We finally got this post uploaded! Our WIFI has been atrocious the last couple months. We have a download speed of 1.5 mbps, which is about 4 or 5 times slower than it was last year, but about 100 times slower than most in the US. We have very limited options, but we are looking into new Internet providers!
People often ask me (Yolanda) what my day-to-day schedule looks like. So I’ve decided to give a brief outline of my general work week. Of course this schedule is not set in stone, a couple weeks before our Children’s Program, we generally focus entire days on prep work and the week of is obviously taken up serving the children. Other times we may have special events and that too will mean all our time is spent only on that event, such as missionary trip visits, etc. We also have our bi-annual trips to South Africa to stock up on supplies and an entire week to 10 days is taken up for that. In addition we break for special holidays like Christmas and Easter and other public holidays too. But for the most part, this schedule if basically what we attempt to follow week to week.
Monday - Holiday Bible Fun (Children’s program, hosted up to 3 times a year) prep day. This is a day to research themes, gather online resources, write curriculum, gather ideas for crafts and games and download material, such as coloring pages and worksheets. I can often spend weeks gathering ideas for multiple themes until after enough material starts to point in a certain direction. Then after prayer and confirmation, I pursue a particular theme and spend the remaining several weeks preparing specific material with lessons in mind. Until the final few weeks before the actual event, when it’s all hands on deck with writing, editing, downloading, translating, printing, sample creations, etc. for the actual week.
Two weeks before the event, the week of, and the week after, are very crazy. Very late nights, all nighters, and very early mornings are the norm. It’s not because of poor planning, but rather some things need to be done during those times (can’t be done before). The women we work with are a huge help, but there are certain things that we need to do, so it’s a hectic time (very little sleep) for a month, but we know it’s just for a period.
People often ask me (Yolanda) what my day-to-day schedule looks like. So I’ve decided to give a brief outline of my general work week. Of course this schedule is not set in stone, a couple weeks before our Children’s Program, we generally focus entire days on prep work and the week of is obviously taken up serving the children. Other times we may have special events and that too will mean all our time is spent only on that event, such as missionary trip visits, etc. We also have our bi-annual trips to South Africa to stock up on supplies and an entire week to 10 days is taken up for that. In addition we break for special holidays like Christmas and Easter and other public holidays too. But for the most part, this schedule if basically what we attempt to follow week to week.
Monday - Holiday Bible Fun (Children’s program, hosted up to 3 times a year) prep day. This is a day to research themes, gather online resources, write curriculum, gather ideas for crafts and games and download material, such as coloring pages and worksheets. I can often spend weeks gathering ideas for multiple themes until after enough material starts to point in a certain direction. Then after prayer and confirmation, I pursue a particular theme and spend the remaining several weeks preparing specific material with lessons in mind. Until the final few weeks before the actual event, when it’s all hands on deck with writing, editing, downloading, translating, printing, sample creations, etc. for the actual week.
Two weeks before the event, the week of, and the week after, are very crazy. Very late nights, all nighters, and very early mornings are the norm. It’s not because of poor planning, but rather some things need to be done during those times (can’t be done before). The women we work with are a huge help, but there are certain things that we need to do, so it’s a hectic time (very little sleep) for a month, but we know it’s just for a period.
Showing off the frog crowns they made for their HBF/VBS craft
Tuesday - Andrew picks up the Tuesday Ladies for our weekly meeting. I’m in the kitchen helping prepare a meal for 15, set up for their arrival i.e. cups, drinks, craft supplies, Bible study materials, etc. Upon their arrival, before lunch, we gather to greet and pray for the meal. After lunch, we jump into our lesson for the day. The lesson can follow a variety of methods or types, such as, Bible book overview, expository teaching, thematic specific lesson, topic lead lesson or cultural/current events message. Our teaching time often lends itself more to me playing a facilitating role, unless it’s information based material, i.e. expository teaching. The lesson time involves learning (knowledge based), reading (content based), discussing (extensive talking), Q&A time (again, I play more a facilitator role than spoon-feeding every answer), and research (spending intentional time finding answers to questions for oneself through the study of Scripture). Almost weekly there is some form of “homework” given, something to read, questions that need answering, research to be done within their community, and memorization of Scripture for the week. Our lesson times can often take on a different format or issue than originally intended, partly due to us welcoming as many questions as possible. The women are finally in a place where they feel comfortable asking questions and we never want that desire to know truth to be dampened by a strict “plan” for the lesson time. This does mean I’m often jotting down questions that I need to research or delve into more to give sufficient and adequate responses, which we return to at a later date (following week). After the lesson time, we enter a time of prayer. We go around the circle giving each lady an opportunity to share a praise and request. If something particularly traumatic has taken place in the life of one of the women, we surround her and lay hands on her in prayer. Sometimes our prayer is individualistic all at once, with multiple voices coming before the throne in praise and request before the Father. Other times. only one person will close in prayer and still other times it may be a popcorn fashion (one at a time. with no specific order). Once our time of prayer is complete, we spend the remainder of the time on whatever craft we are working on at the time - paper beaded jewelry making, crocheting, knitting, sewing, etc. If it’s a brand new project, I may spend a few weeks slowly going through each step of the project until the first item is complete. Then after that, the women work on their own in little groups, assisting one another as is needed or asking for my assistance. When our time is up (end of the day) and we almost always run late, Andrew takes everyone home. The hope is to have everyone home before they have to walk any distance in the dark.
