Catching up with the Albertyn's: The rainy season is here!!!

We thought it was time for an update!!!

We’ve had a chance to get away for 2 nights over a weekend in October – to Nyanga – a mountainous area of Zimbabwe. It was such a welcome break from the heat of where we are living and working. We went with new friends, just made at our church (who happen to be from the UK on contract here). We have kids the same age, so lots of fun! We stayed in a remote cottage at the foot of some mountains, with a river in our garden – family walks, swims in rock pools, evenings spent sitting round the fire in candle light, drives to beautiful view points etc. We loved it (and the company)!!!!

Our stuff arrived from the UK three weeks ago. Woo hoo! It was an amazingly painless process getting it through customs – just took 6 weeks to get from J’burg to Harare!!! It really does feel like our cottage is home now with stuff from our lives in England. It was also sad unpacking things as it was a real reality check that this is for real, our lives in England are over – so shed a few tears! We’ve had to leave a lot of stuff still in boxes as we don’t have much room for it all!

We’ve had endless tummy bugs, coughs and colds this month!! Been a bit tough but hopefully coming to the end of it!! The kids continue to enjoy bush life!! Zoe is at the delightful age where she points to parts of her body when asked where something is, blows raspberries on us and dances on demand, is learning new words and gestures for things, has a little sense of humour emerging, oh and loves anything girly! Mark has managed to produce two little teasers – I wonder where they get that from!! Matt is thrilled to be reunited with his wooden train set – he has played with it nonstop and is also thrilled with all the outside toys – bikes, trampoline etc. What a blessing it is to have their bits out here with us – makes the days pass so much faster for me. I can really plan activities and have fun with the kids!!! Thank you Lord!!! My parents got a new puppy (the day our stuff arrived from England), Matt wasn’t sure what was more exciting!!! He loves the puppy and as it’s a girl has named her Lexy – after his best girl friend in England!

Matt sings the whole time to himself – sometimes with real words sometimes without!!

General life in the Bush is getting easier, and electricity is still a problem – we’ve had 6hrs of power the last 6 days in two 3hr patches – one rain storm has wreaked havoc with faults in our area!!! Still only put the kids to bed with electric light a handful of times, which we always celebrate!! Friends from England sent out a fantastic light that has become invaluable since Rich and Oli brought it out – thank you! We’re getting used to cold baths, early to bed and early to rise!! House invaders continue to catch us unawares!! I’ve had my first scorpion sting – glad it was me and not the kids – it was on my bath towel and when I was making Matt’s bed one morning a scorpion crawled out from under his pillow (was very grateful that was all that happened)!!!

We found a python the other night outside, thankfully rather sluggish as he had a rat in his tummy!

Yip the rains have arrived! They took a little longer in coming out here than in Harare but we had our first proper thunderstorm on Wednesday night last week. I had forgotten the power of Zimbabwean storms and to be honest was quite terrified but played it very cool with two terrified toddlers, who were clinging to their mummy for dear life. The force of the wind, thunder and lightening were amazing but what I had forgotten was the amount of rain that falls from the sky in a 30min storm. In England I’m sure it rains about 4 days for the equivalent of what we get in a torrential storm. We literally had rivers running either side of our house and poor little Matt was asking Jesus to stop the wind but in the same breath saying thank you for the rain – we’ve been waiting for it to come!!! This rain has brought transformation to the bush around us!!!! The leaves are appearing on all the trees and a beautiful thing in Africa – certain trees new leaves are Autumn colours – so experiencing Autumn colours here while those in England do but such different weather! Everything is alive and green and lush! With the rains come chongololos – millipedes. Matt loves these creatures and collects them in his motor bike trailer. He can’t quite understand how they manage to escape!! He experienced his first grief this week – he managed to pull one in two and it died. The little guy was devastated, especially that he was the one who had damaged it. I was trying not to laugh but at the same time felt sad for him. This particular one was called ‘Wormy the Chongololo’. He prayed for him last night and assured me this morning when he woke up that it was now in Heaven – fixed!

If you refer to the pictures of our bush life and compare these two pics you will see how the bush has transformed in a short space of time!!!

