Zimbabwe

....due to limited access to the internet and electricity we are unable to post at this time.  We are doing great, feeling safe and having some very unique african experiences.  Have met some incredible people with very big hearts and smiles even under impoverished conditions.  Will have a full report once we have better internet connections.  stay tuned!!!  :-)

FINALLY......

Excited to begin this next leg of our journey and really looking forward to seeing faces from Vernon we touched down in Zimbabwe!  Our excitement was replaced with pure panic only moments after arriving.  I have noone to blame but myself though.  Before leaving Vernon Angela specifically told us to get our US cash prior to entering Zimbabwe.  We had all the time in the world to do this in the Johannesburg airport but I simply forgot and only remembered once on the plane….a little too late!  When we arrived at Immigration with our papers in hand and no money we thought “how bad can it be, we’ll just go to an ATM machine and withdraw what we need”…….well let’s just say it ain’t Canada!!!  So while we are lined up to see an immigration officer I asked an official about where the ATM machine is so I can get the $300 required for our family to enter the country.  He informs me that the machine is broken and since it’s Sunday it won’t be fixed today.  Then I asked him what happens if we can’t get the money?  He says with a very straight face “then you go back”.  I waited for a smile or a just kidding but nope he was dead serious, they would have put us back on the plane.  As I was running around looking for Angela or Peter to borrow the money I became increasingly anxious since I did not see them in the arrival area.  Just when it looked like we would be sent back to Johannesburg (the plane was waiting for the all clear before they left) we spotted Deb through the glass of the second floor, she is a nurse from Vernon in our Zimbabwe Project group who came a day earlier than everyone else and I was never so happy to see someone!!!  We waved her down and she came to our rescue with cash in hand.  Once we were paid up and visa’s were stamped we overheard the airport worker radio the plane to give them clearance to leave.

Through all of this JC remained quite calm since while I was frantically searching for anyone from our group he had spent the time in line befriending a couple from London.  They had agreed to lend us the money!!  I was just thankful for Deb and her wallet:-)  We found out later that children under 16 do not pay for their visa and I remember asking 3 times to different officers about children paying and the answer was $75……it’s the Zimbabwe way I guess!

Deb came with Pastor Manual and his wife Betty who drove us to our accommodation, which was way nicer than what we expected. I told our kids on the way to Zimbabwe to be prepared for 'roughing it' for a few weeks but where we are staying is far from roughing it. 

 .....the first of many babies we made cry (our white skin scares them:-)

The rest of the group arrived later that evening, 13 people and 25 hockey bags stuffed full.  Only one bag missing and somehow by mistake another persons bag arrived but didn’t notice until we were going through all the bags and by then the luggage tag had been ripped off and thrown away. 

Up late sorting all the bags since each bag had to weigh under 50lbs. for flying and all the supplies were distributed evenly but not in categories of medical, school supplies, kid’s camp, Eagle Bay T-shirts, clothing, toys, women’s products(even lingerie donated by LaSenza), and off course all the soccer gear!!

Dinner was delicious especially the soup and our rooms are great, we are staying in an old colonial dwelling called The Borrowdale Country Manor.

The 2^nd day we finally got to meet Peter, the fellow I’ve been sending soccer gear to for the last couple years.  Also joining our group is Rush and Kristine, born and raised in Zimbabwe have offered their help to work along side of us.  Kristine is an operating nurse and Rush has a heart for God and an amazing talent in music.  When he sings you can’t help but be inspired.  

 Nurses Kristine & Debbie

After a great breakfast we all piled into two vans and drove to the district of Rugare where we had a brief look around a Primary school, church and met some of the local children.  Florence, Annah, Tatenda, Nyasha(which means Grace), Cecilia, Muitani, and Hope had fun teaching us some Shona(their local language) words: Baba - Dad, Amai - Mother, Mudzidzisi - Teacher and Muti - Tree.  Watching a teenage girl sew thread into her friends short hair was so fascinating.  The string trick we learned from cousin Victoria was a big hit with a young boy Amita, he learned how to do it in about 5 minutes and was thrilled to know a “magic trick”.  

Next we drove a long way to Musana, the feeding centre Angela had help build over the past few years.  The children from the surrounding area come here once a week for a nutritious meal of Sadza(ground corn made into a stiff porridge which they also call mealie meal), cobo(looks & tastes similar to spinach), and sardine stew.  Meeting all the kids was heartwarming and some of our team helped to serve their lunch.  

 
When we brought out the animal balloons the kids went wild.  For the next 1.5 hrs. we blew, tied and handed out 250 balloons. 

Rush sang and Landon played his guitar.