 Cooking lunch  Helping each other read the patterns for the craft |  Mai Dziwema, crocheting a zebra |
Wednesday - Wednesdays look very similar and almost identical to Tuesdays. The exception being a different group of women (the Wednesday Ladies) gather together. The same lesson is taught, often a different craft, but still a time of prayer and fellowship and meal time. (All information following is true for both Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Sometimes we have a time of worship and praise before our lesson time or spend the entire lesson time just praising God or crying out to Him in need - such times are Spirit-led, but rarely unplanned. Sometimes we spend time just reciting Scripture and memory verses we’ve been learning. Other times we have an opportunity to share testimonies about what God is doing in our lives and our communities. These testimonies can be about a business blessing, healings (this can be through medical means, not just miraculous), a specific story of an opportunity of someone a lady has been able to share the Gospel with. Sometimes in the middle of a lesson we pause to discuss how to share the Gospel, to give actual examples and scenarios. We recite Scripture and put it into our own words for every day situations. I do A LOT of repetition on what it means to share the Gospel, how that looks and how to tangibly do it. Again, all of this is explained, exampled, and repeated by the women themselves rather than teaching. I’m facilitating during these moments. Other days (but very rarely), we may watch a Christian movie and discuss extensively what was Bible specific and what was dramatic leeway and artistic license - many questions arise during these times and it takes lots of reading of the specific Scripture passage addressed in the movie to understand what is biblical and what is “Hollywood.” The women have grown so much that they have reached a point where they are capable of challenging themselves in greater depth in such areas. Occasionally during craft time (due to lack of resources, i.e. due for a SA trip), I may teach them a cooking skill or have them teach me something in the kitchen or elsewhere. Giving the ladies an opportunity to teach me or the group is a phenomenal growth opportunity.
The road in the high density area, where the women live
Praying together at the end of the gathering
Thursday - Usually we make a trip to the capital city once a week. Generally this falls on a Thursday, but we are flexible and it can be a Monday or Friday. If we attend Harare on one of the other days we just switch what we do on those days, i.e. if we go to Harare on a Monday, then Thursday is a day for me to focus on HBF prep, etc. We go to the capital city for multiple reasons, to conduct business, grocery shopping for both ministry and personal, to pick up any supplies we’ve ordered through our runner (a person who purchases goods on one’s behalf in another country and brings it across the border for a fee) from SA, to have items repaired (often people with more skill-sets live in the capital city) and/or to attend any g0vernmantal offices (eg for immigration purposes and Andrew’s legality to live in Zimbabwe). Going to Harare for Andrew’s paperwork takes up a lot more time than one may think. His spousal permit (which allows him to live in the country) is only valid for up to 2 years, but can be valid for as little as only 9 months. We also need to start the paperwork process months in advance because the whole process can take 6 months and Andrew cannot be in country without legitimate paperwork up to date at all times - this means Andrew is constantly keeping tabs on dates and when to make trips, visits, and appointments. All of these trips and appointments take multiple visits and none can be completed in a single day. Take into account that the capital is a 2 hour trip, one-way. We never drive once it’s dark (which means we must be home by 5:30pm) for our safety and protection due to poor road maintenance, heavy traffic load, small 2-lane, no shoulder highway and regular almost weekly car accidents between Chinhoyi (our town) and Harare (the capital)
Driving on a road in Harare
 Driving on the road between Harare and Chinhoyi. The bus is a bit overloaded on the left side! |  We share the highway with many different types of "vehicles" |
We love seeing the sunset, but try to avoid seeing it while on the road!
Friday - by the end of the week, I’m planning and preparing for the next week again. I’m researching, reading, studying, and writing out my lesson plans for the following Tuesday and Wednesday. Just like a minister would spend hours each week preparing a sermon or a professor/teacher would write out their lesson plans - I too try to spend the necessary time to teach well-thought out and robust lessons that are God-honoring and Jesus-edifying and God-willing, Spirit-led in nature. This time may look like intentional time in prayer, extensive time in a study Bible, online research, looking through my Greek or Hebrew Bibles and concordances, OT and/or NT commentaries, other biblical resources such as archeological books or timelines, charts and maps, and yes, even Pinterest ;-) . In addition to preparing spiritual material for the lessons, I’m also researching and sampling craft materials. I always say, Bible College never taught me to crochet or knit or sew (and not that they should have) and yet here I am teaching women this skill. I have learned that Youtube is a great resource for almost any type of tutorial for almost any sort of skillset needed. I have spent countless hours watching Youtube tutorials for so many different skillsets that I have needed to learn so that I can teach it to someone else. I always tell the women you don’t truly know how to do something unless you can teach it to someone else, and that is exactly why all the women are buddied-up with another woman in order to help them in whatever particular craft skill is being done that week.
