We would like to introduce you to two individuals who JM2Z has been ministering to. It was quite unexpected, but here is some background. It is cultural in Zimbabwe for everyone to have domestic workers, a maid and a gardener. When I (Andrew) first heard about this, I was against the idea for us for multiple reasons. I didn’t want someone else in my house all the time where we would feel like we can’t be alone and I wanted us to do things on our own as we are accustom to in the U.S., just like all of you. As Yolanda explained to me, not having domestic workers could isolate us in these two ways; first, it tells the middle class that I am better than you because I don’t need any help, and second, it tells the lower class that I am capable of feeding two families, but I am choosing not to. Yolanda has seen this happen with other missionaries and we didn’t want to go down that road. We have a gardener and maid in JM2Z’s budget, but were not planning on hiring anybody until now. Well, here’s what happened.
We were meant to arrive here last year in January. However, finances and paperwork didn’t allow that until last June. There had been a family living in the house for all of 2013. We told them we would return January 2014, so they found another place to live and moved out. Since we would not be able to arrive for six months, we didn’t want the premises vacant for that long for safety reasons, so we asked them if they would allow their gardener to continue to live in the domestic quarters (more on that later), and they agreed. We landed in June and met the gardener and his wife who had been staying on the grounds, Western and Elizabeth. Even though Western worked for this other family, we asked if they could continue to live here, so that there would always be someone here for times when we travel to Harare on weekends. They agreed. A few months later, Western came to us and asked if he could work for us. We said no, as we were planning to wait until 2015 to hire somebody. He said that he lost his job and needed work. We wanted to know why he lost his job. What had he done wrong? It turns out the family had two gardeners and weren’t able to afford it, so they had to cut down to one, so Western was out. This was a hard one for Yolanda and me. We weren’t planning on taking on anybody at this time. Could we let them stay here until they found work? With an 86% unemployment rate, there most likely wouldn’t be any job to find. The other factor is that Western was 20 years old and Elizabeth was 17. They are straight from the bush (rural village), and are trying to make it in an urban area. They have extremely limited vocational skills and English skills. So the chances of them finding another job would be slim. Now, if we were to say “no” to him working for us, they would become homeless. Yolanda and I were stuck with the dilemma of having the power to make a couple homeless, with no means. So we found some odd jobs to do around the yard. A few hours here and there. The yard is nearly an acre and had 10 years of zero maintenance, so there wasn’t a lack of things to do. Soon enough he was working regular hours.
Elizabeth came to us and asked if we needed our laundry done, or dishes washed, or house cleaned. No, no, we told her. Again, we were planning on that for next year and someone who is experienced (she had never had a job). But then we decided that if she didn’t know how to do anything, we could teach her to do things the way we like them done. So we started her in the kitchen and bathrooms. We taught her how to wash dishes, how to dry them, how to clean a bathtub, toilet, and sink, how to clean floors, how to dust. These are all things that she had never done before. She had no idea, but she learned.
Just before we left last November, we drew up a contract and had them sign it, giving all of our expectations for them. Western works 8 hours a day for 5 days each week and Elizabeth works 4 hours a day for 5 days each week.
One of my questions was, “Why do we need a maid every day? In the U.S. you only need to clean once a week.” I imagine some people living in the western states might understand, but there is dust everywhere here. If the dining room table isn’t dusted once a day, there is a layer of dust on it. Even with the floors being cleaned, washed, and polished, there is still dust on them a few hours later. Outside, there is always plenty for Western to do. With an acre of yard, plants, grass, garden, etc, he is always busy. He has great initiative too, that if he sees something needs to be done, he does it without being asked.
