Thoughts on Inauguration.

Having just returned from a country that has suffered through 2 decades of dictatorship masquerading as democracy I can't help but have strong feelings about this inauguration- regardless of the presidents name, gender, race, or religion.

Last year, Zimbabweans voted for a change they so desperately needed. Their current president refused to refused to accept the results and demanded a run-off. In that "run-off" election military stood watching voters, pointing guns at them. Can you guess who won? The incumbent.

Because of these elections, people died and millions continued to suffer.

This is a moment with a new significance for me. No matter what your feelings on Obama, or even if he hadn't won. No matter what other historical significance this moment has for you. Take a moment to be thankful for the fact that in this country we have a peaceful exchange of power, a fair exchange, every 4-8 years. We take that for granted. I take that for granted.

On giving.

Yesterday was our second to last day here in ZImbabwe. Jonnah asked us to get together with all of the staff members to encourage them and thank them for the work they have done here. He told us when we first arrived that each of the 6 people working with us were scheduled to recieve $50 for their two weeks of work. Now let me tell you, that these people have been cleaning, cooking, driving, laundering, etc non-stop since we arrived. To us, $50 seemed crazy. So Matt and I decided to give Jonnah money to give each of them an extra $50. In the meeting with them, after we thanked them and talked with them, Jonnah told them about their "bonuses". Their eyes bulged and they immediately began to thank us and hug us.

It is also very customary to give gifts to people before you leave. So yesterday we gave out many gifts to all of the people here. We gave out bags filled with soup, oatmeal, toothbrushes, tea, feminine products, candy, stickers, and some other things we had (much thanks to amanda for the bags and a good portion of their contents). They were so excited that they all began to put them on and talk about how they would all wear them to church to carry their Bibles tomorrow! We took many pictures so we can share those with you soon.

Later that night, after most everyone had left, Abigail and I gave Oripah and Kristina (two of the kitchen workers that we have become especially close with) 3 bags filled with clothes, feminine products, baby wipes, and some household goods. You could see their excitement, and Oripah's husband James said something to the extent of "On behalf of Kristina's husband, I can say thank you for supplying our wives with things we cannot afford to give them."

Today we will also be giving Simba- a young guy who has done a lot of interpretting for us- a Bible, an MP3 player with some songs for him to learn on it (he is learning guitar) and some other things for his family.

Matt had someone give him $100 to help out a family here. He was able to go to the store today (Jonnah found out that they had recieved some stock) and buy enough food for 5 families to eat for a month. We distributed that in the afternoon, and Matt was able to talk with each of them. It's amazing that what seems like so little money to me can do so much good here. And that simple things like a package of pads can make someone here feel so grateful.

I have really enjoyed giving things away. I think we all have. I know that we cannot "save" people or fix anything permanently, but the one thing people here have stressed over and over again is that seeing our faces, knowing that we would come here even amidst the threat of cholera and kidnapping and political unrest, means more than even the monies we send them each month.

Today, I am told, there will be a gift giving ceremony at church where we will be given gifts from the church. I am a bad gift receiver in general, so I am not sure how I will be able to receive gifts from people who have so little to give away. I'm sure I will have thoughts on that, either later today or when we get home.

If I don't get a chance to post again... see you all in the US! Thank you for your continued support and for your generosity and gifts. They have meant a lot to a lot of people and I hope that when I get home I can share just how grateful these people are for what you have done.

Kaitlyn

Road Blocks & Electricity

On Thursday we had no power all day... save for about 20 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening. We spent most of the day out so it wasn't a big deal until the evening. We all sat around a gas lamp for a few hours as I began to go, just a bit, stir crazy. The ladies here cooked all of our meals over a fire, and all of the things in the fridge were warm by the afternoon, since it was definitely one of the hottest days thus far. Jonnah explained that this is basically what it had been like for months, power only from 4-6am and occasionally from 7-8 pm. He told us we were lucky, because since we have been here, we have only had a few hours each day without power.

