Here you can read the latest blog of Laura. The older blogs you can find on the relevant subpage.
News from Zim With Love XXX
There are always advantages and disadvantages to wherever we may live, here the power cuts are somewhat challenging. There have been so many over the last 2 to 3 weeks that it has really tested our patience and attitudes! We do however know that we are in the place God has brought us to and lately we have been invited to be involved in some exciting things.
We are now on board with Pregnancy Crisis Centre which is a wonderful little group doing what they can for women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy and don’t know what to do or where to go and are considering abortion/suicide as a solution or cannot afford the booking fees at a maternity clinic, etc. Many of the ladies are HIV positive, most are destitute. Lately Christine Mhlanga has been counselling a woman who is seriously suicidal. She literally has nowhere to go. Her baby is due in less than two weeks and once she has had this wee soul then what? Pregnancy Crisis Centre hopes one day to have a place of refuge where they can offer short term (no longer than 3 months) accommodation to the homeless and in that time mediation with rural family will be undertaken so that the woman can be reunited to her family (she likely would have been ostracised for an illegitimate pregnancy) or she could be trained in a skill allowing her to make a living.
We are also going to take on a very exciting ministry called Pari Volunteers. This is a volunteer visiting group within the main Harare hospital. We were invited to lunch the other day to meet a lady who has run this operation for 17 years. Her initial vision has had to be divided because the majority of support she raises goes towards kids with cancer and so the other people have to some degree been forgotten and she is hoping we will take it on and get it going. Will be going to visit the hospital with her soon and then look to setting up a group of committed dedicated individuals who will give 3 hours a week to play with kids as well as visiting the other folk who are hospitalised. This is a vital ministry in a place where people are seriously dehumanised! If you ask anyone about Pari they say you just go there to die. Pari Volunteers will also raise money to provide for medication, scans and x-rays, etc., which people die for the lack of money to pay for such simple things.
We WILL get A2ZWWW registered here as a Trust so that all involvement will be as a partner of A2ZWWW itself as opposed to Colin and Laura!
We still do not have our vehicle, we have seen it, it is a white Honda CRV which has 4 wheel drive and a roof rack. It is still in the bonded warehouse as yet not cleared by customs. We are patiently and yet excitedly awaiting its release which will allow us to do stuff we have not as yet been able to do such as take Sarah Kagondo and her daughter Natasha to Karanda Mission Hospital (3 hours away on very rough roads) where Natasha will be able to get her knee operated on for a far better price than what she has been quoted here. We will also be able to take the school bags and stationery to our kids in Lupane, Ndlovu and Vic Falls as well as delivering stuff to the hospital/clinic in Lupane!
Oh – I had better tell you about the Harare Midwifery Centre – wow, I was invited to meet with these incredible women just last week. 3 amazing midwives who some time ago decided to provide an alternative for women. They are at the last hurdle of getting their clinic licenced! It is awesome what they will be seeking to provide in the face of extreme opposition from the medical fraternity (obstetricians DO NOT like midwives and especially here as an obstetrician is paid for each individual birth – he only has to put his face in the door to get paid – midwives will try to forcibly stop a woman from pushing until the doctor gets there because that is what they are required to do so that the doctor is present at the birth – regardless of the fact that the midwife has done all the work). heard about a doc who arrived at a delivery after the placenta had been delivered and in order to claim his ‘pay’ he stitched her despite the fact she had no tear!!!!
Yes – we are here to make a contribution, no matter how small, in order to make a difference! Please consider keeping the fire burning that side, because you will hear of the great exploits that you have enabled – perhaps a young girl being able to walk again because of her operation being paid for by your efforts, perhaps a child graduating with a recognisable qualification because your efforts helped to pay for their education.
So – as I write this I realise I can use this to put a blog post up online – so don’t be surprised when you see this repeated in some cases on the website!!!
We have located a very talented young artist (has no formal training but his ability is superb). Sadly he is still in the ‘you are white so I can make money out of you’ mind-set so hopefully we will be able to win him over and get him to do designs for cards. He has no job and sits at Jacob’s Well Coffee Shop every day drawing with pencil. You would be amazed (although you would not want to pay his prices hahaha). I think though one day he will become realistic and we can then do business with him.
We are starting to run a married for Life group this Sunday between 2 – 4pm – this runs for 14 weeks and we are also starting to run a training group for No Disease Is Incurable (a seminar we’ve recently hosted) – that is going to be on Tuesdays from 2 – 5 for 11 weeks. Colin is starting to teach English as a Foreign Language on Monday mornings
We are still awaiting clearance of the boxes of medical stuff but we know God will do something amazing through the testimony of this. There has never been a single instance in our live where we can look back and not see God’s hand on everything – restoring, enabling, blessing, providing all to His glory!
Well I had better go and put another load of laundry on!
With deep love respect and gratitude.
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