Heading Back

Back to Zimbabwe

We hope you have had a great start to the year! The beginning of our year has been spent getting things ready to head back to Zimbabwe. Our departure from Chicago (this Tuesday the 15th) and arrival in Zim (Thursday the 17th) is quickly approaching. Unfortunately, we will not be able to stop and visit with Yolanda's mom in London on the way. Instead, we are taking a different airline (which was cheaper and offered more free bags) that will go through Dubai. We'll have an overnight layover there on Wednesday the 16th.

​Janeece will stay with us for several days after we arrive before she returns to the US. This will give us a good time to debrief together. We have been in regular contact the last few months, but of course being able to talk in person is always better than being 8-10 time zones apart. She has been swamped from the moment she arrived, so we're sure she will be glad to have us back.

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Last Saturday, we gave our last formal update to a small group of local supporters. What a blessing it's been to see as many of you as we could throughout the last few months. Thank you again for welcoming us so warmly everywhere we went, whether your home, church, or a restaurant. Although it will be another 2 years until we see you in person again, how thankful we are that we can send regular updates on this blog so that you can continue to know what is happening!

Continued economic crisis

This picture was taken today at a gas station in Harare. Literally overnight last night, the g0vernment raised gas prices across the board. The prices you see would be average or a bit high if this were per gallon. However, prices in Zimbabwe are per liter. The price of diesel went from $1.26 to $3.11 per liter (or from $5.04 to $12.44 per gallon). The price of regular went from $1.34 to $3.31 per liter (or from $5.36 to $13.24 per gallon).

They did this in order to combat trading US dollars and local currency. However, all this has done is cause increased mayhem.

We don't know what will happen from day to day and anything is possible, but we're thankful to know that God is in control.

Prayer

Within a few weeks of our return, we plan to make a trip to South Africa to stock up on supplies. With prices in Zimbabwe continuing to skyrocket and availability of goods in question, we feel blessed to have the option of purchasing items in SA. Things are still getting worse for the average Zimbabwean, so please keep them in your prayers. People have had it hard for quite awhile, so please pray that there would be some relief for them!

Please pray for us as we transition back. It will definitely take our bodies some time to adjust, but also our minds and emotions as we get back into the swing of things. We will certainly enjoy meeting with the women again and we'll see how much Baby Western has grown! But we've also started to get used to things in the US, such as breezing in and out of a grocery store or a gas station without waiting at all. We'll need to reacquaint ourselves with the patience that's needed when things take longer than we'd like.

We're looking forward to this year and all that the Lord has in store for JM2Z, the women, children, and for us. Thank you for your continued support, prayers, and genuine interest in what is taking place halfway around the world! We appreciate you and look forward to sharing more about our plans for what we hope can be accomplished in 2019.