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.