Gladys
Thank you to everyone who prayed for Gladys and her family the other week when her husband passed away and his funeral took place. We were glad to be able to attend, as well as many of the other ladies in our groups, and encourage her in this way. As you can see below, people gathered outside before the service started and before the casket was taken inside. People were singing while this picture was taken, which went on for awhile, while people were arriving.
Gladys is in the blue and white checkered coat with a green skirt, toward the right of the picture.
Gladys is in the blue and white checkered coat with a green skirt, toward the right of the picture.
We covered the cost of two buses to take people from the church to the cemetery. There were about 150 people and most traveled to the burial. As you can see below, the cemetery is a big, dirt field. Gladys' husband's grave is under the blue tent, but you can see several graves in the foreground, with flowers on them and only small, meager aluminum plaques with names and dates for markers.
The burial service seemed to be cut a bit short when another funeral procession with another big group of people came walking in and singing quite loudly. Their grave was right next to this one. In any case, Gladys' family has continued to stay with her since that week. During such a hard time, she seemed to be very encouraged by everyone's support.
The burial service seemed to be cut a bit short when another funeral procession with another big group of people came walking in and singing quite loudly. Their grave was right next to this one. In any case, Gladys' family has continued to stay with her since that week. During such a hard time, she seemed to be very encouraged by everyone's support.
Western's Brother
Western (pictured left) came to us a week and a half ago in distress and quite upset, saying that his brother, Nomore (35 years old, married, with 3 children), was sick. Western had to pick up Nomore from his home in the rural area and rush him to the hospital in Chinhoyi. Nomore had attempted suicide by eating poison and was in a coma. The hospital gave Western a list of the tests, treatments, and expenses that were needed and he was asking us for a loan for the $525 USD. Needless to say, I told him we would cover the bills for him, without it being a loan. Then I took a few minutes to pray with him.
They told Western that if Nomore didn't wake up in a few hours, he would need to be rushed to Harare. Thankfully, Nomore did wake up! He spent a few days in the Chinhoyi hospital and was released, but had to return daily for a test and treatment, which meant he had to stay in town for the rest of the week.
So in the meantime, we contacted a friend, asking if she knew about a Christian male counselor. Thankfully she knew one! We have never met Nomore and so we didn't know if he would be willing to meet with a counselor or not. But we told Western about him and gave the counselor Nomore's phone number. Nomore agreed to meet with him! They have met multiple times so far and he has appreciated being able to talk with someone (we will also cover these costs).
It turns out that Nomore and his wife were having problems in their marriage, which led to the suicide attempt. Even though JM2Z is specifically a ministry for women and children, in this case, a life was saved, which may quite possibly have been otherwise lost, because I'm not sure where else Western could have gotten the money needed to take his brother to the hospital (hospitals won't administer any treatment without first paying upfront).
Please be in prayer for Nomore, his wife (and children), and their relationship with each other and also with God. Please pray that Nomore would see his worth in Him and how valuable his life is, and also how valuable life in Him is. Please pray for reconciliation with his wife.
They told Western that if Nomore didn't wake up in a few hours, he would need to be rushed to Harare. Thankfully, Nomore did wake up! He spent a few days in the Chinhoyi hospital and was released, but had to return daily for a test and treatment, which meant he had to stay in town for the rest of the week.
So in the meantime, we contacted a friend, asking if she knew about a Christian male counselor. Thankfully she knew one! We have never met Nomore and so we didn't know if he would be willing to meet with a counselor or not. But we told Western about him and gave the counselor Nomore's phone number. Nomore agreed to meet with him! They have met multiple times so far and he has appreciated being able to talk with someone (we will also cover these costs).
It turns out that Nomore and his wife were having problems in their marriage, which led to the suicide attempt. Even though JM2Z is specifically a ministry for women and children, in this case, a life was saved, which may quite possibly have been otherwise lost, because I'm not sure where else Western could have gotten the money needed to take his brother to the hospital (hospitals won't administer any treatment without first paying upfront).
