Holiday Away

Hey Guys,
So i now it seems silly that I needed a holiday away, mostly because some you think this is one giant holiday away..(you know who you are)  NOT TRUE!

Granted I don't have the normal workday pressures or stresses. Stresses now have come from relocating myself, learning and keeping up a 3 new cultures, new ways of thinking and new ways of doing these are not always easy an easy task.

My brain needed a few days to not think, and my feet to not walk so I went up to Nyanga for the weekend. It was a nice 4 hour car ride past balancing rocks and small towns. We also took a small car ride over to Mutare which is a stones throws from Mozambique...it took everything I had not to try to cross the border to add another country to my list.

 Where is It?? Its Zimababwes' eastern highlands boarding Mozambique,  it holds some beautiful waterfalls, wild animals, mountain peaks and the coldest weather. (no snow but super windy and
it was at 5 C ( 41 F) the other night...and its NOT winter yet.. Yikes!

I happen to bump into the family that helps deliver the literature to the Shona & English kingdom halls up there. So I grabbed the chance to explore a bit more of the area, knowing my days are numbered here.

There is a small area called Mutasa, it lies between Nyanga and Mutare, it has the most concentrated witnesses there, every 3 miles (5Ks) there is a kingdom Hall! I had the pleasure to visit one of the 2 English halls this last Sunday, I think we had about 20 or more there and only 2 cars in the "parking lot"--technically it was the yard-- and no microphones, you had to use your big boy voice there. (I had no problems in that department :D)

Zumbane Lodge

It was a nice few days away in the wilderness, hiking a trail or two and staying at the Zumbane lodge. Of which I highly suggest that if you come to Zim you MUST see this place and might as well stay in a fully furnished home for a fantastic price. We did lose power but whats a trip to Africa with the full amenities of the 1st world counties? Zasa these days..haha I also may or may have not gone to bed with my winter hat on, and a towel as extra bedding..I found out later my extra blanket was being held hostage in the the other room. or....maybe I just forgot to ask for it...oops.





Now I am back home, with only two weeks left to go. These four months...man I tell ya..flown by.  The emails may be coming a bit closer together now, I have so much I want to share before I leave. Bear with me folks.

See some of you sooner then later.
Katie

Heart Warming

Today was an epic day for me gaining new bible studies. I now have 6 regular ones, three youngsters and three adults. The kids i am working with rang from 10 to 13 years old, and speak and read English beautifully. Today was gift day, all the kids got their book or booklets either in Shona or English.

 We passed a few houses that they made gardens for, not something you see everyday in an area that they are struggling to get food in, but making the earth beautiful is something they value here.

I started playing the Caleb videos to four kids, before i knew it, there were ten and by the end I had 15!

 For the most part this is an email full of photos not much of the stories. I couldn't post all of these on social media so thought a little slide show would be good enough. :)  The father of the four just below, said thank you a few times to me for taking the time to sit with them and teach .




I take so many photos because when i get stressed or overwork myself back in the States I see these little ones and know that whatever pain I am enduring is worth every moment.

I can see that I am making a mark on them, they wont easily forget the murungu (white person) that sat down and read English and Shona to them. Thats what we want, to make sure people don't forget us and the deeds we do.




They start early being little mommies, strapping little ones on their backs. I offered to carry her but I think she was a bit nervous.
The one that is doing the work cant be over the age of 6, they build them strong over here.

Alright family and friends, I am bushed,a few miles walking was done and much talking (never new for me). Yesterday was independence day over here so we came a day late.

Cheers to all you readers. Keep traveling and I'll keep up the stories.

What to Bring

I find it funny that one of my friends asked me tonight, "Who actually reads your blog?!" Only to find out I am just shy of 2800 readers.. So thank you all, in his words I appreciate.  And if he ever stumbles on this one post I hope it makes him smile, mostly out of annoyance.

To the matter at hand:

If you are ever planning an trip as an international servant some things you should know. Its a "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" type of situation. There are certain things one can afford to leave behind, and for the few countries i have lived in, four.. I can at least share some of my pent up knowledge.

As a rule I take these five things, no matter where I am headed. It  just has worked out that they are always useful.

1)     Wet wipes (baby or antibacterial)  -Wonderful for when you have no water and need a quick clean or wonder if the person ahead of you had e coli-

2)     Pain killers, ibuprofen  -you never know what kind of meds you can get so have at least a bottle-

3)     Re-hydration tablets  - LIFE SAVER anyplace hot, have these on hand and get into the habit of drinking them-

4)     Power bars or breakfast bars (at least 15)  -eating habits differ from place to place always have a snack  in case they give you dinner at 10 pm and you had lunch at 11-

5)     Flashlight with one extra set of batteries (or solar one) –self expiatory-

 

Puerto Rico

So technically this is part of the US, but when you get there or if you have already been there, it’s more like an 2nd world country.