 

It was sometimes hard to distinguish the girls from the boys because they all have their heads shaved.  We went back to Musana the next day to put on our Kids camp, men to build bunk beds and for the nurses to run a medical clinic.  
Rush and Landon practicing prior to the kids camp

Over 150 kids formed a long line in order to receive their Red, Green or light green t-shirt and nametag.  The shirts were generously donated by Eagle Bay Camp and were such a huge blessing.  The kids LOVED them!  The kids rotated through three stations we set up which was music with Rush on Guitar/singing and Landon on the african drums. With the kids singing along and dancing the scene was eclectic.  
Tianna & Eva had the Salvation bracelet station but rather than having them make their own we had pre-made 200 and played relay games instead with the prize being the bracelet.  So glad we had made this decision since there would have been no way to make the bracelets together with so many children on the dirt.  
 Eva & Tianna pre-making Salvation Bracelets
 
I had a fantastic helper, Timothy, at my station; the Salvation story.  He read the story translating it to the Shona language for the children.  

Unfortunately we ran out of time for the kids to color the booklets so I had all the little kids (5 and under) on my tarp drawing pictures and helping me sort crayons into green, yellow, black, and red.  At the end of story time each child was given crayons to take home with them to color the Salvation booklet.  Thanks again to Becki Ott for the idea of sharing the Salvation Story. 

On day three, and everyday prior to coming to this area we get drive thru service at the intersection of the highway and rural road where women are selling fruits and vegetables.  We bought apples, avacado’s the size of nerf footballs, and tomatoes but the best deal of all was a bag of oranges for only $1.

At Musana the medical clinic continued providing excellent care to all the women and children who were also happy to receive some luxury items like soap and shampoo.  (Thanks again to my office for donating the majority of these items!!)
 
  

Nurse Debbie caring for the sick

JC and the guys finished building the 12 bunk beds for the dormitory where orphaned children will live next to the feeding centre.  

 

Our team of Tianna, Eva, Landon, Rush and I waited until the children finished school to play soccer.  While waiting we experienced what it must feel like being a super star since all these children surrounding the van pointing and laughing whenever we’d say hello or anything in english.

I met the Sports Director and coach of the boys soccer team and we talked about getting them a soccer kit for their school team.  Their field was huge but very dry and long spiky grass.  I’m not sure how they do it but all the boys were playing in bare feet and can kick the ball harder than I ever could wearing runners!  

Pre-game pep talk by the coach

Landon & I, on separate teams, got to play with the boys, it was so FUN!  The coach even allowed me to take a free kick which I shot high above the short goalie and was sure it was going in but nooooo that little guy jumped like Michael Jordan and snatched it preventing my goal and only chance to score!  

  

  Landon got to play on two teams!

I wanted to keep playing but I promised all the kids from the day before a soccer game and the rest of the kids had arrived at the field.  I quickly put together two more boys teams and then left to get the girls organized in a game of netball and pulled out the skipping ropes.  

Also got the little kids set up on the tarp with paper and stickers, it was hard for them to draw since we were on the ground but they were happy all the same.

When it was time to leave I had some small toys to hand out but not enough for all the kidsL  I found this very difficult because I didn’t want anyone left out.  I made sure that all the soccer players got one and then threw the rest into the air as all the boys made a mad scramble to retrieve one.  The girls ran to catch frisbees and bammers that I threw into the air for them as we tried to keep the boys from grabbing them away.  As much stuff as we brought there is never enough but from what I could tell the children seemed happy to be getting anything at all.  They say thank you by clapping their hands twice and most of them remembered to do this.  I only wish we could have given more but had to save some stuff for 2 more camps we will be running.

 This little guy captured our hearts since he reminded us so much of Meg!  Everytime he saw us he would give us a hug, just like Meg would do....so loving!!

 We had one doll to give away that needed someone special to give it to, who better than someone who loves to HUG!?

 Shelley with Shelley

Another evening of packing for our road trip and reorganizing supplies by dividing up everything for the upcoming visits we have planned.

Sometimes things just don’t turn out as planned……..the plan to leave at 6:00am changed to an hour later since the rented van dropped off for our group had no gas in it!!  JC was the driver of this van and while leaving Harare we were behind Peter and the rest of our group when suddenly we realized that we followed the wrong van when it turned.  In his defense all the white combie(taxi) vans look the same!  Luckily I had given Peter one of our walkie talkies and we were reunited a few minutes later.

Peter’s van was stopped several times by the police roadside checks and each time he would be given a ‘fine’ for something and had to pay $10 or $15 depending on the infraction???  We were lucky though as we were always waved through.  Sometimes Peter would be stopped and charged then stopped again about 5km down the road and charged again.  The scenery gets more interesting and more beautiful the farther from Harare we get.  Round huts made of brick with straw thatched roofs are everywhere.  

