NEED A GOOD CRY ?
- 29/12/2010 <--Prev : Next-->
If you need a little Christmas cheer (or a good cry) and you live in Bulawayo, take a trip to the airport.
For some weeks now it has been chaotic, well more chaotic than usual because OUR CHILDREN ARE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.
Its an oddity of an airport, the new one is still not complete and so the old aircraft hanger suffices. Boiling hot in summer, freezing cold in winter. The luggage off- loading facilities are neanderthal to say the least, and hopelessly inadequate, but at this time of year, all is forgiven.
To add to the chaos the customs officials are always over zealous and find it necessary to stop and search every single passenger. Now this does not happen anywhere else where we have travelled, so why on earth is it necessary in little old Bulawayo ?
But all that is forgotten in the excitement of home coming. This week there were several weddings too in Bulawayo, we have several excellent wedding venues including a brand new one that can host 750 guests, and the Victoria Falls too has become quite the preferred destination for weddings !!
We were at a wedding on Saturday and there were over a hundred guests of whom about ten percent were Bulawayo residents, the balance were family and friends all now living out of the country!
How absolutely exhilarating to see so many of the faces of the youngsters, born, bred and raised in Zimbabwe, now living abroad, but, come hell or high water they manage to get home for Christmas to be with the folks. There have been more than enough tears for everyone for the last few weeks !!
But then if you need to cry even more, there is the other side of Zimbabwe.
The bus terminals, the taxi ranks, the bus stops where hundreds of the less fortunate Zimbabweans gather, patiently, proudly, hopeful that they too may get home for Christmas.
In scorching sun, in pouring rain, every arterial road is crowded with folk carrying groceries, gifts and their worldly goods and chattels. There are few times when the more poorly paid workers can get home, Easter is one, Heroes weekend is another but Christmas is by far the most important.
They pray that there will be enough buses for everyone, they pray that their bus will have brakes !!
Some will queue for virtually their whole holiday trying to get a ride to their rural homes, some may not get home at all ..
We pray that all of our families are safe and happy this Christmas and that God will travel with them, wherever they may be.
"Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home." Carol Nelson
