Family Fun and Hard Work

Nathy and Danny at Hillside Dams (looking a bit lost!)

Yes we have finally got our residency through and now don't need to go to immigration every month to get our passports stamped!! HOORAY... It also means we don't need to keep handing over money (we do a lot of that here!) and we get to go to the tourist sights cheaper than non residents.WOW. Seriously, it does give us a sense of being here more permanently and we can relax a bit. (but only a bit!!!) Honestly we didn't realise retirement would be so tiring or challenging! But God is good.

On Fathers Day, Heather, Dave and the family arrived for a two week holiday. We had such a lot of fun, have loads of lovely memories together with loads and loads of photos! Unfortunately my son- in- law has such a swish camera I'm having trouble uploading them!! Will keep trying.. I also had a birthday BBQ with friends we have made here.

plucking chickens

We did a variety of things while they were here to try to give them a true picture of Zim. Of course we did the touristy things and saw lots of wild animals which the children loved and also visited people from the church and some of the projects we are involved in. They met our lovely hairdressers and Edmund our broiler outgrower and even saw some chicken being slaughtered, plucked and dressed!

We also visited a small orphanage and school that is running in Trenance and Hamara school which the church has taken over the running of on Hamara Farm. The boys loved meeting the children and even asked questions in a small group to encourage the older children in grade three to use their English. Dave had brought a football from England and gave it to them after demonstrating his skills!! They loved that.

Nathy and Danny at the orphanage school

While we were staying in the Motopos, we visited Stephen and Molly Manhanga in Kezi. Stephen is the leader of the Newfrontiers Crossroads Church. It is way out in the bush and held in an amazing thatched building which the East Grinstead church financed, I believe. They have recently been given a plot of land by a local lady, who we visited as well. Stephen is developing a little farm there with chicken, cattle and pigs and a small area for agriculture. He uses this as a training ground and also a place to bless the community. Most still live in mud and thatch houses, built by the ladies, I must add! Molly regularly writes a blog and interviewed Dave and Heather which they found quite amusing.

The men working on the pipeline for water. (notice Dave is not working)

This week Dave has started employing 5 men to work on the land. Three of them were previously unemployed and one of them homeless. He is staying in the church building at the moment. It is amazing what these guys will put up with in order to have a job! They are happy to sleep on the floor and cook sadsa over an open fire outside. There is still no electricity at the building so its candles and early nights too! We have provided them with work suits which they are very proud of..

They have finished planting up Lewis' land with rape, beans, carrots and spinach and are now digging a trench to get water connected at 1BD. The council put in a meter but connected to the mains at the opposite end of the site to the building. Well This Is Africa!!  Sentences are often finished with TIA when things get a bit frustrating.

As soon as water is in the building (2 weeks?)we will start applying for permission to open an Early Childhood Development Centre. Hopefully this will be quite straightforward as we come under the rural council which has a lot less requirements than the city council.

Kidz Klub (Zimbabwe style) starts on July 14th! We will not run every week to start with but hopefully I will be able to get enough good helpers who will be keen and willing to take responsibility. Language is obviously a problem for me but thankfully Tendai and several others have very good English to be able to translate as the younger children's English is very limited. They can all say "How are you?" "I'm fine" and their name and that is about it, although all lessons are done in English in School.
Sorry not many photos. Rubbish Internet here!