Hitting the One Month Mark!

We have now officially been here for over a month! Here is what we did this past week:
This past week we got to participate and help out with a lot of really cool things. And for one of the first weeks, we did a lot of it on our own which was cool. On Wednesday we went to another orphan “feeding,” kinda like their version of a soup kitchen for orphans in the communities that they have a church and an orphan program in place. This time we went to Hatcliff (check out the four pics in this blog and more on picasa). There were the fewest number of children at this feeding, but this area is probably the poorest out of all the places we’ve been. The community was uprooted from their homes during the dangerous election time when Mugabe just transplanted several communities. So now these people live in makeshift shacks with walls of cardboard and plastic. There is no plumbing or electricity and when it rains, their home definitely gets wet and begins to wear down. The children here were so sweet and it was a precious time. We want to go back to this place and also think and pray about how we can help this group of people. I mean, just some bricks for them to start building some actual structures to live in would be a huge blessing! Make sure to check out the Picasa album for all the pictures!
Then on Tuesday and Wednesday nights we went to minister in another area around Harare, Glen Norah. Here we met up with a pastor and his family (two really cute kids, named Praise God and Worship God….Praise and Worship :-)) to show the Jesus Film to people in his community. Tuesday night the sound wasn’t working, but Justin and our friend Danmore were able to get everything working again for Wednesday night. It was really cool to meet this family, hang out with his kids (the little boy, Praise was attached to my hip both nights), and watch God work through a film that was created many years ago.
The highlight of Thursday, especially for me (Krista), was going on a run with some of the kids at the orphanage where we are living. After a pretty relaxing day of getting ready to go to Mozambique by running some errands and getting supplies, we came home and around 5:00pm took 9 kids on a little run with us. One of the youngest kids here, Energy, even came with us, and definitely lived up to his name. Most of them ran barefoot and still kept up with us! Halfway through the run we stopped and even did some exercises like lunges and jumping-jacks :-). I loved it! I wish we had pictures of this, but we didn’t take the camera. We’ll just have to do it again and get some pics to share.
Friday we left for Mozambique…..or that was what we thought. Remember how a PLAN is just a PLAN….well, we ended up not actually going into Mozambique :-). We went to Kowta which is just 15 minutes from the Mozambique boarder, but when we got there, we found out that we would just be staying in Kowta for the weekend and doing some stuff there. At first, we were frustrated, especially since Lucia decided to head back to Harare and we would be there by ourselves. BUT, it actually ended up being one of our favorite weekends so far (funny how God does that)!! We stayed with the pastor of the Kowta church and the overseer of the whole province in that area and his family. His wife is a certified counselor and they have two super cute kids. They were extremely hospitable and did everything to make us feel welcome and comfortable, which at times was a difficult task because Kowta is another very HOT place :-). This time around, I brought my fan which I had blowing on my face all night long! Anyway, they are great people and we would love to go back there someday and work with them again! Saturday we both did some training for the leadership and orphan program coordinators in the Kowta area. Justin did about 2 hours on Leadership, which was really good, and I did a 2 hour counseling training which went well too (check out the pic). The people were so appreciative and responsive! Then on Saturday night they had a special service just because we were there, and I got to preach. I’m learning to like preaching, but it still isn’t my favorite thing in the world :-). Anyway, I preached on the Parable of the Good Sower and how the condition of our heart determines how God’s truth will produce fruit in our lives. They really resonated with the idea of giving ALL areas of your life to God and His truth, which was really cool to see. Then on Sunday, Justin preached at their big church service. Two other churches from around the area came into the center of town because we were there, which meant some people walked 10K just to be there – crazy dedication! Justin did an awesome job preaching on the Kingdom of God and how we must be poor in spirit, like a child, and humble to enter into it. They loved it! (see the pic). Church was from 9:00am to about 1:00pm with lots of Praise and Worship, some testimonies, and prayer. We were able to pray for anyone there who wanted prayer as well, which was a huge honor.
After church, the pastor of Kowta and his wife who we stayed with (amazing family by the way – check out the pic), took us to go see the Mozambique boarder! So we drove 15 minutes north to the big gate and waved at Mozambique :-). That might be as close as we get this time around. Maybe we’re just not meant to go to Mozambique, who knows, but, I’m really glad we didn’t go this time, because our time with the people of Kowta was so wonderful and something we will remember for sure! After waving at the border and dropping the pastor back off at their home, we drove back to Harare. Justin is pretty much a pro now driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road! We made it back to nice and cool Harare where we have electricity and running water, which becomes a huge blessing when you spend any time in hot places without it. This coming weekend we are supposed to head down south into the bush of Mwenezi. It’s about a 10-12 hour drive (we think). They are still working on getting a car and a guide to go with us (it’s the bush with lots of dirt roads so you need some kind of truck). We would love prayers for this trip! Thanks!