Roadtrip.

Chidamoyo Hospital to Harare is a 4 hour drive. An ordinary 4 hour drive is not ideal, but can have ideal moments. This one did not. 5 seats+8 people+5 suitcases+3 backpacks= my nightmare (or my future chiropractor's summer home). Liz and I were riding far back, no seat zone, with the luggage. I imagine the scene was similar to what twins look like in the womb, as the only comfortable/possible position was fetal. I was on my back with my knees pulled into my chest the entire ride. My spectrum of emotions ranged from excitement-> extreme claustrophobia-> sleep-> excitement-> numbness-> comfort (southern to be exact)-> and back to excitement as we neared our destination. Which was also our transfer point, where we lost 2 people and found a car with an extra seat! The next 5 hour drive was much better, minus the car accident. Yep, survived my first African car accident! It was everything I had imagined and more. Lady throws wheel barrel at car- car loses control and swerves off the road- down the embankment, through the ravine- and finally ends 1/4 mile off the road in the bush. By all accounts/physics/gravity we should have flipped, but God was watching over our car. He brought us to a nice peaceful stop! And after 2 hours of changing the tire by flashlight (no street lights in Africa, shocking I know) we were back on the road again, en route to the orphanage.
Right now I'm working at the Chiredzi Church of Christ Orphanage. They have 80 kids ranging in age from 3 to 18. I've spent the week helping with homework, cooking and doing chores with the kids, going to chapel and sometimes school with them, and of course, tons of playing. It's really weird to find so much joy in such a sad place. All of the orphans either have AIDS or lost their parents to AIDS, yet they are happy, they work hard in school, they are excited to learn anything and everything, and they beat me in every game ever. Except for the lily pad game, mostly because I'm the only one that knows the song, therefore I control when the frog "goes kerplop" and it is never on my hand.  Suckas. This week has been unbelievable- nearly impossible to say good-bye. Instead of doing that, you're all getting new kids for Christmas! Act surprised.