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.

Grocery Shopping in Zimbabwe

Well, we are headed back to Sanyati after a supplies trip to Harare. We spent 3 nights there- lots of shopping to do before the first team comes in. When we are in Harare we always go grocery shopping as well because the prices and selection is always so much better. We had heard before we left that the prices in Zim are much higher than back home and by all accounts that was the truth. Some of the prices on stuff are crazy- I thought I’d share some of the more laughable prices (well, it’s only laughable until you have to buy it- like cereal for the girls )


Betty Crocker can of icing- $6.04
Captain Crunch Cereal $6.98
Dove Shampoo (small bottle) $10.00
(and yes, I managed to pack the girl’s shampoo but completely forgot Ryan and I’s…Ugh!)
Cake mix $7.97
Pringles $4.65
Apple Jacks Cereal $8.60
Cheerios- $6.69
Honey Nut Cheerios- $7.29
Heinz Ketchup (small bottle) $4.99 


And my favorite so far….1 bottle of Magic Shell Choc. Sauce for Ice Cream - $12.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Just a few funny ones that I saw... thought I’d help you feel better about your grocery budget! Haha! They also have a brand here called Magic Time that is actually made in Florida, but they only sell internationally. They make products very similar to American brands and package it in similar bottles/packages. You pay through the nose for them but it is interesting to see what we could get that is similar to back home. We bought Magic time Ranch “Pringles” so I’ll have to let you know how they are- Haha! 
Some things I have found that are cool here are 1) THE BACON- I don’t even like bacon back home, but this stuff rocks! It’s about the same astronomical price that is back home but it is huge sheets of bacon with mostly meat (unlike at home). Yum! I even had myself a B.L.No T. sandwich the other day at lunch- divine!  2) Marie biscuits- It’s actually not pronounced like you read it (it’s more like M-ah-ree) and biscuits here are actually cookies. Our girls love them- kind of a cross between a graham cracker and a nilla wafer. .. very delicious. 3) Mazoe-  it’s similar to Kool-Aid but is a liquid to mix in water instead  of a powder. Ryan loves the stuff but drinks it so diluted that it really becomes a flavored water instead. They have it in all kinds of flavors- blackberry (which tastes like grape), Raspberry (cherry), Peach, etc. 4) Glass bottle cokes- the girls have really been enjoying drinking cokes out of glass bottles- a fun “new” treat. They have even started a bottle cap collection.  They also were amazed when I told them that I remember seeing glass bottle coke machines back home when I was a kid… They acted as if I was telling them that I saw the Wright brother’s first flight! Come on now, girls! I’m not that old! Haha!


Well, let you go! Many more miles to drive! Love and miss you all!
Rashel


Ps- Coming soon: Paige’s first blog!<3 

The Highs and Lows at Sanyati

I am sure many of you have been wondering what it is like here in Sanyati… to explain without being too wordy I decided to break it down into 2 lists: “Things I have found wonderful here in Sanyati” & “Things I could live without” Hope you enjoy!

Things I could live without-

1) Fresh water being such a chore- The water from our tap comes straight from the river, so it must be boiled for 10 minutes and then run through a drip filter (which takes many hours). I was unaware of how much water affected my life until I didn’t have a clean source for it. This one change is so much more far-reaching than just getting a glass of water to drink- it has changed how we do dishes, how we brush our teeth, how we wash our fruits and veggies… the list goes on and on! I have been amazed! We seem to have gotten in the rhythm of keeping our water supply up, which is good, but the constant danger that the kids (or us) could forget and chug a glass of water or wash our carrot sticks in tap water is unnerving to say the least! Also, washing our clothes, dishes and selves in slightly tan water is definitely something I could live without… Ryan said sometimes he’s glad when the power is out and he’s forced to take a shower by candle light so he can’t tell what color the water is- Haha!

