We were thankful to arrive home on Friday safely from South Africa. We were blessed to be able to get everything accomplished that we had hoped. It was an extremely busy time with long days out and working most evenings late into the night.

​Going to South Africa is always a nice mental break from Zimbabwe, but it was still tiring physically. We were able to get supplies for the women's groups that will last through the end of the year (including some things for a Christmas party), all of our needed VBS supplies, copies for VBS, other printings, a service for the Hilux, grocery items for us, food hamper supplies for Western and Elizabeth (in addition to their pay, we also give them several staple food and toiletry items each month), and a few requested grocery items for Janeece. We have had to really plan well in advance this time. Knowing what supplies will be needed for the next 9 months and any special activities during that time, meant really knowing what this entire year holds, schedule wise.

We'll take you through our trip with a handful of pictures. In all, our driving time was 22 hours. Below is 2 hours in, after driving through Harare and coming out the other side. This is a spot where people are waiting for taxis and vendors are selling their things.

We were blessed with smooth crossings over the border each way. Although we had to wait in line much longer than usual going down.

​At the border there are several things that we need to do, documents we need to show and fees we need to pay, so there are multiple lines at multiple buildings where we need to wait. Below is the line we waited in on the South African side of the border at an outside trailer where we had to get our passports stamped. This line took more than an hour to get through. 

After driving about an hour and a half into SA, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (one of the 5 major lines of latitude on the globe). We are standing in front of the marker below.

English and Afrikaans are both national languages in South Africa. Many times a person will automatically answer the phone in Afrikaans. Yolanda made a phone call in which the other person didn't speak very good English, so she spoke only Afrikaans. Watch the video below to hear what it sounds like. Can you tell what they are talking about?

We need to shop around to get the best prices, but we have been enough times to generally know which store to get what. Below is one of the bulk stores where we are able to get a variety of items. You can see Yolanda, shortly after arriving with her empty trolley.

The next picture was not posed. Ahead of Yolanda and out of the picture are our two trolleys filled to the top. This third one has less on it, but you can see what our energy levels are like at the end of the day. We also happened to be in a particularly slow moving line at the cash register.

Sometimes we forget that it's common for some stores to close for an hour or two at lunchtime. Below is an example of that. This is a store where we get filler beads, yarn, crochet hooks, crochet cotton, and fabric, etc.

Thankfully, the place where we stayed was a two bedroom apartment. So we were able to store everything in the room we weren't using. Below Yolanda is strategically packing things. We pack everything in a way knowing where we want each thing situated in the back, so that if we are searched by customs, the first container they see when they open the tailgate is the one we want them to see. We had four full suitcases, several boxes, a few plastic tubs, and a cooler.

We pack up the truck the night before we leave to head back to Zimbabwe. In the town where we stay, there is a cross high on a hill. At night it's lit and could be seen straight out the front door, over the security wall, and through some trees.

Leaving SA, we only drive for one hour before hitting the border back to Zimbabwe. This time was the quickest we have ever been through. Customs did not inspect anything in the truck and they didn't ask us to pay any duty, even though we showed them our receipts. But when they tell you that you can go, you don't ask questions. You get in the car and leave before they change their minds and thank the Lord.

Along the highway, "rest stops" are an extra patch of dirt next to the road. No bathroom facilities. So Yolanda likes to bring her own. All I can say is that this seat was a good investment!

Because so many things are being imported into Zimbabwe or are being taken through to other countries, we pass many trucks and wide loads (or "abnormal loads"). When a big dump truck is hitched to a long flatbed trailer, that's an abnormal load!

We made it back safe and sound, thankful for the ability to make this trip, saving JM2Z and us A LOT of money for all that we are able to do. Even taking into account gas, food, and accommodation for a week, it is still a huge savings!

​Lots of planning has already taken place, but now that we're back, all of our attention is focused on VBS, starting in a week. While we were gone, we sent out the invite through a text message to the women in our groups (who have phones) and just three days later all 120 spots were filled. PLEASE PRAY for the children who will be hearing about how to become a Christian and what it means to do so. Please pray for their hearts and understanding. We would love for all of them to make a decision next week, but we know full well that our jobs may be just the beginnings of planting seeds and we will not know what takes place in the time to come. We can't wait to see how the Lord uses this week in each of their lives.

Since our last blog, the women with chicken businesses sold all of their chickens! Each of them found enough customers and were really excited to meet that goal. Due to health/disease reasons, there is a waiting period of 1-2 weeks from when the last chicken leaves the chicken coop to when new day-old chicks can be housed. It needs a good cleaning and time to air out. Since each of the women sold their final chicken at different times, some have already purchased new chicks and some are still waiting. With the money they made from selling 50-55 chickens, they are now buying 75 for this month. The completion of their first batch of chickens comes after weeks of anticipation.

​You may remember that a year ago they attended a seminar which gave all of the necessary details on raising chickens. This was hosted by the company where we purchased the chicks. There was another seminar this week, focusing on diseases. Last year, we paid the few dollars for each lady to attend. However, since they are learning to be self-sustainable we told them that the event (which was optional for them to attend) was taking place, but explained that they would need to register and pay for it on their own. All of them decided to go and when they called to register, they were given a discount because they were a part of our group (some who have purchased their second round of chicks have purchased from there as well).

