Seasons are changing…

As we drive around Harare, I see the street vendors have started to sell blow-up rubber duck floaties for the pool and that can indicate only one thing… it’s becoming summer around here. Summer brings for us an eventual end to our time here. Rubber duck floaties become a sad reminder that our time here is almost done. Though I look forward to America and all the “luxuries” it affords us, I am sad to see our time here come to an end. It is, of course, the people we will miss most… Patience, Baba Office, Mickey, Angie and Lin... Ohh! How my heart aches at the thought of not seeing these people every day! In Sanyati, people come and go in your home constantly and though this was one of the hardest things to get used to I have to say that will be what I miss most… Watching as Chloe does “milk time” (not tea time, because the “tea is too hot”) with Patience and Baba Office, having the teams over for dessert night, sharing a dinner with Mickey and Angie and Lin, watching as Chloe gets a ride on Patience’s back, watching Paige and Kate play with their friends outside… ohhh! It will be hard to say goodbye. So hard to think about not seeing these wonderful people tomorrow, like usual… hard to know that we won’t be in the next planning session for ministry here. Life will go on here- it is just hard to know you won’t be a part of it. Patience says “Emotions just mean you’re alive” and by that definition- I am VERY alive lately! Haha! I know it’s time to go though… God has given me peace about it. It is time. The house we are staying in is our temporary home and that was always understood…at some point “temporary” means you need to move on to the next phase of life and that’s what we’ll do. I feel very blessed by God that I got to experience these last 6 months here and that my family as a whole got to do this adventure together. Living in the bush in Africa is hard, I won’t deny, but the lessons it taught me, the experiences I got to have made every moment without power and every gross spider worth it. I will miss you Sanyati. May God bless you and keep you. May He walk among you and shower you with love. I will cherish every moment, every memory… and until I see you again, in this world or the next, we will praise the Lord together for all He has done here. Amen.

Rashel, with love

The Ultimate Sundowner

It is hard to believe that our time in Sanyati is coming to a close.  Lately, the sunsets here have been remarkable.  I borrowed the title of this post from a billboard in Harare.  I forget what it was advertising but it shows the differences between British English and American English.  The sign said something about experiencing the ultimate sundowner.  When you first see the words it catches your attention because the advertisement is trying to entice you to go somewhere for a good experience.  For me as an American, downer does not bring to mind a positive image but you learn to not go on your first impression here in Africa.

The red sun setting over the thorn bushes and trees seems to foreshadow last moments we are experiencing.  Yesterday, I took the last team to the blacksmith.  We left as the sun set there.  We had the last “sale” where the local women have an opportunity to sell their goods to the teams coming through.  I have heard it also called the “Sanyati Baptist Hospital Gift Shop.”  Rashel and Paige had their last children’s Bible study.  We have taken down the last asbestos and put on the last roofing panels.  Two more days to work with the last team and then it is time to close everything up for the year.

I am currently listening to “Breathe You In” by Thousand Foot Krutch and tears are very close as they often are these days.  I am not sure how to return home and leave everything and everyone I have come to know behind.  Last year it was difficult to leave after 10 days.  I have no idea how to cope with it this time.

Breathe You In by Thousand Foot Crush
Click here to listen on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmjX6uXvlA
Taking hold, breaking in
The pressures all need to circulate
Mesmerized and taken in
Moving slow, so it resonates
It's time to rest, not to sleep away
My thoughts alone, try to complicate
I'll do my best, to seek you out
And be myself, and not impersonate

[Chorus:]
I tried so hard to not walk away
And when things don't go my way
I'll still carry on and on just the same
I've always been strong
But can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe, I want to breathe you in
The fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
'Cause I need to breathe, I want to breath you in
I want to breathe you in

I'm going in, so cover me
Your compass will, help me turn the page
The laughing stock, I'll never be
Because I won't let them take me

[Chorus]

Took awhile to see all the love that's around me
Through the highs and lows there's a truth that I've known
And it's you

I've always been strong
But can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe, I want to breathe you in
The fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
‘Cause I need to breathe, I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
I want to, I want to
I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe; I want to, I want to
Wanna breathe
I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
I wanna breathe
…

I close this post as I listen to my playlist almost in the same order as I left America.  Here are some of the titles:

Come and Listen – David Crowder Band
Lose My Soul – Tobymac
Hanging by a Moment – Lifehouse
Breathe You In – Thousand Foot Krutch
Your Name – Radial Angel
Revelation Song – Gateway Worship
When I Think about the Lord – Shane and Shane
Nothing but the Blood – Tree63
Mountain of God – Third Day
Lay ‘Em Down – Needtobreathe
Born Again – Newsboys
Lead Me to the Cross – Newsboys
Come Thou Fount – David Crowder Band
Mystery – Charlie Hall
I Refuse – Josh Wilson
You Hold Me Now – Hillsong United
Sweetly Broken – Jeremy Riddle
You Are God Alone – Phillips, Craig and Dean
At Your Name – Tim Hughes
Follow You – Brandon Heath
In the Hands of God – Newsboys
Blessings – Laura Story
You and Me – Lifehouse
Cry Out to Jesus – Third Day
Closer - Philmont
Rescue – Desperation Band
What I’ve Overcome – Fireflight
Always – Kristian Stanfill
The Difference - Philmont
Desperate – Fireflight
Crazy Love – Hawk Nelson
At Your Name – Phil Wickham
I Still Believe – James Clay

Wrote this about a week and a half before posting it…Ryan

Fear and finding out what faith is….

