Well I’m back from heaven…Cape Town. It was unbelievable. I forgot how much I missed the water. We spent the week, walking the waterfront, and laying on the beach. Not a whole lot but that was the point. I didn’t realize how tired I was, our phones didn’t work which was a blessing in disguise since we would’ve been answering calls and texts. Our bus ride back was an adventure. We left 1.5 hours late because it took them that long to load the bus with people’s stuff. Zimbabweans come to SA to buy because it’s cheaper and easier to get. The last 3 rows of the bus also had people’s stuff, from blankets to clothes to food to tables, chairs and even a kitchen sink. Before we left, the bus driver prayed and it turned out the back half of the bus was Anglican. I thought this would never happen at home. We spent 6 hours at the border. On the SA side, you stand in line and they check your passport and stamp it saying you are allowed to leave, on the Zimbabwe side they check to make sure you’re allowed back. This is how corrupt the border is, people jump the fence and sneak into the SA side, people hid on our bus to get to the other side; they were caught and kicked off, you have to bribe the border guards in order get your bus checked so you can leave. Everything comes off the bus and someone looks through your bags and checks it against the customs form, we didn’t buy anything so we didn’t have a form. I was surprised and a thankful that as a white person that we were ushered in, no one checked our bags or passports, they couldn’t believe we were coming to Zimbabwe and not leaving. Carl had to renew his visa, which is done every 3 months. In order to make more money they have changed it to every month. Luckily my visa is good until the end of January so maybe the rules will change again. Both on the way there and back we were pulled over numerous times in Zimbabwe by the police to check for diamonds. The road from Zimbabwe to South Africa has a variety of diamond fields; there are children on the side of the road that make a diamond shape with their hands. Some of these children are put there by police some are there to sell diamonds illegally. This was surreal to me. It’s one thing to watch it in a movie or on TV but very much another to live it. Cape Town is littered with diamond stores and jewellery stores. All stating that they are SA diamonds and non-conflict diamonds but no one really knows. I’m now back in Zim and back to the grind. The house is working on 3 projects that are run by the orphans in the house. One is the chicken project, which is frustrating because with a decline in chicks they are becoming hard to find. The second is our mangos. We have a mango tree in our yard, the house has decided to sell these mangos and it will become their allowance or pocket money, finally the last project is “Farming God’s Way”. This is a way of farming based on how nature and forest grow naturally by God. No machines, fertilizers or fancy irrigation systems. It is all done with a hoe, leaves (mulch) and spacing. You can check out the website www.foundationforfarming.org Farming God’s Way is also called Foundation for Farming because it’s not just a Religious concept. It is also being used as a way for evangelism. It is being used in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Rumor has it that it will be taught in schools here next year. Burning is a huge problem here. Burning is done in a field after the season is over to renew the ground as well in the grass when it’s brown to turn it green. This causes a lot of carbon emission, which is bad for the environment. This new way of farming would stop all of that. Well that’s all for now, I hope everyone is doing well.