The ladies had previously brought up a discussion of each giving away one of their chickens to someone who is in need. This was completely their idea, unprompted from us. Since it was just the first month, they all agreed that if they were going to do this they would start after their second batch of chickens. But a few of them individually still wanted to do this now, so four of them surprised us with one chicken each. They said that they wanted us to use the chickens for a meal for the kids at our next VBS! How sweet and generous is that! What giving and gracious hearts.

​As she does every so often, after the Bible study on Wednesday, Yolanda met individually with each woman to get an update of how they are doing with their businesses. They shared about their successes, problems, and upcoming plans. They came prepared with a written budget and a list of expenses. Each one is learning, growing, and becoming more confident each day.

In the last few weeks, there have been quite a few robberies in the residential areas of Chinhoyi. In our neighborhood, there were 25 reported break-ins during a 3-week period. And there were 5 reported break-ins within a couple days, literally 2 to 3 streets up from our home. Nobody has been hurt (that we know of in our neighborhood). Thieves have been looking for cash, phones, laptops, anything they can grab quickly and sell. In all of the incidences we have heard about, it was at nighttime and they got in open windows and cut the burglar bars. We are not worried about our house, since we always close our windows, we have thick double burglar bars, and always set the alarm. We have iron gates on our outside doors, as well as one inside the house. It is at the beginning of the hallway that leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms. We lock it every night. The picture to the left is the view from our bedroom doorway, looking down the hall. We do as much as we can physically, but trust that God is ultimately our protector!

Our neighbor, a man who lives two blocks from us, was alerted to a robbery as it was taking place. He drove over to help the family, while picking up two policemen on the way (yes, you need to pick them up because they don't have vehicles). When they arrived on the scene, the thief was still in the area and the family whose home it was had been beaten up. Our neighbor and the police tried to catch him, but he ran away. They chased him into the brush and it was nighttime, so of course it was dark. Our neighbor attempted to stop the thief, which resulted in the suspected getting injured. Our neighbor offered to take the thief straight to the hospital to get his wounds taken care of, even though it was not life threatening but the police said they would handle it. Our neighbor went back to the police station a couple hours later to ask how the injured man was. The police had not taken the man to the hospital, he bled out, and died. The police told our neighbor that he was being arrested and charged with murder. He was held in the jail in town overnight and thankfully released the following day on bail. We are obviously unsure of what will end up happening in the situation, but we have been in prayer for him and his family. We have been showing our support by alleviating some stress by taking them meals. This was a tragedy on two accounts, one, obviously that someone died and two, an unjust arrest. We know he feels terribly about what happened to the man, but must also feel sick about how he is being treated.

​In the high density area (just 3-4 miles from us), where the women live who are in our groups, there have been lots of chicken thefts. In one instance, there were 60 chickens stolen from one coop. Because of this, our ladies are taking extra precautions. In one case, one lady chose to build a little security wall around the entrance to her coop, with broken glass on top. In other cases, some of the women or their husbands are actually sleeping inside their chicken coops. Thankfully, none of the women from our group of had any problems with this.

Last month, we wrote about my (Andrew's) Zim Residence Permit renewal. We handed in our paperwork, had our interviews, and then were told to wait for a phone call once it was accepted. They told us it would take 1 week. If my renewal were to be denied, it would mean that I wouldn't be able to live in Zimbabwe. One week went by and then two. Then a third. We were getting a little worried because the only other two times we've gone through this process, we received a phone call within 2 weeks. Because of Immigration's recent move to a new location, there is no phone number for us to be able to call them. Once the third week passed, all kinds of scenarios ran through our mind as to what was happening.

​In the meantime, we have been needing to make a trip to South Africa not only for VBS supplies, but also for grocery and toiletry items for us personally. We cannot afford to purchase most items here and our stock of certain items are dwindling. Since I just recently got a new passport, if I leave the country, they won't let me back in without a Residence Permit in it.

Below (left), you can see Elizabeth carrying Baby Western on her back with a towel. This is very common. No one has a stroller, so the mother almost always carries her baby on her back in a towel. Babies get used to this very quickly and even fall asleep while in this position.

​It's not very common for a young girl to own a doll, but if she does, she will play "mom" just like they do in the US. Occasionally a girl will wrap the doll on her back just as she would have seen her mother do with her siblings. Below (right), Talia (who comes on Wednesdays with her mother) has her SpongeBob on her back in a towel. Too cute!

Below (left), we had the Easter bunny at our house this week :-) Little Anesu slept most of her time here on Wednesday. Anotidaishe (below, right) was a bit more active.

Praises:

• ​Renewed Residence Permit for Andrew​
• Women's small businesses are running successfully
• Blessed with continued safety and health
• Continued prayer and financial support from so many of you
• 2 weeks ago our landline phone was hit by lightning and quit working and in the meantime we won a free phone from the phone company

Requests:

• ​For the hearts of the women as they continue in their knowledge and understanding of the Bible
• For the children's hearts who will be attending the upcoming VBS (April 30-May 4)
• For the women who are working in their small businesses
• For our safety to, in, and from South Africa next week
• For planning our return trip stateside in the Fall/Winter; pray for many opportunities to visit with friends, family and new connections