In all the details of the Hilux that we shared in our previous blog, we forgot to mention that it is a 2011 model, with 35,000 miles on the clock. We were so blessed to get one with such low mileage and made this purchase that much more of a blessing and a bargain.
So we pulled out of Yolanda's uncle's driveway at 5:00 am on Monday (11/24), to start our 7 hour drive to the border. We were confident that we had the paperwork we needed to get through without any hassles, especially without them trying to get us to pay tax, because we had checked at the head office in Harare before we left Zim. After a couple rest stops, we pulled into Musina (the final town in South Africa before the Zim border) at 1:00 pm. We knew it could be a few hours of jumping through hoops to get through the border, but we were mentally prepared for it, and drove up to the gate.
So we pulled out of Yolanda's uncle's driveway at 5:00 am on Monday (11/24), to start our 7 hour drive to the border. We were confident that we had the paperwork we needed to get through without any hassles, especially without them trying to get us to pay tax, because we had checked at the head office in Harare before we left Zim. After a couple rest stops, we pulled into Musina (the final town in South Africa before the Zim border) at 1:00 pm. We knew it could be a few hours of jumping through hoops to get through the border, but we were mentally prepared for it, and drove up to the gate.
The long line of people waiting for their passport stamps We drove through the first gate, and received a short form to fill out for the vehicle. Then, we parked, and got in line so that we could get our passports stamped to depart South Africa. To the left is a picture of the line. We had arrived after two buses, so there were about 200+ people in the line, with everyone damp from sweating with the high heat. Immediately, we were approached by several "agents" who claimed that for a fee, they could get us to the front of the line. Of course, none of them were legit, and we ignored them as best we could. Yolanda went up to the building to get the vehicle form stamped, while I stood in line and kept an eye on the Hilux. Within two hours, we were through the line and back in the car. We drove up to the next checkpoint, where we had to have a vehicle inspection. They requested all the paperwork we had, and we showed them. They claimed that we were missing some forms, but we told them that Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) said we didn't need anything else. We had to follow him back to his office, where he explained everything that we needed to do. Now it was 3:20, and he said the one piece of paperwork would take up to 6 hours. Not to mention that the office where we were was closing at 3:30, which meant that we were guaranteed not to make it through the border that day. The one thing that we could do, which we were told that we needed, is go to an auto garage, and get "HI-DOT" applied to the Hilux. They sprayed 10,000 small "dots" all over the vehicle, under the hood, on each wheel, underneath the vehicle, inside the doors etc. Each "dot" has an ID number on it, which can only be seen if a blue light is shown on it. This is a security measure, in case someone steals the car, or even just the spare tire or something, it can be identified without question as belonging to us. This was a requirement and a new law, so we were thankful to be able to get it done before they closed for the day, of course for an extra fee.
These signs were littered along the main road in Musina The thought of not getting through on Monday was really deflating. We were tired from a long day of driving, dehydrated from being out in the heat, and now we had to make a plan for the night. We were given the names of three hotels where we could stay on the main road, but being a border town, this was not the type of place we wanted to be in for any length of time. As you can see to the right, there were many signs warning us not to stop, due to the high rate of crime, which we could guess by just observing the area. Yolanda remembered a hotel where her family stayed at one point, in a town just outside of Musina. We weren't sure exactly where it was, but we followed a sign that pointed in the direction of the town. As we were driving, we soon got to the middle of nowhere.
The road to Tshipise Yolanda explained to me that it was along here that people hop over the fence into South Africa, and there have been stories of people being eaten by lions. Anyway, Tshipise (the town we were heading to) was 20 miles down the road, and we were thankful to arrive just before dark. The hotel was far enough away from Musina, that we felt very safe, especially with a loaded up truck.
We got an early start on Tuesday (11/25) morning. We arrived at the police station shortly after it opened. We needed a police clearance in order to export the Hilux. The lady serving us said that we needed two copies of documents that we had. No problem, since there was a copier directly behind her. However, she said that we couldn't use it, and we would need to go to the other side of town to get copies made. We did that, came back, and got the police clearance. From there, we needed to get a form at the office where we were the day before. We had the documents we needed, and the man did what he needed to on the computer. He was finished within 15 minutes. However, the document he had to give us was in a book, which was locked in a filing cabinet. He told us that unfortunately the only person with the only key was out sick. He was in the hospital and could not be contacted. He proceeded to search the office because maybe the key was hidden somewhere there. After over an hour of looking, he made a phone call, and asked someone to go to this person's house to search through his clothes, because maybe they would find the key there. He continually told us he was doing everything he could to get us what we needed. All of this "looking for the key" was presumably because he was waiting for a bribe. After being there an hour and a half, he realized that wasn't going to happen, so he looked in an envelope and exclaimed, "Wouldn't you know it? The key has been here the whole time!" He unlocked the cabinet, filled out our form, and ten minutes later we were on our way.
