Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you are having a great holiday spending time with family, eating lots of yummy turkey, and watching tons of football. Haha….the only reason I mentioned those three things is because that is what I am missing the most right now. But I press on. My faith in God and my assurance in what God has spoken to me is what keeps me going daily.

You will be happy to know that Jabulani, our new orphanage, is about finished being renovated. We have already started training the orphanage manager and will be starting to train the rest of the orphanage mothers in December. I have been getting more and more involved in the training sessions as the weeks go on. I am helping type and design training materials/putting together the training manuals and spending a lot of time helping the lady who is doing the training to problem solve her processes…..thank you Pastor Greg!!

As part of the training process for the orphanage staff, we will be conducting an HIV/AIDS training session. I was given the task to sit down with an HIV/AIDS counselor and put together a packet of questions that the staff will then answer at the end of the training. I learned a lot about the terrible myths surrounding what the African culture teaches about people and children infected with HIV/AIDS. It is amazing some of the false ideas people believe about how you can contract HIV…or even how you can be cured of HIV. They are disgusting and the witchdoctors here are the root of the problem. It is just another way the enemy of this world prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour people. But we will not let him prevail. We are going to debunk those myths and teach our staff the proper way of caring for our children in the orphanage.

I am really excited about getting more involved in Jabulani. I am feeling like this is where I am most needed as part of the ministry here. I will be conducting a lot of the training sessions for the new staff as well. For example...how to bath a baby properly, how to stimulate a baby...this culture has issues with simple things like that so we want to train them properly in the simple things. There is even talk of me being able to possibly work at Jabulani a couple of days a week once we get it opened...I am hoping it will be more though. Which, of course, would be an amazing experience.

I have been here about 2 months now. It is almost hard to believe. I am learning a lot about living in a different culture and how different life is here compared to how we live in America. Time goes by quickly most days, but some days I can BIG TIME feel the distance between us. When those days happen, I try and keep my mind busy. I am getting lots of opportunities to see more of Zimbabwe. The lady I am living with, Christine, is planning some trips in December to some of the rural areas of Harare so I can see what the orphanages are like there. She is taking me to a town called Mvuku to put on a Christmas party for children infected with AIDS. We will also be having a Christmas party at our house for some of the children in our own neighborhood. Also, as part of the church and small group I am attending, I will get to spend one Saturday a month at an orphanage in my community that Pastor Alan’s team does not go to.

This year at Thanksgiving, even though I don’t really get to celebrate it, I am thanking God for you…my faithful prayer partners, supporters, and family. I am thankful that you love me and believe in what God has asked me to do. Being far from you is not easy for me..especially at the holidays. Pray that God will continue to show me my place and where I fit in the ministry here. Pray for my health as well. I was pretty sick over this past weekend and my allergies don’t seem to be subsiding. I would love to hear how each of you are doing. When you get some time, drop me a note. I look forward to the times I get to hear from you.

I love and miss you,
Gina :)

Some Pictures...

Ok, so I know I have been promising you pictures, but haven't had a chance to get you any. The team was in the rural areas of Zimbabwe last week so I was only able to get on my computer once last week due to being out of the city so much.

We have started teaching our Christmas message in the schools, Good News Clubs, and orphanages. The kids school year is ending the first week in December so we are giving the message now, before they leave for their break and celebrate the Christmas holiday. It is a great lesson using the word GIFT. We are teaching that Jesus was "Given" to us and even though He was "Ignored" and "Forgotten", if we "Take" Him, He is the best GIFT we can receive on Christmas. The kids are responding to the message in an awesome way. We are seeing many children receive Christ in the schools and orphanages. During the month of October, we reached over 20,000 children with the Gospel of Jesus. We have had 3 new schools open to us and started 2 new Good News Clubs in our community. Thank you for your prayers! We are seeing the fruit of those prayers in children's lives here in Zimbabwe.

Here are some pictures of our outreaches in orphanages with the Samaritan's Purse boxes as well as the Wonder Devotional Books we are giving to each student in all of the schools we reach as well as some of the orphanages. The devotional books are 60 days of devotions for young children specifically that teachers are doing with their students at the beginning of everyday they are in school. Once the first book is finished, we have 5 more books to give to the students....a whole year of devotions!! The response has been amazing...not only from the students, but from the teachers as well. Just think what our schools in America would be like, if we were allowed to have devotions in our classrooms everyday!! Anyways, here are the pictures.

I recently met a young lady in her 20's at one of the feeding programmes we have started a Good News Club at. It is in a pretty rough area of Harare where not many white people go. While the children were attending the Good News Club, I learned from Pastor Alan that this young lady has HIV. When she was younger, she lived with her brother. She was sick all the time so her brother took her to the doctor. That is when he learned she has HIV. From that point on, her brother would beat her and make her sleep in a extremely dirty bathroom that was 3 foot by 3 foot. He made her use her own plate and cup so no one would catch her disease. When she got older, her brother kicked her out and she has been living on the streets ever since. She is disabled with a limp, so no one will give her a job. She has to beg for money to get a ride to the feeding programme so she can have something to eat. This story is mild compared to some I have heard...

I am also hearing about families in southern Zimbabwe who, because of there being no food in the country, are so hungry, they have found this certain kind of mud, that you can eat in small portions, and are cooking into porridge. However, because they are eating so much of it, it is killing them. People are dying from eating mud because they are starving. Can you imagine being so hungry that you would eat mud? Holy Spirit, intervene in Zimbabwe!!

I continue to focus on all the good I am seeing in this beautiful land. I see the potential of what it can be. I am seeing through God's eyes, the people and the bounty of what Zimbabwe has been and can be again. Please pray for the President here, just like you are praying for our new President. He needs to hear God's voice and make the best decisions for Zimbabwe that he can.

I am missing each of you. It is hard knowing that Pastor Alan will be with you this week. It makes me miss you more.....but I know you are thinking of me and praying for me. Thank you for your faithfulness. I am seeing the fruit of it. Send some extra prayers my way for the holiday's. I know it will be hard for me to be so far away from you. I am always thinking of you. You are never far from my thoughts.

I love you, Gina :)