Why do we consider this ministry? With their lack of experience, taking on Western and Elizabeth has been more work for us than if we just did it ourselves. We are constantly teaching them how to do things. Because of their lack of vocational skills, we want to empower them that in the case we decide not to have them work for us, they would be hirable elsewhere. We want them to be competent enough to be able to get work if we ever decide to get someone else. At his previous job, Western was working 6 days a week and made $80 per month. This is a typical salary for a gardener. That’s not a typo; $80 per month. Not only is this extremely, extremely low, but especially low in a country where it is three times more expensive to live in than the U.S. When they started with us, we raised his salary (plus only 5 days per week, instead of 6) and paid Elizabeth, so they are a lot better off than before. It is now fair and better than other domestic workers, but still not great. We will raise it in time, but to be honest, they have never made this much in their lives and they don’t have good financial skills. We will work with them in this area and once they have more understanding on planning and financial sense, then we will raise their salaries. We also give them a food hamper each month (worth about $40-$50), containing basic food and toiletry items they will need for the month. We also gave them work clothes for both and boots for Western (as seen above), so their own clothes don't get dirty. JM2Z covers the wages and food hampers, which has always been in the budget, as previously stated.
Elizabeth came to us and asked if we needed our laundry done, or dishes washed, or house cleaned. No, no, we told her. Again, we were planning on that for next year and someone who is experienced (she had never had a job). But then we decided that if she didn’t know how to do anything, we could teach her to do things the way we like them done. So we started her in the kitchen and bathrooms. We taught her how to wash dishes, how to dry them, how to clean a bathtub, toilet, and sink, how to clean floors, how to dust. These are all things that she had never done before. She had no idea, but she learned.
Just before we left last November, we drew up a contract and had them sign it, giving all of our expectations for them. Western works 8 hours a day for 5 days each week and Elizabeth works 4 hours a day for 5 days each week.
One of my questions was, “Why do we need a maid every day? In the U.S. you only need to clean once a week.” I imagine some people living in the western states might understand, but there is dust everywhere here. If the dining room table isn’t dusted once a day, there is a layer of dust on it. Even with the floors being cleaned, washed, and polished, there is still dust on them a few hours later. Outside, there is always plenty for Western to do. With an acre of yard, plants, grass, garden, etc, he is always busy. He has great initiative too, that if he sees something needs to be done, he does it without being asked.
Why do we consider this ministry? With their lack of experience, taking on Western and Elizabeth has been more work for us than if we just did it ourselves. We are constantly teaching them how to do things. Because of their lack of vocational skills, we want to empower them that in the case we decide not to have them work for us, they would be hirable elsewhere. We want them to be competent enough to be able to get work if we ever decide to get someone else. At his previous job, Western was working 6 days a week and made $80 per month. This is a typical salary for a gardener. That’s not a typo; $80 per month. Not only is this extremely, extremely low, but especially low in a country where it is three times more expensive to live in than the U.S. When they started with us, we raised his salary (plus only 5 days per week, instead of 6) and paid Elizabeth, so they are a lot better off than before. It is now fair and better than other domestic workers, but still not great. We will raise it in time, but to be honest, they have never made this much in their lives and they don’t have good financial skills. We will work with them in this area and once they have more understanding on planning and financial sense, then we will raise their salaries. We also give them a food hamper each month (worth about $40-$50), containing basic food and toiletry items they will need for the month. We also gave them work clothes for both and boots for Western (as seen above), so their own clothes don't get dirty. JM2Z covers the wages and food hampers, which has always been in the budget, as previously stated.
Starting to build the walls
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Putting in a door frame
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Where do they live? There is a domestic quarters on the premises. It consists of three small rooms and a separate bathroom. It was made of cheap wood, which is designed to last for five years. This one had been up for many more than that. When I first saw it, I said that I wouldn’t keep my dog in there, let alone have people live there. There were holes in the wood, dangerous looking electrical, and termites and other bugs all throughout the wood. Something needed to be done. As with other construction projects, Yolanda’s mother has been more than gracious with giving back rent money and allowing us to do repairs. The domestic quarters was one of those projects (as can be seen in the pictures above). It was done while we were in the U.S. a few months back, and overseen by Janeece. They tore down the wood, used the same concrete foundation, and built a brick structure. The layout is the same, but is more sturdy, clean, has bigger windows, and new electrical. Domestic quarters at most other homes do not have electricity or a flush toilet (we put in a new toilet last year). In addition to their wages and food hamper, Western and Elizabeth receive free rent, electricity, and water.