 Practicing myself, so I can teach the ladies |  Andrew working on his laptop, with a couple "helpers" |
We attempt to have Saturdays and Sundays off from traditional ministry work in order to rest, refresh and replenish our batteries for the following week, so we can be as effective as possible. We don’t always stay to a regular 9:00 to 5:00, Monday to Friday schedule. As anyone in ministry will tell you, that’s near to impossible. Doing online research, planning lessons or events, watching Youtube tutorials, etc. all can happen in the evenings or weekends. Sometimes we’re rushing someone to the hospital or making trips to the local pharmacy, sometimes it’s needing to drop off money for an immediate need or making a home visit - life and ministry rarely happen only between daylight hours during the traditional workweek. Having said all of that, Andrew is very good with compartmentalizing work (yes, that is ministry) and ensuring that we get the needed rest for our bodies and mind, while keeping things within the ministry’s mission. Having a partner in ministry who is able to hold me accountable is an amazing gift. It ensures I don’t burn out and that I’m able to give my best to those whom we serve.
Taking notes from the whiteboard for the lesson
We help with many different medical expenses
Now that I’ve listed generally what my day-to-day week looks like, you may be wondering where exactly Andrew fits into all of this. Andrew’s days are less specific than mine, meaning that he does things when they need to be done. He doesn’t usually do things on certain days of the week. Although, each Tuesday and Wednesday, he spends an hour (one-way) picking up and dropping off the ladies for our weekly gatherings. Every Thursday, we go together to the capital city to accomplish all that is needed there. He is often the designated driver, making multiple trips every day to and from town. He takes care of all the paperwork, office work, finances, shopping, bill paying, standing in countless lines, going back and forth between shops and buildings and offices. He can’t just pay the bills online each month or place a quick grocery delivery. He can’t plan to run to the store 10 minutes away and expect to be back within another 20 minutes. Going shopping is tedious and requires patience here in Zimbabwe. When he finally gets to a cash register, the line is usually quite long. Once he gets to the front, their payment option may be down, which requires waiting for awhile until finally a manager tells him to get into another line, to which at that point he decides to just pay with cash (cash is precious in Zim, so not an immediate option always) but then they don’t have change, one waits in hope that change will become available because buying candy or plastic bags for every purchase to make up the change becomes costly in the long run and no one eats the candy anyway. Sometimes after spending 30 minutes in the store, they don't have all you need so you leave your half full cart and go to another store because there’s no point in waiting in line twice or thrice. Andrew spends countless hours on his computer in order to fill out a form or download a paper or upload to our website - accomplishing one menial task online can take several hours, due to slow, interrupted, and constant disconnected WIFI.
Andrew, renewing our vehicles' licenses and insurance for the next year, which is down an alley and through a maze of hallways, before getting to the appropriate office.
We need to use many different forms of payment, multiple currencies, US banks, and Zim banks
Working in the office
He obviously also handles all ministry communications and updates and financial statements. Writing, editing, uploading, editing, downloading, editing, and sending out the monthly blog takes generally 15-18 hours to complete. This doesn't even always include the outlining and planning of it. Andrew and I are both in constant communication with someone stateside - our forwarding agent, a board member, a financial supporter, a prayer supporter, a supporting church/mission board, a friend, an interested partner, a possible retreat/convention/speaking opportunity, a small group, a homeschool co-op, a youth group, a Sunday school class or some g0vermental requirement. These communications happen through many modes - WhatsApp, Viber, email, through our website, ministry FB page, personal FB pages, FB messenger, Skype, Zoom, and some other forms too. Since the US and Zimbabwe are in different time zones (6-10 hours apart) and the US has multiple time zones and we communicate with people in all four times zones. Then also take into account that many of these communications do not take place during the traditional 9:00 to 5:00, purely for logistical reasons. Hopefully, after reading this blog post, you have a greater understanding for some of what our job entails and what it looks like on a day to day basis.
Having a board meeting, via Zoom, with lots of HBF/VBS supplies in the background
In every parking lot, there are always people asking for money, food, prescriptions, or jobs. We usually give food or buy prescriptions for those who have their medical books (doctor's prescriptions) with them
As a small organization, Andrew and I are left to do all the jobs, all the tasks, all the ministry requirements in country (of course, our board of directors does quite a bit for us stateside, for sure) - there is no team, no tech department, no media office, no communications board, no fundraising group, no travel agency, no planning analysts, just us! We are the team and like most missionaries we are the jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. God has blessed us with abilities and capabilities we never knew we would need. But it’s because He planned this ministry (long before either of us knew about it) and He called us to do it. So while we are the ones physically doing things, we are well aware that God is the one orchestrating everything and allowing us to be a part of His ministry and serving the women and children. What a blessing that is to know that we are not alone here, but that God has equipped us for His purposes, in His perfect timing, to do His will.
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