Now, it was 11:30, and we went to our next office where they would scan and e-mail the document we just received to authorities in Pretoria (5 hour drive from where we were). The man told us that we couldn't do anything until they received an e-mail reply. He said it usually takes about 6 hours. 6 hours? It's just an e-mail. We asked why it took so long. His reply was because the location where the e-mail was going is so far away. Seriously, he said that!! Needless to say, we waited in town to get an update from him, but as the afternoon wore on, it became clear that we would be spending the night again, so we headed back to the hotel.
Janeece (the woman staying at our house) was arriving at the Harare airport on Wednesday (11/26), and we would obviously not be there to pick her up. We were able to contact friends in Harare, who graciously picked her up, and let her stay overnight at their house. We woke up Wednesday and called the office the first thing. They hadn't received a reply yet. It was frustrating, because there was nothing we could do until we got it. We did a few things in town and then waited outside the office for a couple hours. Finally, at 3:30, they received it. Now, we had all the paperwork we needed to go through the border. However, even though we had everything we needed, we weren't sure how long it would actually take to get through. Once through the border, the road isn't good and we did not want to be driving it in the dark, and did not like the prospects of having to spend the night just into Zim, where there were very limited options. So, we made the decision to spend one more night in Tshipise, and go through the border in the morning.
We arrived at the border at 7:30 on Thursday (11/27) morning. We got our passports stamped to leave South Africa. Then we drove to the next checkpoint, showed our paperwork, and went through to the Zimbabwe side. We parked outside the office and went inside. We were greeted by people who wanted to watch the car for us, but we said no thanks. Inside, a man with an official-looking vest showed us where to go. He helped us through the first things we needed to do. He told us that we had to work with a clearing agent, even though we didn't want to. The clearing agent showed us his official badge, and quoted us his $100 fee. We stood in line, and thankfully, since we got there so early, there were not many people there. We got to the front and the woman behind the counter asked the clearing agent to step back. She told us that he was not an official "clearing agent" and that we did not need one. She also told us that the man in the vest was not official either. Needless to say, we ignored both of them the rest of the day and did not pay them anything. The woman we worked with spent the next 3 hours working on our papers. We stood there while she did what she needed to, and by 11:30, we were done. We received passport stamps for entering Zimbabwe and we were good to go.
I'll (Yolanda) take over here :-) The only thing we needed to do now was get temporary license plates, because they took our South African ones. Of course we did not know this before. Once in Zim, we followed directions to where we would get them. It was definitely off the beaten path, driving on a dirt road to a building surrounded by bush. Outside the office was a gate, in which we were not allowed to drive through because we didn't have license plates, even though the reason we were there was because we needed license plates. Make sense? We didn't understand :-) Anyway, there were lots of people hanging outside the gate where we had to park. We didn't feel comfortable leaving the Hilux alone, so Andrew stayed in the vehicle. He didn't feel comfortable leaving me outside with a lot of shady guys hanging around. Walking from the truck to the gate, several guys asked me to hire them as agents to make the process go faster. At the gate one guy even put his hand on my shoulder, asking me to stop, clearly he was persistent. So one of the guards at the gate tackled him, and I walked inside. It was quite a long walk up to the office and I really wasn't sure where exactly I needed to go. Once again, several guys tried to intimidate me as I walked, they would hurl crude comments my way and even walked beside me shouting "boo" in my face to frighten me. I didn't show them much interest and kept walking, often all you can do is fake confidence although I made sure to arm myself with my small bottle of mace, just in case.
The lady at the office (a window in a wall) that I dealt with was very unhelpful and clearly racist as she dealt with me. I tried to be as polite as possible and not provoke her. After handing in all the paperwork I asked how long it would take and she told me, as long as she likes, and then she placed it on her desk with other papers. I thanked her and stayed standing in her view. She then told me to step back and that it would take several hours, I tried not to show my frustration. She was clearly being very difficult to work with, and then said that Andrew would need to pick up the temporary plates since the vehicle was on his name (something we had to do for duty-free purposes). I was dreading having to wait several hours, especially since staying somewhere for the night would leave us with little to no options. Anyways I made my way back to the car, and explained the situation to Andrew, then all of a sudden one of the insurance agents (a real agent) came to tell us that our papers were ready, it had only been 30mins. Andrew then went up to the office, got the plates and came back as quickly as possible. In the mean time several very drunk guys began singing at the top of their lungs, several guys offered to wash the vehicle and the agent that was very persistent before made sure that his presence was known but thankfully the brief waiting period was uneventful, although I must admit I was grateful to see Andrew when he finally came through the gate.