The Zimbabwe women have incredible balance, we’ve seen them carry large heavy bags of tomatoes, oranges, large buckets of water, heavy bags of maize, pretty much anything on top of their head and some of them also have a baby strapped to their back!

After a few hours of driving and way behind schedule we arrived at the Crocodile Motel which Angela had booked 6 months ago.  I guess she should have given them more notice because only half the number of rooms were available.  After a quick stop at a grocery store to buy anything we could find for lunch we were on our way.  

The road to Chikumbu was extremely bumpy and dusty but the scenery picture perfect!  High mountains, fields, trees and every so often a poinsettia tree in perfect bloom.  More women walking with their cargo on their head and almost 2 hours later we arrived. We were greeted by Kristine’s mother and several other women.  They were particularly excited to show us  their pig projects and proudly gave us the tour of 3 of them. 

  

 

 The kids love to see photo's of themselves

 

 

Interesting conversation with the sister of a lady getting married, here in Zimbabwe the groom has to pay for his bride-to-be with cattle or goats.  He must negotiate the price with the brides parents before they can marry.  Not sure I would want my worth being compared with cattle?! 

We got to meet Peter and Kristine’s 83 year old grandmother who sat like a model while we took pictures of her with the hand-made dolls from the ladies at Curves in Vernon. 

At the 3^rd pig project all the little children gathered and sang brilliantly for us.  Just before we left the van bottomed out and suddenly we were spewing steam…no more air conditioning but we were happy it wasn’t the radiator.

Back at the Crocodile Motel we were shown to our rooms…..3 beds but only two mosquito nets?!?  But I’ve yet to see even one mosquito here so good thing we paid $681 on malaria pills!!!!

Running water in our room is off and on as is the power but there is a candle.  The toilet flushes when you add water from a bucket but no toilet seat.  Thankfully our bedding was clean with no bed bugs like the ladies experienced in the other motel.  In the morning the motel staff brought us steaming hot water in big buckets to pour into the tub to have a bath.  It’s not my intention to sound like I am complaining because this is all part of the experience and you have to laugh.

  Dolls hand-made by Curves ladies in Vernon!

More van trouble the next morning, a hole in our tire that had to be repaired but I think Becki would be proud to know that we took this opportunity to share the salvation story with a bunch of the guys that worked at the tire shop.  Peter gave them all a bracelet then Tianna & I explained what each bead represents.  

 

Lorna showing one of the avocado's we enjoyed for lunch

Arriving late at Chikumbo meant having to change our itinery.  The entire community and all the school children gathered in the school’s courtyard for a ceremony to celebrate the opening of their new library.  We were all guests of honor and there was some special moments of appreciation for Angela who has been a huge sponsor through Project Zimbabwe.  
 
Also present were family members of Georgina Kwesha who died in 2008 and left a trust in the schools name for all the work being done and the progress made all began with this woman. The cutest thing ever was when a group of grade 5 students presented a drama thanking “Angela and her team” it was so funny!  

Angela was asked to cut the ribbon to the library and Landon presented our only copy of his book Spirit Wolf.  While we were setting up for kids camp the Principal of the school gathered all the Grade 5 students to meet Landon. 
  Landon presenting his book Spirit Wolf to the Principal for the new library
 Once our group was finished touring the library(400sq ft) all the women in the community began singing and continued singing until every last one of them were through.  

 The Ladies Netball Team proudly wearing their new T-shirts donated by the Whitecaps in Vancouver!

Kids camp was like feeding frenzy of piranhas, we had over 250 kids and at first we tried putting them into groups of 50 with the intention to rotate them through each station.  But each station had its share of challenges, we couldn’t fill balloons fast enough, at the Salvation booklet station we were swarmed by the kids wanting a crayon, the pre-made bead bracelets were a big hit but didn’t have anyone to translate the story, Rush had a group of kids playing soccer and Tianna tried to control the skipping rope station.  The plan of rotating them through each station soon dissolved, as all stations became one BIG group of excited kids on Christmas day.  We did the best we could but unfortunately lost control.

   We had candy to hand out but did not want a mob scene so asked the Grade 5 teacher if we could leave it with her but she had another idea.  In no time at all she had every student lined up in their grade and we simply walked through the lines handing candy to each one!  Wish we had her earlier with our mayhem madness!

The day ended with a soccer match between the Osborn Hunters and another men’s team from a village near by.  But before the game began the field had to be lined......by a boy with a pic axe!!  