I have always been what polite society calls “a worrier”. I know it by its more truthful name… an addiction to fear. I have spent most of my life afraid. From bugs and snakes to my children dying or my husband leaving me, I’ve imagined the worst and stood paralyzed with fear that the “worst case scenario” would occur. Coming to Sanyati was hard for me. Not necessarily the “saying yes to God” part- I mean, who’s ever said no to God and won that argument- but the 9 months of build up till we left were excruciating. 9 months to worry and fret, 9 months to imagine if “horrible” happened there. Our first month settling in at Harare and Sanyati, I was so jumpy, my own shadow could have sent me up a tree. During that same time, I remember one night driving home with Ryan from Kadoma after a supply run, our girls sweetly sleeping in the back seat. We were talking about all the fear I was in. God has wired him differently- I am sure partly for my sanctification- and he struggles to understand or fathom how fear could run my life so much. As we drove home, he began to talk about how it is hard for him to understand my problem with fear because to him he just takes the problem or “what if” and accepts that it could happen and then tries to make wise choices based on all the possibilities. His words made my head spin and my heart ache. How could he accept the “what if”- esp. if the “what if” was horrible? How could he find peace in that moment of everything falling down? I knew God was at the center of that peace, but struggled with not being able to get there with Him.  I mean, how do you just turn off fear?  As I pondered our talk later that night, God began to click stuff together in my head. Often in my life I have found freedom after accepting reality...what if fear was the same way? What if I chased the fear down and refused to let it control me and instead controlled it. What if I accepted my responsibility in the situation and then literally let the rest be up to God and trust Him with it. I began to walk through several of the re-occurring fears in my head… for example: fear of snakes- First I have to do my part and use the wisdom He’s given me to be careful where I walk and pay attention to what’s around me, but after that… and this was huge… if it’s God’s will for me to get bit then I will. Reality is that if it’s going to happen I can’t stop it, but I know that God never does anything that isn’t for my good or His glory so in the end I can still trust Him with His decisions. I began to fully understand that God not only made all of creation, but He is also still in charge of it. NO PART of His creation is allowed to take 2 steps towards me without a nod from Him. That was comforting to me- that God is indeed sovereign over all He has made. It then occurred to me… and this was huge too… that if the horrible “what if” happened- God would still be there, not abandoning me at the first sign of trouble.  If all the worst case scenarios that swirl in my head actually came to fruition, I need not fear because God would still be there in the middle of it with me. Ahh, the peace that brought! God will NEVER leave me or forsake me! Around the same time, one of the team members was complimenting me on my faith to come out and serve in Sanyati. It touched my heart. As she spoke I began to see- that’s what faith is, doing the fearful… taking the first step into scary and realizing He’s on the other side too. It made me think of that Indiana Jones movie where he has to cross the chasm but there is no bridge. It wasn’t until he took the first step out that he realized that the bridge had been there all along. That’s what faith in God is to me- taking the first step out to realize that God has been there all the time and is still there supporting me.
Coming to Sanyati was scary for me, but learning that God completely has me has made it totally worth the cost. I don’t know that I could have learned all this in America. There seems to be such a false sense of security there. Self-reliance as "the American way" seems to deaden our senses to the reality that “horrible” could happen there too. It seems easier in some ways to trust God here in Africa… there is no sense of security here that a random bad day couldn’t kill. I pray all these lessons here are applied firmly by God to my heart…. that I never forget how reliant I am on God for EVERYTHING- from food, to electricity to the health of my daughters…that I never forget that God has me, in the good times and bad… that HE is in charge and in that I can rely and find rest. Wow, the sovereignty of God, the faithfulness of Him, and the faith that is required to follow Him.
Rashel

Fun Pics!!

We have a super surprise! We have been blessed to be able to put together a slide show of some of our pictures for everyone to see back home! We are hoping to do one for every month here. April and May’s videos are already up on YouTube. Hope you enjoy!!!

Here are the links:

April - http://youtu.be/9nOmis_J6yg

May - http://youtu.be/I82qq7jQiEc

Hoping to get June & July up soon! We’ll let you know! Thanks for walking this walk with us!

Rashel

Another reason to serve....

After Ryan and I were married, we moved to the Dallas area. We had met at church and were heavily involved with the college ministry there so I, very naively, assumed that getting involved in a church in Dallas would be simple. Little did I know that it would be a year of visiting different churches and, unfortunately, sleeping in before we found our church home. After we joined First Baptist Church of The Colony, we joined a Sunday School class and started attending regularly. About a year later, the youth pastor asked us to teach a 7th & 8th grade Sunday School class. We very nervously said yes. We soon became very involved in the youth department and loved serving there. After a while other people at the church began to ask us to serve in other areas of the church. We’ve done everything from Youth Ministry to Vacation Bible School… from World Changers to Celebrate Recovery... from Auto Mechanics Ministry to Rocket Car Challenge...  from teaching bible studies to one-on-one discipleship… from construction to crafts. We’ve done and been a part of a lot in the last 11 years at our church. We served because we knew God had given us certain skills and abilities and we wanted to use them for Him. We served because we felt God calling us to. We served because the blessing far outweighed the sacrifice. 
Until recently I thought all that service ended upon itself. There was a need, someone filled the need, case closed. I have come to see now that not only were we filling needs in that moment, but God was also training us for the work here. For example, I do a children’s bible study here every week. It is 100-125 kids crammed on my back porch AND every other week, we give them jump ropes for Jump Rope for Jesus club. That seems daunting, maybe even a little crazy, but the truth is it’s not that stressful at all. All that time spent doing VBS’s and working with the youth has made it easy… second-nature. Now, that’s not to say I wasn’t anxious at the first meeting… I mean, on some level, it is still 100 kids looking back at you, but after the initial nervousness passed it has been wonderful. God has blessed me to be able to serve Him in this way.
I have been blown away at how intricately He has trained us to be completely ready and able to do His will here. It is so amazing that our God is completely sovereign over EVERYTHING- even to the point of using small service tasks at church to be preparing us to serve in Africa 10 years later.  Amazing. The point of all this is this... please let my testimony encourage you to serve in your local church.  There are always a million reasons not to serve- too busy, too little money, too many other things going on in your life... all are valid- the list is endless. But there is something else that is endless… the ways that God can use your service. We all have abilities and skills that God has given us to use for Him, so if you are good with kids- go serve, if you are good at comforting a friend through a death in the family- go serve, if you are good at fixing cars- go serve, if you are good with teens- go serve, if you are a good writer- go serve, if you are good at evangelizing the lost- go serve…. Just GO. You never know what God has intended in your life in the future until you take the first step today. I have been amazed at how He has trained me so completely for this task here- not by my power, but by His. He does that in all of our lives. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
 “Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

1 Timothy 4:14a
“Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you…”

Rashel


PS- In case you are wondering what Rocket Car Challenge is- go check out some cool videos and pics at www.StrapaRocketOnIt.com :)

