Our VBS last week went really well! It was the best one yet, which we hope we will be able to say each time. The 135 children who attended were excited about the theme, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" They learned a different part of the Christmas story each day and what it meant for them. There were some new children who came, but many of them were ones who attended all 3 Vacation Bible Schools this year. What a blessing it is to be able to pour into these children multiple times each year, since the school system gives them 3 separate breaks, instead of one longer one.

​It was a crazy week for weather. The first day was cool and cloudy, followed by a hot and sunny day, followed by multiple days of brief downpours scattered throughout. Toward the end of the time on one of the rainy days, an 8 year old girl (Tafadzwa) had an asthmatic attack. She didn't own an inhaler, so we had to rush her to the hospital (10-15 minute drive). She ended up being ok after being treated, but I found out from a nurse that she is a regular patient. This treatment is free, so the father didn't want to pay for an inhaler (because he could not afford the $21 cost), although he had to pay $3 for transport to the hospital each time. So we got her the necessary medication and inhalers and hopefully she doesn't need to go to the hospital again for awhile. The family said many times how thankful they were.

​We had a few new kids that came this time and they were filled with great excitement. We try to take photos throughout the day and especially free-time. The kids love having their photos taken and always want to see their picture (we never take photos of children who don't want their photo taken). Once a little boy asked to have his photo taken with Yolanda and of course several more boys jumped into the picture. Afterward she showed him the photo and he squealed with excitement. He excitedly told another boy, a friend of his, "I was in a photo with a white person." Of course he said this in Shona. The other boy responded with, "Me too," and instinctively they high-fived each other. Yolanda had to laugh at their excitement as if we were some kind of an anomaly. We start worship time each day explaining to kids about kindness, compassion, respect, manners and how we are ALL created in God's image. This is especially important because we have a down syndrome girl and an albino girl who attend - it would be easy for them to be teased so we nip this in the bud before it even happens. We also try to stress the importance of each child, and their innate value in God.

Below is a video with many pictures from throughout the week, including children and volunteers participating in all aspects of VBS.

Except for the parents who thank us at the ceremony, much of the time we don't get to hear how a VBS affects these children. This week, we've heard some feedback from parents and here are a few.

• ​A mother said that during VBS week, her child was very enthusiastic about the memory verses. He woke her up every day at 6:00am, saying that she must help him practice the memory verse. The mother would tell the child to go back to sleep and that VBS doesn't start for awhile, until after lunch. The child replied, "That is very soon! I need to practice my verse now!"
• One parent said she really appreciated the parents' letters that we sent home each day. "I know more about what happened each day here than what my child did at school for the entire term."
• Another parent said she is going to keep the parents' letters (which contain the memory verses), so that her child can continue practicing the verses and not forget them throughout the next year.
• A grandmother, who was a volunteer, told us her grandkids got up at 5:00am on Friday to prepare for the ceremony. They were so exited and couldn't sleep any longer. They got dressed in their Sunday best and frantically memorized their memory verse. The grandmother was one of the helpers who came earlier to make fire and cook for the kids and yet her kids were up before she was, filled with so much anticipation. Her youngest grandchild said to her before she left, "I feel like I'm going to burst. I am soooo excited."
• Another grandmother who was a volunteer brought her 4 year old grandson (we usually do not allow kids this young to attend but there was no one home to care for him, so we made this exception). After eating lunch he told her, "This is the best chicken I have ever eaten." To which his grandmother told him she would be sure to make chicken at Christmas time, but he responded, "No, this is SPECAIL chicken because it is HBF chicken." I guess everything is better at HBF ;-)
• A mother told us that she keeps all of the handouts her daughter, Whisper, takes home. In Whisper's Sunday school class at church recently, they went through the Fruit of the Spirit (our theme from August). The teacher asked if any of the children knew anything about it and was very impressed when Whisper rattled off each fruit, as well as motions for each one that went with a song that we sang. The mother then chose to spend some extra money and make copies (of the VBS materials her daughter brought home) for the Sunday School class, so they could have better resources.

​This is just 5 days for an afternoon every 4 months. However, we have seen that it stretches way beyond that, even to children who didn't attend. What a blessing it is to be able to show these kids God's love and have it be a positive impact on their lives; all of whom are on the bottom end of the economic spectrum, a quarter of them who are orphans, and a chunk of them who have been abused at some point in their short lives. Thank you Jesus for making it possible to have this week, that they all look forward to each school holiday! 

Below is a video showing the children singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus before they have cupcakes. Many of them had never had cupcakes before, but absolutely loved them. Their "Happy Birthday" song is just like ours, except at the end, they add, "How old are you now?" It was humorous to hear them asking Jesus his age.

Scroll through the pictures below to see some more activities from the last day of VBS

We also had a Christmas celebration with the Wednesday ladies, which included a special lunch with cake, gifts of clothing items for themselves as well as an item for their spouse, a new pair of underwear and socks, a local recipe with all the ingredients provided (enough for their family), and a winter item of their choice (hat or scarf). For the children they got coloring books, crayons, candy, dresses for the girls and t-shirts and shorts for the boys. We also had a time of prayer and worship. The ladies would break out in grateful worship every time they received a gift. Toward the end they volunteered to share some testimonies. We thought one or two might share about their year and what this group has meant to them, but every single one stood up and spoke about what this group has meant to them. We don't have nearly enough space to write all the details that were shared. The stories were very touching, very sincere and very much God-centered. We were especially grateful that even though they thanked us countless times, that they also pointed to Jesus and God's provision knowing full-well that He was the giver of all good things. We felt so touched that they were grasping all their blessings as a gift from Him, rather than having our names and faces at the forefront - this has been our goal, to edify His name not our own. Many of their testimonies brought tears to our eyes and some shared of their own personal struggles, God's goodness, His provision and their growth in faith. We were so impressed with their vulnerability and transparency and their willingness to share this with the whole group. Everything was shared in Shona, which was fine for Yolanda to understand but a few times she had to ask a lady to slow down in sharing her excitement because the words start to run together which makes it harder to understand. Afterward, Yolanda tried her best to write down what she could remember of their testimonies. which filled up several pages and we look forward to sharing some of these in person when we return stateside in August.

