Beth Walker from Bethelehem Lutheran Church, Fairport joined 13 other travelers from the Upstate New York Synod of the ELCA on a relationship building trip to Zimbabwe, with four of the group also traveling to Zambia. The group left on July 27 and returned August 13, 2010.  Below are some excerpts, from her blog, including some of the pictures from this meaningful trip.

"We were warmly greeted with hugs and handshakes at the airport by Bishop Rhodes from the Northern Deanery, Rev. Fortune Nyoni, pastor of a Vic Falls congregation, and Mr. Dube, General Secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) who drove the four hours from Bulawayo to meet us. Bishop Shava is currently in Stuggart, Germany at the LWF conference and he will greet us later. We were also warmly greeted by Daisy, a member of a Vic Falls congregation, when we arrived at the hotel. There was joy in meeting old friends for Bishop Jerge, Pastor Jim Jerge, and Nan Bader. It was an incredible feeling of welcome for the rest of us."

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"We were in church from 9am - 5pm (Sunday, August 1) with the Nkulumane congregation. The first 2.5 hours were the church service. This was a special Sunday of thanksgiving where people brought gifts to raffle off for the building fund here. There are three congregations and one preaching point in Bulawayo South. All are served by one young female pastor, Rev. Simangele Mlilo who just completed her studies. The congregations all met together on Sunday to greet us. Pastor Mlilo rotates between the congregations, getting there by public transportation. The church structure was a low concrete block building with a tin roof and dirt floor which the women draped with cloth on the inside. We were given special seats draped in silky material alongside the pastors and asked to get up and speak during the service to convey our greetings from Bethlehem and the Upstate New York Synod.

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"The church deals with the crisis of 60-75% of the population being HIV positive head on, encouraging testing and marital fidelity. During the final communion service we were each asked to introduce ourselves, the ELCZ presented the Upstate New York Synod with a large banner signifying our relationship, they sang for us, and we sang for them. Then to seal the relationship, we were each presented with a "marriage" certificate. Bishop Shava expressed the hopes that this relationship would not just be between those of us who are involved now, but would be passed down to our children and our children's children."

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