Update

During the week we have been busy at children’s homes and having a wonderful time getting to know the kids! They’ve asked us not to take pictures for the first couple of weeks and focus on building relationships instead so I have no pictures with the kids to share yet but I promise we have been doing things other than the tourist things that I put up pictures about. We have focused on two of the children’s homes primarily and we’ve started a routine of telling them a bible story, teaching a little lesson on manners (at one of the homes especially,) helping them with homework, reading with them, and then organizing games either indoor or outdoor. No matter what we do, we always have a good time just being with them and getting to know their individual personalities. One day last week we were sitting around coloring pictures with the kids and little Takunda, who is 8, started singing “How Great Is Our God” while he continued to color and some of the other children joined in. It was the most precious thing and nearly brought me to tears. Each of them are all so precious and they are teaching me much more than I could ever teach them.

On Friday mornings we have also been going to St. Catherine’s (a school for children with disabilities) and participating in their assembly. We sing songs with them and then act out a bible story for them. We basically make fools out of ourselves but I think they enjoy it and we are always blessed by our time with them.  We weren’t able to go this last week because they kids were out of school but hopefully we will get to continuing going there again soon.

On Sunday we went to a safari lodge called Chengeta that was awesome! We each got to choose two activities to do so we picked things that we won’t get to do later at Antelope Park. We chose to canoe down the Seruwi River and to do a game drive.

The canoeing was so peaceful and beautiful. It was one of those times where the beauty of God’s creation is thrown at your face and you can’t help but appreciate it. We saw lots of cool looking birds and even had an eagle flying with us for most of the trip. After canoeing we ate lunch and then went on the game drive through the park. He told us the park was 7,000 and something acres and they have all kinds of game, with the cape buffalo being the most dangerous animal there.

 We stopped at the lions first, who were actually in an enclosed area and were up close to the fence so we got to take pictures with them. Our guide warned us that we had to keep an eye on one of the big males while we were taking pictures because he gets protective and when Jaclyn went to take her picture he charged the fence coming after her and scared us all to death. After that adrenaline rush, we got back in the land rover and headed out to the rest of the open park to look for game. We saw warthogs right away and then some giraffes. It’s so much cooler to see them in the open than it is to see them behind a fence at the zoo! We also saw impala and a big group of wildebeests. We had to cut the drive a little bit short so that we could get back before dark but we still got to see some good stuff. Our guide’s name was Richard and he was so sweet and knowledgeable. I had so much fun and would go back right now if I could.

On Saturday Emma took us to Domboshava, which is this place with giant rock mountain things that you can climb. We explored the rocks for a while and then climbed up to the top and sat and watched the sunset. It was really pretty and we got some good pictures. On our way back down we met a couple who are school teachers right outside of Harare and they invited us to come visit their school for a public speaking competition so hopefully we will get to do that.

This crazy green algae looked like spray paint all over the rocks

South African Braai

Friday was our last night with our guide Caitlin who we’ve had so much fun with the past 2 weeks. For our last meal together she made us a tradition South African Braai, which is like a barbeque. She made us steak and potatoes that were so good. Then we made smores over the fire and had a good time. Saturday, Caitlin had to go on another trip with clients so she was replaced with Emma who will be our guide for the rest of our trip.

Future Plans

Barry is the man who started the Zimbabwe chapter of ACTS, which is the organization taking care of us while we are here. He sat down with us recently and told us his story about what led him to missions and how he ended up in Zimbabwe (he’s originally from South Africa). It was neat to hear how God has worked and is working in his life to lead him to help others with his gifts. He told us more about the organization and about his plans for the future. On Friday he took us just outside of Harare city limits to a community called Hadcliffe that as of now has no running water, no electricity and no sewage system. He’s hoping to getting involved in this community and start programs that will help the people. He drove us through to get a feel for what it looks like and how they are living. In the future, ACTS volunteers like us might be coming to help here in this area.

Caroline and John in the truck on the way out there.

Pictures from Around the House

It's so cold in our house at night so we pile on as many blankets as we can find!

John and Tara in the Kitchen. We spend a lot of time in here, especially making hot tea and night when it's so cold.

This weekend we had a lot of down time so we got to relax in the sun in the front yard.

Our yard is filled with all different types of gorgeous flowers.





What We've Been Up To

We’ve settled into our house and have all become accustomed to African time now. Last Friday was our first day of getting to see some of the homes that the children live at and meet their care takers. The children and others that we met were such a blessing to us all and we all had a great time spending time with them. The first place we went to was St. Catherine’s, which is a school for handicapped children. As soon as we got out of the car a group of children came running at us wanting hugs and smiles. Each of them were so precious and so excited to see us. We were there at the time of their weekly assembly so we got to participate in acting out a bible story for them and singing some songs. We all had so much fun and can’t wait to go back next week to see them again. One little girl was so cute and asked for a kiss from each of us as we were leaving.

The next house we went to that day was St. Joseph’s, which is a large compound that houses about 55 boys. We were there in the morning so the boys were all at school but we got a tour of where they stay and got to look at some maintenance things that need to be done that we might have the opportunity to do for them. With there being so many boys at one home, it is important that they have individual attention and relationships that we could provide for them but they tell us that they boys are very busy during the week with school and sports and chores that it might be harder to find a time to be with them. There is a lot that needs to be done on the campus though that hopefully we will have a chance to do for them at some point before we leave.

The third house we visited on Friday was called Father’s House. It is the home of a single woman who takes care of 11 orphans and many of the neighborhood children as well. She was an amazing woman with such a sweet spirit who was so welcoming and giving. You can tell that she loves each of the children so deeply but also that she seems exhausted at times-  as she should, taking care of that many children on her own. They also told us that there is no free education in Zimbabwe so Mary has to come up with a school fee for each of the children that are brought to her. The organization we are working with (ACTS) tries to help Mary with things like school fees and obviously food and clothing for the children since it is hard for her to do it on her own. Mary also rents her house and any improvements or add-ons she does to the house makes the value of her house go up, causing her to have to pay more rent so we can’t even help her with maintenance on her house because it will end up doing more bad than good. Her children are absolutely precious though! They range in age from about 6 to 18 and several younger neighborhood children are frequently there as well. They are so polite and well-mannered and eager to play and spend time with us. We had the chance to color and read with them and then play some games outside with them. Each child was so easy to connect with and get to know. Even the younger ones who didn’t speak very much English were so happy to play with us and try to communicate with us. I had such an amazing time with them and can’t wait to see them again. We are hoping to be able to make some meals for them sometime to take over there so that Mary can have at least a little break from the constant care of all of them.

I have been amazed by the kindness of all of the people we have encountered in Zim so far. Everyone is very friendly and many are eager to help. The country itself is known to be fairly peaceful with limited crime or conflict. The longer we are here the more I’m realizing that I’m supposed to be here and that God put me on the trip He knew I needed to be on. We have already been so blessed by the people we have met and the experiences we have had. I hope that everyone in the World Wide Witness program across the world this summer is having similarly wonderful experiences as well!

Our journey to Zimbabwe!

During our 13 hour layover in Germany we took the metro downtown and walked around.

We even found a zoo!

After 3 days of traveling we finally made it to Zimbabwe!! This is the house we are staying at that is so nice! I am so blessed to have an amazing group of people to work with and stay with. Tomorrow we will go look at some of the children's homes to see what their needs are and meet some more people. I'm so excited to start working with the kids and helping where we can.