Our first few days in Zimbabwe!!

From the land where 'just now' means later, 'now now' means now, BBQ's are Braai's and traffic lights are called robots! We have arrived safe and sound! A stressful flight but it’s behind us now. We were at times quite sad and found it hard leaving but even during the flight Mark and I had planned what we would watch on our return flight – forgetting there would not be a return flight! Our last few days in England were hectic but we had some good times with friends too. We loved arriving at the airport to family – Mark’s brother Stephen, our nephew Jordan and my folks, Dave and Alison! Matt was so excited to see all the trucks, buses etc on the journey to their home. It doesn’t feel like we are here for good yet – just a holiday – so the reality of it will take a few weeks to sink in!

The Albertyn side of the family reunited:



Matt has come out with a few classic comments that have had us chuckling!! The first was ‘Daddy, where are all the pink people’ and ‘Daddy, poor Granpa’s car keeps tripping’ (driving through potholes and on roads that are falling apart). He has also been carrying a dead rhino beetle around with him.



I think this whole bug collecting will become a huge part of our lives! The kids even had their first swim yesterday! We are considered mad people for even contemplating swimming in winter here – the water was freezing but a bit like our beach holiday in North Devon last year!! The weather is amazing – just feels like a chilly summer in England with cold nights.



Zimbabwe has changed so much in the 1½ years since we were last here!! Things are on the up. The country seems to be functioning more normally and every day life for people who have jobs is much simpler. But for people who earn very little or are unemployed life in Zimbabwe is still a daily battle for survival. Unemployment is still in the 90%. We have been shocked at the cost of food – on the same par as England but salaries so much less. We took a wander around the shops figuring out what kind of things we’ll be able to live off. The shops are very well stocked now but with mostly imported goods. Sadly if you do find local produce it is often more expensive than the imported goods. Milk is around but mostly UHT – which is great as we thought we would be living on powdered milk!! It is wonderful to be in a country where everyone is so friendly. Matthew is a real ice breaker – chats to everyone and breaks down barriers straight away. Makes friends when we are queing for things etc. Driving around and meeting people has been a joy and exits us for what lies ahead.

Have to share with you - this morning a man came round to my folks house to cut branches off a very, very high tree - no harness or anything - left me feeling stone cold watching him. He was incredible but reminds me I've been in England for a couple of years and health and safety was playing on my mind!



The reality of moving here has not really sunk in and it feels like we are on holiday. We are enjoying not having too much to think about and will take a few days out to chill. We look forward to catching up with family and friends, settling into church etc. One urgent thing we are working on is getting the kids residency here – they were given a 30 day holiday visa on entry into the country. We also need to open a bank account, find a home etc. Trusting God for His favour in all these things. Mark is away on his first business trip on Monday – just away for one night. He will be travelling with Scott Marques to Gweru for an education conference. He is looking forward to it and connecting with people and education in Zimbabwe. We will also travel out to Turf on Wednesday, to visit the school before it breaks up for a 4 week holiday and hopefully try and find somewhere to live!! We can’t wait for this visit!!

Sadly my gran passed away today but I was able to visit her last night and am so glad she held out till I got to see her. Sad that she did not get to see her great granchildren but know she is home and in a much better place. Nice to be here with my mum and dad during this time. What an incredible lady she was!! Her coconut cakes were ledgendary!! We love you Gran!

Currently experiencing our first power cut! Since 6am this morning - not a lot planned for this evening - candle light dinner though!

To those we have left:

It’s a journey we must travel
Where He leads us
He’ll help us to be strong
He has taught us and now He’s brought us
To a place He wants us.

Here we stand at the beginning and not the end
Here we stand and with your blessing we have gone
And though it’s hard we will extend to you a smile
We will cherish all our memories
And we’ll always hold a place for you inside.

The Lord has planned it, we understand it
Still we find it hard to say the word, ‘goodbye’
Our time here is over, another day is done
But we know that we’ve just begun
It’s a journey we must travel.

We know we’ll miss you
And we hope it won’t be too long before we see you again!