Team 1 Report:

 Five men from New Mexico served here at Sanyati Baptists Hospital.  They arrived late afternoon on Sunday, May 20th.  They were seasoned missionaries who have traveled the world to serve Christ.  The first day of work, we tore the roof off of the Labor and Delivery building.  There were a few incidents.  The old asbestos/concrete panels gave way beneath me and I nearly fell completely through.  My left shin caught a board below long enough for me to stop falling through.  We had a couple of kick throughs the ceiling and the nurses threw some screws back up to us from below.  As we began, one of the team inspected the x-ray machine and gave some recommendations to a local pastor who serves as the x-ray technician.  We had a little difficulty with the ridge caps as the ones we were using did not appear to be bent correctly.  While tearing off the roof, we found bats and skins of some small snakes.  (After the team left, Clive from a company that works on the water system out here said there is a small chance that we might open up a roof and find a python.)


Perry and Mike built some new shelving for the scaffolding in the container the hospital just turned over to the Makeover project.  They also salvaged some termite damaged wood to build much needed ladder platforms to use against the buildings. 


After completing the Labor and Delivery building, we moved on to the Surgery Theater.  There we shored up one of the operating room light fixtures and made short work of the rest of the building.  They closed out their time by tearing off a few rows of the last building in the maternity block.


We spent Saturday evening at the Gora village enjoying chicken, sadza, greens and bottled soft drinks at the African Experience meal.  We saw how the family draws water from the well and ate under the stars with the Gora family.  We shared experiences and sang songs in both Shona and English.


Sunday, we drove to spend time at Terri Yashe Church in the bush near ARDA.  The church had a makeshift mud sanctuary covered with some old roofing material.  The pews, walls and pulpit were made out of termite mud.  They have been working on the building for two years.  The walls were up but they did not have the money to buy the roofing materials.  They chose the location in the bush because the area is slated for future housing development.  They are excited to worship in an area where people will build houses all around them.  One of the team members gave a wonderful sermon that presented the scripture with many illustrations from the Jewish culture. We even got to meet the chaplain who served here at Sanyati hospital for over 30 years. It was an honor to meet him.


The team finished working on Monday and backed their bags to leave Tuesday morning. We wrapped up our week with them having dessert night with Rashel. The brownies and chocolate cake were well deserved. It was a privilege to serve alongside them.


Ryan