Well I’m back from heaven…Cape Town. It was unbelievable. I forgot how much I missed the water. We spent the week, walking the waterfront, and laying on the beach. Not a whole lot but that was the point. I didn’t realize how tired I was, our phones didn’t work which was a blessing in disguise since we would’ve been answering calls and texts. Our bus ride back was an adventure. We left 1.5 hours late because it took them that long to load the bus with people’s stuff. Zimbabweans come to SA to buy because it’s cheaper and easier to get. The last 3 rows of the bus also had people’s stuff, from blankets to clothes to food to tables, chairs and even a kitchen sink. Before we left, the bus driver prayed and it turned out the back half of the bus was Anglican. I thought this would never happen at home. We spent 6 hours at the border. On the SA side, you stand in line and they check your passport and stamp it saying you are allowed to leave, on the Zimbabwe side they check to make sure you’re allowed back. This is how corrupt the border is, people jump the fence and sneak into the SA side, people hid on our bus to get to the other side; they were caught and kicked off, you have to bribe the border guards in order get your bus checked so you can leave. Everything comes off the bus and someone looks through your bags and checks it against the customs form, we didn’t buy anything so we didn’t have a form. I was surprised and a thankful that as a white person that we were ushered in, no one checked our bags or passports, they couldn’t believe we were coming to Zimbabwe and not leaving. Carl had to renew his visa, which is done every 3 months. In order to make more money they have changed it to every month. Luckily my visa is good until the end of January so maybe the rules will change again. Both on the way there and back we were pulled over numerous times in Zimbabwe by the police to check for diamonds. The road from Zimbabwe to South Africa has a variety of diamond fields; there are children on the side of the road that make a diamond shape with their hands. Some of these children are put there by police some are there to sell diamonds illegally. This was surreal to me. It’s one thing to watch it in a movie or on TV but very much another to live it. Cape Town is littered with diamond stores and jewellery stores. All stating that they are SA diamonds and non-conflict diamonds but no one really knows. I’m now back in Zim and back to the grind. The house is working on 3 projects that are run by the orphans in the house. One is the chicken project, which is frustrating because with a decline in chicks they are becoming hard to find. The second is our mangos. We have a mango tree in our yard, the house has decided to sell these mangos and it will become their allowance or pocket money, finally the last project is “Farming God’s Way”. This is a way of farming based on how nature and forest grow naturally by God. No machines, fertilizers or fancy irrigation systems. It is all done with a hoe, leaves (mulch) and spacing. You can check out the website www.foundationforfarming.org Farming God’s Way is also called Foundation for Farming because it’s not just a Religious concept. It is also being used as a way for evangelism. It is being used in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Rumor has it that it will be taught in schools here next year. Burning is a huge problem here. Burning is done in a field after the season is over to renew the ground as well in the grass when it’s brown to turn it green. This causes a lot of carbon emission, which is bad for the environment. This new way of farming would stop all of that. Well that’s all for now, I hope everyone is doing well.

Mangwanani. Last week Carl and I went to Counsellor Training. Bev Laws the Pastoral Care worker for the diocese set us up. It is 3 different courses; beginners, intermediate and advanced. The course is run by the Christian Counselling Centre and the two women who ran it were Anglican; one Shona and one white, both women. During this training I met a man named Solomon. Solomon runs St. Joseph’s Home for Boys. It’s an orphanage for boys 10-18 and there are 50 of them. Solomon was raised at St. Joseph’s and has a special understanding for it. Statisically in a home with 50 boys there are going to be some gay ones. In Zimbabwe it’s against the law to be gay. This causes many issues. For instance gay people marry and have “normal” lives because it’s the only choice and is expected, which is unfair to the spouse and the children. Also many act out and abuse against other boys. It’s become a massive problem at St. Joseph’s. Boys are unable to understand what’s going on and are abusing younger boys. Most of them have been sent away to be “treated”. There are a few left and Solomon what’s to help them understand what’s going on and that it’s not the end of the world. That they are still loved and can still be contributing members of society. This is HUGE, someone wanting to help and accepting these boys for who they are. He asked if Carl and I would help talk to them since we come from a society where it’s accepted. However there’s another problem at the home. Since there are only boys at this home and no women, straight boys are abusing younger boys as well. Solomon would also like to help teach the boys how to interact and treat women. This means I can’t be alone with any of the boys as it is unsafe. A counselor from social services who is a woman has agreed to help out with the straight boys, and Carl has agreed to help with the gay ones. So if you could keep Solomon and these boys in your thoughts it would be greatly appreciated.

On a happier note…I’m in South Africa (SA)! Specifically Cape Town. Cape Town is a beautiful place to live, I am having a fantastic time. SA is like another world compared to Zimbabwe. It’s another world down here. It’s got an inner harbour which reminds me of home. I could easily move here!!! The population of white to black here is almost an even split. So when I walk down the street I don’t get comments or stared at which is a nice feeling. I can be independent here and walk to places on my own (don’t worry mum I don’t). I spent the day at the waterfront, going to shops, eating fruit and veggies and just relaxing. It took us 35 hours plus a 6 hour layover in Jo’burg to get here. We had 2.5 hours at the boarder. You stand in 2 lines; one on the Zim side of the boarder and one on the Africa side of the boarder. The bus gets checked and your luggage gets checked. I was surprised and impressed. It was a long journey but well worth the traveling. Until next time.

