We had a successful trip to South Africa last week. There is much to be thankful for, safety in travel, safety while in SA, huge savings on ministry and personal items, a good working truck, and the availability of gas. It was a very busy week, as it always is and we arrived home exhausted, but it was so worth it! With the varying prices, we have spent the last month pricing items at different stores in Zim (checking prices in US Dollars and local currency, since different stores have different rates), and also in SA.

For example, one item we needed was 5 gallons of paint. In Harare, the discounted US Dollar price was $180. Instead, we bought it in SA for $50.

As you can see to the right, another thing we bought was a bunch of toilet paper (144 rolls to be exact, which sounds crazy). This same exact toilet paper in Harare is $60 for a pack of 18 rolls. The same store in SA had the same pack of 18 rolls for $5. We bought 8 packs, which saved us $440, instead of buying it in Zim!

These are just a couple examples, but this is why we need to purchase things in another country. We've gone enough times to know beforehand where we will buy which items in the town where we stay in SA. However, we still make sure to check around before buying anything to check if there are sales or not.

At the end of each day, we unload the truck with what we've gotten, and store it in a room where we stay. By the end of the week, the room is packed wall to wall with things! We want to buy as little as possible in Zim to save money. We take out all of the receipts ​and figure out what we'll need to declare when we go back through the border and fill out the forms, which usually takes a couple of hours. Then we pack the truck accordingly. We first pack everything in boxes and suitcases that we take and then load it in the truck strategically, which takes 4-5 hours.

Besides purchasing many ministry and personal items, we also exchanged one of the two batteries for our inverter. The inverter is what gives power to the lights, and certain appliances in the case of a power outage. One of the batteries quit working the month before we left for the US, which we felt horrible about because Janeece was left in the dark (literally), without any backup. It was still under warranty, so thankfully we were able to get a new one and it is good to go now.

Below are a couple pictures while on the road. The final 200 miles in the southern part of Zim until SA is pretty remote. There aren't many cars or pedestrians. It is truly the middle of nowhere. When Yolanda was growing up, she was able to see elephants and giraffes along the road and she even remembers seeing a lioness with her cubs. Those days are long gone though, due to poaching. Now, all we see are cows, donkeys, and goats.

Thankfully, we are able to drive from Harare to SA on one tank of gas. However, we come back a different way, so we can stop by where Yolanda's father lived, which means we bypass Harare and need to fill up with gas before getting home to Chinhoyi. The town we usually stop to fill up is about 150 miles from home. The first gas station we came to had no gas. The second and third ones were the same. The next two we came to had gas and there were lines of cars around several blocks.

According to our dashboard, we could only go about 100 miles with what we had in our tank, which would leave us 50 miles short. We debated, should we get in line? We knew that if we did, it would be several hours and maybe not before dark until we would get to the front of the line. And what are the chances there would be enough gas to fill up all these cars before the station ran out and would then have to wait another day or more before the next tanker came? Plus, we thought about having this truck full of stuff and tons of people gathered around, walking by, and the chances of someone trying to steal something.

We thought to call a friend who was about 40 miles from where we were to see if there was any diesel in that town. She said there was a fuel depot in the industrial area that was selling some for US Dollars (which meant there probably wouldn't be a line). Thank you Lord! She gave us directions and when we got to the town it took us about 45 minutes to find it. We drove on many back roads (as you can see in the slideshow below), which had countless potholes. Her directions were from a different location than what she told us, so it took awhile to find. Eventually, we got there and were very thankful to be able to fill the tank to the top!

We told you in our last blog about the demonstrations, riots, and attacks that took place in January and the many beatings and rapes that happened. We mentioned that we were thankful none of the women we work with were affected by the rapes. However in our most recent group meetings, we found out that they were affected by the beatings. None of them were hurt, but they all had either family members, friends, or neighbors who were beaten.

They told us how in broad daylight, members of the miIitary were going door to door in the high density area where they live (only 3.5 miles from our home) and kicked in doors and attacked whoever was inside. They said that they were even specifically looking for pregnant women, so they could make them miscarry.

Two of our women told us they have adult sons who were beaten and one woman said her husband was.

One of the women in our groups married the son of another woman in our group (daughter-in-law and mother-in-law). The daughter-in-law is pregnant now and was at her in-laws' house, which is about a mile from her own house. While she was there, she got a call from her husband who was home, saying that he had just been beaten. Horrified and scared, his wife and mother wanted to go check on him ASAP, but the father said that it was too dangerous for them to be out. The women pleaded for him to let them go, but wanting to keep them safe, he locked them in the house so they couldn't go outside.

It turns out the husband/son was beaten so bad that he had broken bones, skin taken off his back, bruises, and swelling. His wife told us that she didn't know black skin could turn blue. While this was going on, the attackers asked him where his wife was, because somehow they knew she was pregnant. What a blessing from God that she was not home at the time, or surely she would have lost the baby that day! The hospitals were all closed, so afterward, they were unable to get immediate medical treatment.