Using the unlikely…

It seems, in God’s Word, that He often uses the unlikely to serve His purposes. It makes sense though- then the Glory isn’t shared… It’s God’s alone. Why would He send a stuttering man named Moses to speak to Pharaoh? Why would He send a young Jewish girl named Esther to marry the king? Why would He send a city girl named Rashel to rural Africa? Because anything that happens there, every day she survives or even flourishes (and I’ve had both)- it will be Him who did it, not her. Now am I comparing myself to these great people of the Bible? Hardly, I know way too much about myself for that. What I am saying is that as I look towards these last 2 months here and back at our last 4, I really have to take a minute to sit back and marvel at what God has done. What He’s taught me, what He’s shown me… I stand amazed.
I have moments of disbelief- I can’t believe I, Rashel Sifford, have lived in “the bush” in Africa for the last 4 months! It’s crazy to think about and so obviously God- God got me to say yes, God got me on the plane, God got me out to Sanyati… and God has had me every step of the way. He had me in the days without power, and then the days without power AND water. He had me when Katy had a shoulders-to-toes rash for no explainable reason on our 2nd day out in Sanyati. He had me when I was so ill from food poisoning that I was practically unconscious for 36 hours. But He has also had me when I was watching some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen and when I marveled at the gorgeous flowers or the gigantic baobab trees. He had me when I watched on, with pride bursting, as Paige was being interviewed by a team member for his children’s department to see what a child can do in missions. He had me when He showed me what trust really is, what faith really is, taking off years of fearful living and breaking the chains of so much bondage. He had me. 
Its nice to receive compliments, but what is even more warming to the soul is when those compliments are said by people who REALLY know what it took to do it, what the sacrifices were, where the problems lied. The last team here was filled with people who have been in on this Makeover project since the beginning… people who come every year, people who have had a part in the planning and implementing of this makeover from the start. The whole time they were here Ryan and I received dozens of compliments on how well things are going, how well our family has adjusted, how much progress has been made on the hospital. Sometimes when you are working, even for the Lord, your head is down digging into the work and you forget to look up and see how things are going. That’s what that team did for me… lifted my head up to see. God has done some amazing things here both inside of me, in my family and in that hospital. God is good and He has me. 
Rashel

Going Home to Die

Even though it is my wife’s birthday and Independence Day back in the US, July 4th is not a holiday in Zimbabwe.  So for me it started like most other days.  I left to pick up Patience, her husband and a young man who attends Sanayti Baptist High School and possibly a few others who traveled our way. I arrived at the Gora village and I found out that I missed a text message.  The son of Patience’s cousin had just died and Patience asked if we could stop by the village to see her family.  

Along the way, I inquired what had happened.  The man was 28 years old.  Later on I found he had a wife carrying their first child.  He was in Sanyati Baptist Hospital for two weeks, discharged and referred on to Kadoma.  The family did not have the money so they took him home to die.  It broke my heart and I cried.  I tried not to show it.  I have mentioned this before.  Going home to die is very common here.  At first, I was just told about it.  It hit closer to home when it happened to families I knew.  This day it hit me personally.

We went to the meager home site.  It is like most others.  A few small huts built out of termite bricks.  This one also had a small rectangular house out of termite bricks with a thatch roof that had caved in.  When we arrived, we greeted the family in the “kitchen” hut.  In there was a mattress with the body on it.  The women of the family were next to him openly morning.  I could not help but cry as the women openly wept.   We prayed with the family.  They asked if I could transport his body to the hospital mortuary.  I have not moved a body before and I had to ask Patience what he died of.   I asked if would offend the family it I wore gloves as we loaded the body.  Then I helped hold up a blanket to shield the women from the body as a family member put the clothes on they wanted him to wear.  We wrapped him in blankets and loaded him into the back of the pickup.  Two or three women road in the back and sang songs.  I drove slowly the 6km to the hospital mortuary as we were not able to shut the tailgate.  As we approached the mission center, a combi bus had Psalm 23 written on the side.  I remembered what I could of the Psalm as I had memorized it when I was younger. The specific words escaped me but the meaning of the Lord being my shepherd comforted me.  I recalled the part of walking through the valley of the shadow of death and His rod and staff leading me.  

By the time we arrived at the hospital it was well past the 6:30am start time I had with the team.  The Lord was in charge because the night before I had given the keys to the container, with the tools and material in it, to one of the team members.  They had already started for the day.  I told them I was delayed and it would be a little longer before I would be back.

After a short wait for keys, we moved the body to the mortuary on an old gurney.  Our container is directly across from the mortuary.  Though I have seen many bodies carried both in and out, I have never actually been inside.  There were three cooler doors which reveal three selves each that slide out.  The first one we pulled out was rusted through and broken.  We pulled another one out that was not quite as rusted and place the body on it to slide his body in.

I drove the family back to their village and brought Patience back with me.  She had stayed so other family could ride with the body.  On the way back I found that the young man was not a believer.

I spent most of that morning working by myself as I had to deal with everything that happened.  The team was moving ahead well and I worked on removing the old roofing panels ahead of them.  It was good to have some time alone because I was able to compose myself by the time Rashel came by with Paige and Katy to visit the new and expecting mothers in the matumbas.  It was a tough day and I was physically and emotionally spent by the afternoon.  

Over the next couple of days I got to witness some of the culture as the family prepared for the funeral.  In some ways it is very similar back home but in others it is very different.  I saw many people come from far away.  They took buses as far as they would go and walked the rest of the way down the roads.  Some I even gave a ride.  There was always someone at the entrance to the village to direct those who were coming.  People who lived close brought extra kettles to cook, tarps and blankets to sleep on and big tubs to bathe in.  Many came and camped out at the village.  I saw them kill a goat, hang it from a small tree and butcher it.  They gathered and dug the grave themselves.

