Standing in the gap

On Monday morning, September 29 our team gathered for one final picture before we got in the car to begin our 36 hour trek back to Portland. We were sad to leave our long time friends John and Heather Witherow and their boys Micah, Jake, and Caleb. We are also sad to leave our new friends Chris and Norma Ferguson who own and operate Morning Star Farm where we stayed and ministered.

It was fitting that Chris and Norma asked that our final picture be taken between two large rocks on their property.  The described it as "standing in the gap".  What an appropriate description.  Our team along with the Witherows and Fergusons were standing in the gap all week by being the hands and feet of Jesus in a very difficult part of the world.  Unemployment is Zimbabwe is over 90%.  Due to off the chart inflation they have abandoned their own currency and are now using the US dollar.  Prior to that move some of their bank notes were printed with a value of 50 trillion dollars and expiration dates! 

We arrived safely in Portland on Tuesday September 30th at noon.  We were all tired but our spirits were strong because of the people we met and what we had seen God do in us and through us.

A short note from Kimberly Kim this morning, one of our team members, sums up how we all feel when she wrote;

By the way, I have been missing you all already.  I am not able to stop thinking about the experience.  It really did change my life. :)

 

In the next few weeks we will schedule a time to share with our church family and friends the whole story of our time in Zim.  Please watch for those dates and join us to celebrate what God did.

A huge thanks to all of you who prayed for us and financially supported us.  We could not have done it without you.

The Sunset Zim team!

On Thursday we completed our ministry at the Motopo Primary School.  The ladies spent the morning  working with teachers and students in the two early childhood education classrooms.  They also painted cartoon characters on the walls of the second classroom.  When the children and teachers saw their rooms they were so excited.  One of the teachers said she could now be proud of her classroom.  While the ladies were at the school, Brad and Mike were at Morning Star Farm rehabilitating school desks and tables.  Some of the classrooms have zero furniture.

Thursday afternoon Chris and Norma took the team to a nearby cave where there are two thousand year old cave drawings.

Friday morning we left at 7 AM for a 7 hour drive to Victoria Falls.  That afternoon we walked the trail that overlooks this magnificent waterfall.  One of the 7 wonders of the world. 

 

That evening we had an excellent meal at a traditional African restaurant complete with “interesting” food, lots of drums, and dancing.  Our team even got in on the dancing and drums.

Saturday we headed to Chobe National Park for a safari.  We spent the morning on the river seeing thousands of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, Cape Buffalo, etc.  In the afternoon we did a game drive and saw Zebras, Giraffes, more elephants, wart hogs, and lots of small deer like animals.  What an amazing experience.  Chobe and the surrounding area is home to over 200,000 elephants. 

 

 

Sunday morning we headed back to Motopo and Morning Star Farm to spend our final night with the Witherows before beginning our long trek back to Portland on Monday afternoon.

 

The team is doing great and has had an amazing experience. We have been thanked over and over by the Witherows and Fergusons for making the effort to come and work alongside them.  It has truly been a win/win for everyone. Heather has already begun to dread our departure. Two more sleeps and we are home!

 

 

Two more days (Tuesday and Wednesday) are in the books!  The ladies returned to the school and spent two mornings working with a younger group of children and a different teacher setting up a second early childhood center. 

After the morning class the Julie, Rauna, and Gail continued to paint the classroom.  Brad and Micah Witherow set up some scaffolding and painted the higher locations.  Mike and John Witherow continued to work with some local Young Life leaders on the playground construction.

  

Each night we are served a wonderful meal back at the farm.  We eat outside around a fire and marvel at the amazing display of starts overhead.  We are usually pretty tired and head to bed by 9 pm.  The days are warm and we are at about 5000 feet of elevation which along with the long days make us pretty much ready for bed.

We have group devotions at 7:30 each morning which a different team member facilitates.  Breakfast is served at 8.

On Wednesday Brad become our master paint mixer and did a great job of mixing a variety of colors so that we could paint the play structure we have been building at the Motopo Elementary School. He also mixed paint so that the ladies could paint characters on the walls of one of the classrooms that they have  been working in all week.

Mike and John wrapped up the work on the play structure and with the help of the Young Life leaders got it painted. 

Our time at the school is quickly coming to an end.  There were quite a few tears during our devotion time this morning (Thursday) as we reflected on our ministry here, the bond that has developed among our team, the children and teachers as well as with the Witherows and Fergusons.

 

 

 

Monday was a great day here at Morning Star Farm in Zimbabwe.  The weather was perfect.  We had two days of pretty cool weather which caught some of us without cool weather clothing.

After breakfast the ladies headed to the nearby school we will be working in all week.  They set up the first of two early childhood development classrooms with some of the 400 pounds of school supplies we brought with us.  Tomorrow they will work in the second classroom.

They guys stayed back at the farm and began assembling the playground structure we will be installing at the school.  The structure is hand made from local wood poles. 

