I have made it here safely to Africa and I am settling into my new home. We have had two teams for the last two and a half weeks which has made it very busy.
We started in Zimbabwe and visited an old folks home. We also met and worked with the street kids that Regina, another missionary here, works with. We vistied the beautiful Victoria Falls as well, one of the seven wonders of the world.
The economy in Zimbabwe is very bad with the inflation rate up to 10,000%! The money in Zimbabwe expires after a certain amount of time because it is changed so often. They have no gas at the gas stations so we had to drive up in front of someone's house and honk in order to buy gas from the black market. People are really suffering there as the economy becomes worse and worse. It is a sad situation, but ROCK of Africa is working hard to bring life and joy into people's lives amidst the suffering.
After a few days in Zimbabwe, we crossed into Zambia, my new home. We did many of the same types of things there. We visited schools, villages, orphanges, and an old folks home. We donated supplies, sang with the peoples, prayed for them, and loved them.
When the other team came, we all went on a riverboat cruise for a fundraiser for the church. We had an awesome time and saw many animals!
After the first team left, we started over with the new team and went back to Zimbabwe and did many of the same things along with going down to Gwayi River where ROCK of Africa started. This is a very poor village in the bush. We had an amazing experience!
I am now back in Zambia and we have been helping the school at the church build another classroom and type their tests.
One of the greatest experiences so far has been going to a blind village. The government sent all of the blind people who were begging in town to live in a rural area and they have built a community in the bush now. One of the guys on the team had had a dream in the U.S. about this blind man with an old guitar from the 60s. Glen wanted him to come to Africa and showed him a picture of the exact man that was in his dream! So he decided to buy this man with a new guitar and found that he was given the exact amount needed! It was so neat to see him meet this man and give him the guitar. The man had been praying for a new guitar for a long time, so it was so neat to see him answer that prayer from someone halfway around the world!
I miss everyone so much and I wish I could tell everyone everything about this place. I am getting adjusted and trying to learn the language. I think it will be a big change when all the americans leave, but I am excited about starting the work I came here to do. Thank you all for your support and love!
Tizowanana (Goodbye for now)