Now, we were safely on the road, 7 hours away from Harare. We were so glad that we waited until this morning, because now it was 1:00 pm, and if we would have tried the night before, we would have been in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. We thought it fitting that it was Thanksgiving day when we made it through the border! We were very thankful indeed. Long story short, we made it to Harare at 9:00 pm. God was certainly watching out for us in the dark, keeping us safe on the road. We arrived at our friends' house, met up with Janeece, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (with chicken substituted for turkey), which they made for us since we weren't able to make our own (which was generous, because of course they don't celebrate Thanksgiving). Janeece had even made stuffing! It all tasted great after the long day!
We got an early start on Tuesday (11/25) morning. We arrived at the police station shortly after it opened. We needed a police clearance in order to export the Hilux. The lady serving us said that we needed two copies of documents that we had. No problem, since there was a copier directly behind her. However, she said that we couldn't use it, and we would need to go to the other side of town to get copies made. We did that, came back, and got the police clearance. From there, we needed to get a form at the office where we were the day before. We had the documents we needed, and the man did what he needed to on the computer. He was finished within 15 minutes. However, the document he had to give us was in a book, which was locked in a filing cabinet. He told us that unfortunately the only person with the only key was out sick. He was in the hospital and could not be contacted. He proceeded to search the office because maybe the key was hidden somewhere there. After over an hour of looking, he made a phone call, and asked someone to go to this person's house to search through his clothes, because maybe they would find the key there. He continually told us he was doing everything he could to get us what we needed. All of this "looking for the key" was presumably because he was waiting for a bribe. After being there an hour and a half, he realized that wasn't going to happen, so he looked in an envelope and exclaimed, "Wouldn't you know it? The key has been here the whole time!" He unlocked the cabinet, filled out our form, and ten minutes later we were on our way.
Now, it was 11:30, and we went to our next office where they would scan and e-mail the document we just received to authorities in Pretoria (5 hour drive from where we were). The man told us that we couldn't do anything until they received an e-mail reply. He said it usually takes about 6 hours. 6 hours? It's just an e-mail. We asked why it took so long. His reply was because the location where the e-mail was going is so far away. Seriously, he said that!! Needless to say, we waited in town to get an update from him, but as the afternoon wore on, it became clear that we would be spending the night again, so we headed back to the hotel.
Janeece (the woman staying at our house) was arriving at the Harare airport on Wednesday (11/26), and we would obviously not be there to pick her up. We were able to contact friends in Harare, who graciously picked her up, and let her stay overnight at their house. We woke up Wednesday and called the office the first thing. They hadn't received a reply yet. It was frustrating, because there was nothing we could do until we got it. We did a few things in town and then waited outside the office for a couple hours. Finally, at 3:30, they received it. Now, we had all the paperwork we needed to go through the border. However, even though we had everything we needed, we weren't sure how long it would actually take to get through. Once through the border, the road isn't good and we did not want to be driving it in the dark, and did not like the prospects of having to spend the night just into Zim, where there were very limited options. So, we made the decision to spend one more night in Tshipise, and go through the border in the morning.
We arrived at the border at 7:30 on Thursday (11/27) morning. We got our passports stamped to leave South Africa. Then we drove to the next checkpoint, showed our paperwork, and went through to the Zimbabwe side. We parked outside the office and went inside. We were greeted by people who wanted to watch the car for us, but we said no thanks. Inside, a man with an official-looking vest showed us where to go. He helped us through the first things we needed to do. He told us that we had to work with a clearing agent, even though we didn't want to. The clearing agent showed us his official badge, and quoted us his $100 fee. We stood in line, and thankfully, since we got there so early, there were not many people there. We got to the front and the woman behind the counter asked the clearing agent to step back. She told us that he was not an official "clearing agent" and that we did not need one. She also told us that the man in the vest was not official either. Needless to say, we ignored both of them the rest of the day and did not pay them anything. The woman we worked with spent the next 3 hours working on our papers. We stood there while she did what she needed to, and by 11:30, we were done. We received passport stamps for entering Zimbabwe and we were good to go.