While the men were drilling and  nailing the pieces together, some of the local men were at the school digging holes into which we will place the upright poles.  In the afternoon the whole team spent the time painting the first classroom.  One of the teachers at the school helped us and he turned out to be very creative.  He used the end of a mop handle to place a paint roller so he could reach the high portion of the walls. 

Greetings from Motopo, Zimbabwe!

Our team of six left Portland at 7 AM on Wednesday. After a 2.5 hour flight to Los Angeles, 10 hours to Amsterdam, and 11 hours to Johannesburg, we were able to get to bed Thursday night about midnight.  Praise God the flights were uneventful.  We had breakfast at a wonderful bed and breakfast in Johannesburg and were at the airport again by 8:30 for our flight to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  Our chief concern at this point was that we were way over weight with both our checked bags and our carry-ons.  But God made away and all of it made it on board at no extra charge!

What a great sight to see John Witherow waiting for us as we cleared customs. 

After traveling for an hour over very rough roads we arrived at Morning Star Farm where we would be spending the week.  There we were greeted by Heather, Micah, Jake, and Caleb as well as Chris and Norma Ferguson who own Morning Star.

Morning Star Farm is a 3000 acre farm in a very remote part of Zimbabwe.  The Fergusons have a great ministry in a variety of ways and host several teams throughout the year.  We have been blessed beyond words by their hospitality.  Some people feel like family the moment you meet them.  Chris and Norma are like that.

Sunday we attended a local church.  What fun!  There were about 40 children and 20 adults.  One thing that was very encouraging was to see the number of young men attending.  After introducing our selves we were asked to sing a song. Fortunately we were prepared.  Brad Schlief did a great job of sharing the day’s sermon. 

Our team was also responsible for the children’s program for the morning. The kids had a great time making cross necklaces.
 

Our team was also responsible for the children’s program for the morning. The kids had a great time making cross necklaces.
 

Our day was made complete as we got to participate in Jake Witherow’s baptism.

Tomorrow (Monday) we begin our ministry in the local elementary school. We are having a great time. 

 

 

 

 

We arrived safely!

We arrived to Johannesburg safely.  We rested, showered and are heading to Bulawayo.  We will meet the Witherows and ride up to Morning Star Ranch.  Everyone has been very friendly and helpful!

Sunset Short Term Team to Zimbabwe

Julie Sherrill, Mike Hildenbrand, Gail Hildenbrand, Brad Schlief, Kimberly Kim, Rauna Otteson

 

A team of six will head to Zimbabwe on Wednesday September 17 to work alongside Sunset missionaries John and Heather Witherow and their three boys, Micah, Jake, and Caleb. We will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa where we will spend Thursday night.  Friday morning we will fly to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where the Witherows will meet us. Friday and Saturday will be spent getting acclimatized to the different time zone (9 hours ahead of Portland) and learning about the Zim culture.  Sunday we will worship in a local church where Brad will have an opportunity to share a message. We have also been asked to teach the local congregation a couple of songs.  We will also likely be spending some time with the children of the congregation.

The focus of our week long ministry is in a local elementary school.  There we will be helping to establish an early childhood development classroom.  Mornings will be spent with the children and afternoons working to paint classrooms and setting up learning centers.  Mike and Brad will be working with locals to build a playground structure.

We will do our best to keep you updated throughout our trip.  There is only solar power where we will be staying and very limited internet capabilities.

It is finished!

The inevitable final day came yesterday.  Our final day with the kids and their performance in front of their parents during the conference closing program on Monday evening.  Lots of sad faces and hugs.  The parents had wonderful words of praise for our ministry. One parent told us they had not been able to worship together as husband and wife for eight months, and now they got to because we ministered to their children.  Another one told us that they came to the conference primarily because of the children's program.

One of our former team members, Susan Wong Ownby loaned us a small portable photo printer.  That allowed us to offer a new ministry this trip.  We also had a professional photographer on our team and that allowed us to take portraits of each child and print them and give them to the parents.  One father told me with tears in his eyes that I had no idea what this meant to the families.  They do not have the resources to have this quality of pictures taken where they live.

 Most of our team headed out Tuesday morning with a tour guide to see the seven churches of the Revelation. The rest of us went into town ( 20 minute drive from our hotel) and did a little shopping and sight seeing.  We then returned to the hotel to enjoy our first real downtime since the trip began twelve days ago.  Our van to the airport departs at 8:15 tomorrow morning (Wednesday).  The Portland team members arrive at PDX at around 9:30 PM also on Wednesday!

Thanks for following our journey on this blog! We hope it was fun and informative and that you felt part of our team.

Notes to other children in native language

Another note in native language

On our last full day we went shopping

Traditional missionary sunset picture!