The women told us that this was going on randomly and that they were scared to leave their homes. Why did this happen? For intimidation. This took place the same time that demonstrations and outcries over the fuel price hikes and everything else. We had no idea this was taking place at the time. In town, just 3-5 miles away, everything seemed normal. We knew these kinds of things were happening around Harare's suburbs, but not here in Chinhoyi.
If only we had known, surely we could have done something to help.

While we were in SA, Zimbabwe instituted what they call a "new currency" called RTGS dollars (real time gross settlement). It seems to be a new name to the same thing. They are not printing any new notes or coins, but basically gave a new name to their bond notes and electronic transfers and mobile phone money. They have always maintained that they are 1:1 with the US Dollar, but are now admitting that is not true. They are now officially putting it at 2.5:1 rate. Nobody knows exactly what the implications are, but it does mean that everyone's money in a bank was just depreciated, and now have even less purchasing power. They are saying that this is meant to last for 6 months. What's after that? Nobody knows.

​We continue to be thankful that we don't have any accounts here, but for the average person, things keep getting worse and worse.

We are busily putting everything away from SA and organizing the house, because we pick up one of my (Andrew's) college friends and her friend tomorrow at the airport. They will be with us for a week before going on to Victoria Falls and Cape Town, SA. Both of them have traveled quite a bit, but this is their first time in Africa. They have chosen to do a small work project while they are here, in addition to hanging out and sightseeing.

As we could barely fit everything in the truck this past week, we are now having an equal amount of trouble trying to find places in the house for it all (one reason we are planning the building project this year). As we were stressed out, worrying that the house is unorganized and overflowing with resources, we were reminded that what a blessing it is to have a house overflowing with resources. May we always be thankful for His provision and continue to do what we can to bless others with it.

Thank you to many of you for your prayers. We are well aware that it is prayers that have kept us safe and allowed us smooth travels. We are strong believers in the power of prayers. Please know that we pray for you also!

We are excited to share that one of the new churches we visited last Fall, Myrtle Point First Christian Church in Oregon, has chosen to partner with JM2Z on a monthly basis! We felt a connection with them from the moment we met everyone there. They immediately caught the vision and were excited with all that the Lord has been doing through JM2Z. We are thankful for another partner in ministry! In addition, they have recently raised quite a bit for our building project. We are thankful for their generosity and our 8th supporting church!

Things have calmed down in the country in the last couple weeks. Violence and protests have stopped. However, many rape stories have come out in the meantime that took place in mid-January. Please pray for those victims and the recovery process, as there are no means or availabilities for counseling, most probably wouldn't seek physical treatment due to being embarrassed, and there will be no legal recourse. Thankfully, none of the women we work with were affected.

Financially, things continue to be very tough for everyone. We are quite aware of how blessed we are, but we are reminded each day that we have much to be thankful for. Our electrician was here the other day and was sharing how hard things are for him and his family. His youngest children are triplets, who just start first grade last month! Expenses are the highest for a parent when a child begins first grade or first year of high school. In addition to regular tuition, there are extra fees since it's their first year, also new school uniforms and books. He was telling us that textbooks are $17 and each child needs 10. And obviously all of these expenses for him and his wife are triple!

The women in our groups tell their own stories about lacking money for school fees or uniforms or both. Trying to find work. Trying to find money for hospital bills. Trying to cover expenses for grown children who can't find work or expenses for grandchildren/nieces/nephews who have moved in with them for one reason or another. Coping with ailments. Etc. They didn't ask for any handouts. They just shared.

After telling all these stories of hardships and pain, they changed topics and discussed the possibility of taking a day to clean up the litter in the area where they live as a group. Yolanda also asked if they had ideas how they could help the community. Their idea was to visit an old people's home (similar to a retirement complex, but much more rugged and bare-bones) and each of them would provide a little food to put together and make the residents there a meal.

In the midst of their struggles, how wonderful it was to have them come up with ideas of generosity and sacrifice to give of their little in order to help those in even worse circumstances! Nothing is scheduled yet, but just the idea that they would volunteer to give when they are lacking themselves. We are encouraged by the growth they are showing.

While you've been praying for the women here and all they are dealing with, they have been praying for you. When Janeece was still here, and the chaos was ensuing throughout the country, she received a picture from her home in Indiana. It had just snowed 4 inches and the picture was a beautiful blanket of white. So Janeece thought the women would enjoy seeing a picture of snow and she showed it to them. When the ladies saw it, they exclaimed, "It is good you are here in Zimbabwe where you are safe. We must pray for the Americans and this danger they are facing!"

Perspective can be everything. In Zim, people were burning tires in the streets, the poIice were causing problems, riots were taking place, and the women were thankful Janeece was in a safe place, away from 4 inches of snow :-) 

Items we are thanking God for:

• We have had relative ease in filling up our cars with gas when needed
• Thankful that the violence has calmed down
• We were able to buy bread in Harare, after not finding any in the stores for 3 weeks (not a necessity, but appreciated)
• We are finding ourselves extra thankful these days for each meal on our table

Please pray for our safety in travel as we make the 10 hour drive to South Africa at the end of the week. South Africa continues to be the wisest location economically for us to purchase VBS and women's groups supplies, as well as personal groceries, toiletries, and non-perishables. We are thankful to have a neighboring country with this option.