On Friday we went on a day trip to 'Great Zimbabwe" national park, where Zim actually got its name after its independence. The 3 hour trip took about 4 because we were stopped 8 times at police barricades. Our tour guides Tendai (Jonnah's son) and James (an employee of the church) were able to get us through all of them without any searches or payments, but just their presence was frightening enough. They told us that the police have decided to construct barricades along the roadways to raise money, as they are not being paid much and cannot usually eat. So, without any reason really, they stop motorists and then search some, some they ask for money, some they demand a tax or a customs fee, and others (somehow, thank god, us) they let go by. Tendai said he was just explaining to them each time that he was also a civil servant (a teacher) who was also not getting paid. He is luckily very good with words.

Along the way we also stopped at a few grocery stores, just to check out what they look like. One was absolutely bare. There were 4 rows blocked off because they were empty, 1 with only a few boxes of condoms scattered throughout, 1 with bars of soap all the way down, and some freezers with 4 or 5 bottles inside. James explained that this was a grocery store that waited for the corporation to send products. The other store we stopped at was privately owned, meaning they could go to South Africa to buy things to "stock" their shelves. Even though this was the better store, half of the aisles were still blocked, and most of the foods we consider essentials were non-existent. There was some mealy-meal (the staple food here in Zim, is just ground up maize that makes a paste- think really dense mashed potatoes) some flour and oil, a little rice, one kind of cereal, no milk, and some juice concentrate.

Great Zimbabwe was very pretty, though no one warned me we would be hiking up a mountain so about half way up, in my skirt and paper-thin flip flops, I decided to chill with Ab and wait for the boys to go up and come back down. This was by far the hottest place, James told us it was always that hot in that area, ughhh. Bad news. After recovering, we saw a dam and then drove back home. It was a long rainy drive with just as many police stops.

We did get some fun pictures of the rural areas, though. Lots of monkeys, donkeys and cows crossing the street in their herds, a rainbow after the storm, and traditional rural homes (think grass huts). In the end it was a good but very long day.

So here we are, on our second to last day here. We will be doing some shopping this morning and then visiting people's homes to get an idea about what the various accommodations are like here in Zim. Then tomorrow we will be doing two church services, meeting with the staff who has helped us out here, and packing. We leave Monday morning at 6am which will be 11pm back in the states. We fly from here (at 8 20) to South Africa where we hang out for 9 hours before flying to Dakar, Senegal and then home to JFK. We are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday morning around 7 am.

I will hope to write at least once more before leaving. When we get back we have tons of videos and pictures, and many more stories to share. See you very soon!!

kaitlyn

It's Actually Abigail

Sorry to all my friends who are waitng for posts and I have not written but I hope my sisters posts have been good enough hehe : )
I am doing great and having a blast learning all about Zimbabwe. I am so humbled by everything that surrounds me and all the people that I have encountered. I can not wait to come home and be an advocate for the people here in Zimbabwe as they have taught me more in 2 weeks than I have learned in all my years of school and church going. I have grown to truly love all the people of the congregation as well as the children that I have been able to work with I find them so inspiring.
I dont have much time on the internet but I can't wait to share my stories and share the stories of those here and I will definitely update you all when I get home what I did and my feelings about!
Miss you all!

Eastern I will see you the 19th!!!!!!!!!!!

Abigai

Band Aids and Prayer

It seems that most people who have asked for prayer from us have leg pain, back pain, or stomach issues. However, a great number of them also have extremely curable problems that aren't fixed because of a lack of doctors.

There are many people who have come to us with "foot problems". As it turns out, the foot problem is a cut that has become so infected the person cannot walk on it. A doctor here costs $20 us dollars to see and even more to get treatment. This is an unthinkable amount of money. In just the week we have been here, with our limited supplies and abilities, we have been able to "cure" 5 or 6 people with some band aids and triple antibiotic ointment. I can't imagine not being able to even bandage a cut so deep that should have had stitches.

Another man came to me with pain in his leg. He told me he had broken it a while back and it hasn't been able to set and heal. This man walked to church who knows how many kilometers.

Jonnah's wife tracy cut her hand with a knife on Christmas. The day we got here it was so swollen her skin was breaking. She was able to see a doctor to have it lanced a few days into our trip. He wrote her a presciption for an antibiotic, but the pharmacist wouldn't have it in stock for 6 days.