As I stated toward the beginning, their English skills aren’t the best. Western’s is better than Elizabeth’s, but there are still communication struggles from time to time. Last year I bought a tree limb clippers and asked Western to trim some branches that were overgrown and where multiple trees were growing together. He did a good job and so I asked him to trim branches on a bush that was overgrown. I went outside later to see the bush had been cut down to a stump. Needless to say we had a good laugh, but now have learned to communicate better. They are perfect to practice my Shona with. So, I speak in Shona as much as possible with them. It is great to practice with them as I am learning the language. Yolanda can understand everything they say in Shona, even if she can’t respond in Shona 100% of the time (although she can mostly say what she needs to).
One of our goals this time around was to spend some much needed time with Western and Elizabeth in helping them create a budget for themselves and have some sort of financial planning and understanding – something that is foreign to most people at their economic level. Once we have done that, we hope to increase their salary at an amount that seems more reasonable to us. This financial planning has caused some problems between them already. While we were away (stateside) they had some conflict and Janeece contacted a counselor we had met to meet with them for at least 2 sessions (which JM2Z covered). Clearly they are both also very young, so some of their lack of knowledge is due to maturity and this is most often seen in Elizabeth. In the beginning (and even now at times), she will go have her hair done at a salon (a weave and style), which literally will be a week’s salary for her. Of course this is not a judgement call, but in the beginning the “little” they made seemed so much to them that how money was spent was clearly not in a wise way. Please pray for us to minister to them with compassion and patience because at times it can be trying. It is true that it is better to be a blessing than to be blessed… we are learning this firsthand.
As I stated toward the beginning, their English skills aren’t the best. Western’s is better than Elizabeth’s, but there are still communication struggles from time to time. Last year I bought a tree limb clippers and asked Western to trim some branches that were overgrown and where multiple trees were growing together. He did a good job and so I asked him to trim branches on a bush that was overgrown. I went outside later to see the bush had been cut down to a stump. Needless to say we had a good laugh, but now have learned to communicate better. They are perfect to practice my Shona with. So, I speak in Shona as much as possible with them. It is great to practice with them as I am learning the language. Yolanda can understand everything they say in Shona, even if she can’t respond in Shona 100% of the time (although she can mostly say what she needs to).
One of our goals this time around was to spend some much needed time with Western and Elizabeth in helping them create a budget for themselves and have some sort of financial planning and understanding – something that is foreign to most people at their economic level. Once we have done that, we hope to increase their salary at an amount that seems more reasonable to us. This financial planning has caused some problems between them already. While we were away (stateside) they had some conflict and Janeece contacted a counselor we had met to meet with them for at least 2 sessions (which JM2Z covered). Clearly they are both also very young, so some of their lack of knowledge is due to maturity and this is most often seen in Elizabeth. In the beginning (and even now at times), she will go have her hair done at a salon (a weave and style), which literally will be a week’s salary for her. Of course this is not a judgement call, but in the beginning the “little” they made seemed so much to them that how money was spent was clearly not in a wise way. Please pray for us to minister to them with compassion and patience because at times it can be trying. It is true that it is better to be a blessing than to be blessed… we are learning this firsthand.
The new domestic quarters from the left.
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The new domestic quarters from the right.
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Thank you for helping us serve people like Western and Elizabeth, because without YOU we would not be able to. Please pray for them, for their growth, maturity, work ethic and most importantly their personal spiritual journeys. We know that they are very committed to attending church and church events – 3 times a week, but we know very little about what this entails or what belief system it is. We are cautious in bringing up these topics for one main reason, as a domestic worker and a Shona person, culturally they want to please us and in doing so they may very well “do” or “follow” whoever or whatever we say, in order not to disappoint us. Therefore, we want any decision to follow Jesus to be a personal decision that is both real and sincere, a desire of theirs not a desire to just please us.
We wanted you to be aware of Western and Elizabeth, but were a little hesitant. We didn’t want you to get the impression that we are living the high life, but rather to understand that this is cultural. Sometimes we wish we didn’t have anybody here, but realize that God gave us Western and Elizabeth to teach, empower, and love.
We wanted you to be aware of Western and Elizabeth, but were a little hesitant. We didn’t want you to get the impression that we are living the high life, but rather to understand that this is cultural. Sometimes we wish we didn’t have anybody here, but realize that God gave us Western and Elizabeth to teach, empower, and love.
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