Sunday

On Sunday we had a full schedule with the kids.  Many of them were very tired after having spent Saturday either on an all day tour or around the pool at our hotel.  Some of them were a little cranky!  The boys went out to play soccer with Teacher Jordan, but came in after an hour.  Just not enough energy. The girls stayed inside and had a great time with a variety of crafts...doing nails,beading, legos, and rubber band bracelets. The rubber band bracelets has been the biggest hit in the craft department.  Boys and girls alike have loved them.

Making rubber band bracelets

Teacher Jordan playing soccer with boys

One of the twins favorite places to play

Teacher Faith doing girl's nails

SATURDAY WAS TOUR DAY

Our Saturday started off like everyday, team devotions, breakfast, getting rooms ready and receiving the kids at 9 AM. Parents were coming back to get them at 10:30 so everyone that chose could go on one of the two tours for the day.

We spent the 90 minutes we had with the kids preparing for their time in front of their parents in the closing program Monday evening.  We practiced the 3 songs they will sing complete with hand motions.  This is coming together nicely.  Then we watched a Veggie Tales video on the Last Supper.

Then we all headed out on tour.  The first timers to Turkey toured Ephesus.  Those of us that had been here before toured Miletus, Didyma,and Priene. Very fascinating touring these ancient ruins. As you remember, the Apostle Paul at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:17-38) stopped at Miletus on his way back to Jerusalem.  He sent word to the elders in Ephesus to come to Miletus so he could say a final farewell to them knowing he would not see them again.  These were men he had poured his life into for several years.

Theater at Miletus

Miletus

Ruins of temple at Didyma

Ruins at Priene with wind turbines in background!

It's Tour Day

Another full day yesterday. Our kids are really enjoying their time with us.  One mother told one of our teachers with  tears in her eyes what a blessing our children's program was for she and her husband.  She said it had been a very long time since they had been able to worship together.

The kids continue to run to class and complain when their parents come to pick them up.  All good signs that we are ministering to them.

Today (Saturday) we have a shortened program.  We will have the kids for two hours and then the whole conference has the rest of the day off.  Some will tour Ephesus, others Miletus, and still others will stay at the hotel and enjoy family time at the ocean or by the pool.

Grandpa with baby duty

Grandma with other baby

 One of the families at the conference had twins two months ago. A boy and a girl. Grandma and Grandpa came to Turkey from New Zealand to help them with the twins.  So they help us some times in the baby room.

Our pre-school children are having fun too. Teacher Joy and Haley are doing a great job and got to take the children to an outside play area.  That was a great break for teachers and children.

Making rubber band bracelets was a big hit

Teacher Joy encouraging one of her pre-school children

Another Great Day

It's 8:45 PM on Thursday and we just completed our 2nd of 5 full days of ministry to children.  The day went very well.  Once again our morning was spent singing, interacting with Dr. Paws in a skit, and rotating through 4 learning stations.  We also got to watch a video with pictures of some of the kids involved in the first days activities. We are beginning to plan what songs and skits we want to use in our closing program in front of the parents on Monday evening.

Dale and Janet Watts

 We are missing a couple of our teammates that were unable to make the trip at the last minute because of significant medical concerns.  Janet Watts planned and coordinated our morning elementary program.  She selected the curriculum and planned the schedule.  Had she been able to make the trip, she would have been the morning team leader.  She filled this same role in 2012, so she brought a lot of experience to our team. She also has an  infectious positive spirit. You can understand why we miss her. Dale was to be the IT guy for the whole conference. In 2012 he spent night and day working on the computers of conference attendees. I know they are missing his services.

Playing with Lego's

Our afternoons provide lots of different opportunities. Each child can select from a number of different crafts throughout the afternoon or to go out to the pool.  We usually end our afternoon with a video to get the kids settled down and wait for their parents to come and pick them up.

One of the parents told me jokingly today that we are doing too good of job because her kids don't want to leave at the end of the day.

Decorating her t-shirt

Samaritan Woman stopped by

They love watching videos

Great First Full Day

Pool time

Our team of 16 completed its first full day of ministry to 50+ children ages 2 months to 12 years of age.  Things went pretty smoothly.  The kids are engaging in our morning program of worship songs and drama. They are quickly learning all the motions that go with the songs. We are even hearing them singing or humming the songs while doing crafts in the afternoon.  This is greatly encouraging.  Each of the children will get a cd of  all the songs to take home with them.

For our team, our day begins with team devotions at 7:15 each morning and a review of the day's plan and then breakfast.  The kids arrive at 9 AM.

 For our elementary aged children the morning consists of a time of worship, games, snacks, drama, and learning stations. This goes from 9 AM until 1 PM when we break for lunch. The afternoons consist of electives such as time at the pool, crafts, board games, and movies. These activities go from 2 PM until 7 PM when we end for the day and go to dinner. For the babies and preschool children it is games, stories, lots of play time and some naps! As you can see our days are pretty full.

Our team is doing great and is staying healthy.  Please keep us in prayer for stamina and good nights rest.

Craft Time..Decorating t-shirt

Game Time

Visit by Zoo Keeper Dr. Paws