I'll (Yolanda) take over here :-) The only thing we needed to do now was get temporary license plates, because they took our South African ones. Of course we did not know this before. Once in Zim, we followed directions to where we would get them. It was definitely off the beaten path, driving on a dirt road to a building surrounded by bush. Outside the office was a gate, in which we were not allowed to drive through because we didn't have license plates, even though the reason we were there was because we needed license plates. Make sense? We didn't understand :-) Anyway, there were lots of people hanging outside the gate where we had to park. We didn't feel comfortable leaving the Hilux alone, so Andrew stayed in the vehicle. He didn't feel comfortable leaving me outside with a lot of shady guys hanging around. Walking from the truck to the gate, several guys asked me to hire them as agents to make the process go faster. At the gate one guy even put his hand on my shoulder, asking me to stop, clearly he was persistent. So one of the guards at the gate tackled him, and I walked inside. It was quite a long walk up to the office and I really wasn't sure where exactly I needed to go. Once again, several guys tried to intimidate me as I walked, they would hurl crude comments my way and even walked beside me shouting "boo" in my face to frighten me. I didn't show them much interest and kept walking, often all you can do is fake confidence although I made sure to arm myself with my small bottle of mace, just in case.
The lady at the office (a window in a wall) that I dealt with was very unhelpful and clearly racist as she dealt with me. I tried to be as polite as possible and not provoke her. After handing in all the paperwork I asked how long it would take and she told me, as long as she likes, and then she placed it on her desk with other papers. I thanked her and stayed standing in her view. She then told me to step back and that it would take several hours, I tried not to show my frustration. She was clearly being very difficult to work with, and then said that Andrew would need to pick up the temporary plates since the vehicle was on his name (something we had to do for duty-free purposes). I was dreading having to wait several hours, especially since staying somewhere for the night would leave us with little to no options. Anyways I made my way back to the car, and explained the situation to Andrew, then all of a sudden one of the insurance agents (a real agent) came to tell us that our papers were ready, it had only been 30mins. Andrew then went up to the office, got the plates and came back as quickly as possible. In the mean time several very drunk guys began singing at the top of their lungs, several guys offered to wash the vehicle and the agent that was very persistent before made sure that his presence was known but thankfully the brief waiting period was uneventful, although I must admit I was grateful to see Andrew when he finally came through the gate.
Now, we were safely on the road, 7 hours away from Harare. We were so glad that we waited until this morning, because now it was 1:00 pm, and if we would have tried the night before, we would have been in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. We thought it fitting that it was Thanksgiving day when we made it through the border! We were very thankful indeed. Long story short, we made it to Harare at 9:00 pm. God was certainly watching out for us in the dark, keeping us safe on the road. We arrived at our friends' house, met up with Janeece, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (with chicken substituted for turkey), which they made for us since we weren't able to make our own (which was generous, because of course they don't celebrate Thanksgiving). Janeece had even made stuffing! It all tasted great after the long day!
Attaching our new plates The following day, Friday (11/28), we planned to quickly get the vehicle registration sorted and number plates. We planned on a few hours in the morning and then get to Chinhoyi as soon as possible to start showing Janeece around town. But as if we hadn't learned anything the past couple weeks, nothing is done "quickly" in Africa. After going to the post office where we went to get registration for our personal car last year we were told that we needed to go to the ZIMRA offices (the same offices that didn't tell us everything we needed documentation wise to come through the border). Anyways we stood in line (while waiting for the people behind the counter to serve us we watched as they nonchalantly played computer games as we stood patiently in line waiting for them) and then when we finally got to the front we were told that we would need several copies and another police clearance, one that would need to be done the other side of town. It was then that we realized that this might be another all day thing so we prepared ourselves and got going.
Once we got copies we headed to the police station. The officer serving us wasn't very polite and then said to us that we would have to come back Tuesday to pick up our papers (note this was Friday and we would be flying on Sunday and only we could do this due to finger printing etc). We got nervous for a second and explained we would be flying out of the country for a couple months on Sunday. At that point I heard him speak to a lady behind me in Shona. I then translated to Andrew what he said and the officer was shocked that I understood him. Then he spoke to me in Shona and I responded with short Shona phrases and English. All of a sudden his whole demeanor changed. He stamped a form and then pointed us towards his boss. His boss then asked about jobs in the US and said he was interested in security work, I complimented him and mentioned that for his size (he was a very large size) he would easily find work in that area. Then he too stamped the form and sent us on our way. We were shocked because all of a sudden 5 days turned to 20mins, PTL. Finally we got to Chinhoyi that evening at 8pm, and then spent all of Saturday (11/29) showing Janeece around Chinhoyi, explaining everything about the house, and telling her everything she would need to know. Of course we will be in contact often, but it was important for her to know how to get around. She was excited to be there, and jumped right in. We continue to be so very grateful for all she is doing and her presence over the next 6 months. Andrew will finish up this post.