Only in Africa…. Vocabulary

“African Facial” - when the steam hits you in the face after you’ve boiled a pot of water for filtering and drinking.
“African Time”- you say “I’ll meet you here at 9am”, they hear “I’ll meet you here at 11am….ish” (who knew all this time I was just on African time in America!)
“African Hobbies” – move over scrapbooking, hello sweeping, dishes by hand, scratch cooking and, yes, more sweeping
“African Hospital Ground Crew” – goats to keep the grass down (and leave their droppings everywhere:P), chickens to peck for bugs, cats to keep the rats at bay, cattle because the mission center is apparently a good place to leave them if you have to go somewhere and can’t graze them yourself. (We have had to shoo cows out of our yard- it was a surreal moment to say the least. Thank God for Patience being here to help us! Sometimes this “city girl” is out of her element!) 
“African Meatloaf” – it is only made with oatmeal, because you would never waste your American saltines on meatloaf!
“African perfume” – mosquito spray
“African Russian Roulette” – eating meat that has been prepared by candlelight
“African Surprise” – “It actually works”: the thought you have when something so illogical actually works.  For instance, yellow lights blinking in all directions at a busy intersection in Harare. (If you are curious how it that works: the driver slowly fights their way through the mess of cars and pedestrians by forcing their car into the intersection. The passengers pray with their eyes closed.”
“African Facebook” – the extremely large and extremely fast grapevine here in Sanyati
“African Robots” - a robot is a traffic light here… well, actually it is a “scan each light to find a bulb that is working” light. They occasionally work, but if not the power may be out in that part of town or it’s just plain broken. If it doesn’t work, check traffic from other directions to see if theirs’ work, pray and work your way through the intersection
“African Mall” – when the 10 local ladies come and set up a sale in my front yard for the teams… very convenient- No parking headaches, car seats or strollers needed
“African Transportation” - a minivan with 5 rows that 20-30 people cram into. For only a few dollars, you too can ride squished up to a window on one side and to a sweaty man on the other.  (AND you’d be blessed because at least you got a window seat!) 
“African Romantic Meal”- any meal eaten by candlelight because the power is out
“African Gold” – the US salsa that the last team brought us
“Africa Fast Food”- since it’s all scratch cooking… it’s anything that takes less than an hour to prepare
“African Vacation” – any illness that does not allow you to work
“African Restaurant”- your dining room
“African Hot Showers” – there are no bad feelings that a hot shower (aka: bucket bath) won’t cure. Granted it involves heating pots and pots of water on the stove, but there is nothing like a hot shower to make you ready to attack the day!
“African Mail”- coordinating by email with your family and friends to mail packages to the next team that then carry the package in their luggage to us. It takes a lot of planning and time, but at least it is hand delivered! 
“African ‘Hot New Ride’”- a brand new scotch cart (cow or donkey pulled cart) you bought at the “scotch car lot”
“African Sore Throat” – what you get when you are stuck somewhere without filtered water… “Anybody know where I could get a Coke around here???”
“African Waterpark”- Victoria Falls
“African Roofs” – Just below the roof at the hospital Ryan has found all kinds of “special” prizes: snakes (told multiple times that they might find a python up there but only found small skins so far), bats, kitten skeletons, owls and their digested prey, lizards, spiders, rats, ticks and all kinds of bugs
“African T.I.A.” – Something said often by missionaries from the States when something doesn’t work out as it would have back home… “This is Africa”
“African Grass Fire” – nothing special here, just a common site... No one even tries to put them out. We’ve decided that it’s how they mow their grass.
“African Christmas”- every time a team brings us items from America … We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you…
“African Babysitter” – having your children (as young as 3, if accompanied by a (young) sibling) walk the cows around to 
graze them 
“African Friends”- anyone within a 3 foot radius of you- they are very friendly here
“African Strangers” - apparently I haven’t met one yet…. Except for… (see below)
“African Terror” - When a mother throws her toddler into your arms and the child screams and cries because he or she has never seen a white person before. 
“Africa Ants” - otherwise known as “army ants”. Gigantic black ants that march out like an army, conquer something like a fresh pile of dung and return home with it
“African Milkshake”- what you have after one of your children, who shall remain nameless, forgets and puts your $11 tub of ice cream in the refrigerator instead of the freezer… Grrrr!
“African TV”- watching the dvd’s you brought from home over and over and over again. (but, honestly, I love my Golden Girls and could have quoted it before I left town anyway!) 
“Africa Lawn-mowing” - set it aflame, let the goats in or thrash it by hand…choose your poison
“African Reasons to Stare”-1) talking like this y’all 2) having 2 kids with v e r y blonde hair 3) being THIS white
“African Sparkling Lights” - when you go outside at night and see tiny sparkles reflect on the ground from all direction. Get close enough and you realize it the eyes of spiders everywhere looking at your light.
“African Fog” – the dust in the air that looks like fog or smoke
“Africa Creepy Crawlers” – “It feels like something is crawling on me” … “Something probably is”….
“African Treasure” - Wrecked car on the side of road- axle -> new scotch cart  /   scrap metal -> supplies for the blacksmiths
“African Mosquito control” - Flat spiders all over the walls
“African Zesa” – the term used for power.  The girls scream “Zesa! Power!” when it returns.
“African Right Hand Turns” – no, there are no cars going to t-bone you from the right because you are turning from the wrong side of the road
“African Baby Swing”- a mother ties her baby on her back with a large piece of cloth. It has the same results too…Zzzzzzz!
“African Dedication”- walking 3 hours one way to go to church, twice a week. I don’t know many Americans that would even consider that. Their dedication to their Lord is breath-taking at times and humbling as well! May we all continue to do more with what we have been given. 

Rashel & Ryan

Our kids…

Well, I guess it wouldn’t be a proper blog if I didn’t have at least one entry about my kids, so here it goes…

For those of you reading this who don’t know my kids, I will introduce you…

First, there’s 8 year old Paige, otherwise known as Paigee(long e). She’s my dreamer- her head always in the clouds and her feet rarely on the ground. She’s as creative and artistic as they come- loves to paint, sing, draw and esp. dance. She’s also one of the most loving kids I’ve ever met…. That’s where she shines- in relationships. She’s the best friend and big sister we all wish we had… always kind, encouraging and compassionate. She always thinks the best of people, even to a fault, and has a heart of gold just like her daddy. 

Next, there’s 5 year old Katelyn, otherwise known as Katy. She’s my little chef. She’s been cooking practically by herself since she was 2. It’s really blown me away how much she loves to cook and bake and how highly skilled she is at it for someone so young. She’s also my hot or cold one. She either loves it or she hates it- with Kate there is no middle ground… and once she’s decided- save your breath. There is no changing her mind. She feels things deeply and lives with such passion. She has a tendency to be shy, but when she’s broken out of her shell she is as rough and tumble as they come. 

And, finally, there is 2 year old Chloe, otherwise known as Co-Co. She’s my cleaner. Seriously! Giving her a wipey has gotten me out of many a tantrum! Never have been able to understand it but the girl has a need to clean! She’s also my independent one. It never has come across as bratty or rude or even rebellious, but the girl is hard-wired to think that she doesn’t need us or, honestly, help in any form… and, don’t tell her, but in a lot of cases she’s right! She sees a goal and then attacks it, she sees something wrong and then fixes it- doesn’t need help or instructions to do it. 

