We have been back in Zimbabwe for 2 weeks and have been getting reacquainted with life here. Before we give an update, we want to say how thankful we are for the end of year/beginning of year special gifts that we received, specifically for a solar system! Thank you to each one who have given toward that project! We will share more below, but it’s very apparent that we need this to be able to function and just do life, not to mention to do ministry in full capacity. So thank you for your special gifts.
Thank you also to those of you individuals and churches who gave regularly last year! We want to recognize you because without your faithful, consistent giving, this ministry could not continue. Yes, we get excited when we receive “extra” gifts, but it’s the regular, faithful gifts, large and small, that keep everything going, so that when there are extra gifts, they can go toward other projects. Without you, we could not pay the “boring,” but all too necessary bills of rent, utilities, security, wages, etc. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued commitment to JM2Z.
Thank you also to those of you individuals and churches who gave regularly last year! We want to recognize you because without your faithful, consistent giving, this ministry could not continue. Yes, we get excited when we receive “extra” gifts, but it’s the regular, faithful gifts, large and small, that keep everything going, so that when there are extra gifts, they can go toward other projects. Without you, we could not pay the “boring,” but all too necessary bills of rent, utilities, security, wages, etc. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued commitment to JM2Z.
Thankfully when we landed, all of our bags arrived without anything being harmed in the process. We stayed overnight in Harare the first night, since our flight arrived in the evening and we didn’t want to drive the hour and a half to Chinhoyi in the dark. We were very thankful that the house where we stayed had electricity, because the moment we got off the plane, the heat hit us and it was so nice to have a fan.
We got a few groceries the next day, before heading to Chinhoyi. We were quickly reminded of the poverty just as we were driving around Harare, we were approached at intersections, red lights, and parking lots by people asking for money or food, explaining that it’s been days since they’ve eaten. We never give money, but we wanted to buy up the entire grocery store and hand out food. We did what we could do in terms of giving food at the time, but it didn’t take long to realize that we weren’t in England anymore. Even though in Zim there is plenty on the store shelves, it is just extremely expensive for the average person.
We got some groceries for ourselves, but knew that we couldn’t depend on electricity for the fridge or freezer to keep any food cold, so we planned to get ice in Chinhoyi to put in a cooler, which we would use for a fridge. Unfortunately, we went to all 3 grocery stores in town and 2 gas stations and couldn’t find ice anywhere. So we plugged in the refrigerator, put the few perishables in it and prayed that there would be enough electricity to keep it cool. Unfortunately, we have already lost several perishable items in the last couple weeks, but we continue to hope for the best and do the best with what we’ve got.
We got a few groceries the next day, before heading to Chinhoyi. We were quickly reminded of the poverty just as we were driving around Harare, we were approached at intersections, red lights, and parking lots by people asking for money or food, explaining that it’s been days since they’ve eaten. We never give money, but we wanted to buy up the entire grocery store and hand out food. We did what we could do in terms of giving food at the time, but it didn’t take long to realize that we weren’t in England anymore. Even though in Zim there is plenty on the store shelves, it is just extremely expensive for the average person.
We got some groceries for ourselves, but knew that we couldn’t depend on electricity for the fridge or freezer to keep any food cold, so we planned to get ice in Chinhoyi to put in a cooler, which we would use for a fridge. Unfortunately, we went to all 3 grocery stores in town and 2 gas stations and couldn’t find ice anywhere. So we plugged in the refrigerator, put the few perishables in it and prayed that there would be enough electricity to keep it cool. Unfortunately, we have already lost several perishable items in the last couple weeks, but we continue to hope for the best and do the best with what we’ve got.
The picture is of our thermometer at 3:30 in the afternoon. As you can see, outside was 101 and inside was 90. I think our arrival back this time was the most miserable that we felt, as it consistently ranged from the upper-80’s to mid-90’s inside the house. Thankfully, the electricity has usually been on at night about 80% of the time, so we can have cool air to sleep in, but once 6:00am hits, it’s hot and sticky and feels hard to breathe.
We feel so blessed to have our own water source of clean, fresh water, whether or not there is electricity. We’ve been able to take multiple showers a day to try and stay cool. However, even the “cold” water isn’t too cool since it comes from a tank that is in the sun.
There is still a drought throughout the country. There has been little to no rain during this “rainy” season, which is a problem for many reasons. We are very thankful that there have been multiple days of rain in the past week here in Chinhoyi. Each rain shower doesn’t always last very long, but long enough to wash away the dust from the buildings and vegetation and make things look a little greener. Along with the rains have come more bearable temperatures, which are down into the 70’s for lows and upper-80’s for highs. Of course the rain brings with it high humidity and so it certainly doesn’t feel like mid or high 70’s. However, it has made it much easier to function and breathe. Our skin is still clammy for much of the day, but that’s just a part of being in this environment
We feel so blessed to have our own water source of clean, fresh water, whether or not there is electricity. We’ve been able to take multiple showers a day to try and stay cool. However, even the “cold” water isn’t too cool since it comes from a tank that is in the sun.