 

We had to leave shortly after the second half started but heard the next day they lost 1-0.  We were amazed that although all the Osborn Hunters players were wearing cleats(donated by Vernon Soccer Players) the other team were bare footed!

The Osborn Hunters Soccer Team wearing my teams jerseys from Vernon!!

 

This years shipment of soccer gear included jackets for the entire team, you could just feel the excitement from the team wearing them!

 Wendy's jerseys are everywhere thanks again to Vernon Youth Soccer Players and Wendy's Restaurant of course!

 

Another long drive back to the Crocodile Motel where everyone on our team displayed their awesome talent for our Talent Show, even our waiter Alios participated.  The most touching moment of the evening was when Rush played Landon’s guitar and sang a song he just wrote that day in the van about our team coming to Zimbabwe and how we were a light of hope to the Zimbabwe people.

Our third day to Chikumbo began with a stop by one of the family homes.  It’s hard to describe the way of life here other than to say it is nothing like Canada!  

 brooms don't have handles(my back hurts just watching them sweep)

Next, we drove to the Osborn Dam which was built by the government but never finished which has resulted in families and farms being displaced and now they have malaria in the area.  It saddens me to see how the government has failed these wonderful people.  

 

corrals for the cattle 

A brief stop at the gravesite of Georgina to pay our respectsand a hike up the Chikumbo Mountain where we had a great view of the Osborn Dam. 

Peter patiently waiting for us!!

JC & Steve taking it all in!!

We were guests at another celebration in their village where once again every person in the area attended.  There were speeches from government officials and some of the elders danced while the rest of us clapped and enjoyed the entertainment.  One woman, who I met later, walked with a cane but could dance with as much energy as Tina Turner.  Her name was Lydia(my grama Zupp’s name) and she was 76 years old.  I gave her my water bottle when she sat down after dancing her heart out and she came to find me after it was over.
 

While we were waiting for the Ladies Net ball game I got to play with the kids.  About 50 kids surrounded me so I showed then games to play such as Go, Go, Stop, twirling, and many others as well as X & O’s in the dirt and drawing a map to show where Canada is in relation to Africa.  It’s humbling to discover how many people, including adults, we’ve met during our travels that do not know where Canada is.  Landon and Tianna took turns with Sue’s camera while she worked in the medical clinic.  

 Sue having a bite after a long, hard day working in the clinic.

Most of the time we make the little babies cry but today a little boy was crying and I picked him up and rocked him until he stopped crying!!!

The ladies net ball game was so cool to watch.  Here are ladies in skirts and their new Whitecaps t-shirts playing in bare feet and working so hard to get the ball in the net.  The game is like basketball but without dribbling the ball, they run with the ball and pass it up to their teammate who tries to get it into the net.

Once again we needed to leave before the game ended because of the long drive back to Harare. 

More van trouble but this time we fixed it with string from our bead bracelets, a shoelace and some barbwire!!

  

We stopped at a casino/restaurant for dinner and arrived back to Harare very very late.

Making more Salvation Bracelets with Eva & Lorna

Today is Sunday so all of us, but Lorne, Landon(who needed a down day) & JC, drove back to Musana for church and to put bedding on the 12 bunk beds for the orphans.

  Church was energetic to say the least,  The Zimbabwe people really know how to worship!!  

After church the Pastor promised anyone who suffered from a sore back to learn stretching from our team. 

Since JC wasn’t there Angela & I ran a quick clinic on proper lifting and stretching techniques.  The amount of weight they carry on their heads and with babies tied to their backs it is not surprising that their backs are hurting.

  

On the way back we stopped to shop at a market where we picked up some African treasures.  I feel so bad for the shop owners, the economy is so bad that they may not sell anything all day yet still have to pay for their spot in the market.  Although the exact unemployment rate isn’t known Peter estimates it to be close to 90%.

Everyday we see the corruption, the police checks are a cash grab as we will go through one pay a fine for $10 or $15 then a few miles down the road go through another one and pay again.   

Evenings are spent getting ready for the next day so bags have to be repacked and restocked. It’s satisfying to see all the empty bags at the end of a day in a village.  Also in the evening Landon will play the drum to let everyone know it’s dinnertime. Getting money in this country is impossible, bank machines don’t work, businesses don’t take credit cards……not sure how we are going to pay Deb back for paying to get us into the country?

Monday we went back to Rugare but on our way stopped by a pre-school Peter is involved with.  The adorable little children performed several English songs for us then went inside to eat their porridge and came out again to sing their national anthem so we sang Oh Canada for them.  Had tea, cookies and cobs of corn at Peters house and met his brother, wife and 2 kids.