They have Walmart, Walgreens and Applebees. So in short there is not much you really need to bring that you can’t get in the states. The only things that can run a bit expansive are paper products, notebooks, calendars and so forth. I do suggest in inventing in a small handheld blender, perfect for fresh smoothies. The fruit you can get fresh makes the best breakfasts..

Bahamas

I had the great pleasure of staying the Bahamas a few different times, exploring three of the islands out of 700 of course. Everything there is way more expansive. They have very little that is produced there so importing ta is sky high. Even most of the meat, besides fish, is brought in so is priced ridiculously high. Consider becoming a vegetarian while there if you are on a tight budget.

Also if you have white girl hair, like myself, bring your shampoo.. to get it there is not cheap and sometimes impossible to find.

Sunscreen, hand held fan, a hat or umbrella is a must for the intense heat.

Fruit and fish are cheap as well as rice and chick peas, a local favorite. Basically anything you think you need bring to this place otherwise you could have to live without unless you are on Paradise Island. 

Ecuador

Besides the 5 things I always bring.. For here I would suggest no small amount of Pepto-Bismol (stomach relief). The weather ranges here so be ready for anything in one day.

If you have clothing you don’t feel like you need to keep take it along and sell it at the end of the trip.

I love bringing the roll up water bottles everywhere once I have finished the drink it’s an easy carry.

I found things I needed were easy to get here, most people have wifi and in some areas you can wait for a delivery truck to come by and you can grab your groceries from him instead of walking to the store down the street. Dvds are cheap and they let you watch part of it to make sure the quality is good. 

Zimbabwe

Medicine is cheap so is the alcohol here.

White girl shampoo again is hard to come by and is way overpriced. (Normally because

the ones buying it can afford it to be a bit more.) Make sure to have a first aid kit with you, just because meds are cheap doesn’t mean Band-Aids or roll gaze is.

They have great coffee, tea and such here if you decide to splurge on anything I’d bring a coffee syrup.. It can make a difference after five months to have a cup that is just like home.

Make sure that you have a power bank with you, lately the power has been fine but it hasn’t been all that great over the years. Thinking in terms of solar is best, no lack of sun there. If you are there for a while serving in the field you may want to bring one or two Tupperware bins to hold food. They cost a ton here and having a few has been a great investment. I even bought a small non-stick skillet and it was such a great thing to bring. They are mucho $$ here. (I also bought in packets of my favorite seasonings like taco mix for dinners.)

Overall if you are a picky eater or someone who has lots of allergies you may have a bit more to overcome for those who don’t. Being an international servant or need greater is all about leaving the comfort zone in every way. Be prepared to get dirty, get hungry (at least once), get tried, get sick and get annoyed or aggravated. Sometimes you sit down and go over the pros and cons of this path you’ve chosen and in the side of Pros, you have: Reaching Out to Serve My God…its all worth that pain, annoyance and extra cost. I suggest taking a few articles with you so that if everything goes wrong you have something to bring you back to the focus.

 This is where my memory stops, if you have any questions about something I may have forgotten about please ask, it might help jog my brain. I have been other places but these are the major spots I have spent more than a few weeks at, so focused on those.

Just Over Half Way

Can you believe its already the half way mark of my trip?! I can’t. Although it has taken this long to get into a routine and get to know all the people I pass in the streets and the market again. So I know it hasn’t been a small amount of time. 

The weather pattern, as I have mentioned has been changing, summer is supposed to be winding down and winter on its way but we still are having high temperatures as early as 9 am and rains in the evenings. Thank goodness the pool has been ready cause after walking a few miles in the sun the best way to beat the heat is pool instead of tea time, I have pool time. J  

We have a new couple in our hall. Tim & Natasha (haven't got the spelling of the last name..) They

have been married for 19 years, he is from Germany and she was born here. They have worked as special pioneers in Germany then were assigned as international servants and we assigned to Zimbabwe. After a few years here they were put in Maui, Fiji and then back here again! They are a cute couple and i'm excited to get to know them and their experiences.

We had a going away party for two of our dear friends. One couple Jim & Wendy Davis helped Chandi and i a ton last year. Sadly they are on their way to England here soon where they can find work and survive a little easier. They shall be missed greatly. 

(Wendy is next to me.) 

The other are moving to an area where a new congregation was formed in the rural areas. (sadly i didn't get a photo of them..)

This last week we had a great time in service last Monday.  We fit 5 of us ladies in the back of a truck, full grown adult ladies i might add. :) I was able to show videos up to 20 times to about 15 kids all day. The overall bonus was that i started two studies with young people in the Bible Story book in English! I was pumped after even being up at 5 am for cart and 10 hours in rain and slight cold. 

