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After our last mentioned problems with closed border posts we have crossed another two borders and we are probably won’t be in South Africa again for about a year! It’s hard to believe. In the last two weeks we have crossed Zimbabwe and travelled up to Ndola in the Zambian copperbelt. Zimbabwe was beautiful. The roads were scenic and quiet and the locals friendly, but it was also challenging. Everything in Zim is expensive. With an economy functioning in USD and everything being imported from SA it felt like there was no reprieve. There are also police blocks everywhere and they will find something wrong with your vehicle. After being stopped for the third time and being fined again I was feeling really discouraged. How will we finish the trip on our budget when we have to dish out $30 to police every other day? We will not even make it to Tanzania at this rate! As I was brooding over this on the bike and feeling quite negative I felt Holy Spirit say to me, “what is $30 to me? Do you not believe that I can even provide $30 for you?” I was humbled. I had to reset my thinking. God has promised to provide for us and I need to learn to trust Him 100%.We had the privilege of staying with our friends Janup and Takunda Mudenge and their family in Masvingo. It was really great seeing friends from East London (they recently moved from EL to Masvingo). Masvingo is home to the Great Zimbabwe Ruins from which the country got its name. We had to visit this historic place. This was a really great experience seeing the ancient walls built from Granite rocks without mortar and climbing a hill on which there is an ancient fort and from where the entire area can be seen. The views were beautiful. Jeff also had an opportunity to fly his quadcopter and gather his first aerial footage in an abandoned game reserve on the edge of town early morning together with Takunda. Unfortunately no animals were spotted but there was an unsuspecting cyclist.
From Masvingo we headed via Bulawayo and Hwange National Park to Victoria Falls where we crossed the border into Zambia. We only stayed in Hwange National Park for one night and could not ride in the park with our bikes but still had the privilege to see elephants next to the road on the way to the park gate.
Upon reaching the park gate we were told that the campsite is beyond the gate and we cannot ride there with the motorbikes. As it was late and we were out of petrol we were stuck. We eventually managed to convince the guards to leave the bikes with them at the gate and we hitched a ride to the campsite with a park ranger who passed by. Luckily we were able to find petrol at the camp and got a lift back to the gate in the morning. It was time to leave Zim and get to Zambia. The Vic Falls were calling and Jeff felt in need of a day off.
Livingstone is a beautiful old town and the Livingstone Backpackers is the perfect spot to spend a rest day. I was feeling sick and a day of doing nothing was sought after. We were able to catch up with reading, backing up footage and some editing. We spent a second day and went to see the Victoria Falls. Jeff has never been there and to his good fortune the falls were in full flow. We got completely soaked on the footbridge. Many photos and video clips were collected.
 
Jeff was hoping to fly his quadcopter at the falls but unfortunately he was not permitted. After leaving Livingstone we camped one night on a farm between Livingstone and Lusaka, another in Lusaka and stayed in Kabwe with our friends Shirley, Richard and Lana. It was really great to see them all again. It has been a while. We were even blessed with a real South Africa braai and were able to join them at church in Kabwe on Sunday morning. Shirley is involved in teacher training in Zambia where teachers are trained and sent as missionary teachers to remote areas.
   After leaving Kabwe we headed north to Ndola where we are staying with our hosts Oscar and Christine. This is our first major stop for the documentary where we are hoping to get an interview as well as live footage. Our hosts are working with the Somali community in Ndola. Their team consists of Oscar and Christine together with Williamson and his family and Cornelious, a young man who is preparing to move to Jordan in August to be part of a team working there full time. The Ndola team builds relationships with Somalis in Ndola and so has opportunities to share the gospel with them. They are working to create awareness in the church to the role of Christians to reach out to the communities around them. They are also running a sports ministry building relationships with Somali youth. Please pray for the work that the team is doing here in Ndola. That they will have many opportunities to build relationships with Somalis and that God will work in the hearts of the Somali people preparing them for the gospel. Also pray for Cornalious that he will be able to get together the funding that he needs to go to Jordan. If anyone wants more information about the ministry in Ndola please feel free to contact us and we will put you in touch with Oscar.
We’ve had the privilege this week of interviewing Oscar and some of his team for the documentary. We have also had the chance to visit a Muslim school in Ndola, eat lunch and drink tea with local Somalis as well as attend and film a formal debate between Christians and Muslims around the topic of salvation. We would really like to thank Oscar and his team for accommodating us and showing us the different areas of their ministry. It has been a blessing working with them.
 
Please pray for us as we travel from Ndola to Malawi. We will be spending a few days on Lake Malawi before heading to Chipata in eastern Zambia. Pray that we will have good opportunities in Chipata for interviews and meeting the right people and that we will also be able to prepare well on our off days in Malawi.
Make sure to check out the video montage below shot while we were in Masvingo. Like us on Facebook for more great photos!
  
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