Yolanda singing Christmas songs with her niece and nephew who were visiting A Quick Visit with Rain
We hope you had a great time of Thanksgiving with family/friends this past week. We had a wonderful day on Thursday, just the two of us. We were grateful for the technology to be able to Skype with my family while we ate. Over the weekend, rain poured just about non-stop for 3 straight days, which is a major answer to prayer! We aren't sure how much the rest of the country got though. On Saturday, we had a 24 hour power outage (while Yolanda's brother and his family were visiting for the weekend). We were very thankful that the rain brought cool temperatures while fans weren't an option. There must have been something wrong with our street, because houses merely a mile from here only lost power for 7 hours.
We hope you had a great time of Thanksgiving with family/friends this past week. We had a wonderful day on Thursday, just the two of us. We were grateful for the technology to be able to Skype with my family while we ate. Over the weekend, rain poured just about non-stop for 3 straight days, which is a major answer to prayer! We aren't sure how much the rest of the country got though. On Saturday, we had a 24 hour power outage (while Yolanda's brother and his family were visiting for the weekend). We were very thankful that the rain brought cool temperatures while fans weren't an option. There must have been something wrong with our street, because houses merely a mile from here only lost power for 7 hours.
ICOM Online
Last weekend, was the annual International Conference on Missions, which took place in Lexington, KY. This is an incredible 3-day event in which missionaries, families, and students gather to take in all kinds of missions related workshops, speakers from around the world in main sessions, praise and worship times, and mingling with missionaries at hundreds of booths. Yolanda has attended 8-9 times and I've been twice. We knew quite a few people who attended, including Janeece (who fills in for us while we are gone) and Ben Pennington (one of our board members). Boise Bible College always takes a group, and this year, a former professor and mentor of Yolanda's were both involved in speaking. Again, we were thankful for technology, as we watched the main sessions via live streaming on our TV. This event is very special to us and is a perfect reminder for us that JM2Z is exactly what God wants us to be doing. One of the quotes I took away is that, "Disciples are hand-crafted, not mass produced," which is exactly what we are trying to do here; not focusing on numbers, but rather on each individual.
Last weekend, was the annual International Conference on Missions, which took place in Lexington, KY. This is an incredible 3-day event in which missionaries, families, and students gather to take in all kinds of missions related workshops, speakers from around the world in main sessions, praise and worship times, and mingling with missionaries at hundreds of booths. Yolanda has attended 8-9 times and I've been twice. We knew quite a few people who attended, including Janeece (who fills in for us while we are gone) and Ben Pennington (one of our board members). Boise Bible College always takes a group, and this year, a former professor and mentor of Yolanda's were both involved in speaking. Again, we were thankful for technology, as we watched the main sessions via live streaming on our TV. This event is very special to us and is a perfect reminder for us that JM2Z is exactly what God wants us to be doing. One of the quotes I took away is that, "Disciples are hand-crafted, not mass produced," which is exactly what we are trying to do here; not focusing on numbers, but rather on each individual.
During the praise and worship time, they had flags of all the countries scrolling on the screen
Paper Bead Project
The ladies are thoroughly enjoying the group and are doing really well with the paper beads. As far as comradare goes, it came up that an adult daughter of one of them prints t-shirts. One lady suggested that they get her to make a group t-shirt for "their club," as they call it. Everybody agreed. So they came up with what they wanted on the shirts; a group name and a Bible verse.
Today, the ladies are at our house for 7 hours. After they measure and cut the paper and roll them, the paper beads get strung on fishing line and dipped in clear varnish. Once it dries, they must dip them 2 more times and then the beads are nice and shiny and look like glass. Then they are taken off the fishing line and they design and make the necklaces with various sized beads, colors, etc. The number of beads the ladies made today, totaled about 3,000.
We served them a lunch of sadza, beans, and green vegetables, a typical Shona meal. Scroll through the slideshow below to see the process, as well as their children who came with them.
The ladies are thoroughly enjoying the group and are doing really well with the paper beads. As far as comradare goes, it came up that an adult daughter of one of them prints t-shirts. One lady suggested that they get her to make a group t-shirt for "their club," as they call it. Everybody agreed. So they came up with what they wanted on the shirts; a group name and a Bible verse.
Today, the ladies are at our house for 7 hours. After they measure and cut the paper and roll them, the paper beads get strung on fishing line and dipped in clear varnish. Once it dries, they must dip them 2 more times and then the beads are nice and shiny and look like glass. Then they are taken off the fishing line and they design and make the necklaces with various sized beads, colors, etc. The number of beads the ladies made today, totaled about 3,000.
We served them a lunch of sadza, beans, and green vegetables, a typical Shona meal. Scroll through the slideshow below to see the process, as well as their children who came with them.