Please be in prayer for Nomore, his wife (and children), and their relationship with each other and also with God. Please pray that Nomore would see his worth in Him and how valuable his life is, and also how valuable life in Him is. Please pray for reconciliation with his wife.
Mvuu
This green hippo, named "Mvuu," is our most recent safari animal that we'll be bringing with us back to the US next year. Mvuu is the Shona word for hippo. The women were excited to begin a new animal. Next week they will move on to making giraffes.
Previously, the Tuesday ladies were the ones doing the crochet animals and the Wednesday ladies were making the jewelry. We decided to have both groups crochet this year, but it had been awhile since the Wednesday group crocheted. So Yolanda reviewed with them the basics.
Below right, is a picture of Yolanda showing a video to the women about crocheting. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see a small projector on the floor, about the size of a hand. This "new" projector that we got last year is great because it is so small and also has a battery, so it doesn't need electricity. The projector also came in very handy during praise and worship time at our last VBS. Since our old projector needed electricity, we always had to take a generator in case there wasn't any electricity at the church. Since the projector is the only thing we used a generator for at VBS, we are thankful to not have to lug a big generator back and forth anymore during that week or purchase gas to put in it.
Below left, shows a couple pages of the packets of patterns Yolanda put together for the women. Everyone got one so that all the animals are as close to the same as possible. Even though a couple of the women prefer to "eyeball" it, Yolanda gave the Wednesday women a review of how to read patterns.
Previously, the Tuesday ladies were the ones doing the crochet animals and the Wednesday ladies were making the jewelry. We decided to have both groups crochet this year, but it had been awhile since the Wednesday group crocheted. So Yolanda reviewed with them the basics.
Below right, is a picture of Yolanda showing a video to the women about crocheting. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see a small projector on the floor, about the size of a hand. This "new" projector that we got last year is great because it is so small and also has a battery, so it doesn't need electricity. The projector also came in very handy during praise and worship time at our last VBS. Since our old projector needed electricity, we always had to take a generator in case there wasn't any electricity at the church. Since the projector is the only thing we used a generator for at VBS, we are thankful to not have to lug a big generator back and forth anymore during that week or purchase gas to put in it.
Below left, shows a couple pages of the packets of patterns Yolanda put together for the women. Everyone got one so that all the animals are as close to the same as possible. Even though a couple of the women prefer to "eyeball" it, Yolanda gave the Wednesday women a review of how to read patterns.
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June and July are the coldest months in Zimbabwe. In the pictures in this blog post, you'll notice many people are wearing coats, winter hats, big socks, or may be wrapped in blankets, whether inside or outside. For lunches during this time, we have been serving hot soups. A couple years ago when we first served soups for lunch, the ladies weren't sure about it. The word "soup" in Zimbabwe is usually used to mean "gravy." So they weren't sure they wanted gravy for lunch, but now they know what we mean by soup. Below are chicken noodle and beef soups. There is no Campbell's soup here, so everything is made from scratch. Two ladies had gifted us a chicken each, so we used them for the chicken noodle soup. They are also having plenty of hot tea!
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Bible Review
Because we have finished the surveys of both the Old and New Testaments now, we did a review to see how well they remember the order of some of the significant events in the Bible. They were given 34 pieces of paper and were asked to put them in order the way they happened. It was a fun way for them to review and so it was more like a game, and less like a quiz.
Zim's Economy
It seems that whenever we write about Zimbabwe's economy, it's never to report anything positive. This time is no different. We know that the global economy as a whole is down, but since Zimbabwe's economy was poor to begin with, it's much worse now.
Almost all jobs pay in Zimbabwe Dollars (ZWD), which was reintroduced in 2019. Most prices in stores are in ZWD, but are based on the unofficial US Dollar (USD) rate. Prices in stores have been increasing weekly, but of course, workers' salaries are staying the same.
