Saturday, July 25, 2009

Hi, We got back from Mutare a little while ago. Apparently there is a baptism for two people from Epworth and our family from Epworth is coming as they are to be baptized in two weeks, except for the dad he will be a couple of weeks after that. He has stopped smoking for 3 days now. So we will stay here at the church and attend the baptism as well. We were going to go out to Epworth and visit but we can visit with them here instead.

Thursday we arrived in Mutare and met up with Pres. Chadambuka and he had a group of young single adults with him. We went to the orphanage and set out the clothes and shoes and waited for the kids to come from school. They were excited to get some clothes (about 3 + pieces each) and a pair of shoes. There were only two girls so they got a few more things. They were pretty excited. The one little girl tried on a couple of different outfits and wanted her picture taken. We also gave them some hygiene kits for the nuns to give out as needed and we gave each child a school kit. They loved the school kits - you would think it was Christmas morning as they pulled each item out of their bag. It was fun to watch them. We also left a few toys, balls, and a couple of dolls. The nuns also got a pair of shoes each -- I hadn't really planned on that but it worked out great and they loved it. They insisted on giving us some sweet potatoes to bring home - but we gave them to someone else that we met on our ride home.

On our way to the orphanage - following Pres. Chadambuka and crew.

At orphanage.

Bedroom at orphanage.

President Chadambuka and young single adult men.

Orphanage kitchen - opening for fire is outside under pots.

Some of the orphans.

Her favourite new outfit.

Orphans with Pres. Chadambuka.

The kids loved the school kits.

Sister Bullock with the two Nun Sisters.

Elder Bullock with _________, a girl he met when we were there in March so we found her again.

The making of bricks - drying in sun. Men in background laying bricks.

Heading back to Mutara from orphanage.

Thursday afternoon we went to the Zororai Old People's Home in Mutare and were able to meet with the board members as they happened to be having a meeting. We were impressed with their board and the things they are doing to be more self-sufficient. We talked about what they need to do in order for us to put in the request for the motor for their grinding mill - the most important thing is to have a committee formed to take care of it and put aside a little money so that they can repair it is it breaks down. They seem to have that all figured out. Neighboring people will come there to grind and will pay $1 for a 20 ltr. pail. They have an organization called 'Environment Africa' that is helping the with their gardens and they are giving them inputs (seed and fertilizer, etc) for the first year. The Justice of the Peace gives some people food and in return those people come and work in the gardens at the old people's home. The water in Mutare isn't too bad (better than Harare it seems). We left them with some hygiene kits as well and they were most appreciative.

Going to Old People's Home.

I didn't get any pictures at the Old People's Home.

Early Friday morning we left for the refugee camp with Pres. Chadambuka, Fortune, the public affairs rep. and another fellow who lives at the camp and gave us directions to get there. We never would have got there without him. He has his passport now so he is free to come and go from the camp. Nice fellow. Fortune gave him the first discussion on the way there and he wants the missionaries to teach him more.

We found the member we went to the refugee camp to find. He was surprised, of course, but happy to see us. He says there are two other members there but they have been going to a different church there at the camp. There were two other members before but they have left and gone to South Africa. We talked with him and his wife, a lady that he met there. There are no children. She is not a member but maybe he can teach her. We all squeezed into their small 1 room house and we all sang "Love at Home" with them. (kind of teary for me). That song will have new meaning to me now! Pres. Chadambuka then gave him a blessing. We left him with several Liahonas and Ensign magazines as well as the new Gospel Essentials book and a set of new scriptures. It was a neat experience. Hopefully now he won't feel like no one cares about him. Maybe he will stop sending his letters to church headquarters. He is from D.R. Congo and he spoke mostly french (some English) and Elder Bullock got a chance to use his French.

Friday - Refugee camp pics

Refugee camp.

Refugee camp.

Our Refugee church member.

Church member and his wife at refugee camp - checking return address on letter he sent to Russell M. Nelson that was sent back to mission.

Two little kids at the refugee camp - they wanted their picture taken.

More kids at the camp - they seemed to be dressed okay.

On the way to the camp we saw a lot of Baobab trees - the ones we saw in Malawi - the ones that kind of look like they are upside down. I will send a picture or two. Apparently these trees survive well because they store a lot of water and use little as they have small leaves. People cut the bark off in long pieces and use it to make rugs. The trees repair themselves but you can see the scars where the bark has been taken. The terrain we drive through was large hills and then it got really dry and dusty as we got closer to the camp.