Well, now that you know them, I bet you are wondering how do you, as a parent, tell your (at that time) 7, 4 and 1 year old that they have to leave most of their toys and all their family and friends behind to go to Africa… good question. Well, you just do… you sit them down and you tell them. We said it gently and gave them plenty of time for questions, but it was still a hard conversation to have. Due to their age and the fact that only Paige has accepted Jesus yet, saying “because God said to” only got us so far. It was hard to explain why, but we just kept trusting that if God called us to this He would make a way in their hearts, as well. Their initial response was to cry, and I’ll be honest it was heart-breaking. I didn’t expect them to stand up and cheer for the decision, but to see the panic in their eyes and sorrow in their cries was unbearable. As a mom, it hurt to think that I was causing them this much pain, but I knew staying on God’s path was the only way to find true joy, so I held fast. Ryan and I continued to pray for them and for their hearts. We knew He was the only one who could make this right. The next day we were pleasantly surprised to find that Paige had done a 180. She had seen in some of daddy’s pictures that the children there knew how to jump rope. God laid it on her heart that she needed to bring “Jumprope for Jesus” (a jumprope club at our church) to Africa. After that, she was on fire- couldn’t wait to get there, couldn’t wait to minister. She even began to sing a song around the house that her children’s choir was doing called “I refuse” by Josh Wilson. (Chorus: I don’t want to live like I don’t care, I don’t want to say another empty prayer, oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else to do what God has called me to do myself, oh, I could choose not to move, but I refuse.) She sang it with such passion and courage that it would take my breath away sometimes. It was an amazing turn around to see. As I said before, our Katy is as hot or cold as they come and to say that she was cold about this decision was to give it 20 degrees! She did not like it and refused to even talk about it. My heart was so burdened for her heart. I prayed and prayed over her. As the days became weeks, God slowly began to move in her heart. Little by little she started to come around. Now I don’t remember a time when she was excited to go, but by the time we left she was willing to admit that we were going without an angry explosion so I totally counted that as a win! I felt blessed that God had moved in her so much! Of course Chloe was, and is, so young that she’s perfectly fine going anywhere as long as her big sissys are going too!:) 

When we got here, we were told that the children would adjust easier than we would and that was the truth. Sure, they miss home- friends, modern conveniences- but they have adjusted shockingly well to a lack of clean water/constant electricity, they have made new friends, are thriving in our busy schedules (when the teams are in town) and are wonderful ministry partners during our weekly kid’s bible study. I’m not saying they haven’t had moments of homesickness, but all and all they are game for just about anything and have been able to turn the most frustrating situations into positives for us.  

Things I have learned through my children through this journey so far are simple: 1) I worried way too much about what toys to bring, because clearly all my children need are some rocks and a stick and they are as happy as little clams! 2) That it’s ok to be excited and yell “POWER!” when the lights suddenly go on 3) that making a friend can be as easy as just going outside and introducing yourself. 4) that sisters play together just fine when they don’t have any better offers  5) most importantly, my children have shown me what courage and bravery really look like. They faced a world of unknowns when they stepped on that plane and they did it with their heads held high and their hearts ready for what laid before them. These are 3 of the bravest people I know and I am honored to serve with them here in Sanyati. I COULD NOT be prouder of them. I am honored to be called their mother. May God bless them and their service for His kingdom, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Rashel

(Aka Mama)

This one’s for you girls….

“I refuse” Josh Wilson   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B1Lv8k5pEc

God is sooooooo amazing! He has blown me away!

Our last night of packing, before we boarded the plane for Zimbabwe, we never slept. We were throwing things in boxes right up until the end. It was insane. We had a little extra room at the end, but I couldn’t think of anything else to pack and, quite frankly, we had run out of time. We needed to head out towards the airport. So, off we went…… skip forward to week 1 in Harare. Still struggling to adjust to life in Zim, I occasionally would have pangs of sadness for random items that were left back home. Over the next 2 weeks, I beat myself up about what I should have brought… what I could have grabbed at the last minute. It was very frustrating. As time passed two things happened- 1) God led me to accept reality about where I was and what I had with me… sure, I “should have”, but I didn’t and that’s ok. 2) Secondly, God kept “gifting” me with little surprise things in the most random ways. For example, I have a blanket at home that is my favorite… it’s soft and warm, I love it. After arriving here, I was bummed at the prospect of no special blanket for 6 mos… esp. since it is winter here. Then we started going through a box of supplies we had sent on ahead with another team and in it was a ….(wait for it!)… a blanket!!!!... fleece!!!!... soft and warm and such a surprise! It felt like God handed it right to me! Every night when I go to sleep I feel like God is giving me a hug! :o) It’s been awesome! That’s just 1 example of what has happened a dozen times! It has been so sweet to get a reminder from God that He’s here and He sees me. It has been so refreshing to my heart.
Skip ahead to about 2 weeks ago. We had some communication issues and weren’t able to get a message out to the first team in time for them to bring us some items from the States. I have to say, I was disappointed. In my head, somehow, the teams bringing us supplies from home had become my saving grace for living in Zimbabwe for 6 months. But in the disappointment, I knew it was God. He was, as He always does, finding something that I was depending on- instead of Him- and dissolving it. Though the feeling is not always a pleasant one, it is a sure-fire way to get my hands firmly on Him and off the things of this world. I knew God saw that, in my heart, I was depending on the teams for supplies, not Him. After a heart check, I was better able to see who I should be relying on. When the team was packing up to go, one of the team members brought us a bag of candy he had leftover. Normally that wouldn’t have floored me, but candy was one of the things that we needed. I had been getting very concerned that we weren’t going to be able to give out candy at the kid's bible study last week like I was advised to. When I saw the bag of candy, I knew it was God saying “Stop worrying, I’ve got this!”. I was so thrilled and in awe of God- to see my heart and bless me in such a way.
Well, that brings us up to tonight… when God has absolutely blown me away! Tuesday last week (keeping in mind they flew out on Friday) I sent the second team a small list of things we needed pretty asap. I took a lot of stuff off our previous list and just was asking for the “must-haves”. I emailed their team leader and to be honest, knew it was a long shot because it was such short notice. When they arrived tonight they had 5 tubs/suitcases full of stuff for us and for ministry here. Now, I asked them for rather small items, so I was puzzled. She explained she had put our requests on facebook and their church body flooded them with stuff to bring to us (both on our list and not). I was floored! (But wait, it gets better!) It was like Christmas- tons of tools Ryan had been needing, cool food for the kids, etc. I even sang a few Christmas carols! Haha! After we started to unpack the boxes is when I was floored… the stuff that was sent to us was almost EVERYTHING from that first longer list that I didn’t send them. There were also several items there that only God knew that I wanted… for example, the other day I thought “Man, I really miss gum. I wish I had a pack of gum from back home”… I now have a pack of Trident. I thought “I wish I would have brought the plastic container you put wipes in. It would have really helped with potty-training!”… I now have 3. I thought “Man, what a bummer for my kids to not get applesauce for 6 months.”… I now have some. I thought “Gosh, we are running out of travel snacks for the kids- Hope what we have can last till our home church’s team comes. Maybe they can bring us some”… I now have 2 packages of them. I thought “Man, I wish I could get travel wipes here”… I now have some. I had been warned when I got here to always use a purse with a zipper (which I didn’t bring) and had been considering buying one, but hated to spend our money here on a new purse for me… I now have a zipper purse sitting on my dresser!!! Can you believe it!!! Things I hadn’t even told Ryan that I wanted are now in my home! This is crazy! God is so big and so huge to orchestrate this, but yet so detailed and intimate to know my heart’s desire AND He loves me enough to provide it! WOW! What an awesome and wonderful God we serve! I have been blown away by how much He loves me and how sweetly He cares for me. Praise Him!