At Rugare while Deb, Norma, Helen, Sue, Cathy & Eva were angels tending to the sick in another medical clinic we ran the best kids camp yet!  
Four stations and all the kids got their name tags while lining up for their lunch, we had lot’s of older students helping and translating.  
  
We had students interpreters, their weren't any mob scenes, no pushing or grabbing, it was great!!  
 
Each group was able to rotate to all stations and when it was over they lined up for candy and to receive a balloon that Roger, Lorne, Steve and Stewart pumped up.  The balloons filled the back of the van!!  All our high school helpers were rewarded with gifts at the end of camp.  

I saw Annah again and she sang me a song and asked how my Shona was coming along.  She and her friends taught us some words when we were there the week prior and it was so special to connect again with her.

Our final day of village visits began very early since we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us.  Getting to the Sudza village turned into the longest trip yet because of the rough roads, I’m sure a cycle in a washing machine would’ve been a smoother ride.  It was extremely unfortunate that we arrived more than an hour late and there was not enough time for our ladies to run a medical clinic.  Once again the entire community was present to hear speeches and thank us for coming.  
  

Personally, I felt very uncomfortable with all of these people with such needs thanking us.  I didn’t like sitting on benches in the shade from the building behind us while women & children sat in the sun on the ground!  The looks on their faces will be etched forever in my mind.  God Bless Angela for trying to make a difference!!  It was heartbreaking to hear poems recited by a few of the Rosa orphans about what it is like having no parents, not enough food to eat or clothes to wear!  After some speeches from local officials, a school representative and the Bishop we were invited to begin our kids camp.  Thinking we had enough Eagle Bay t-shirts for all the kids we began handing them out.  It didn’t take long before they were all gone.  The moms were holding their babies up to us for a shirt, some were even crying, so we gave out the Andy’s Soccer Camp shirts next, there were only a few of them so they went fast.  What happened next will haunt me forever…..no one told us that there were some school aged kids coming and since they were late there were no shirts left for them.  A new t-shirt for a Canadian kid is no big deal but it is huge for these kids!  I felt horrible.  We continued with the modified camp, half the kids playing soccer with JC and the other half with Tianna, Deb & I coloring the Salvation story booklets. All 150 of them received a sticker on it and a crayon to color with.  We pulled out the skipping ropes for the real little ones so they wouldn’t get run over by the eager soccer players. The Camp ended when the leaders of the community decided to have more speeches, so once again we all sat & listened.  With a sea of red, green, blue and light green Eagle Bay t-shirts worn by these beautiful children and their big brown, sad eyes staring at us I felt heaviness in my heart.  It was a long, sad ride back to Harare.  Tianna encouraged me to focus on the positive things we did and I know she’s right but I couldn’t help thinking we needed to do more but what?  How?

The day before leaving for Vic Falls we had a day to get organized and re-pack, kids even did some schoolwork.  Also, WE GOT SOME MONEY!!  Finally found a bank machine that worked, I felt like we won the lottery.  It’s funny that although no one ever has change for any bill higher than a $5 yet the bank machines give $100 bills?  Also, the US dollars are so worn and dirty that you can barely tell what it is and when you try to pay for something with a new bill they thoroughly check it over thinking it’s counterfeit.

We went to have tea with Sue, whom JC met at the manor, and she was such a sweet 83 year old.  She gave us some information on an organization called Servas, similar to couch surfing but is for those who wish to do missions while travelling.  Having lived in Zimbabwe since 1950 she gave us a lesson in history that was eye opening to say the least.

Peter and his beautiful wife Calista, Rush and his parents!

 Tearful good-byes with Rush and Peter on our last evening.  
We were all so blessed to have an original song written and sung by Rush thanking us for "the love and sacrifice for the people of Zimbabwe".....truly a memorable moment that brought tears to our eyes.  Have a listen to part of his song, this is worth waiting for the download!!

"Angela's Team"
Stewart, Steve, Kathy, Roger, Rush, Lorne, Lorna, Amber, 
JC, Eva, Norma, Helen, Cathy, Debbie, 
Sue, Shelley, Angela, Peter, 
Tianna, Landon

VIC FALLS
Wayne, my father-in-law, would be so impressed as everyday I am waking before the sun rises just like a Colvin would do.

19 of us crammed into the van to get to the bus station in order to catch a bus to Vic Falls. 

