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| Dewure High School |
From 1/28: We have been here 10 days and are starting to get our
feet under us. Our bodies are finally
living in the right time zone. Jon took his first outing yesterday to one of
the mission schools,
and Ellie and I worked in the preschool today. The kids
are very cute and energetic! I love to hear them sing because they like to sing
loud. They start learning English in
preschool so Ellie and I taught them the “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
song. They are warming up to us…several came and held my hand, touched my hair
(I don’t know if they’ve ever touched the hair of a white woman), and played
ball with us during recess. All of the
kids are so beautiful and photogenic, and they love to have their picture
taken! Ellie tried to sneak a picture of
Jon talking with the kids but the flash went off. As soon as they saw it, they started jumping
up and down, waving their arms, and shouting so we would take another one.
As we were still adjusting to time and culture last week,
the Lord sent us two angels, Leanna and Gertrude. Leanna has lived in Zimbabwe
most of her adult life. As we talked, I
realized how much I missed talking to someone from the Mother Land! She was so
helpful in her advice and encouragement.
She introduced us to Gertrude, who came to our house, helped clean the
kitchen, and taught me how to make saudza, a local staple. In addition to these lovely women, some
families from the church in town invited us to “sand board” in the Bush Sunday
afternoon. We were so blessed by their warm hospitality and the welcome of the
orphanage and Village Church. I am reminded that the body of Christ is family,
no matter where you go. The same Spirit unites us and binds us together.
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| Gertrude and Karen |
As we make our way here, my mind often turns to Psalm 121,
“Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven
and earth. He will not let your foot slip- He who watches over you will not
slumber…The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and
forevermore.”
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| Picnic at the River |
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| USA Sand Boarding Champion |
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| Sand Boarding Qualifier |
Love these pics of you all. Youreally got there! So great to see you all smiles with everyone. Karen, you know I love the color of your walls!!
ReplyDeleteL
Hello Karen,
ReplyDeleteI am Linda Ballard. I'm so enjoying your Blogspots and am happy for you and Jon and Ellie getting to be a part of this wonderful adventure. I'm glad you got to meet Leanna -she is like a Sister to me and we keep a Guest Room in our home in San Diego, CA that we call Leanna's Room. We enjoy having visitors from Zimbabwe and Zebedee stayed with us a few days last year before our team's trip from Pomerado Christian Church got to come over last June. I got to stay with Leanna a few days on the trip as well. Gertrude took care of us in Leanna's home there in Chiredzi. I love her sweet sense of humor and she is a wonderful cook. She made us a green vegetable called Kudu (I think). It came fresh out of Kufa's garden.
I will keep reading your blog and praying for all of your adventures. You all will bless these sweet people. I love them like my own family and some of them are. At the Village now, we sponsor Loveness and Nomatter and Febion. I started sponsoring Febion after I left so I did not get to meet him. I've seen your photos of Loveness and Baby Miriam. One of our ladies was sent by her Mother with strict instructions to sponsor a little girl. Marel fell in love with Baby Miriam. When we got home, we all told Doris (her Mom) about this sweet baby and congratulated her on her new "Grandchild". Unfortunately, about 3 weeks later, Doris died. I know she died happy and if she can, she will watch over this sweet baby girl.
Our trip was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I pray you all enjoy your time very much. God bless you in your work, Linda