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Celebration church: "life bus" tour
 In June, 2010 Pastor Bonnie and the "Life Bus" tour visited Mbare, Zimbabwe, a high density poor community inside the capital city of Harare.
Overloaded with 40 passengers (including Celebration Centre Drivers, Celebration Pastors and assorted Celebration guests from all parts of the world) the mission was to remind the Celebration team of the dire conditions and bleak way of life within Zimbabwe's urban communities.
As the team departed from the Celebration Centre, the bus was chattering with talk of the FIFA WORLD CUP 10’ and vuvuzela debates. “Zebra sightings were the first thing we saw,” said Alice Hamilton, Events Manager for the Celebration Centre. “They were grazing so close to the heart of the city… Zimbabwean’s are so fortunate to have wildlife…”
Alongside the next road, (Nkomo/Diepe Rd) past the quarry and toward the famous Coca Cola corner stood exquisitely carved serpentine sculptures, which led the team into various industrial sites posted with fruit vendors who waved their wares-bananas.
 When the bus finally arrived in Mbare (the oldest suburb in Harare) it's passengers were suddenly reminded of the dismal living conditions so many Zimbabweans face as peeled paint scattered alongside buildings bordered the broken windows; which fit-in with the constant garbage pilings throughout the city. Multiple families squeezed themselves into what were once bachelor flats as colorful laundry waved in the cool wintery breeze, hanging on all the wires and walls in sight. Home cooking roasted on outdoor fires as residents claimed all the electrical power (ZESA) and water were “non-existent.”
“Negotiation is key if these collectibles catch your eye,” said one Mbare local, who wanted to warn unfamiliar visitors. “Hold on to your bags… Pick pockets around…”
 The team then trekked through the vegetable market – scattered with spare auto-parts – leading into a supermarket surprisingly well stocked compared to past grocery stores. Strategically shimmying through various pot-holes in the eroded pavement, some passengers recognized a fellow Celebration cell-group member from the crowd afar, who greeted them and invited everyone to his home to witness how his copying business is managed. After accepting his hospitality the team headed back, past Rufaro Stadium, the Apostolic Faith Church, vendors selling “airtime ‘yes,’” the elderly shuffling through trash at the base of the depressing dilapidated overcrowded buildings and finally back to the "Life Bus."
Heading home, the team thanked Pastor Bonnie for organizing the tour; giving them insight into another, less fortunate side of the city. These Zimbabweans struggle for daily survival; yet are much more fortunate then many others who lack roofs over their heads.
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| | | Brian Zinatsa (Guest) | 07/23/2010 11:51 | In case you did not know, Mbare is paradise. Many people here in Kenya would pay to come and live in a place like Mbare. The slums here are life-changing - people live in unimaginable conditions. It takes a visit only once to any of them to convert your from a murmurer to a grateful. Zimbabwe has so much to be thankful for, in spite of all the challenges experienced there to date. You need to be in other African countries to believe it. Mbare is nothing my dear brothers & sisters - Mbare is a beautiful paradise where people live spaciously and in excellent conditions. I'm talking relatively. God bless Zimbabwe!
| | | | James (Guest) | 07/24/2010 21:09 | I see your perspective Brain. However, Mbare is in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city. The point of the article is in the last sentence, "...gave them insight into another, less fortunate side of the city; yet the Mbare residents are much more fortunate then others – who lack roofs over their heads," which may help you understand the message in its entirety.
| | | | Gift Makwala (Guest) | 07/28/2010 19:19 | When we went to Kenya with the Champions, we saw really horrific scenes - Mbare is a paradise in comparison. I think the message is that we should be thankful with what we have - even if its not much, we have somewhere to build from. Many people in east africa would rather be in the position we are in...........
| | | | (Guest) | 07/29/2010 11:21 | they would have done much better by helping those pple rather than juss going thru mbare and pittying the residents .
| | | | Disillusioned.com (Guest) | 09/06/2010 18:49 | How about visiting a rough area and actually bringing help? How dare you go to an area, watch the people, look at the state that they live in, just to make yourself feel better about what you have. I think it is disgusting that a "church" would walk around a place like Mbare to see 'how the other half live'. You can feel better about what you have been blessed with by just sitting on your couch and watching the daily news, it is not necessary to treat these people as some sort of exhibition, they are not a living museum, they are real people with real lives who are in need of a real Jesus and the only way they will discover the real Jesus is if real Jesus-followers bring Him to them. How will they ever find out what it is to be loved by Jesus if the people who claim to follow Him, peer out from behind a swarm of bodyguards and discuss how awful the houses and streets look???? Get back to the red bits of the Bible people, the bits that Jesus said, the bits that show how to love a nieghbour, not merely watch a neighbour from a distance, get back to the bits where Jesus sat and ate with beggars and prostitutes-then go do it. The people of Mbare have hearts, don't dehumanise them by watching from a distance to better appreciate what you have-it could all be gone in the blink of an eye, only what's done for Jesus will last, make your life worth living, do something don't just watch from behind your underpaid bodyguards.
| | | | Grinjala Maulana II | 11/13/2011 04:55 | Real Reformation is, 'A Look, a Touch and a Word.' Pst Bonnie Deuschle.
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