We started our first trip for the fall a couple days ago. On Thursday, we made the 10hr drive from Wheaton to Memphis. We stayed the night with family friends, and then made our way to Benton, LA the following day. 

On Friday night, after our 6.5hr trip, we visited with a small group, involved wiht a new church plant in the Bossier area. We have been staying with friends (and JM2Z partners) ever since Friday. 

On Saturday evening, we had dinner with the Westview Christian Church missions committee and ministers, along with church planters (and possible new JM2Z partners). It was good to update the missions committee on a more personal and intimate level.

Then this morning (Sunday), I presented an update on JM2Z and proposed a challenge to the Sunday school class to give towards our first shipment of Shona Bibles. During the service, I was also given another 5mins to share with the whole congregation. They prayed for Andrew and me, as this will be the last time we visit with Westview until we return on furlough after our first 2yrs in Zimbabwe.

In total, they gave $1,144.35, and that's not including a few monthly donors who mentioned they will add their "extra" gift towards Bibles to their current monthly support. Another donor increased his monthly giving from $30 each month to $100, which will make a huge difference in the long run.

Tomorrow, we return to Memphis for the evening, and then Tuesday we return to Wheaton. We feel very blessed by Westview and their hospitailty and generosity.

Next weekend, we hope and plan to be the other side of the country.

We are finally back in the States. Although we had a two hour delay and poor communication with British Airways, we were grateful for the couple extra days to get some rest since, we had pulled a few late nights last week. Of course Andrew's parents were very happy to see us and hear all about our summer, but of course, just like parents, they followed the blog with hawk eyes ;-)

We flew on British Airways, which took us from Chicago, to London, to Africa.  On the way back, we decided to take a week to relax in London, after traveling all over Zimbabwe, and before we travel all over the US to continue to raise support.  This week in London worked out perfectly, as it did not cost anything to fly here and we could stay at my mom's house.

This was Andrew's first time in Europe, and aside from spending time with family and friends, we did the traditional touristy things, so that he could see a few of the sights.  In an effort to be frugal, we only spent two days in London.  My mom gave us the gift of a double decker bus tour of the city, which we really enjoyed.

We are now set to fly back to Chicago tomorrow.  Our original flight was scheduled for yesterday, but the flight was cancelled.  Surprisingly, the airline did not even contact us.  We were all set to leave the house at 5:00am, before an email from Andrew's mom alerted us of the cancellation. Then after rescheduling a new booking we awaited an email with the new itinerary. When I still didn't receive one a day later, I called BA again. There was a mix up between airlines and we were no longer on the newly booked flight. We couldn't be reassigned seats AGAIN because the flight was now full. So finally we were able ot ge another flight, now booked for a later time tomorrow. We still have not received an itinerary for this new flight but have checked online and it would seem we have assigned seats. Unfortunately, this will not be a direct flight, but the brief stop over at JFK is not a big deal after several cancelled flights.

God has safely carried us through this summer.  We have travelled thousands and thousands of miles, and He has kept us safe throughout the whole time.  We are extremely thankful for this.

Prayer requests:
- For speedy recovery from traveling, once we get to Chicago.
- For a great start to our US travels to raise support, which begin next weekend at a church in Louisiana.
- For me to be able to accurately share the needs of the women and children in Zimbabwe to the people we will be visiting.
- For the Lord to move in people's hearts, and to provide the support JM2Z needs to operate.

During our final week in Zimbabwe, we were in Chinhoyi.  We stopped by the house where we will be living, in order to drop off donated items that we received from people in the US.  We had been planning to put them to use within the communities where JM2Z will be ministering.  However, due to the timing of the election, we were advised to stay closer to where we were staying.  So, we will make use of those donations when we return.

While at the house, we took note of maintenance that will need to be done, either upon our arrival, or within the first year that we are living there.  One area that needed work was a room where we are storing things while we are gone.  This room used to be an outdoor patio, but was closed in with plywood, so that it could be an inside room. This was done several years ago, and the wood is now rotting (especially along the bottom).  We wanted to make sure the rain and rats stay out, so we had new wood installed in the openings.  This was a perfect solution until we return, yet an unplanned expense.  Ultimately, we plan to put in windows, and make the room an office for all of the administrative work that will need to be done for JM2Z.

Another issue at the house, and in all of Chinhoyi, is water.  The house uses city water, which the city regularly turns off for 8-10 daytime hours each day.  Even when it is on, the water is not drinkable.  The solution to this problem is to drill a borehole, which is a well.  Many houses in Zimbabwe have a borehole, but this one does not.  If a borehole is drilled, then water will not be an issue.  There are obviously costs associated with making this happen, but if this can get done, then drinking, cooking, bathing, and gardening (which are things we all take for granted) will be made immensely easier.

As I stated, the presidential election took place.  Thankfully, during this time, the country was peaceful, as opposed to the last election (2008), when mass violence broke out and all sorts of atrosities to humanity took place.  It looks like the current president will be staying in office (there's no surprise there).  At this point, we are unsure of all the ramifications of this, but we will keep ourselves updated of things in the coming months.  As we find out new information, we will be sure to keep you informed as well.  Many rumors are circulating as to what this (election outcome) means for the future.  A guranteed ramification of this is that the previous prime minister (who has been running for presidency for the last 12 years) loses his office.  Because he stands for democracy and is probably the primary reason that the US dollar is used in Zimbabwe (causing the economy to stabilize in the past few years), optimism is fleeting.  One current rumor that we heard from multiple sources is that the Zimbabwe dollar may be reintroduced into circulation.  At this point, we are unsure of how this might affect JM2Z, but we are glad that God is in control,  no matter what happens.  Ultimately, He is in power, and we are thankful for that!