July feels like it has flown by, as we have been very busy. We had hoped to be able to tell you that our Shona lessons are going smoothly and that Yolanda has spoken to a group or two of women by now. However, that's not the case quite yet. We have to continually remind ourselves, as we have told you many times, that time works differently here and things don't happen as quickly as we would like them to happen. And that's ok, because God is here too and His timing is perfect. We have been in contact with our Shona tutor and are just waiting for her to confirm a date when we can meet, catch up, and make sure that we can continue on with our lessons as we were doing last year. We should hear back any day now and will hopefully be able to start soon. She has also been our contact for opportunities for speaking engagements and we should get a good read for her as to when that will be able to happen again.
A recent blessing was that we were able to meet with the pastor and his wife from the church in Masvingo, where Yolanda grew up. She has been a member of the church for some time and we have remained connected, even though it is 5 hours from Chinhoyi. We asked him if it would be possible for us to get a letter from their board, saying that we fall under the church as missionaries (While we are here, we do not advertise anything about JM2Z. We are just Andrew and Yolanda, getting settled in our home). This would greatly help if we were in a rural area and someone stopped us and wanted to know what we were doing there. If they can see evidence that we are doing “church work” or “mission work” and nothing else, then there wouldn’t be any problems. And that is exactly what we will be doing, but it’s just better to be clear that we don’t have any ulterior motives for being there. He agreed, thought that was a good idea, and said he would be glad to speak to their board on our behalf.
A recent blessing was that we were able to meet with the pastor and his wife from the church in Masvingo, where Yolanda grew up. She has been a member of the church for some time and we have remained connected, even though it is 5 hours from Chinhoyi. We asked him if it would be possible for us to get a letter from their board, saying that we fall under the church as missionaries (While we are here, we do not advertise anything about JM2Z. We are just Andrew and Yolanda, getting settled in our home). This would greatly help if we were in a rural area and someone stopped us and wanted to know what we were doing there. If they can see evidence that we are doing “church work” or “mission work” and nothing else, then there wouldn’t be any problems. And that is exactly what we will be doing, but it’s just better to be clear that we don’t have any ulterior motives for being there. He agreed, thought that was a good idea, and said he would be glad to speak to their board on our behalf.
We are also continuing to make necessary improvements to the house. The picture to the left is Western sanding a bookshelf. It has many nooks and crannies, and there are also several layers of paint, making it very tedious work. Whoever painted it previously used the wrong paint, so it looks white, but with some pink coming through. We are also underway with redoing our guest bathroom, which was in sad shape. The toilet was being held up by a wood plank, the sink was leaking with old pipes, and the walls were infested with termites. Even though the walls are stone, not wood, the termites eat the grout between the tiles (I didn't even know that was possible). This was evident, as the tiles were very loose from the walls, with several just falling off on their own. The toilet and sink have been removed (we will keep the bathtub). We will add a hand shower though, so that when guests or mission teams come, we can conserve water by having an option for a shower, instead of just a bath. A new toilet, sink, and tiles were purchased last year. Yolanda is also refurbishing two other pieces of furniture at the moment, her grandmother's vanity and armoire. She sanded them down and started with a layer of primer and then will paint them. As you can see, we are trying to make use of as much furniture from the house as possible.
The empty bathroom
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Taking out the old pipes, before new ones go in
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The old fixtures in the driveway
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The vanity and armoire Yolanda is working on
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We are continuing our goal of building relationships. Tonight, we attended a community dinner in Chinhoyi. This is a monthly event and unfortunately missed May's and June's due to being in Harare. So, we were glad to be able to attend tonight, and had some great conversations. We also made a plan to visit another missionary family in the Chinhoyi area. We are looking forward to connecting with them in the next couple weeks, hearing more about what they do, and sharing what we do.
There has been LOTS of talk and media outrage the last several days about the hunter who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. No doubt you have seen coverage about it. Outrage over the killing of this lion has been massive. 100,000 people have signed a petition handed over to the White House asking for the hunter to be extradited. You may or may not agree with the hunting of big game, and it sounds like there's a good chance this was indeed illegal. However, Yolanda and I have more been able to identify with this quote in a news article, "One of the few countries to avoid Cecil hysteria was Zimbabwe, where most people are more preoccupied with putting food on the table and finding work in an economy suffering 80 percent unemployment." Not to mention the HIV/AIDS rate. I don't like it when animals suffer, but Yolanda and I are much more concerned with PEOPLE who are suffering, which is why we are here. Global Finance magazine has ranked Zimbabwe as the 2nd poorest country in the world, where average annual incomes are $589.25 (2013 data). (Not to mention that on average, it is 3 times more expensive to live in Zimbabwe than in the U.S.) Our hearts are concerned with these people; the ones who don't know where their next meal is coming from, the ones who are desperate to learn skills to find work, the ones who need medical education, and the ones who don't know about a Savior, who is greater than all these worldly problems. So, even though a dead lion is a sad thing and it sounds like the hunter acted wrongly, we pray for an even greater level of outrage for people who are suffering. God is concerned with the hearts of people and we should be too. So, JM2Z will go on with Isaiah 1:17 in mind, "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
Thank you so very much for your effort in partnering with us, whether emotionally, prayerfully, or financially. We greatly appreciate your realization of the need that there is and how YOU can make a difference! Thank you for all that you do. Without you, JM2Z could not exist. Thank you!
There has been LOTS of talk and media outrage the last several days about the hunter who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. No doubt you have seen coverage about it. Outrage over the killing of this lion has been massive. 100,000 people have signed a petition handed over to the White House asking for the hunter to be extradited. You may or may not agree with the hunting of big game, and it sounds like there's a good chance this was indeed illegal. However, Yolanda and I have more been able to identify with this quote in a news article, "One of the few countries to avoid Cecil hysteria was Zimbabwe, where most people are more preoccupied with putting food on the table and finding work in an economy suffering 80 percent unemployment." Not to mention the HIV/AIDS rate. I don't like it when animals suffer, but Yolanda and I are much more concerned with PEOPLE who are suffering, which is why we are here. Global Finance magazine has ranked Zimbabwe as the 2nd poorest country in the world, where average annual incomes are $589.25 (2013 data). (Not to mention that on average, it is 3 times more expensive to live in Zimbabwe than in the U.S.) Our hearts are concerned with these people; the ones who don't know where their next meal is coming from, the ones who are desperate to learn skills to find work, the ones who need medical education, and the ones who don't know about a Savior, who is greater than all these worldly problems. So, even though a dead lion is a sad thing and it sounds like the hunter acted wrongly, we pray for an even greater level of outrage for people who are suffering. God is concerned with the hearts of people and we should be too. So, JM2Z will go on with Isaiah 1:17 in mind, "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
Thank you so very much for your effort in partnering with us, whether emotionally, prayerfully, or financially. We greatly appreciate your realization of the need that there is and how YOU can make a difference! Thank you for all that you do. Without you, JM2Z could not exist. Thank you!
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