Baobab tree - see the marks on trunk where they have peeled the bark.

Elder Bullock standing by Baobab tree.

Rugs made from bank of baobab tree.

There were a lot of goats roaming around and a few pigs. Where there was some irrigation there were some green fields but otherwise it was pretty barren. The people in the camp had garden spots that were surrounded by thorny bushes that they had cut - to keep out the chickens and goats etc.

Goats wandering across the road.

We need to head home so I will send this and then send Kim some pictures for the blog tomorrow and she can post it all then.

O yeah - we went to World Vision and found out where a little girl is that my friend, Florence Davidson, sends money for. She is down by Bulawayo. We are going down there next month and we are trying to arrange to see the girl, hopefully. I think that would be fun to see where she lives and to see how donations help these children. We are going to Bulawayo on Aug. 22nd to help with a service project the stake is doing at a hospital and we will take down some 'new-born kits' for them to give out.

Must run. Love to all, Jim and Nancy

I forgot about this yesterday -
On our way back to Harare on Sat. we stopped on the roadside to buy some wood for our fireplace. Wood is cheaper out in the rural areas. Anyway, we stopped and honked our horn and a lady came running from her hut - with her little boy. They looked rather needy so I pulled out a few clothes and shoes we had left over from the orphanage and gave them some. An older boy came out too (about 8 or 9) and we found a pair of shoes that fit him - also a pair of heavy duty sandals that fit the mother and left a pair for the husband (hopefully they will fit). I didn't have a pair for the little guy but gave her a pair that are too big and she can save them or trade them or whatever. They were pretty excited. She fell on her knees to say thank-you and we told her she didn't need to do that. We also gave her the sweet potatoes that the nuns had given us and a hygiene kit. I think they really needed it all.

We stopped to buy firewood and gave them some clothes, shoes and hygiene kit. She fell on her knees to say thank you

We bought the wood from her too so that should have made her day. When we were in Mutare we bought a big, good axe from Pres. Chadambuka's hardware store and we will need it. We did enjoy a nice fire last night - as we had no power. What's new? We seem to lose power a lot these days and seldom have water. O well - it will just make us appreciate it a lot more when we get home to Canada.
Pres. Chadambuka wanted to stop and buy tomatoes for his wife - they all hope he will buy theirs.

Love, E/S Bullock

Monday, April 20, 2009

Happy Birthday Andrew! Hope it is a good one!

We had an eventful day. We met up with Tabeth, who is a widow and works with other widows to help children in need. She went with us to Cold Comfort Primary school where people were waiting for us. We gave out 1 ½ bars of soap to each family – probably about 50 families. We took a quick tour of the school. People were needy but not as bad as some we have seen.

Sister Bullock with Tabeth

Gave out soap at Cold Comfort Primary School

A girl with her sister holding soap that we gave out.

Last Friday a lady and her husband came to our office asking for help. They have a newborn baby that is sick (2 weeks old). We gave them some blankets, clothes for the baby, soap, and some powdered milk. We wanted to see where they live so Tabeth (who happened to be here Friday when they came) got their address and arranged that we would go there today to visit them. When we arrived there was quite a few people waiting for us – we hadn’t expected that. Luckily we had some soap left and we cut the bars in half and were able to give each family half a bar. I wish that we had given the first group less as this group was VERY needy. We must have had some divine help though because there was EXACTLY enough soap for the people that were there.

We had to cut the soap to have enough to go around

saying thank you for the soap

We saw the baby again and he isn’t looking too good. They had been to the hospital and they had given them some antibiotics for him. He wasn’t eating much – I’m not sure how much milk the mother had for him either. She was concerned about that. I really hope he doesn’t die. We had a package of special food (a rice/lentil dry mix fortified with a lot of vitamins) in the truck so I put it in my bag and took her to her house (so others wouldn’t see it) and gave it to her and explained how to mix it up and cook it. I told her that she needed to eat some so that she could have milk for the baby. She has 3 other children that look healthy – so she knows how to take care of a baby. I have attached a picture of her with her baby on the only bed in their 1 room place (about 10’ x 10’). I was glad we had given them blankets on Friday – they needed them. The kids sleep on the floor. They cook outside.

newborn baby - not doing so well

It is a sad area and I hope that we can go back there and do some more for those people. On our way driving out of the area we gave out 5 or 6 hygiene kits to other people we passed by. I love being able to do that – I just wish I’d had a lot more to give today.