Rashel

Team 1 Report:

 Five men from New Mexico served here at Sanyati Baptists Hospital.  They arrived late afternoon on Sunday, May 20th.  They were seasoned missionaries who have traveled the world to serve Christ.  The first day of work, we tore the roof off of the Labor and Delivery building.  There were a few incidents.  The old asbestos/concrete panels gave way beneath me and I nearly fell completely through.  My left shin caught a board below long enough for me to stop falling through.  We had a couple of kick throughs the ceiling and the nurses threw some screws back up to us from below.  As we began, one of the team inspected the x-ray machine and gave some recommendations to a local pastor who serves as the x-ray technician.  We had a little difficulty with the ridge caps as the ones we were using did not appear to be bent correctly.  While tearing off the roof, we found bats and skins of some small snakes.  (After the team left, Clive from a company that works on the water system out here said there is a small chance that we might open up a roof and find a python.)


Perry and Mike built some new shelving for the scaffolding in the container the hospital just turned over to the Makeover project.  They also salvaged some termite damaged wood to build much needed ladder platforms to use against the buildings. 


After completing the Labor and Delivery building, we moved on to the Surgery Theater.  There we shored up one of the operating room light fixtures and made short work of the rest of the building.  They closed out their time by tearing off a few rows of the last building in the maternity block.


We spent Saturday evening at the Gora village enjoying chicken, sadza, greens and bottled soft drinks at the African Experience meal.  We saw how the family draws water from the well and ate under the stars with the Gora family.  We shared experiences and sang songs in both Shona and English.


Sunday, we drove to spend time at Terri Yashe Church in the bush near ARDA.  The church had a makeshift mud sanctuary covered with some old roofing material.  The pews, walls and pulpit were made out of termite mud.  They have been working on the building for two years.  The walls were up but they did not have the money to buy the roofing materials.  They chose the location in the bush because the area is slated for future housing development.  They are excited to worship in an area where people will build houses all around them.  One of the team members gave a wonderful sermon that presented the scripture with many illustrations from the Jewish culture. We even got to meet the chaplain who served here at Sanyati hospital for over 30 years. It was an honor to meet him.


The team finished working on Monday and backed their bags to leave Tuesday morning. We wrapped up our week with them having dessert night with Rashel. The brownies and chocolate cake were well deserved. It was a privilege to serve alongside them.


Ryan

Sometimes It Hurts

Sometimes it is tough to witness the hardships people face here in Zimbabwe.  We just got back from a supply run to Harare and the contradictions here are still on my mind.  While there in Harare, you can witness two extremes of society.  There are some very affluent neighborhoods with extreme poverty a short distance away.  I have seen some wealthy areas that rival some neighborhoods in the US.  Across town there are parts of where people live in slums that you will only witness in 3rd world countries.  You can drive through the streets and see corn growing wherever there is any dirt, hundreds of people lying on the ground sleeping, dirt trails lined with people as far as you can see trying to sell something to earn some money, very small children that should be in school running between cars to try to sell trinkets, grass fires and garbage burning everywhere, and at night you see people huddled up around fires in the ditches.  


Out at Sanyati, the differences are not quite so obvious.  Most people live a life as subsistence farmers.  There are not many opportunities to earn money.  Some may have jobs at the mission center, schools, hospital or the cotton centers in ARDA.  Most people live in small family villages of bricks made from termite mounds.  Some along the roads have posted their family name up on a small sign as a bus stop for the combi vans that ferry people around.  Many of the rural schools appear to be abandoned buildings from many years past.  The windows are broken, the roofs leak, the doors may be missing and much of the wood is eaten by termites; however, when school is in session you may find the small room filled with 75 or more children sitting on makeshift mats … desks are rare.  Some schools have part of the children based outside and swap to be inside midway through the day.  There are days when you see many children walking around in the school uniforms.  My heart was broken when I asked why they were not at school.  I was told that they had been expelled because their parents could not pay the school fees.


Time working on the hospital brings a mixture of emotions.  Some days are very sad like one about a week ago where I witnessed nurses cart the bodies of two patients to the mortuary.  The storage containers where we keep our materials and tools are directly across from the mortuary.  It seemed like there was a lot of activity there over the next several days.  The police brought a body in one day, another day I saw a family come to collect a body in their scotch cart, and I had to explain the cries of a morning family to some people from America.  Mixed in the tough days, there are some that are very joyful.  Some of the last team got to hold newborn babies that we heard being born as we were working on the above roof.


I cannot help but feeling that the people here deserve far more.  I hear accounts of people going home to die all the time.  Just the other day, I found out the niece of someone I work with on a daily basis had lost her young baby that was only a few days old.  The only details I know are that the baby had a wound on its back and the hospital here referred them on to Kadoma and then Kadoma referred them on to Harare.  They could not afford to go to Harare so they came back home and the baby died.  Tragedy and death are very common here.  It hurts and it is hard not to be completely overwhelmed and just cry.  I try to pour all I can into the hospital because the people here deserve so much more.  I push on even when it is hard to bend and walk on the leg I hurt when I slipped and fell on the roof for the second time since I have been here.  It is hard to know that I have insurance that will evacuate me or a family member in a medical emergency.  The people here only have access to what the hospital can provide.  In many cases it is lifesaving, in others it is not adequate.  They are short on medicines and in dire need of a doctor.


My family and I live in a nice house on the mission center.  We have running water and electricity most of the time.  Though what we have here is far less than what we are accustomed to back in America, it is far more than many here will ever have access to.  It is hard to reconcile that we were born in an affluent country.  The plight of the people is burned into my heart.  I am reminded of the Sermon on the Mount which opens as:
Matthew 5:1-12
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 
2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 
10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 


Please continue to pray for the people of the Sanyati area.  Pray that the Lord provides for them by repairing the hospital and providing another doctor in addition to the safe return of Dr. Byler later this year.  Pray for encouragement and perseverance during tough times.