Sunday I went with Doug Funk to the Eastern Highlands which is in the North East of Zimbabwe. Doug is a great and very dear friend from Victoria. He works with the Solong Foundation as their Africa correspondent. He has a 20 ton container shipped from Victoria filled with books and school supplies. The Eastern Highlands are known as one of the most beautiful areas in Zimbabwe. The drive up was unbelievable. There wasn't a crane to lift the container off the truck so we unloaded all the boxes and hooked the container by chain onto a tree and pulled it off. This was a brilliant piece of creativity and I was impressed with the skill. We took our time driving back and stopped a some places along the way. First we stopped at Troutbeck which is an old English resort. It is on a massive property with squash, swimming, horseback riding and other activities. The bar is an old English pub which is one of the most authentic I've seen outside of England. The building is wood and stone. It's definitely a place I'd like to stay and just relax and get away. We also stopped at a fruit stand and I bought some apples, nectarines and peaches. Finally we stopped at Bonda to talk to some women who teach Batiks which is Africa painting on fabric which is made into clothing, place mats, table clothes, duvet covers etc. It's run by 4 women, part of the training includes living with the women and being apart of the community. These women help orphans in the community with food and education which would be perfect for our project as the orphans we help would be with other youth in similar situations and make friendships for life. These women run other projects that we can get involved in that would help our orphans.

In other news, there are 2 possibilities for me to use the environmental bricks. In Nyunga where we went for the container unloading, one of the places the books are going to is a library that has been donated by the community. It's a small building on a large property that they want to build on. I offered to help with the design and construction. The second is an orphanages and learning center in Chipingi. Carl was out there last week and land has been donated for this project. What is exciting about this project is that I would teach the orphans how to make the bricks and build the buildings so it would be ALL ORPHAN made.

We are interview more orphans for the house in the next few weeks and so we are buying bunk beds today so we have more space.

Missing everyone at home. Lots of love

So I spent Sunday in a rural church. One was made all of straw, the other simple concrete with benches and a table. These churches are in the south which is colder then Harare. I also got a little rain which I have been craving for weeks. We stopped by a butcher shop on the way home and got 4kg of chicken at 16kg of beef for $50. There has been a split here in the Anglican church. About 2 years ago the Bishop of Harare resigned then changed his mind and wanted to come back. The diocese didn't let him back because he isn't a nice person. He created his own diocese and took the church to court for the property and won! He took some priests and people with him. Now the diocese is slowly getting their churches and property back. He is losing support. He still "owns" the cathedral and it is locked except for Sundays. I am not allowed in because I'm white and he doesn't like white people. He uses violence to get his way. The rural areas is where he is strongest. It has been hard for non-supporters as some have lost their farms (fires) and lost limbs, animals etc.

I went to Miekles hotel, which is like any hotel at home. It's a 5 star hotel here, one of four. The other 3 are in Victoria Falls. I met some friends for lunch it was nice. I had a burger!!!

I have been working on a project to use maize in bricks instead of cement. Maize is the staple food here like corn. The construction industry here and licensing assoication has given me a lab and facility to test this out. If it works maize husks that are thrown away or burned will be able to be used. An environmental success. So please pray hard that I can get it to work.

More for another time. Miss you all

Hey, It's me... Well Tuesday I went to Mbarie. It's the oldest part of Harare. It makes East Hastings look like the Empress. I've never seen such poverty. No one bothers you unless you bother them. I was the only white person there and was talked to A LOT. I went with Edwin from the house and he was offered money for me, asked if I was married and told that he was lucky I was with him. It was an experience.

Today Dr. Beata, a lovely lady and a great friend, I spent the day with her. She's a trustee and a grandma and helping me adjust. She's originally from Uganda but has lived here for many years. She's an eye specialist. She's the one I brought the glasses for.

We made pizza at home last night, it was a guess and test kind of experiment. We'll have to play around with the dough but it was a good time.