Bond Money
The bond notes were introduced into the market yesterday. One story from the day was that a driver who was passing through Zimbabwe from Mozambique to Botswana came to a tollbooth. He paid in U.S. Dollars and received change in bond notes. He explained that he needed U.S. Dollars, as he would be in another country later in the day and bond notes would be useless there. The toll worker would not budge (the g0vernment is trying to get U.S. Dollars and give bond notes). So the driver pulled out a knife and demanded U.S. Dollars. The toll worker gave in and gave up the cash. While this was taking place, the policemen, who are there to uphold justice, just watched and did nothing, obviously taking the side of the driver.
Today, I bought some fishing line for the ladies to use for their beaded jewelry. It was $4, so I asked if he had change for $5 (yes, that is a legitimate question when at a small shop). He said he did and slapped a brand new $1 bond coin on the counter. He laughed, as if he was pulling a prank on me and said he would go find a U.S. Dollar to give me instead. As we have said before, we don't know what all of the ramifications will be, but people are definitely concerned. For some though, the opportunity for cash is a welcome sight, while others are viewing it as Monopoly money. We pray that unnecessary panic would not ensue and that the Lord would provide.
The bond notes were introduced into the market yesterday. One story from the day was that a driver who was passing through Zimbabwe from Mozambique to Botswana came to a tollbooth. He paid in U.S. Dollars and received change in bond notes. He explained that he needed U.S. Dollars, as he would be in another country later in the day and bond notes would be useless there. The toll worker would not budge (the g0vernment is trying to get U.S. Dollars and give bond notes). So the driver pulled out a knife and demanded U.S. Dollars. The toll worker gave in and gave up the cash. While this was taking place, the policemen, who are there to uphold justice, just watched and did nothing, obviously taking the side of the driver.
Today, I bought some fishing line for the ladies to use for their beaded jewelry. It was $4, so I asked if he had change for $5 (yes, that is a legitimate question when at a small shop). He said he did and slapped a brand new $1 bond coin on the counter. He laughed, as if he was pulling a prank on me and said he would go find a U.S. Dollar to give me instead. As we have said before, we don't know what all of the ramifications will be, but people are definitely concerned. For some though, the opportunity for cash is a welcome sight, while others are viewing it as Monopoly money. We pray that unnecessary panic would not ensue and that the Lord would provide.
VBS and Recovery Update
Yolanda has had physical therapy for her feet for three weeks now. Prior to starting it, her ankle and toes had been feeling much better. However, after her first appointment, it was clear that she wasn't where she thought she was in the healing process and her feet hadn't been getting as much movement and exercise as we had thought. She has been in quite a bit of pain these weeks, as she not only does her exercises, but throughout the day while she is on her feet. After her first therapy appointment, we thought ahead to our VBS, which was coming up in a few weeks. With 100 kids, the two of us, and just 3 or 4 other adults, it was going to be very difficult if Yolanda was immobilized. After much prayer and thought, we made the hard decision to cancel the event for December. We are extremely disappointed that we will not be able to serve the children in this way this time, but are now thankful that we know we made the right decision. Yolanda's ankle swells up after not having her feet elevated for just an hour and especially with the heat we are currently having. Please pray for continued healing, as the recovery time has been longer than expected, which is hard physically and emotionally. We researched to see if there are any holidays off school in January so that we could do the VBS then, but unfortunately, there are not. Our next VBS will be in April when we have our first missions team, coming from Santa Clara Church in Eugene, OR.
Yolanda has had physical therapy for her feet for three weeks now. Prior to starting it, her ankle and toes had been feeling much better. However, after her first appointment, it was clear that she wasn't where she thought she was in the healing process and her feet hadn't been getting as much movement and exercise as we had thought. She has been in quite a bit of pain these weeks, as she not only does her exercises, but throughout the day while she is on her feet. After her first therapy appointment, we thought ahead to our VBS, which was coming up in a few weeks. With 100 kids, the two of us, and just 3 or 4 other adults, it was going to be very difficult if Yolanda was immobilized. After much prayer and thought, we made the hard decision to cancel the event for December. We are extremely disappointed that we will not be able to serve the children in this way this time, but are now thankful that we know we made the right decision. Yolanda's ankle swells up after not having her feet elevated for just an hour and especially with the heat we are currently having. Please pray for continued healing, as the recovery time has been longer than expected, which is hard physically and emotionally. We researched to see if there are any holidays off school in January so that we could do the VBS then, but unfortunately, there are not. Our next VBS will be in April when we have our first missions team, coming from Santa Clara Church in Eugene, OR.
Ear-Warmers
Keep your eyes open in the next day or two for another blog advertising ear-warmers the ladies made. We will be making them available for purchase and they will be shipped directly to you. All of the information for that will be coming shortly!
Keep your eyes open in the next day or two for another blog advertising ear-warmers the ladies made. We will be making them available for purchase and they will be shipped directly to you. All of the information for that will be coming shortly!
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