We arrived just before dusk and by the time we got all of us and our luggage loaded onto the 3 Safari trucks it was dark.  It was pretty cool (and cold) to experience a night safari on our way to The Hide.  Not sure how, with all the bumps in the road, but Tianna managed to fall asleep on my lap and Landon expressing his independence joined the rest of our group on another jeep.

  our cottage 

 Upon arriving we were shown to our rooms, which were unlike anything, we have ever stayed in.  It was a luxury tent complete with a claw foot tub overlooking the water-hole.  Eating a gourmet meal at the biggest table I’ve ever sat at in the open-air restaurant while watching the elephants, buffalo and zebra come to drink from the water hole!!

 Landon & I hiding in 'the hide'

Rise and shine…coffee and tea delivered to our tent at 5:15am and back on the jeeps for another safari at 5:45.  First stop was the Elephant who met his untimely death by a train only a couple days earlier but his demise was the lions meal.  We sat quiet and still while the lions were enjoying their early morning feed.  We watched until all 6 of them waddle away from eating so much elephant meat. (will have to wait for Ambers photo's since our little Samsung phone/camera just wouldn't capture them)

This safari and the next one we enjoyed after breakfast provided us to be witness to many African animals in an area of 400 thousand square kilometers mostly in the National Park and a small percentage in the Reserve.  Up close and personal with a dozen or so elephants, loads of zebras, impala’s, buffalo, and a couple giraffe in the distance. An interesting fact about Elephant dung, it is illegal to drive over it due to the survival of the dung beetle plus we were told that because of the thorny branches, which is part of the Elephants diet, these undigested thorns could easily pop a tire. 

Another amazing lunch, even though I was still full from breakfast, and we were on our way sad to go but happy for the experience.

Our bus from Hwange National Park to Vic Falls was only a couple hours and during this time we spotted 2 giraffe right on the highway that we slowed to a stop so they could pass to the other side.  Sadly though our bus hit a giraffe a short time later, at least that was the rumour.

Angela, her parents, Tianna & I visited a village not far from Vic Falls on our first day there.  This was the saddest visit yet even though the school and head master of the school is remarkable.  The kids filed quietly out of the school in two single lines to the courtyard to perform some songs for us.  It was one boy’s responsibility to carry their folded flag to the flagpole, tie it on and raise it while they sang the national anthem.  This school is so well run but the problems definitely plague them.  The pump on the well is broke so there is no water for the children or the teachers who live on site, there are 39 orphans at the school that have no means to pay for their school fees or uniform so the school absorbs the cost even though it cannot afford to.  Children begin school at 7:00 am and most do not eat before coming to school and will not eat or drink anything until 2:00 when school gets out and they return home.  That is if you have someone at home to feed you.  The first homestead we visited was occupied by a 19 year old boy caring for his younger brother and 3 sisters, cousins to him.  Their parents have all died of AIDS and he is left with this huge responsibility.  They have very little to eat….some squash and maize that had to be milled but they had no money to do this so we brought a bag to the miller that day so at least they can make sadza and porridge with it during the next couple of weeks.  The 9, 10, 11 year olds walk 5 km both ways to fetch water in buckets which they carry on their head!! 

The second family was a grama and grampa, with 4 grandchildren to care for and a small baby of the 16year old granddaughter.  They are poor but extremely hospitable spreading goatskins onto the ground for us to sit on.  We plan to come back here in a few days with stuff from our group.

We spent the next couple days at the Sprayview Hotel in Vic Falls to find accommodation for the rest of the week while our team took time to unwind, see the falls, lion walks, helicopter rides, zip lining, sunset cruise and of course shop before heading back to Canada on the 21^st.  Our family joined the group for a Boma dinner, a traditional African place to eat complete with an animal print cloth tied at our shoulder and face painting of your favourite African animal.  The dancers were excellent, drumming entertaining, and a huge variety of food to eat including alligator tail and Mopani worms which both Tianna & JC were brave to try.  Landon chose this night (our most expensive meal on the trip) not to be hungry…are ya kiddin me?! 

Sunday morning Nyasha took us all to her church which was WOW!!  The 3 hour service was a bit long for those of us used to services half that time and we’re perplexed as to why their guest pastor (a young, energetic man) used a microphone since he was shouting the entire time.  It was a unique experience and all the African men & women were dressed so nice and worship by singing loudly and dancing!

On Monday, my birthday, it was time to say farewell to our amazing group of missionaries from Canada.  We are so grateful to sisters Sue & Cathy and Deb for taking some of our stuff home with them.  Although we haven’t purchased much it was nice to lighten our load somewhat.

Nyasha has been incredible!  She found us a place to stay 10 minutes from town at the Army Base Chalet’s for a third of the cost of Sprayview.  