Three days after the first rains - kind of Autumn colours - notice Mr Buffallo

Two weeks after the first rains - it's even greener now but don't have a pic!!!

Here is something I wrote a few weeks ago:

There is something beautiful about African mornings. The cool breeze before it gets really hot, the fresh air (there is a smell about it), watching animals come to the waterhole from the vantage point of our verandah and watching my children wander around in the dirt, enjoying the freedom of open space is something so beautiful, it is hard to put into words but I do feel so blessed to be able to expose them to this life – even if it’s just for a short season!! Mark and I have been woken a few times at night by the giraffe eating leaves from the tree outside our bedroom window – to sneak open the curtain and to see a giraffe at eye level – wow – they are such graceful, gentle animals – Mark’s favourite!!! We have also had the rain spider appear as the rainy season tries to start – they are not such welcome visitors and freak Mark and I out a little! Especially when found crawling in Zoe’s cot with her in it!!! We have to admit we are not very good about letting these spiders survive!!! They move at lightning speed and they have met the sole of our shoes at lightning speed too!!! Rain has been threatening for days and the air is so thick with coming rain it makes the days quite unbearable. Being back in Africa I understand why the rain never bothered me so much in the UK – an African can’t forget that rain is so life giving and refreshing – it was the grey days that got me!!! So trusting the rainy season will be here soon and we can enjoy the torrential showers that come with it!! The land is parched and crying out for rain!! I look forward to the smell of our first few showers – experienced once so far – can’t wait for more!!! Driving around this rural area is so beautiful. Plains of dry grass, little villages with their clusters of huts, children walking to school on the road, little bottle stores that sell cold coke – it is all a reminder of the basics of life! I feel so blessed to have met a few people who live out here over these last few weeks, it has given me a deeper love for my country and its people. We’ve spent more time with Marcus and I even said to him this time that he has to write a book – so will keep working on him but hoping to do a blog entry on him at some stage as his life is such a testimony of devotion to God and the bigger picture of life!! It hasn’t been an easy life, but one where he looks back and sees the hand of God.

Now for some work news! My time with the Primary School doing the Grade 0 has been amazing!!! I’m learning so much and enjoying the challenge of engaging 150 kids. I come away with no voice! Matthew and Zoe are loving all the attention and being a part of it all – I’ve been so proud of them as it is soooooo hot out there and a very long day for them! I’m mainly focussing on the same songs each week (with lots of actions), a few games and a craft session twice a month. The songs are to encourage their English along! I have to have a translator, as they don’t understand me! They are all so well behaved. I’ve been able to provide resources each week for the teaching themes that week – been donated stuff and bought stuff with grant money from Makomborero. I’ve also been able to provide them with break on the day I’m with them – biscuits! The mine arriving in the area has caused such a problem at both the senior and junior school. They have forced these schools to grow beyond what they can handle (originally village schools of 100 kids – now both over 1000 – with terrible over crowding, running lessons under trees and running two schools a day). It has also created a social problem in the schools – you have the kids whose parents work in the mine – so though very poor can bring in a snack at breaktime and then those that live in the village who probably only get one meal a day if they are lucky! They are delighted with the biscuits as you can imagine!!!! I have based myself at a local ladies house for the kids lunch and then drive home for their sleep. Amazing being in a home so much poorer than us – very humbling!! Her name is Blessing and she is a real blessing!! Over the next two weeks I’m doing a banner for their graduation up to Grade 1 (the kids will decorate), lots of games and songs and a lucky dip to celebrate the end of term!

Mark has only been able to run one film day. This is because we have no way of amplifying the sound – we managed to find some very little speakers in our shipping but Mark had to cancel the viewing as even those did not help. The Form 1’s are the only ones to have watched so far, and they loved the experience!