After leaving there we saw the huge rocks that seem to balance on top of each other somehow. It is amazing. Tabeth said that there was a huge boulder in Mutare that fell off once when there was a bit of an earth tremor and it rolled down and destroyed several homes. I’m surprised more don’t fall. It makes one wonder how they ended up like that in the first place.

Why don't these rocks topple over?

more rocks that look like they should fall

uh oh - the bus quit - that happens a lot

a lady spins wool, dyes it and makes rugs

Panashe Chapuruka's baptism day - Sunday, April 19, 2009

Panashe and Elder Bullock before baptism

Elder Bullock, Panshe and his mom, Sister Tadokera

Sunday at the baptism there was also a dad that baptized his wife and 3 daughters. That was pretty special for him.

My turn to give the home evening lesson so I had better get busy preparing something!

Love, Sister Bullock

Dear friends and family,

I am breaking with the tradition of having Nancy do the writing. I doubt that it will be the quality of her letters, but I can’t just sit back while she does all the writing.

We are a day away from being on our mission for two months, and 5 days from being in Zimbabwe for 1 month. There has been an awful lot happen in our lives in those two months. It seems like a blur it has all happened so fast. From entering the Mission Training Center, to possible cancer, to biopsy operation, to clean bill of health, to get on the plane and get over there, to two weeks of being driven and driving to places, not having a clue where we were, to being on our own with the departure of the Turners, to going into the deep rural of the areas around Harare, and seeing such poverty in the city, that it is hard to imagine.

There is need everywhere you turn, and people asking for assistance all day long. There are pastors, reverends, bishops, orphanage directors, school directors, hospitals, and individuals all needing help of some kind or another. We need to work out of our home often to avoid the onslaught at the mission office. If we didn’t we would never get anything done. We try to be at the office on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to meet with, and talk to those who walk in off the
street. That way the secretary can tell them a day to come in and see us.

We are learning how to get from one place to the next by the main roads. I am still twisted in my directions, but know where to turn by landmarks. It is not like being in relatively organized streets in Calgary, and there does not seem to be any traffic rules, here. Those fine officers in Calgary would have a field day writing tickets. The trouble would be that most of the traffic lights do not work fully. There might be one light for northbound that works, but all the southbound lights do not. You have to look and see which direction cars are stopped, and which way they are moving, and even then proceed with extreme caution. If you are stopped by the police, one of the
officers is designated as the “judge”. It is easy to tell which one is the judge, because he is the one carrying the clip board. Fines are determined on the spot, and you have to pay right now. Fortunately, we have not had the pleasure, yet. The fact that the lights do not work has little bearing on the on the facts in issue.

When we submitted the paper work for our mission, we used my Canadian Passport on all the documentation. As we left the training center, they told us to use my U.S. passport to enter Zimbabwe, because it was much cheaper for the visa. However, it caused a big problem when it
came time to get my passport stamped for the Temporary Employment Permit (TEP), because I was supposed to be Canadian. It was going to be a one hundred fine! They finally agreed that it was an honest mistake, waived the fine, and stamped my Canadian Passport, allowing me to stay, and not have to leave and re-enter. We got the final word on that today, so it was quite a relief. Tomorrow Nancy should get her passport stamped. Our TEP’s are good for one year from time of
entry, so we will need to apply for an extension as we near that one year mark.

We continue to struggle with water shortages. I think I have had two showers since we arrived. We are getting pretty fast with sponge baths. We heat the water on the stove, pour it into the bathroom sink, add a little cold water, and voila, clean as a whistle. I had my first hair cut today. I was getting a little scraggly, and finally persuaded Nancy to cut it. We found a good set of clippers
when we moved into the flat. No sense taking that weight when you leave to go home.

I suppose there is more to say, but it is getting late. We have been trying to go out and walk for 30-45 minutes in the morning, at 6:00. We have a meeting with the bishop of the Highlands Ward at 7:45 in the morning. He is helping us with the cost, and amounts of fertilizer needed for the gardens around the church buildings. We want to try to stock-pile some for the next planting season.

Better run. Love you all!
Elder and Sister Bullock