 

The property is located right on the Zambezi River in a National Park, there are 4 cottages, lot’s of land in a park like setting, a Braai to cook on, a pool table in the lounge area and best of all lot’s of animals to see including elephants and baboons.  We have to keep the windows closed on our cottage so the monkeys don’t come in looking for food.  Across the river from us is the country Zambia and living in this river are alligators and hippos!  We’ve yet to see hippos so are praying it happens here.

Seriously you wouldn't want to step in this!

While taking a stroll down the dirt road trying to avoid stepping is all the Elephant dung we heard children laughing and playing.  When we went to check it out we discovered a ladies netball team practicing (once again all dressed so nicely in their skirts).  

 

 

There were about 5 kids watching so we decided to teach them how to play baseball.  A stick for a bat and a spray can lid for a ball and we were playing.  The little kids had an absolute blast!!!  Before long 5 turned into about 15 kids all lined up to take their turn at bat. My birthday dinner was BBQ’d hamburgers on the braai, lays chips and a beer!!  I couldn’t have asked for a nicer birthday with the sun setting behind the river and my loving family to share it with.

“who wants to ride an elephant?” was how we woke Landon & Tianna the next morning!!  They hopped out of bed very excited.  See Tianna's page for her review on their Elephant Experience.

Landon & Tianna meeting their elephants and guides

Walking along the footpaths next to Vic Falls is unlike anything we’ve done before, we were warned about getting wet but taking a shower would be a more accurate description. 

 Tianna loved it most of all and was screaming and dancing in the water the entire time.  Luckily we brought a spare set of clothing because there wasn’t a dry spot left when we were through.  Hmmmmm all that water, hundreds of thousands of gallons every minute falling and then eventually flowing to the Indian Ocean while not even a 40 minute drive away the people have no water to drink and are starving because of the lack of rain for their crops and gardens!!  It would seem that a simple solution would be to run a pipeline up to these people, they do it for oil everywhere else!!!!  I learned later that there is a holding tank but buying the water is really expensive and the people who need it the most can’t afford it.

Back to Borehole 36 the next morning with Nyasha & Khumbie and our awesome driver, where we visited the school once more and picked up the broken pump for the well.  

  Tianna explaining to our driver about what each bead represents on the Salvation bracelet  Here is the 'kitchen' that the school had built a couple years ago with promises that a feeding program would be in place.  Imagine their frustration over not having enough funds to feed the children at their school despite having a building which would support such a program!!  It is just so wrong that kids are fainting in class due to dehydration and malnutrition!

Landon demonstrated his break dancing in the dirt behind the school for the students, all who were laughing especially when it was their turn!  

Next were homestead visits of the family of orphans, sisters Angela, Sitshengusiwe, & Dorreen, and cousins Gift & Thabani.  

We gave them some clothing (donated by our team), our sleeping bag and blanket, as well as some items we purchased on our way; salt, cooking oil, soap and Vaseline which helps to keep their skin warm.  The apples were unfamiliar to them and they were not sure how to eat it.  The littlest one, Angela, was eating it like sugar cane taking a bite sucking the juice then spitting it out.  

Gift had just returned from walking 5km to get a pail of water and another 5km back with it on his head.  I asked to hold it to see how much it weighed and I could barely lift it.  This bucket of water was carried on a 10 year old’s head for 5 km!!!  

 I wonder how these kids survive with no parents to take care of them, very little food & water and the only 'toy' around was this ball they had ingeniously made from blown up empty milk bags.

We used the bracelets and booklet to share the salvation story with them and after spending some time with them it was time to leave. 
Planting a kiss on their forehead and saying good bye was the hardest thing I’ve ever done!  How can we leave knowing their living conditions? 

 The next family we returned to see was the family with Grama & Grampa raising their grandchildren.  
 It was a long, dry, hot, dusty trek  which led us to their homestead.
We gave the brother & sister (same ages as our kids) a sleeping bag to replace the sacks they are currently using and some clothes.
  This is Silisiwe(means healed) and Muzingaye(meaning homestead is mine)
Brillilnt(brilliant) 17 years old was thrilled to get a new pair of shoes even though I thought they looked too small for him,  he carves animals out of wood and is extremely talented but drastically underpaid for his handiwork.  
We purchased an elephant carving from Thulani, a friend of the family.  

Grama got a new blouse and JC gave her his sandals he purchased in Peru. They’re made from rubber tires so should last a long time.  

and we gave Grampa a new shirt and hat.

  

Tianna & I showed how to play games using a string to Silisiwe and Muzingaye.  They were smiling while trying it so that was a good sign.  Their skin is so dry so you know they are dehydrated.  It’s hard to describe moments like this because our feelings are contradictory, we feel good for blessing them with a few items and some attention but feel horrible for not doing more and knowing the quality of their life should be better.  I wrote this poem to try to express how I feel about the missions we are doing, (I call it a poem even though it doesn’t rhyme):-)

WHY ME?