Wow, we can't believe that it is already December!

We last updated you via e-mail and Facebook regarding major developments within the country. As you've probably seen since then (due to the welcoming of foreign journalists for the first time in years), the former presldent has resigned after nearly 4 decades. That evening throughout the country, it was pure pandemonium and elation. The streets of Harare were overflowing with people who were celebrating the end of an era. Just as with the entire week prior, there was no looting, violence, or vandalism. The level of peace within the country was a true testimony to the nature and culture of the Zimbabwean people. It is quite rare where the miIitary takes over a g0vernment, gets rid of the presldent, and there is no violence. A week ago today, the 3rd presldent of the country was inaugurated. Electi0ns will still go on as planned next year. We are praying that they would be free and fair and that safety continues during that time.

​What do we expect going forward? The short answer is that we aren't sure. Some improvements have already been made, so we are optimistic and hopeful for a better tomorrow, yet realistic and waiting to see what happens in the long term. We could end up with more of the same or worse, but we are choosing to rejoice with the rest of the country as it begins a new chapter. Rather than hoping in a new person or people, we hope in Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, regardless of a particular leader. But for now, there is a renewed sense of pride, positivity, and patriotism which had been snuffed out years ago and nearly forgotten, but has returned with a blaze of enthusiasm.

I'll repeat a quote from our last e-mail from a Zimbabwean newspaper editor, “Dear world, we are fully aware of the possible risks and pitfalls beyond this tipping point. ... After 37 years of repression, allow us to soak in this moment. Sincerely, #Zimbabwe.”

You may remember that last year, an individual gave a $10,000 gift. With our electricity problems, we had been planning on using it for a solar power system for our house/ministry base (which was quoted at $10,000). When we moved here in 2014, we were having regular days of 18-20 hours without power. However, beginning last year, Zim began importing electricity from South Africa, which greatly improved our situation. We started having consistent electricity, with only minimal outages (only 5-6 hours off every couple weeks, with one day a month of 12-13 hours off). More recently it's only been off for 30-60 minutes a couple times a week, but still with random days of 12-13 hours off.

​We have been holding off on purchasing a solar system, because if things stay the way they are, then a $10,000 system is not worth it. Zim regularly misses monthly payments to South Africa and they continually threaten to shut us off, but they continue to give a consistent supply of electricity. At the same time, there is a huge dam a couple hours from us that houses one of the main power plants in Zim. For the last 2 years, they have been adding to it so that it will provide more power (the same amount of electricity that is imported from SA). That is supposed to be completed this coming year. For those reasons, we decided against purchasing the solar system, but have rather chosen to go the route of an inverter.

​When we were in SA in October, we bought an inverter and 2 car-sized batteries. They are now connected to our main breaker. When the electricity goes off, it turns on automatically. It powers all of our inside lights (which means no more candles!!!!!!!! we are excited about that :-) and half of our outside security lights. It also powers one set of centrally located outlets, where we have our phone and wifi plugged in, where we can charge our laptops and cell phones, and also plug in a fan. We have only had it set up for a couple weeks, but has already come in very helpful. In fact, the electricity is off now while I am writing this blog. Whereas before, my laptop would have already died by now and I wouldn't have been able to get online anyway. It has been a major improvement in not interrupting our work every time the electricity goes off. As an added bonus in keeping us sane, I also have a fan going. It's such a seamless transition to the inverter that after awhile, Yolanda forgot there was no electricity. However, our refrigerator and freezers are not powered by the inverter, but those are fine for 24 hours. If at some point, we go back to 20 hour days of no electricity, then we very well may need to buy a generator, which would take care of the fridge and freezers, but for now that is not an issue.

​What does an inverter have to do with the Wednesday group? The total cost of the inverter, batteries, cables, and connections was $600, which allowed us to be able to bless the 9 women who are starting chicken businesses with the rest of the funds to finish building their chicken runs. Of course we didn't tell them about the $10,000, solar system, and inverter side of it, but you should have seen them when we told them that God had finally provided what they needed to finish their buildings. They began singing praises to the Lord. How joyful they were that they are almost to the point of purchasing chicks. You could visibly see weights being lifted off their shoulders, especially the ones whose children have been unable to be in school this last term.

We are spending almost all of our time and energy these days making final preparations for VBS, which will take place December 11-15. The theme is Jesus' birthday and what Jesus' coming is all about. This time around, many of our Tuesday and Wednesday ladies have volunteered to help. We are very thankful for the extra hands, but also for their feelings of empowerment and their choosing to help children within their community learn more about Jesus.

​Please pray for the hearts of the children who will attend, as well as their families. Pray also for Yolanda and me and our energy levels, since this is always an exhausting week. The kids look forward to this week each time we host it and we are excited for the ability to provide this time for them.

Forwarding Agent) attended a couple years ago and this time my parents were able to attend. It was great for them to see what we have experienced and even attend workshops focused on how to deal with things when you are the parents of missionaries.

​Janeece (from the US), who stays here each time we return to the US was there for the weekend. So it was a great opportunity for my parents and her to meet for the first time.

​Lord willing, we will be attending next year in person while Janeece is serving here for us in Zim.