Thursday, April 2
No Internet access this afternoon so I will type a word document and then copy and paste it to email. I am actually learning to do a few things on the computer!! We gave away our first wheelchair this afternoon to a man named Fred Raini. That gave a boost to our day. He had one leg amputated in 2007 due to an infection of some sort. He has been walking with arm crutches but that is difficult for him. He was very grateful. He is an investigator at the Enterprise Branch. The branch president took us to Fred’s home. Fred told us that now he could get to church easier and that he would be attending more regularly now.
The branch president also took us to the meagre of homes of two children who need wheelchairs - a girl of about four and a boy that is seven. We don’t have wheelchairs small enough for them. We will have to see what we can do – we will email the lady in charge of wheelchairs in SLC and see what we can do. Actually we only have 4 wheelchairs left so we need to get some more.
Turners were looking into a place in Malawi that may be able to manufacture them there and it would save a lot of shipping costs – if the chairs are acceptable. It is looking pretty positive. We would be able to get so many each month instead of waiting for containers of 250 at a time. Lots of children living in the area that are in obvious need of better clothing, etc. They like to have their pictures taken and then see themselves. That makes them smile and laugh. Just a note about this branch president: He is 27 yrs. old and told us that he is hoping to get married this year. His girl is the only member in her family and he must pay a dowry to her parents of about $1000 U.S. He is hoping to be able to do that. He is also hoping that with this next generation that this tradition can be changed. We have another bishop that is 24 yrs. Old. He is married and they are expecting a baby. These young men have served missions and are becoming the leaderhip here – good men!
We have felt a little discouraged lately – still trying to figure things out. I went to bed last night feeling frustrated – can’t seem to get/keep the paperwork in some semblance of order. I prayed for help and I woke up this morning and knew what I needed to do; so I got up and started working on it. After about an hour the zesa (electricity) went off so I opened up the curtains and had enough light to carry on. Jim got up shortly thereafter and we worked until about noon but I think we finally have the paperwork organized and know where things are. I don’t know that it is perfect yet but it will definitely help us.
A couple of people have ask about sending seeds or whatever over here. We can use almost anything here but a huge need in the wards/branches is white shirts/ties for Aaronic Priesthood boys (new or good used ones). So if anyone wants a project – we can use all you can send. According to Pres. Nield we could use hundreds, if not thousands of them- but any at all would be wonderful. We got some that came but they are large (like men’s 18 and 20) and they seldom need any that large – the smaller ones went really fast to only one branch.
Friday, April 3rd
We have been helping Pres. Nield and his workers unload his container and load it into other vehicles to be taken to a hospital and to an eye doctor and a dentist. There were a lot of medical supplies. His daughter also took some things to an orphanage and even with all that there is still a lot left to deal with. There are a lot of used clothes still – they will finish cleaning stuff out on Monday to make room for our container full that should be arriving. I was telling Jim yesterday that it would be fun to carry something with us and when we see little kids (just 2 or 3 at a time) we could just pull over and give to them. If there is a crowd of them, like always is the case, when we visit places, we can’t ever have enough of something. We will see what we can figure out to give when our container comes.
The driving continues to be an adventure at times. We just pray every day that we will be safe as we travel. Jim says I should drive but I haven’t gotten brave enough yet – I suppose I should though just in case something was to happen and I needed to drive us home.
Hope you are all fine and doing okay.
Love, Elder & Sister Bullock, Mom/Dad, Jim/Nancy
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2009
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
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
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