Hitchhiking in Zimbabwe

Thanks to the hospitality of the Silks and Rhema, we had drastically reduced our daily expenses. Aside from not having a hotel bill, most of our meals were provided by the Silks or other Zimbabweans who invited us into their homes. Even more expensive than the hotel was the rental car which we returned after just two days. The Silk home was a 20 minute drive from downtown Harare where I had scheduled job interviews. This meant that we took taxis, but more often, ended up hitchhiking.

Just as it has seemed strange to us on Saturday, when we had picked up John as he was hitchhiking, I am sure it was unusual for Zimbabweans to see white people on the side of the road seeking rides. Africans waited in groups on the side of the road for “pirate” taxis. These unlicensed drivers would stuff as many as 7 people in a car or even more in the back of a truck for the “going” fare of 40 cents. Although technically illegal, the pirate taxis were the most affordable means of travel other than the inadequate bus system.

We stayed away from the pirate taxis as we didn’t care to be sit in someone else’s lap! And just as we were finding Zimbabweans hospitable in food in lodging, so were they in giving us rides. Hitchhiking turned out to be an excellent means of making new acquaintances which often led to a dinner invitation.

The day following our unhappy trip to immigration, I hitched a ride into town for an 8:30 am interview with NCR Computers. During the course of my screening interview, the human resources manager asked about our residence status. I told her that whole ugly story to which she replied, “Not to worry. My father is head of Immigration. Once you have a job offer, especially if you get one from us, you will have no problem getting a residence permit. Give me your passports and I will have your visitor visa extended for another month. “

Wow, this had to be the Lord’s intervention on our behalf! As I walked out of the NCR building, it felt as if my feet weren’t even touching the ground. I seemed to float to a nearby restaurant where I met Pegi to celebrate. After attending an afternoon Bible study at Rhema, one of their staff members gave us a ride back to the Silk home.

The next morning, I splurged and took a taxi for my follow-up interview at NCR. I was offered a job contingent on the approval of the chief personnel officer who was expected to return from “holiday” in two weeks. Aside from the obvious benefits of insuring my residence permit, the job paid nicely and included a company car. Since cars were the most expensive single purchase in Zimbabwe and petrol was close to US$5/gallon, this was really good news!

I would work weekdays from 8:00-4:00, sorting out issues with some of their Z80-based computers. Since I was familiar with the Z80 CPU and the programming was done in BASIC, this wouldn’t be beyond my skill level. Most importantly, with weekends free and the use of a car, I could minister freely in the rural areas outside Harare. We wouldn’t be consumed with raising funds from American Christians, nor would we be totally dependent on the hospitality of Zimbabwean Christians. We could play a meaningful role in the local economy and devote our free-time to training African pastors.

All we would need was for other local ministries to allow us to come along side and help. And who would refuse the help of self-funded workers?

Over the next few days, we made every effort to meet as many of the local ministries as possible, especially those who were actively involved in African evangelism in the rural areas. We could already see that there was plenty of evangelistic effort in Harare. There were hundreds of churches and at least a dozen organizations that were focused on spreading the Christian witness to the surrounding townships. There were several Bible schools and ministry centers that were equipping both whites and blacks for urban ministry.

Left: On the road to Wedza. Mid-1984

Strangely, we found few, if any, who took any thought of the largely unevangelized and unchurched millions in the rural areas, especially in what had formerly been the Tribal Trust Lands (TTLs). Maybe this was a hangover from the 15 years of warfare that had been centered in the TTLs. Whites seemed to be reluctant to even visit areas such as Wedza, the large rural district 2 hours northeast of Harare. This was understandable as only those in the Rhodesian Security Forces or white farmers ever had reason to visit those areas prior to independence in 1980. [During our week-long ministry visit to Wedza later in 1984, several people remarked that it was the first time in memory that they had seen whites there other than Security Forces or nearby farm owners. This was a bit of hyperbole as one of the local secondary school teachers was a white American female. Nonetheless, it reflected a feeling of neglect from white Zimbabweans.]

The former TTLs, now self-governing Districts, were now organized according to Marxist principles. The District Commissar was the chief police officer. He worked in tandem with the local ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front) Communist Party leaders. This was enough to scare away most white visitors. We would have some “interesting” experiences with the Commissar and local ZANU-PF officials in Wedza the next year. You will read about that in a later chapter.

Left: Sleeping in the rural areas = Bad Hair Days!

However, it was odd that the local African ministries seemed disinterested in the rural areas. After all, the rural areas contained the largest populations. The only significant ministries that operated in the rural areas were ZAOGA (Zimbabwe Assemblies of God-Africa) and the Mapostori (an indigenous church of self-proclaimed “apostles” and prophets). Both these groups freely adopted tribal customs (such as polygamy) and elements of Traditional African Religion. Both reached large populations, but were held in suspicion by the western-oriented evangelical Christians (black and white).

[Actually, these indigenous churches were following the same pattern followed by early Christians when the Gospel message moved out of Palestine to southern Europe. It was in Europe that early Christianity abandoned its Jewish garb in favor of local traditions that included belief in three supreme deities (later to be known as the Trinity). The wholesale adoption of Roman religion amalgamated with the Gospel message is what become modern Christianity. Differences over primal religious perspectives concerning the role of efficacy of ritual (sacraments), the deity of both Christ and Mary, the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the other members of the Trinity, and differences in Greek and Roman culture, resulted in Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.] For a fuller development of this theme, see Chapter Two of my 2000 publication, Messianic Jewish Congregations: Who Sold this Business to the Gentiles?

In December of 1983, I was firmly planted in the evangelical perspective. I had a “burden” for the rural Africans. My desire was to train indigenous pastors and evangelists who could win converts and gather them into rural self-supporting churches. Alas, I would find little support for such an effort among the major ministries in Harare.

Next: The Road to Wedza