A friend we met here named Simba had a fever and a cold, he continued coming to the church to see us every day even though he was sick. He had nothing to take and no idea if he would feel better any time soon. We gave him some cold medicine and tylenol. Every time I get a sniffle I run to my over flowing medicine cabinet and grab something to stop the pain.

I am continually being humbled and shocked. It seems that this weekend we will be going to some peoples homes. I am a bit nervous about this as I have a very hard time with smells, and the smell of sewage on the drive to church makes me want to cry. I will practice my poker face until saturday and hope for the best.


kaitlyn

Lessons Learned

Here we are again, back online. The power has not gone out today, but I would imagine that now that I have typed that it will go off soon!

I think about everyone back home very often and today felt a little stir-crazy. I would imagine that that would be expected since we are not really allowed outside of the fence here. Jonnah takes us out to lead programs and meet people, but because of the oddity of murungus (white people) and the political situation, Jonnah has advised us not to wander around by ourselves. We are also very limited in where we can use our cameras.

Another church in Englad helped this church to drill a bore-hole (a deep well) which has provided more than suitable water for drinking. It is amazing to see that though the cholera epidemic has effected so many areas, Kuwadzana has not been hit. I believe this is due, in part, to this well. Children and women come in and out all day long drawing water from the well. Many of them come a few times a day with many buckets. The girls carry them on their heads which has me very fascinated. So, although there is sewage flowing through the cuty streets, there are no cases of cholera. I don't know how much longer that will last, though as Jonnah has told us that he has seen many children playing in the sewage water.

Seeing people rumaging through the trash piles and walking through the sewage is a sight I cannot describe.


Today we met with the youth of the church. They asked so many questions about what it was like to live in the US. They asked about things from school to drugs and sex to television. They also told us that they really appreciate all of the money we send. At the same time, they have also been wondering if there is any way that we could work with them to come up with a business plan that we might be able to support so they can make their own money. We have told them that though we cannot make any promises, we will do our best.



I will try to update some more tomorrow to tell everyone about where we are staying and what the conditions are like. Thank you for all of your kind thoughts!

Kaitlyn

UPDATE!!!!

I am so sorry for the lack of updates. We arrived safely last Monday evening and had no problems getting through customs and have been running non-stop ever since! I will try to update frequently in this last week of our trip.

As I write this, the power has gone out. This happens most evenings around dinner time and generally lasts about 2 hours. Jonnah tells us that this is actually an improvment, as a few months ago they would be lucky to have power for a few hours a day in the morning. It is amazing to see what happens when a government truly ignores its people and its needs. As we drive through Kuwadzana we see that there is currently no sanitation department, so the trash gets heaped in large piles in front of houses and the sewage system has broken down to the point that the sewage flows freely through the streets. Thieves have stolen the telephone wires for the copper, so there is currently no telephone system here either. Most people here have cell phones, though they are getting more expensive to pay for.

Nothing can be bought in town without foreign money, everyone must use American dollars or South African Rands, though the bank refuses to give it out. Everyone is forced to go to the black market to get forex (foreign exchange) where they can charge you whatever exchange rate they desire for that day.

The schools are scheduled to go back in Session one week from today, though it is doubtful any of them will return. Teachers are currently on strike because although they have a salary equivilant to $1200 us dollars/month, when they cash their check the bank will only allow them to take out the equivilant of $10. Currently that is not enough to catch a bus to work and home and eat lunch for one day.

Even through these seemingly unthinkable troubles the people here are so welcoming and joyful and generous. We have spoken to so many people here and are both saddened and encouraged every time we hear their stories.

Each morning we wake up and go to church to lead a praise service, after that Abigail and I work with the children (who are the most well behaved and intelligent children I have ever worked with). We go home and rest and have lunch and then have been working with the elders after we eat. Today was our final meeting with the leaders, and for the next two days we will be meeting with the youth (high school - marriage). On Thursday we will be working with the women's association, and on Friday it seems we are headed to see Great Zimbabwe, a national park.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will have so much to share with you when we get home. I will hope to post more (and hope to post this when the power comes back!)

kaitlyn