2) Electricity going off randomly- Honestly, we’ve been blessed this week with more power than normal, but usually it is on around 10pm and cuts off around 5am. Sometimes during the day it will cut on for a 1-5 hours too, which is nice. As cute as it is to see Chloe get excited when the lights flicker on and watch her scream “Power!”, it really is terribly inconvenient to fix or clean up supper by candlelight. We have been blessed though as we were able to get the generator fixed -PRAISE!- so the last few nights it was down-right exciting to control when the power went off and came on- even if it was for only a few hours. 

3) Going along with the electricity issues… getting up when the sun does- As many of you know I am a complete night-owl…. Well, apparently they don’t have that species of bird here in Zimbabwe. Haha! I also love sleeping in- but have learned the COMPLETE meaning of the phrase “burning daylight”. When you know you probably won’t have electricity that night you feel very inspired to get up earlier and get on with your day. We regularly go to bed by 11pm/ 12pm at the latest, which back home would be unheard of. We sleep till 7 or 8am (Ryan gets up earlier when teams are here) I don’t think I’ve gotten this much sleep in I don’t know when! (That part is pretty awesome though!) But often we are falling into bed, exhausted after a hard day work. 

4) Bugs- an entomologist I am not, so unfortunately these creepy crawlers are not appreciated as much as they should be. We are not over-run by them, but they are a constant nuisance. I have been blown away by the different varieties here though- some of them look Hand-painted! I have decided to make this a positive experience since in our science curriculum we are learning about bugs this semester- I have just chosen to look at life here as one big 6 month long experiment! I think we deserve extra credit though! Haha! 

5) Safety- Well, I’ll break this one down for you like this… my back door has 4 locks… the guest house in Harare is gated with barbed wire running along the perimeter, etc. I know these things should make me feel safer, but I think they actually just remind me of reality more. This is a huge prayer request though- that we and our belongings stay safe and secure while we are here. In some ways you can’t even get mad at those that steal here- when you have nothing and your kids are hungry, I am sure your options of acceptable activities opens up a little. Still doesn’t make it right, but I do understand. Keep us in your prayers please- I know at the end of the day it is all in God’s hands.

6) Health care- So far while we have been here Kate has had an unexplainable head to toe rash & Ryan and I (on 2 separate occasions) have had food poisoning. The closest doctor to us is over an hour away. More than anything it’s just unnerving- it’s hard to not worry about your kids (or husband or self) getting sick without medical services available. But each time God has been our great Physician, healing us and giving us wisdom on how to proceed. Please continue to keep us in your prayers about this though- That God would continue to bless us, heal us and show His might in this area as we minister to those around us.

Things I have found wonderful here in Sanyati

1) Call me Hank Hill, but I love Propane- We have been blessed to have a gas refrigerator & freezer, a gas stove/oven & a diesel-powered generator (that we get to run a few hours every night). I could kiss the men that invented these things!! It has made life here SO much easier and less frustrating! For all that we have given up to come here, I have NOT lost sight of how blessed we are. We live like “millionaires” here and I try to keep that in my mind every time I am tempted to whine or complain. We even have a water tank to help when the water gets turned off (which happens when the power goes off for 2 or 3 days)… like I said, blessed beyond belief.

2) Never would have guessed it, but skirts!-  In Harare (the capital) I am allowed to wear pants, but anywhere else I have to wear a long skirt. Not being much of a “skirt-person” I wasn’t overjoyed about this requirement going in, but I have seen the light! They are so comfy! Ladies, when we collectively shelved our skirts and dresses for pants we may have done ourselves a disservice! Long live the skirt! ;)

3) Cooking for the fam-  I really do love cooking- a lot, but often with my crazy-fast world back home I am not able to cook for us like I’d like to. Sometimes it’s just easier and smarter to pick up a Fajita Fiesta Family pack at Rosa’s and call it done- Haha! Well, Rosa’s, as of yet, hasn’t come to Sanyati (though I am starting a petition-hehe!) so that means I cook or we don’t eat. They also don’t have a lot of convenience foods to buy at the grocery store, so that means I scratch cook or we don’t eat. But honestly, I love it! I love getting to prepare a great meal for my family and trying out recipes I haven’t used in years! Homemade biscuits; fried chicken with mash potatoes; homemade tortillas with homemade guacamole; from scratch brown sugar-peach pancakes… it’s been fun playing in the kitchen each day! Yum! I guess every one of those scratch-cooking lessons from my mother has really paid off! Thanks Mom!:) 