Once we got copies we headed to the police station. The officer serving us wasn't very polite and then said to us that we would have to come back Tuesday to pick up our papers (note this was Friday and we would be flying on Sunday and only we could do this due to finger printing etc). We got nervous for a second and explained we would be flying out of the country for a couple months on Sunday. At that point I heard him speak to a lady behind me in Shona. I then translated to Andrew what he said and the officer was shocked that I understood him. Then he spoke to me in Shona and I responded with short Shona phrases and English. All of a sudden his whole demeanor changed. He stamped a form and then pointed us towards his boss. His boss then asked about jobs in the US and said he was interested in security work, I complimented him and mentioned that for his size (he was a very large size) he would easily find work in that area. Then he too stamped the form and sent us on our way. We were shocked because all of a sudden 5 days turned to 20mins, PTL. Finally we got to Chinhoyi that evening at 8pm, and then spent all of Saturday (11/29) showing Janeece around Chinhoyi, explaining everything about the house, and telling her everything she would need to know. Of course we will be in contact often, but it was important for her to know how to get around. She was excited to be there, and jumped right in. We continue to be so very grateful for all she is doing and her presence over the next 6 months. Andrew will finish up this post.
We saw these girls to the right while we were driving around Harare. Two elementary aged girls, with one carrying a baby, were walking between cars in the road, begging for money. It's because of situations like this that JM2Z exists. Because of time constraints, we stayed up all night packing before we left for Harare on Sunday morning to go to the airport. Exhausted from recent weeks, we felt satisfied with the events of the recent weeks, and were so thankful that we could see God's hand in all of it. Everything fell into place at just the right time for it all to work out. JM2Z saved a tremendous amount of money because we were able to get this done now. We had generous supporters who made this possible, both financially and prayerfully. We are so grateful for safety throughout the entire ordeal. God continues to reveal Himself to us, and it is so obvious that this is where He wants us to be, and this is what He wants us to be doing.
We cannot believe that it has already been 6 months since we landed in Zim. Our time has FLOWN by. God has accomplished everything we set out to do, PLUS things we didn't know would be possible, i.e. Yolanda getting to speak with a women's group and set up a relationship with them, as well as purchase the ministry vehicle. Janeece, who is currently on her 26th assignment and has only been in the U.S. for 21 weeks during the past 3 years, said that she has never heard of any missionaries raising so much money, in such a short period of time.
God is continuing to affirm Yolanda's plans from years ago by blessing JM2Z in so many different ways. As we sit here, exhaling, having a few days to rest, before we begin our work stateside, we are thankful for God's plans, provision, and guidance. His work cannot be denied, and we are extremely thankful for the groundwork that has been laid, so we should be able to continue where we left off when we get back.
We will land back in the US on the 11th. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Please pray for us to get some much needed rest this week. Yolanda has been feeling a little under the weather today so please pray for our health as well. We apologize for such a long post but we truly were trying to share only the important details. We continue to be in awe of God's timing, grace, and provision.
We cannot believe that it has already been 6 months since we landed in Zim. Our time has FLOWN by. God has accomplished everything we set out to do, PLUS things we didn't know would be possible, i.e. Yolanda getting to speak with a women's group and set up a relationship with them, as well as purchase the ministry vehicle. Janeece, who is currently on her 26th assignment and has only been in the U.S. for 21 weeks during the past 3 years, said that she has never heard of any missionaries raising so much money, in such a short period of time.
God is continuing to affirm Yolanda's plans from years ago by blessing JM2Z in so many different ways. As we sit here, exhaling, having a few days to rest, before we begin our work stateside, we are thankful for God's plans, provision, and guidance. His work cannot be denied, and we are extremely thankful for the groundwork that has been laid, so we should be able to continue where we left off when we get back.
We will land back in the US on the 11th. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Please pray for us to get some much needed rest this week. Yolanda has been feeling a little under the weather today so please pray for our health as well. We apologize for such a long post but we truly were trying to share only the important details. We continue to be in awe of God's timing, grace, and provision.
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