There is still a drought throughout the country. There has been little to no rain during this “rainy” season, which is a problem for many reasons. We are very thankful that there have been multiple days of rain in the past week here in Chinhoyi. Each rain shower doesn’t always last very long, but long enough to wash away the dust from the buildings and vegetation and make things look a little greener. Along with the rains have come more bearable temperatures, which are down into the 70’s for lows and upper-80’s for highs. Of course the rain brings with it high humidity and so it certainly doesn’t feel like mid or high 70’s. However, it has made it much easier to function and breathe. Our skin is still clammy for much of the day, but that’s just a part of being in this environment
Zimbabwe is in its worst condition since about 10-12 years ago. There continue to be no jobs, very little rain, no cash, no electricity, no water, and no fuel. The electricity was quite erratic when we first moved to Zim and then for 2-3 years it was on consistently. However, 2019 was the worst it’s been and we foresee no improvement anytime soon. The ability to work on our laptops/online, turn lights on when the women are here for those with poor eyesight, charge our phones (work and security), the ability to keep fresh produce/frozen food on hand, have security lights after dark, not needing to do laundry at night, get back to normal sleep patterns (we continue to be awake at any hour of the day), as well as have the luxury of having a cold drink or reheating leftovers in 2 minutes in the microwave vs. 25 minutes on the little gas cylinder, all of these would be such a blessing for both the ministry and personally.
In our Giving Tuesday email (Dec.), we requested funds for a new roof for the ministry base, so that we could later put solar panels on it, since the current roof is too old for that. It became apparent that it would probably take quite awhile to do that. So at the end of the year, we sent another email, asking for funds for only a solar system. We had the idea that we could put solar panels on stands in the yard, instead of on the roof. This will take much less time and about 1/3 of the money. If we will ever get the roof replaced, we do not know, but we leave that in God’s hands. As you can see below with the first rains we immediately started finding leaks in the roof. For now we are just grateful that we do have a roof over our heads.
Combining what was given in response to both emails, you gave $8,854! Thank you!! This is close to 75% of the total needed for a full solar system. In the last couple weeks, we have been in contact with a recommended supplier/installer from Harare, who has been working on quotes for different options. He will be coming to do a home visit next week so he can give us the most accurate quote possible. Please be in prayer for the final funds to be raised and that we would be able to have all the necessary information in order to make a wise decision on a final product
In our Giving Tuesday email (Dec.), we requested funds for a new roof for the ministry base, so that we could later put solar panels on it, since the current roof is too old for that. It became apparent that it would probably take quite awhile to do that. So at the end of the year, we sent another email, asking for funds for only a solar system. We had the idea that we could put solar panels on stands in the yard, instead of on the roof. This will take much less time and about 1/3 of the money. If we will ever get the roof replaced, we do not know, but we leave that in God’s hands. As you can see below with the first rains we immediately started finding leaks in the roof. For now we are just grateful that we do have a roof over our heads.
Combining what was given in response to both emails, you gave $8,854! Thank you!! This is close to 75% of the total needed for a full solar system. In the last couple weeks, we have been in contact with a recommended supplier/installer from Harare, who has been working on quotes for different options. He will be coming to do a home visit next week so he can give us the most accurate quote possible. Please be in prayer for the final funds to be raised and that we would be able to have all the necessary information in order to make a wise decision on a final product
 Repairing a leak in our hot water heater on the roof |  Additionally, there was a leak in the roof right where the hot water heater is, so this is our dining room ceiling, which was holding water. |
 The water tank has always had a manual switch that we needed to flip, in order to fill the tank with water and then shut it off when it was full |  We changed the plumbing and added a ball float in the tank, so now it fills and shuts off automatically |
Since the outlook for the country this year is pretty bleak, we see the outlook for ministry this year to be lots of crisis intervention, whether it’s school fees, food hampers, water, toiletries, etc. We will continue with our two weekly groups of Bible studies, prayer times, emotional support, and projects/crafts. Our goal for these women and their families has always been to be self-sustainable, so except for just before we left last September (when we gave them food hampers), we rarely just give things away. This is why we started micro-enterprises in 2017. However, at this point, they are going to need help just to get by. Most of these women have never and few have rarely directly asked us for anything. We plan to begin meeting with them again in the next couple weeks and then we can get a better picture of how everyone is doing. But there’s no doubt that as much as 2019 was a hard year for them, 2020 will be that much harder. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we make decisions on how and in what capacity to be of assistance throughout this year. We are not a charity. We’re a ministry and we want to do our best to be the Church in the way Jesus intended. We are also planning on our regular VBS programs in April and August (possibly December, if able). We are also planning to begin and finish building the new ministry building this year, which is fully funded. There will be many, many ministry opportunities throughout the year. Please pray for us and these women and children as we navigate through 2020 together. May we not be overwhelmed by the number and size of needs, but may we be overcome by the Lord’s presence, strength, and peace.
 These are roasted flying ants, which is a protein filled snack. Flying ants come out during a good rain. If you saw the video on our Facebook page last night during a rain, you saw many of them flying all around the outside of a window. |  This is from the news. A man was arrested for stealing notebooks from the store which his child needed for school. They cost about $3USD, but are about Z$60. Each high schooler needs 10 of them. That's how desperate people are now. We just got some for David, who is one of the 3 brothers who used to regularly come to our gate for a snack, but we hadn't seen them in a long time until this week. |
A man getting a ride on the back of a kombi (or taxi van of 20 people) on the highway between Harare and Chinhoyi. We are glad he was holding on tightly, since it was going about 60 MPH.
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