We are now in a position to be able to update you on our plans for next year. With KST (the trust we work with in Zimbabwe), Mark will be starting a scholarship scheme for children in the surrounding areas of Turf and some of the Harare townships. This scheme will be run in Harare, as a boarding scholarship. Mark and I will be house parents to 15 pupils, these pupils will attend a local Independent School for their lessons (using all their facilities) and Mark will be teaching the scholarship students Maths and Physics at this school. This decision came about because of a number of reasons. If Mark stayed to run the Sixth Form at Wanganui, he would only be able to teach two classes of A-level Mathematics. The subjects that we had hoped to offer this coming year cannot be studied due to the lack of facilities at Wanganui and this has arisen through the funding crisis we have found ourselves in. The A-level centre at Wanganui will continue to be run by Marcus, with the Science and Maths students attending the scholarship scheme in Harare, joined by a selected few from the surrounding townships in Harare. The hope is that once facilities are built at Wanganui, (labs, boarding facilities for pupils who walk tremendous distances etc) we will be running two scholarship programs – one at Turf and one in Harare. The one in Turf will be for students in the surrounding schools and villages to do their A-levels and the one in Harare will be for selected students from the surrounding township areas to do their A-levels.

So this is what we have been working on for the last couple of weeks. Marcus will still run the A-level centre at Turf and Mark will travel out to Turf to teach his two A-level Maths classes (those who are doing arts with just Maths attached) and Laura will continue to work with the Grade 0 children at the primary school, coming out once a week too. As you can imagine we are excited about this and even though we have had to change direction a little we believe that this is what we are meant to do in the meantime. We will need to raise significant amounts of money over the next couple of months to support the scheme, but less than we need to stay out at Turf. We are writing to local businesses to see if they can sponsor kids for two years. Mark, Dave and Marcus have been recruiting pupils – having produced a prospectus for them and all the necessary forms. What a humbling experience. Mark and Marcus have been visiting the local senior schools surrounding Turf. My goodness what an eye opener. You realise that these kids are working against all odds! This is the kind of school that Peter (in previous blog) was attending. They have been identifying pupils for Wanganui A-level Centre and for the scholarship scheme. Mark and Dave have been visiting township schools, which have better facilities but just as poor pupils. Marcus was saying that the visits (just before they wrote their O’levels) will have encouraged so many of these pupils that they could have a future and for them not to give up. The pass rate at most of the rural schools is 0% (obtaining 5 or more O’level passes). Those who have managed to achieve 5 O-levels have no means of going on further. These schools are so inspirational with how they make do with nothing, against all odds!

Mark looks to set both these up and as time unfolds we will know where we will live on a permenant basis. On this note we will not be moving into the little house out at Turf, as we would only be living there till January and we feel yet another move for our family would be too much. So we will continue to commute out to turf from our Bush home and this little house will be used by Agrippa and his family – another amazing man working with KST in Turf – he currently commutes from Harare every week, leaving his family too. We feel a little sad that this won't be our home but know we will have a home at some stage we can call ours! Here is the finished house - cute isn't it.

Having visited the local schools surrounding Turf, we will begin to support these senior schools with resources, teacher training etc so that they are able to raise their pass rates and have more pupils move onto the scholarship scheme and onto Wanganui, Turf A-level centre.

We have a lot that will need to be accomplished over these coming months leading up to the start of the scholarship scheme – so please pray for us and the success of this scheme.

My uncle asked where Turf is - it is south of Harare on the Bulawayo road. Turn left into the bush at Selous and an hour on from there. Running along the Great Dyke.

Rich and Olivia Wansbury are out for a visit from the UK. What a treat to have them here with us – sharing family life and work life with them. They are trustees of our charity in the UK and are good friends. They joined Mark in visiting the rural schools surrounding Turf, painting black boards and distributing text books we had bought for these schools (with grant money from Makomborero). They also joined me at the junior school with Grade 0 and were a huge hit with the kids!!! They are off on a round Zim trip for a few days and will see us for two nights before they head back to England! They have said they will blog on their experience here – so will save the details of their trip for another time!!! We have felt blessed by their presence with us!!!!! We love you guys!!!

Well I think that is all for now – hope it gives you a good update of where we are at!!! Missing aspects of England at the moment – not the wet grey but the beautiful crisp cold sunny mornings (which can be few and far between), Autumn colours, beautiful village high streets with their Christmas lights, friends (this is a big one), proper coffee, chocolate, broadband and electicity!! We pull out our Christmas stuff next week – I can’t wait!!!!!

Matt watching a bird make a nest from our bedroom window