Most stores accept either ZWD or USD, but before you decide which currency to use, you need to find out which rate they are using. Some stores use the official rate (the rate the g0vernment sets), while other stores use the unofficial rate (the rate on the street).
The official rate is $390 ZWD to $1 USD. The unofficial rate is almost double, at $750 ZWD to $1 USD. This means that someone could get their ZWD pay from work, then exchange it for USD at the official rate (at a bank or official currency exchange shop), and then change it back to ZWD at the unofficial rate (a guy on the street) and instantly double their money. This is something they need to do in order to survive, since prices in stores are based on the unofficial rate.
The other issue is that the ZWD is not a real currency. It cannot be used outside of Zimbabwe. So stores need to peg their prices at USD, so that when they restock their shelves, they can exchange the ZWD they receive into USD, and can import their goods, because most everything in stores is imported.
Gas, however, is only sold in USD. This means that it is plentiful at gas stations, as opposed to the hours-long lines of a couple years ago when it was sold in ZWD, but it is expensive. The price just decreased this week a few cents to $7.04/gallon for regular gas and $7.44/gallon for diesel.
The g0vernment knows the ZWD is worthless, yet they maintain it is "strong within the region" and that it's important to have a local currency. However, for my recent permanent residence application a couple weeks ago, they only accepted USD, which was $500 USD. Or even more ridiculous, is that the application fee for a Zimbabwe passport is only payable in USD! They don't even want their own currency, but apparently it's good enough for ordinary people.
Below is a picture of cash for a toll...just one toll. This is $520 ZWD, but since I took the picture, tolls have increased to $700. If you're looking from a USD perspective, that doesn't sound like much since it's less than $1 USD, but if you are earning ZWD, then an increase of $180 just for a toll is a lot.
Almost all jobs pay in Zimbabwe Dollars (ZWD), which was reintroduced in 2019. Most prices in stores are in ZWD, but are based on the unofficial US Dollar (USD) rate. Prices in stores have been increasing weekly, but of course, workers' salaries are staying the same.
Most stores accept either ZWD or USD, but before you decide which currency to use, you need to find out which rate they are using. Some stores use the official rate (the rate the g0vernment sets), while other stores use the unofficial rate (the rate on the street).
The official rate is $390 ZWD to $1 USD. The unofficial rate is almost double, at $750 ZWD to $1 USD. This means that someone could get their ZWD pay from work, then exchange it for USD at the official rate (at a bank or official currency exchange shop), and then change it back to ZWD at the unofficial rate (a guy on the street) and instantly double their money. This is something they need to do in order to survive, since prices in stores are based on the unofficial rate.
The other issue is that the ZWD is not a real currency. It cannot be used outside of Zimbabwe. So stores need to peg their prices at USD, so that when they restock their shelves, they can exchange the ZWD they receive into USD, and can import their goods, because most everything in stores is imported.
Gas, however, is only sold in USD. This means that it is plentiful at gas stations, as opposed to the hours-long lines of a couple years ago when it was sold in ZWD, but it is expensive. The price just decreased this week a few cents to $7.04/gallon for regular gas and $7.44/gallon for diesel.
The g0vernment knows the ZWD is worthless, yet they maintain it is "strong within the region" and that it's important to have a local currency. However, for my recent permanent residence application a couple weeks ago, they only accepted USD, which was $500 USD. Or even more ridiculous, is that the application fee for a Zimbabwe passport is only payable in USD! They don't even want their own currency, but apparently it's good enough for ordinary people.
Below is a picture of cash for a toll...just one toll. This is $520 ZWD, but since I took the picture, tolls have increased to $700. If you're looking from a USD perspective, that doesn't sound like much since it's less than $1 USD, but if you are earning ZWD, then an increase of $180 just for a toll is a lot.
