to board and stowed it at the back of the plane, and I collected it when I disembarked. The check-in girl was very helpful as she explained this, then had someone assist me to the departure lounge.
The flight, which actually left about ten minutes early, was only an hour, so I didn’t think there would be any food service, or that if there was it would probably be a packet of chips or similar. Instead, we received a “snack box” containing a small pack of biscuits, a fruit drink, a muesli bar, and a pack of biltong (yeeesssss!) Puts some other airlines to shame.
Victoria Falls is on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and when I booked the flight (and also next week’s flight back to Nairobi) I didn’t realize that Victoria Falls International Airport is actually in Zimbabwe – which meant that I had to get from the airport to the border before I could meet with Dr Muzamai here. Muzamai has a ministry friend in Vic Falls, and arranged for him to pick me up at the airport and take me to the border, around 20kms. At first he went to International Arrivals instead of the domestic terminal, so there were a few anxious moments, but eventually he caught up with me.
Once we got to the border and I cleared Zimbabwe Immigration, I then had to get a taxi to the Zambian side. Once there it was chaos. A man came to help – at first I was none to certain about him, but he did get me through Zambian Immigration ahead of the queue and helped me find Muzamai once I was through. Of course, he wanted payment for his efforts, but in this case I thought it was worth it.
Me with Muzamai
Muzamai and I came by taxi to a hotel, where I am staying for the night. It is stinking hot, so I am very grateful for the air cond. Tomorrow morning is an even earlier start than today, as we have to be on a bus at 4,30am to go to the western area of Zambia, where I will be ministering at another conference over the weekend.