Ryan

I miss, but I like…

Occasionally, when we first got here and were feeling particularly homesick, we would play a game called “I miss”. We would go around in a circle and say what we missed from back home. After we were here for a while, to make it a little healthier for the girls, we changed it to “I miss… but I like” so we could talk about the good things here too. Here’s a peek in at our last game… hope you enjoy… :)

Daddy: I miss Doritos and choc. milk, but I like the people here

Mama: I miss my heater and dishwasher, but I like how peaceful rural life can be

Paige: I miss Lady (our dog), but I like looking at the dogs that walk around here

Katy: I miss playing on our playground, but I like helping Mama cook

Chloe: I miss Violet, but I like Patience here

Daddy: I miss Mexican food esp. salsa, but I like the stars at night

Mama: I miss tortilla chips (a lot!), but I like the bacon and the hot tea (with milk and sugar) here.

Paige: I miss Destiny, but I like my friends here too

Katy: I miss our blue rocking horse, but I like the Strawberry Shortcake remote control car that I got for my bday here

Chloe: I miss my swing, but I like playing with my sissys

Daddy: I miss Home Depot & Lowe’s, but I like working on the hospital

Mama: I miss having a break from the kids…ever, but I like how much time the kids are getting to have together

Paige: I miss Chinese food, but I like playing with the small beetles that are around here

Katy: I miss pink lemonade, but I like pineapple fanta

Chloe: I miss going to church, but I like getting a ride on Patience’s back

Daddy: I miss clean water out of the tap, but I like Blackberry Mazoe

Mama: I miss Rosa’s on Tuesdays & Taco Delight anytime, but I like my homemade tortillas here

Paige: I miss Evie, but I like spending time with my family here

Katy: I miss wrestling with Dada, but I like playing hide and seek here

Chloe: I miss Julia, but I like sleeping with my sissys (in 1 big bed)

Daddy: I miss constant internet access, but I like rural life

Mama: I miss church, but I like meeting the new teams as they come in

Paige: I miss Ryan Naizer’s accordion, but I like seeing Uncle Barry and Aunt Marleen

Katy: I miss Taco Delight, but I like my toys here too

Chloe: I miss Kolette, but I like “zoe” (Mazoe)

Rashel

Day of Prayer and Fasting for Sanyati Baptist Hospital

This Friday, June 1st, from 10AM until 4PM (3AM until 9AM Central in the US), the pastors of the churches of the Sanyati area will join with others from the community to pray for the hospital.  We will be fasting and praying from early that morning until 4PM when the fast is broken.

Please pray that the Lord will show His favor on the people of the Sanyati area by:

• Blessing the renovations of the hospital that they might equip the hospital for many more years of medical service,
• Protecting those who come to volunteer whether they travel from another country or they simply walk to the hospital,
• Making the hospital continue to be a beacon of light for Christ in this area to meet both physical and spiritual needs,
• Blessing the children and families served by the hospital,
• Safely returning Doctor Byler and his family to Sanyati later this year,
• Providing another doctor (or doctors) to share the workload and provide year round medical care,
• Providing a supply of medicines to meet the needs of the area, and
• Providing spiritual growth of the hospital staff who may be discouraged because there is no doctor and few patients.

The other day, we were told a typical story of those who are in need of medical care.  When they are referred on to another hospital as there is no doctor on staff at this time, the cost may be so great that they go home to prepare to die rather than being able to get the lifesaving care they need.  In my heart, that is unacceptable.  Let us join together to fast and pray for the Lord to continue to move.  My family and I have traveled across the globe to be part of the work the Lord is doing here.  He has moved mightily in the hearts of many to orchestrate the changes that are happening today and for years to come.  We pray that the Lord will continue to move to make the hospital sustainable.  May all the glory be for the Lord!


Ryan

Paige's First Blog

What is your name and how old are you? My name is Paige and I am 8 years old.

What did you think when your mom and dad told you that you might be serving and moving to Africa? Surprised, because I had never done that before.

Were you happy or sad? Kinda sad, but then Jump Rope for Jesus came in my mind and I wanted to bring it to Africa.

Why did you want to bring Jump Rope for Jesus to Africa? Because God told me that I could.

What things did you do to get ready for the trip? I helped Mama pick out what blanket and stuffed animal I wanted to bring. I also helped Mama pick out what new shoes I needed to come here. I also stayed at Julia’s house while everyone was packing. I said good bye to my friends, too.

What was the plane ride like? The first plane was VERY hot. The second plane had a little TV on the chair and it was so much fun! I loved the second plane.

When you got to Harare what was your first impression of Zimbabwe? I thought the house we would stay at would be small, but the guesthouse is huge! Our house in Sanyati is big too.

What did you like best about the guesthouse? There is a jungle gym in the back yard. It is fun! The yard is HUGE!

Who did you meet in Harare? Uncle Barry and Aunt Marlene-They call the missionaries “uncle and aunt” because all of our families are so far away.

Did you like them? YES! They are fun!

What was it like to move to Sanyati? The road was really bumpy for 2 hours. I wouldn’t say the road was fun.

What did you think of our new house when we got here? It looked new and they have a big space for playing outside.

What does your room look like? We put posters up on the wall. Mine is of Tangled. Katy’s is Hello Kitty. Chloe doesn’t have one. We pushed 2 beds together so we can have a big space for sleeping. Katy and I sleep on the outside and Chloe sleeps in the middle.

What kind of toys did you pack to play with here? Games and toys and crafts- that are fun!

What do you do when you have free time here? Sometimes I go outside and play with the African children here. They are fun to play with!

Are you doing school right now? Yes, it isn’t really fun.

Who have you met here? Portia and Breanna- They are Patience’s niece and granddaughter. They come every Thursday and play before the bible study/Jump Rope for Jesus. They are fun to play with. I have also met Patience- She helps us clean and Chloe always follows her around. Patience is nice.  Alice does bible study with us too. She has been doing it for a while. Yesterday I met Aunt Mickey who is going to be here with us.

What new foods have you tried and did you like it? Sadza and chicken- yes. Also, I drank Mazoe- it is delicious, esp. blackberry- it tastes like Kool-Aid. My mom also made a pan of brownies that had powdered sugar on them. It tasted like CiCi’s! Yum!

What has been your favorite thing here in Zimbabwe so far? When all the kids come over for the bible study!

What has been your least favorite thing here? When I went to Kadoma and got a splinter in my big toe. It hurt sooooo bad when they had to cut my toe to get it out!

What one thing do you wish you could show or tell the people back home? I would want to show them that there is a whole bunch of chickens here running around in our yard!

Who do you miss super-duper much? Destiny and Evie! And all of my other friends and family!

What do you want to say to the people back home? Email letters to me and I miss you so much!

