What Happened on My Trip to Zimbabwe?

I'm back from Zimbabwe. But for about two weeks since I was down and out with a miserable cold, which made thinking past the end of my nose quite difficult. I've had plenty written, but I've felt this pressure that I've placed on myself. I really didn't know how to express to you WHAT I experienced - in a nutshell - and to do it justice. So "it's" all been ruminating in my head and on computer screen, which I hope has been a good thing.

How The Journey Began
It all started with a casual, "thrown out there" invitation from our visiting friend Ruth to Felicity and me. Something like, "Hey, you can come to Zimbabwe and paint a mural on a prison wall." And we said something like, "Okay." And then - it happened! (There were a few other details involved and prayers, but that's pretty much it.)

So we bought our tickets and then our paintbrushes at the building supply store, packed our bags, and we were off! Zimbabwe is two hops away by plane, and I believed flying the preferable choice considering this country had an "air of adventure" to us and an "air of danger" to our computer and camera equipment.

Who
Felicity and I visited Ruth and Julie Hagen, lovely (as my British traveling companion Felicity says), funny, and energetic sisters from Scotland and the job creation program Gogo Olive, and we had hopes of painting that mural, filming, serving our friends, and being open to anything that came our way. ("Came our way" included watching India Premiere League Cricket, which I can now attest to understanding and actually enjoying.)

Gogo Olive Knitting Workshop
Photo Credit: Felicity Davies

Gogo Olive
Hoping to bless our friends by making a video for their ministry, we filmed, photographed, and interviewed the ladies at Gogo Olive - Felicity, being the photographer/videographer-amazingness, and I, the question asker/interviewer. I think we really just jumped in with both feet and not knowing what we were doing, but hey, it worked out great! I found out that I really love interviewing people. It was amazing to chat with the ladies and hear their stories of life, finding God, and how Gogo Olive has helped them. And I so was humbled to share a devotion with them about being created with value in the image of God and that Felicity and I could pray for them.  

WATCH the Gogo Olive video below, or on the Vimeo website click here: http://vimeo.com/user24100193/gogoolive

GoGo Olive - Knits in Zimbabwe for you
Film Credit: City Davies via Vimeo

Julie Hagen began Gogo Olive by accident, she told me, as she taught ladies how to knit African animals. Somehow, this idea caught on, and these animals are sold around the world today! Seriously, Julie is SO creative. Gogo Olive now employs approximately sixty ladies who are able to provide income for their families. In a country with high unemployment this is such a blessing. As we spoke with the ladies, Chido shared,

"It was very difficult because my husband was not working at that time and difficult in finding rent because it’s very expensive here in Zimbabwe so my mother used to help me with that. And right now it’s easy because I can do the rents myself and I can buy my own things."

Money just to pay for basic needs

And Joyline,

"I like them [my children] to be teachers, doctors, head masters..."

Dreaming that her children have greater opportunities and better lives

I'm interviewing Thulani
Photo Credit: Felicity Davies

Prison - To Be Continued...

Gogo Olive also reaches out to women in prison, who can earn income by knitting and are able to continue with Gogo Olive once their prison term is completed. But I'm being too lengthy in this post... I think I'll devote another post to tell you about my time in prison! 

                                                                                                 

I am so thankful for my time in Zimbabwe and am so blessed by Ruth, Julie, the ladies at Gogo Olive and the prison, and the friends we made and who welcomed us into their homes and lives.

I praise God for how He is moving in hearts and lives in Zimbabwe,

And I believe God is truly using Julie and Ruth! 

Two Scottish young women with their hearts planted in Zimbabwe.

A land and people whom I imagined broken.

But what I encountered was love, perseverance, hope, and joy.

People who love their neighbors.

People who persevere through difficult times.

People who find hope behind prison walls.

People who live joy because they know the author of joy. 

And may they find faith that at every sunset there is a sunrise in the morning.

Sunset over Mountains of Zimbabwe

In Joyline's words, 

"I need prayer to let Gogo Olive be in Zimbabwe

for a long time in order for us widows to get something

to help our children because as widows life is hard.

...keep on praying for Julie and Ruth

because they did a very great, great thing to us.

They didn’t expect it…but because of God’s grace to us

they gave us a job to help us."

Please continue to pray for the people

and country of Zimbabwe.

                                                                                                

And if you'd like to learn more about Gogo Olive,
the amazing knitting ladies, and the animals they knit,
please visit their website at http://www.gogo-olive.com/

The Tough Love of Interview Prep And I Have No Internet

It is Interview Preparation day for my students, and I am their teacher. They are at my mercy - hahahaha (evil laugh gives way to timid chuckle). Not really - I am not that scary.

The question looms, "What do I want to say?" With more to follow. "What should I say? What do I need to say?"

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

 

So I prepared. In the morning I am armed for class. I have my arsenal packed with punches... and big, smothering hugs. 

Punches - because for the life of me these guys have walls that say, "You can't touch me." I hit those walls of theirs in Life Skills course. I prodded at them with my little finger. Many would not budge. But thank the Lord, some crumbled - a little bit.

As for the punch - to give them a hard kick in reality. "It's a big bad world out there. Interviewers are tough, and the competition is brutal. If you're not gonna give it your all, step out of your shell, and show them who you are, then you're not gonna get the job. Period."  

It's a big deal - that shell of theirs, those walls a mile high, or a kilometer high in this case. I've heard the "talkers" talk but then in a big group, they won't say a peep. ("Aaaaah, you have it in you! Just open your mouth," the voice in my head yells.) Leading to my second point... 

It's a VERY big deal - the "WHO YOU ARE" part - what the Life Skills staff and I have been trying to impart to them - their WORTH. But it's not a battle won overnight. 

 

SO that's why I deliver my kick with encouragement! 

 

I believe in you. You have something good to offer - BUT ya' gotta step out - so that they can see you SHINE!

                                                                                                                                                               

As I contemplate what advice to give my students, I ask what advice would you give my students when they go for job interviews?

Interviewing Students - You are Valuable

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

This week we conducted interviews for our new Life Skills and Computer Training course.

A staff and I interview the students.

They want a chance in this class. To learn. To grow. To work. To provide. 

To believe.

As I listen, my heart cries, "You are valuable." Over and over again I want to say that...because I am not sure if they believe it.

Maybe it has been years since someone has been there. I don't know.

With one student was so broken by the past, I don't say it. Not yet. I don't want to scare - being too forward. So I say something encouraging (I don't remember what) but less "in your face."

Soon in class I can say, "You are valuable." But more than that, my co-workers and I will show it - to each person in our class - that God created them with design and purpose.

Value isn't only given through words.

Value has action.

I definitely forget this - too often - that my actions speak something - more powerful than I know.

So my prayer is...

To be intentional. For discernment. For wisdom. When to listen, when to speak, when to act:

"You are valuable. I believe in you."

The saying may be true, "Actions speak louder than words," but I tend to believe that actions combined with words are even louder.