Our Trip to Zimbabwe

Here is an update about our recent trip to Zimbabwe:


Our Time There
After spending 28 lovely days in Zimbabwe, we finally arrived back in California on June 23rd. We are still going through a little bit of jet lag, but are faring quite well all things considered. Elijah was such a trooper on the plane ride both to Zimbabwe and back again. He did quite well adjusting to the new time zone in Zim as well as the culture. He was well loved by everyone and had so much fun playing with all the children there and enjoying the wide open spaces and all the animals.

Our main goals for this trip were to re-establish relationships, check out TEAM first-hand to see if it would be a good fit for us, seek God's guidance on what ministry opportunities might be available to us, and to prayerfully consider long-term missions work with TEAM. We felt that we were able to accomplish all of these goals. Not only did Jerod and I enjoy reconnecting with old friends and the orphans we used to work with but we also had many discussions with TEAM missionaries and enjoyed discovering how TEAM operates as well as how we might fit into their mission. Some possible ministry opportunities we might consider include counseling to HIV/AIDS orphans, computer training, and Christian education/discipleship.

Our Future
We both felt as if the possibility for long-term work with TEAM is strong, but we are going to take the next week or two to pray about this decision before taking the next step with TEAM. We wanted to have some time and space to process the trip and truly seek God's will for this next step, not just what we feel would be best. If we do feel God's leading toward long-term work in Zim, it would probably still take a year or two before we would make the move over there. Jerod will finish with his program as Psychiatric Technician in December and then will work for a year to solidify his schooling and gain practical work experience. We would also like to have another child before moving to Zimbabwe, but naturally, all this is in God's hands and we will wait for His timing in it all.

Thank you for your prayers during this trip. We will keep in contact with you if we decide to apply for long-term missions with TEAM. In the meantime, feel free to email us with any questions.

Top 3 Things We Enjoyed Most About TEAM

• Their family oriented approach
• The way in which they take good care of their missionaries
• The fact that they change their approach to missions based on the changing needs of the country

Elijah's Top 4 Activities in Zim

• Going to watch the chickens every day
• Playing with Tadiwa and Chantel (the grandchildren of Marshall, one of the staff members at TEAM)
• Following Marshall around helping him sweep, rake, transfer dirt in the wheelbarrow, etc.
• Playing in the dirt (you name it, throwing the dirt, writing in the dirt with sticks, making mud pies, etc.)