Love,

Paige Sifford

One Month in Africa as of Today

Today, May 19th, marks one month in Zimbabwe.  Life has changed quite a bit.  We have moved from being somewhat fearful of the unknown to settling down into the reality of our lives for the next several months.  The spiders and wide variety of bugs throughout the house don’t bother us quite as much as they did when we first arrived.  Paige even named one of the big spiders that frequents the living room.  He (or she) is now referred to as Flatty because it’s the type that almost looks like it was squished flat.  It is very fast and can move in between tight places other spiders cannot.  Flatty apparently feeds on mosquitos so we were told to leave this type be as long as they don’t bother us.  (Don’t tell Paige, but I have not seen Flatty in a few days.  He was probably eaten by the lizard we had to chase off the wall and out of the house.)  In addition to our experiences with the spiders and lizards, we have learned by experience that you don’t leave any crumbs on the floor because there will be a large track of ants feeding on them soon after.  


There quite a few scary things but the Lord provides and protects.  My friend David reminded me of that yesterday.  He shared about an experience he had with a very large spitting cobra the other day.  The snake was so large that his friend witnessed the encounter from over 200 meters away.  David was jogging down a trail and almost ran right into the snake as it was coiled up and standing ready to strike.  By the grace of God, he noticed the snake in time.  For the most part we are isolated from those snakes.  They typically stay deeper in the bush away from concentrations of people.  (Check out my other post about the black mamba at ARDA.  Personally, I have not seen a snake here other than a few dead on the road, but I do keep an eye out for them because I want to be aware of them well before they know I am there.)


I am excited to close out this week.  It marks the closure of the preparation phase of our service.  Last Sunday, we went to Harare to get supplies before the first team from the US arrives at Sanyati tomorrow.  I spent quite a bit of time driving around Harare looking for just a few items.  Monday was a day of frustration as I spent hours going from place-to-place, often not knowing where I was, and I did not accomplish a single goal…other than learning where some of the businesses we deal with are.  During my frustration at one of the LP gas dealers, I noticed a verse taped to the glass at the sales counter directed straight at me.  It simply stated Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  There were several other verses that show up everywhere from the back of a truck to the phone card you buy airtime with.  On Tuesday, after I finally found a LP gas tank, I was driving back to the guest house and noticed the phrase “God of Miracles” on the back of a truck.  For me, finding the LP gas tank had been a miracle.  It took a day and a half to find.  I thought we would be going back to Sanyati without it and then the Lord provided.


While in Harare, I spent a significant time in the industrial parts.  Near that part of the city were heavily populated areas with the typical open space used to grow a crop of corn.  It was not in fields like I see back home, but on almost every patch of dirt (the ditch, between buildings, in vacant areas, etc.) being used to provide nourishment so people can survive.  People stood and lay beside the road.  There were open markets with hundreds if not thousands of people.  Most vendors sat on the ground with a few items to sell, lining the dirt pedestrian trails.  We have given up quite a bit to come to Africa but seeing people there was almost embarrassing.  All the difficulties and hardships we are facing as a family cannot compare to the daily life of many here whether it be in the cities or in the bush.   


We came back to Sanyati a day later than originally planned.  It is not safe to drive at night here and by the time we were ready to go on Tuesday it was almost 4pm, not enough time to make the 4+ hour trip back to Sanyati.  It was nice to experience some of the luxuries of the city but we were ready to get back to our home in Sanyati.  My excitement is building along with those of the community.  Everyone here is excited that effort is being spent to restore the hospital.  Even the police at the road blocks stop me to tell me they are glad we are working on the hospital.  I am not sure how many people the hospital serves but I am told it is over 100,000.  The way things are communicated here, I bet every one of them knows and appreciates the efforts the volunteers and donors are putting into the hospital. 


Please pray for those traveling from New Mexico.  Pray for their health and safety and that they may be used to do mighty things for the Lord by serving at the hospital.  We will start replacing the roof of the labor and delivery building on Monday.  Pray that we are able to do a quality job that will last for many years providing a roof over the women and hospital staff as they deliver the new babies.  Also pray for the nationals who will come to volunteer along beside those from America.  Pray that the work may go quickly so that we can move onto other sections of the hospital.

Check for Black Mambas under the Bed

(This is from a while back.  I had not had the chance to upload it.)

The title to this post reflects a joke Rashel and I had one day after I spent some time at the water pump house in ARDA.  Ok, it was more my joke than Rashel’s because she did not find it funny initially.  When Mark Hatfield, Sub-Saharan Africa Director for Baptist Global Response, was in town, we went to Arda to educate me on the water system that supplies Sanyati.  There we met the pump operator, Zekia Mamvura.  He showed us the pump and the storage tank where water is pumped from the Munyati River before it is pumped on to the mission center tanks.  After getting the tour, Zekia shared with us his experience with Black Mamba in that area.  Last November, they had killed a mamba with a very long stick.  It was trying to get into the pump house and was being aggressive.  Apparently, Zekia and the others had made the snake mad and it was out to get them.  They had to gang up on it and kill it with some very long sticks.  I told him that I have killed rattlesnakes back in Texas with a shovel.  He looked at me with surprise and said a shovel is too short to kill a mamba.  Later, I read up about how a black mamba is very fast moving, often faster than you can run, and can strike in any direction.  The article said that it usually takes many people to kill a mamba so I was starting to understand Zekia’s surprise when I mentioned killing a snake with a shovel.  Zekia went on to say that there were three black mambas in the area around the pump house.  They had killed one that was about 2 meters long and the other two have been seen in small patches of trees on opposite sides of the storage tank.  When he said that I asked, “The same trees we were just standing under?”  He said yes.  Wow!!!  I would have liked to known that before I stood there.  He went on to share some personalities of each mamba that still roamed the area.  The one where we had stood sometimes climbs in the trees and the other stayed on the ground.  The tree climber regularly came out to sun in a certain spot.

Ok, I will get back to the joke that day.  When I came home, Rashel shared that Patience, who is in charge of the house we are staying in, told her that they once found a black mamba in the bedroom where we sleep.  That instantly got my attention, a black mamba, one of the most deadly snakes in the world was found in the house where we are living.  That was a little too much to handle, so being a true man, I had to make a joke out of it to avoid the reality that I was facing.  So I said, “You better check under the beds for black mambas before we go to sleep.”  Rashel initially did not laugh but after a while she did come around…at least partly.  The next day, we asked Patience for more details and much to our relief she clarified that it was NOT a black mamba that was found in the house. 

Moving to Africa brings on many unknowns.  We are learning as we go and some things are frightening at first because we just don’t know what to expect.  We have to depend on the Lord to guide us and walk us through it.  He is faithful and has watched over us.