4) Patience- Not the character trait, the person....(cool name, right?)…She is a wonderful lady (whose name suits her completely) that helps the doctor keep the house running and she has graciously agreed to help us part-time while we are here. She’s worked in this house for years, so she knows everything that needs to be done… I just stand back in amazement! I’ll be honest, with all there is to do here just to keep life moving forward, I don’t know how one person gets it all done- she has been a complete God-send! Chloe (who loves cleaning more than the average kid... well, WAY more than the average kid) just follows her around all day “helping”. It is too cute to see how close she has gotten with Patience, esp. so quickly! Patience has also been great to talk to. She seems to have an answer to every one of my questions. She, also, has been an awesome resource to ask questions about the culture here. It is so interesting to talk with her about how different (and sometimes how the same) things are back home. Like the other day we were talking about how people get married/engaged here… guys, y’all have a sweet deal back home compared to here… let’s just say it involves a lot of money and 4 cows.. It was crazy to hear! Patience has been such a blessing to us!

5) The plants here- I am not a huge plant-lover by nature, but the foliage here is absolutely breath-taking! From poinsettia trees (who knew they were trees!!!) to massive baobab trees, it has been awesome to see and take in all of God’s beautiful creation! What a testament to His glory that He would make such wonderful and beautiful things!  

6) I am a big quality time person and that’s the biggest blessing so far of Zimbabwe- When you are in rural Africa, you don’t have a lot of options on entertainment… no busy schedule to keep… nothing that you need to shuffle the kids off to… so you start spending more time with your family. It’s been awesome to actually sit around the dinner table together… at EVERY meal… to talk and play with each other… doing craft projects with the kids… getting to have great talks with Ryan as we drive home from grocery shopping in Kadoma (an hour away)… even just being silly together! To spend this much time with my family has been such a blessing to me! Every single minute! 

Well, hope I didn’t talk your ear off… lots to say- hope you enjoyed reading! Love and Miss you all! 

Rashel

Update from Rashel

Hey guys! We’ve been out-of-pocket lately… still working through internet issues (keep praying!). I have been working on a post describing life here- hoping to post soon, but wanted to let everyone know that May 17^th the children’s bible study is scheduled to start and on May 19^th Ryan’s first team is scheduled to come in to start working. Things are starting to gear up here which is exciting! We can’t wait to see what God does over the next several months! We have had several missionary couples come through over the last few weeks- it has been wonderful to hear their stories and meet them! Seeing and talking with “real live” missionaries (especially ones who have been serving 20+ years) really opens your eyes to what faith, service and sacrifice really is.  Also, made me even more appreciative for programs like GA’s, RA’s and Mission Friends in our home church. It has been an honor and a privilege to meet them all. Please continue to keep us in your prayers- especially for the teams that are starting to come in, the bible study starting up, for internet access to be achieved in Sanyati (tower is currently not working), and for Mickey and Linn who will be joining us soon (2 sweet ladies that will be serving with us here in Sanyati). Thanks so much for all your support!

Thanks! We miss you all!

Rashel

Short Update from Arda

I just wanted to drop a quick note that we are all doing fine.  Rashel is still recovering from an illness that had her down for a couple of days early this week so please pray for her.  We are having some trouble getting internet access.  Right now, I am parked under a tree next to the water pump house in Arda (a community near Sanyati) where there is another cell tower.  The cell tower that services Sanyati does not currently allow data connections so our modem is not working there.  (I have an interesting story to tell about two black mambas that are known to be under two patches of trees directly in front of me.  I will save that for another post.  I hope to be out of here before I see any sign of them.)

I am trying to pay some bills and adjust our email settings to use POP3.  Internet access is very slow.  Web based mail is not working because we do not have the bandwidth to continually refresh the page.  We hope to post more of our experiences soon.

Ryan