Untukmu Para Pengunjung

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the day we arrived in Zimbabwe (and it's also my beautiful sister's birthday - Happy Birthday, Kirst - I love you! xo) In a lot of ways it feels like we've been here 10 years rather than 1. There are so many memories, but here are some highlights:

* Being called "mwanangu" (my child), and having a Zimbabwean family. We have met some amazing people here.

* The singing (I love being in the middle of Zimbabweans singing - it's either totally joyful with dancing or else has this lamenting/crying-out-to-God feel to it. It's incredible and full of passion!)

* Growing and becoming a deeper person.

* The laughing (I love when we're in the combi driving home, and we hear people talking and laughing and cracking jokes. It is great to see that persistent joy breaking through suffering, worry or pain. I also love "low fives" - people do them whenever they make a joke).

* Funerals (They have had a big impact on me - the way people share their presence and pain, and the way a whole body can weep....)

* Sharing food and conversation with people (either the Zimbabwean meal - sadza, green vegetables, tomato soup and fried chicken, or some of John's cooking. I am so thankful for those who have invited us into their homes for a meal - because I know the financial sacrifice that was made).

* Greeting and clapping all day, every day (I can't believe I used to say hello to people without clapping my hands, and doing a little curtsey/bend of the knee!)

* Volunteer work with Island (getting good training in bereavement, going out into the community, sharing people's pain).

* Starting the Zimbabwe School of Youth Leadership and seeing a dream become a reality.
* Special places (Nyanga, Victoria Falls, Kariba, Tshelanyemba, Chinhoyi... there are some beautiful places in Zimbabwe!)

* Sharing life with people (birthdays, new babies, weddings, farewells, the every day ups and downs of life...)

* New gratitude (for running water, hot water, electricity, food, safety, etc.)

* Running past giraffes in the morning (much nicer than running past tanks full of armed soldiers heading into the city!)

* Praying with people - in their huts, or under a tree, or in their homes, or in a hospital, or silently beside someone who is weeping or pouring out his heart.

* Being with John and seeing how much people love him here.

Things we've had to get used to:
* Inflation (the dramatic price increases all the time, fighting for bread, seeing how a blackmarket develops, carrying around stacks of money, becoming millionaires....)

* Political climate (the tension, the fear, the way people's eyes dart whenever they make mildly political comments, the headlines, the state media....)

* Salvation Army land (everyone knowing The Salvation Army is a church, the salutes and uniforms everywhere, timbrels, flags, marches of witness, 6 hour services, the countless offerings and gift-giving, the separation of officers and soldiers, the marching, the congresses - my grandparents would love it!)

* Being so noticeable, and always sticking out

I am so thankful for this past year. There have been ups and downs, joys and challenges, but God is good, and I am grateful.