Little Western was "helping" his dad at work after school last Friday afternoon. He is tall enough now to push the wheelbarrow around the yard and a few other things. We always pay our workers on Fridays. So at the end of the day, Little Western was very excited to receive "pay" for his "work." I gave him $160 ZWD, which is only about 21¢ USD. I paid his dad in USD, so obviously worth much more, but Little Western was happy because he got several more bills than his dad :-)
South Africa Trip
After our previous trip to South Africa a couple months ago, we calculated all the expenses of the trip and compared it with all the other times we've driven there, because we flew this time. The cost of flying was similar (actually a little less) to when we drive, including food, gas, accommodation, etc. This also takes into account the amount of things we can fit into our Hilux to bring back when we drive, versus the four suitcases we can take on a plane and then using a runner and his fee in order for him to drive a full van of things from South Africa to Harare.
This was welcome news for us, because it's 500 miles driving one-way. The roads are pretty bad and it is pretty common to see accidents, so we are glad to fly from a safety perspective. We also take 2 days to drive each way, because it's unsafe to drive in the dark and we also like to get to the border early, so that it doesn't take more than an hour or two to cross through. The hour and a half flight is much more convenient and since it's a bit cheaper, it's a no-brainer. The US Dollar has gotten even stronger to the South African Rand in recent weeks, so that will save the ministry some money and also get what we need to get in order to have ample supplies for the kids.
We are going to SA again on July 28 to August 3 in order to get all the necessary VBS supplies for our August children's program. VBS will take place at the end of August and we know the kids are already looking forward to it!
Below is just some of the yarn we bought in May to bring back to make the crochet animals!
This was welcome news for us, because it's 500 miles driving one-way. The roads are pretty bad and it is pretty common to see accidents, so we are glad to fly from a safety perspective. We also take 2 days to drive each way, because it's unsafe to drive in the dark and we also like to get to the border early, so that it doesn't take more than an hour or two to cross through. The hour and a half flight is much more convenient and since it's a bit cheaper, it's a no-brainer. The US Dollar has gotten even stronger to the South African Rand in recent weeks, so that will save the ministry some money and also get what we need to get in order to have ample supplies for the kids.
We are going to SA again on July 28 to August 3 in order to get all the necessary VBS supplies for our August children's program. VBS will take place at the end of August and we know the kids are already looking forward to it!
Below is just some of the yarn we bought in May to bring back to make the crochet animals!
When you need some extra padding at the top of a suitcase, some extra toilet paper and coffee is a good way to go. When toilet paper is $3 USD for 9 rolls in South Africa, as compared to the same brand at the same store in Zimbabwe is $12 USD, you fit in as much as you can!
Water
Water continues to be a problem in Zimbabwe, as always. Little Western and Angel live next door to us with their mom. It is convenient for them to be this close to Western.
Homes without boreholes that are connected to city water only have water for a couple hours each day. There are no chemicals at the water treatment plants, so the water comes out brown and dirty. This means it needs to be boiled if you want to drink it. Even when boiled, it's still brown and unappetizing to drink.
Since we have plenty of clean water, we let Western fill several buckets and take them next door each evening. We've also told the women each week, that anytime they come, they can bring empty containers and we will send them home with water if they want.
You can see little Angel carrying an empty bucket to help her dad get water. The concentration and focus on her face show her determination to carry a bucket so big that she could fit inside it :-)
Homes without boreholes that are connected to city water only have water for a couple hours each day. There are no chemicals at the water treatment plants, so the water comes out brown and dirty. This means it needs to be boiled if you want to drink it. Even when boiled, it's still brown and unappetizing to drink.
Since we have plenty of clean water, we let Western fill several buckets and take them next door each evening. We've also told the women each week, that anytime they come, they can bring empty containers and we will send them home with water if they want.
You can see little Angel carrying an empty bucket to help her dad get water. The concentration and focus on her face show her determination to carry a bucket so big that she could fit inside it :-)
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