A sister from South Africa was visiting us so we put on our good hats and preached until 6 PM! Its so nice to have a large group to help us with the homes, they are desperate for a Kingdom Hall in their area.  Maybe sometime soon it will happen. 

Alight i am off Tuesdays are my "day off" and by that i do all my laundry, dishes, study for meetings and an English course. Some day off. 

Talk later my friends. 

Katie

Bethel Second Round

We took another trip to Bethel this year again, it always nice to see what changes have been made in the last year. 

The family has been shaved down so much so that they now only use the dinner room for family worship Monday evenings. The family makes their own breakfast, dinner and cleans their own rooms. Such a change. I asked the brother who gave us the tour if he had lost any weight just yet cause of his cooking, lol. A friend of ours happened to be our guide, Mike Dube, he is in the Ndebele congregation in the city here. His assignment here is on the tech team for the JW.org and Bethelites computers. The team help set up new accounts for newly formed congregations he said they handle about 4 a month! They still need many halls to be built and updated but they work hard and quickly the number hasn’t changed from the last time so I am not sure how many more they need.

The translation teams have been very busy at work this last year. Around this time last year they only had a few books recorded in Shona now if you look all most every watchtower and awake is released along with the English versions. It helps to learn to say the sounds when I can listen a million times to the same page in order to read on the rurals. I tend to read very slowly so at times the meaning is lost.. oops.. haha  I bring up that we need the Shona added to the lang app every time I go to visit Bethel on Saturdays to hang out with a couple. 

Ending new numbers as such from exactly one year ago: 4 New circuits , 87 new congregations or groups, 833 new regular pioneers and 2295 new publishers. 

Lion Walk

This was amazing. If you ever have the chance to do it you can not pass on it! The place we went to is a conservation place for the lions born in captivity. They take the cubs and try to get them back into the wild, they don't live in cages or in a fenced in area. We were not allowed to touch their faces (even though I don't think the lions would be opposed themselves) and we had to only approach from the back. The two siblings we got to almost cuddle with are 10 months old and in two years they will be released. Then the last photo is one a bit older about 14 months..by the time they go back into the national park they will be three times the size they are now.
There are only around 80,000 left in Africa and that's down 80% from 20 years ago. So the meat is donated and the money spent to do this is used to help keep them coming in and raising them.
It felt like what it may be like in the new world, walking down a path with your pet lion..stopping every ten feet so they can nap (they really are quite lazy little guys..haha) I'm beyond happy we chose that to do this time around.. We passed on riding the elephants this time..money wise we wanted to keep it down.

Botswana

Today we headed over the border to Botswana to check out the national park called Chobe. It borders Namibia so when we were in the river (not swimming, boat cruise) we more or less skipped into another country. They are fighting for an island in the middle of the river at the moment. Each day a group of army guys from either side put their countries flag up in replacement of the other..today it was Botswana's. There isn't any actual fighting involved just in the court system one wants to use it for tourism and the other for farming.
On the river part we saw hippo, crocodiles, elephants, and buffalos they all come down to the river in the morning to drink. In the afternoon we took a 4 X 4 out to the land and saw them all over again just in massive herds. We also were the only ones to see the lions before they ducked into a group of bushes.

There are over 60,000 elephants on this piece of land alone..and I'm pretty sure not only did we see them but smell them. A few were at the river getting a bath and cooling off. There was a baby born just 9 days ago so he's still a bit scared of the Jeeps..poor thing. Also a baby hippo was born and he was sunning himself by the herd.. Too cute. They have cur down on the poaching in this area, normally men are looking for rhino horn which goes for over $200,000 and the ivory..the new rules are that the army guys shoot to kill not just arrest so to discourage any more animal killing. 

We had lunch at a hotel on the river before our game drive and by 4:30 we headed back to the border to head home. Long day but wonderful and a once an a life time event, on this side of things.  Now we eat our African meal of fast food.. Chicken inn..surprisingly delicious.. Night all I hope these emails are still worth reading and encourahing. 

Last

Last week. Here it is, the last week my mother will sleep soundly, last time I see a dollar menu, or fast food for that matter, last week I'll see sweet chili Doritos, and last week I'll understand most of what is being said around me even if it is in English. 

Tracy told me to enjoy all of my favorite things: food, family, friends,tv shows,constant supply of power and water..you know the extras in life. Granted after 21 days things start feeling like home so it won't be long before I have new favorite things that I can miss after I leave. 

Thank you all so very much for all the help you have been giving me while preparing for this, dealing with my meltdowns, crazy schedule or my absent mind. It certainly does take a village to keep one focused. I will miss all of you while away and think of you often. 

I'm going on this trip to work out a few more of my imperfect kinks, not that they will all be gone with only three months, but it won't hurt me to experience a few more difficult tasks. I hope to come back home to all of you a more rounded,not physically {hopefully}, person. Sending all the love I possess.

The world is too big to stay in one place too long.