	Why was I born in this country? The Lord has a purpose for my life, but what is it?  I know in my heart He loves me so why do I feel so helpless?
I have a nice house, vehicle, a job, food to eat, clothes, and access to medical and dental care yet I still want more.  It’s not fair that others have more than I do.  I give back to those less fortunate, I even went on a missions trip offering a medical clinic, kids camp and soccer gear…isn’t that enough?  What more can I do, there is so many needy children and I can’t possibly make a difference, it’s not my fault their government has failed them.			I live in a hut with no running water or electricity, there is never enough to eat, I dream of more but I am grateful for what I have.  A group of really nice Canadians came to our village.  My mom received medical attention, all the kids got to play, we even got a t-shirt, it was really fun…for a day but will I ever see them again?  My tummy still aches from hunger, I have no shoes and I sleep on a dirt floor.  I am doing the best I can.
	My life on earth is limited and one day I will be in heaven with the people who touched my life.  God will ask me “did you serve others or did you only serve yourself?”  We don’t know when this will be; am I ready, have I been a blessing to others?  I feel grateful for what I have and feel guilty for not doing more.  In heaven my question will finally be answered, why was I born in this country?

Shopping in Vic Falls is an experience all it’s own, vendors are on the street and will walk with you for blocks in attempts to convince you to buy their product.  Everything they are selling is beautifully hand-made and inexpensive but we are back packing and can’t buy much.  Even this is not enough to deter them and they keep on persisting to make a sale. Running everywhere in the streets are warthogs! 

The rest of our team had some luck with trading items of clothing for artifacts but we didn’t do so well and only managed to trade a pair of shoes and a jacket for our laundry charge at the base.

Our last night in Vic Falls we were treated to a rare sighting, a huge hippo had come out of the river and onto the grass in front of the chalets.  At about 9:00pm one of the Army guys came running to our cottage to let us know about it and we got really close but unfortunately it was too dark to take pictures.  We watched it for about 20 minutes while it munched on the grass.  Awesome! 

The final day we attended a Rotary Club meeting and was able to introduce Naysha to the Club which we think will be a good contact for her getting aid to the orphans and village just outside of Vic Falls.

Time to kill before our night bus departs at 11:00pm!  More time spent with Naysha who stayed with us to make sure we got off okay.  Did I mention the police in Zimbabwe?  I think the Zimbabwean people are the most patient race on the planet!!  How else can you explain them not losing it for getting pulled over more than a dozen times by the police checks!!  Coming into Harare it was particularly bad when we would only drive about 10 minutes between checks.  Add in all the extra stops to let people off and more people on and the 12 hour bus ride turned into 15 hours!!!  Oh and of course at the extra stops the driver would allow vendors on board to sell us whatever they could.  Chips, pop, bananas, watches, and more!  They would cram in, walk to the back of the bus and then turn around and come back before leaving, this is all the while people are boarding the bus, it was chaos!!!  The temperature really dropped and was really cold on the bus during the night but we were still happy we gave our sleeping bags away to someone who needed them more. I am so happy to report how well our kids did and how proud we were of them during this ordeal.  We hadn’t eaten since our late lunch and light dinner the day before, and didn’t even use a toilet until we were almost there.  We only had some water, apples and peanut butter to eat and they never complained.  After 4 months of travelling I think they are maturing and learning to be flexible when things are out of our control.

Washing clothes before flying to Malawi.
Tianna making Sudza(with a little help from our friend Never)

 Before meals washing hands of your guests with a pitcher & bowl is custom in Zimbabwe.

Most of the Shona people we met have very unique names such as Love, Talent, Authentic, Happiness, Precious, Pretty, Believe, Tears, Hope, Faith, Prayer, Sonshine, Brilliant, NeverJ.

Our last church service in Zimbabwe was held in a large tent, it was long but because there were no mic’s it was a perfect volumeJ

I will never understand the Zimbabwe government’s mismanagement of this great country.  We heard story after story about how it once was a thriving country and over the years has been reduced to the state it is in now.  It appears the government wants its citizens to be hungry, uneducated, impoverished, unemployed and weak so they are too helpless to fight the injustice. You can’t just send aid here, as it will never get to whom it was intended for.  It is just so wrong!!!

If I could describe Zimbabwe in one paragraph it would be this:  It is a country with extreme wealth by a select few and extreme poverty for the rest, it is a beautiful country with phenomenal people and a government that is corrupt and has failed.  Zimbabwe people are loving, kind and spiritual and do not deserve what is happening to them.