Greetings family and friends.
Well, finally, it is official.!!!!!  We have a work permit to return to Zimbabwe for the next year.  Some of you are already aware of that, but not everyone.  Our intention at this point, is to be in Zimbabwe until December, 2017.  So, that means we will have to apply for an extension while we are there as our work permit has been granted for a one year period. But, we will take it one step at a time, trusting that God is in control.

We have just had some fabulous family time.  We went to Alberta for our great-granddaughter's (Yes, you read that right, our Great Granddaughter's) grade twelve graduation.  Destiney is 17 and not sure at this point exactly what she wants to do so is currently working as she decides. It was good to celebrate with her.

The trip was short and yet we managed to cram some visiting with friends in as well.  I even made a trip to Cold Lake.  Managed to spend a delightful evening with my friend AnnE, taking in an art class.  Such fun!!!!  AnnE, it was so good to spend some time with you and Joel. Likewise to all of those whom we were privileged to spend time with...it was indeed precious time and we have been blessed.

Following the graduation we rushed home for Christmas in July.  Glen's sister and her husband have hosted a Christmas in July celebration a number of times and they do it up great, complete with a visit from Santa.  Approximately 50 members of both Bette and Brian's family (and that includes us and our kids, grandkids, and greats) gathered for the weekend.  We had about a dozen at our house. such fun.  Most left this morning, except for our grandson, Joshua and his partner Chrystal who will spend another evening with us and leave tomorrow.

Next week we are expecting our nephew, Cody, to spend a bit of time with us and then the following week our missionary friends arrive for our reunion.

In between times I will be trying to decide what I can take with me to Zimbabwe.  I have two suitcases with their mouths wide open just waiting for me to feed them with all the things I will take back to Zimbabwe with me.  Decisions, decisions.  What to pack?

I will be leaving Canada heading to Zimbabwe on August 3rd.  Glen will be joining me later.
Please continue to pray for us and for the people of Zimbabwe.  Conditions continue to worsen and be very challenging for all the people in that country as well as many other African countries.

Again, we continue to trust God to direct our paths as we move forward.

Including just a few random pictures of what we are leaving and what we are going to.  Oh yes, I realize it is no longer winter in Canada...but one thing we don't have in Zimbabwe is  snow.  Amazing the similarities and how much, to me, our Canadian mule deer and the Zimbabwain Impala are alike.

My next blog should come from Zimbabwe.
Love and blessings to all.
Marj

Greetings family and friends
Time to blog once again and update everyone on where things are at for us.
Today, I have taken a huge step in faith and have just booked my flight back to Zimbabwe.  (Still waiting for my TEP (temporary Employment permit) but trusting God to work out the details of that). Please continue to pray for us.  We so appreciate all the support we have received...and yes, to those of you who ask if we are safe.  Just to reiterate...God called us to be there and He will protect us.

I will be flying out of Kelowna on August 3rd and will arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe on August 5th. Glen will be joining me at a later date.  We will have the same cottage we had previously in Harare and the truck is still available for us.

While here in Canada I have been privileged to share our Zimbabwe experiences with many and to do some fund raising for the Village of Hope orphanage and school for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe as well as simply spending time with family and friends.  Thank you to all who have assisted us in these endeavors.

It has been great to be home but it is now time to return to our other home.  The work God has called me to do there is not finished yet and so we are believing for time, health, grace and strength to complete that work.

So now that the date is confirmed, I can begin to do the packing and preparation.  What do I take? What can I take that will assist my friends and colleagues in that country?  How do we help?  We know that we can not possibly help everyone...but we can help in small ways and perhaps bring a sense of hope and encouragement to those whose lives we touch.

Library resources made available to our college by the combined efforts of Canada and the US are, I believe, on their way and perhaps have even arrived.  The last information I had indicated that the books were at customs just waiting to be released.  In addition to that I have received 1500 ebooks through Africa's Hope via contacts with the AOG (Assemblies of God) in the US.  I have taken those and copied (with permission, of course) nearly 80 copies to USB's and will take those with me to PACC (Pan Africa Christian College) library for use by our students.

So, in the midst of struggles, some good things are happening.  The economy is not good in Zimbabwe and getting worse but we continue to pray for better times ahead.

Heading to Alberta tomorrow to attend the graduation of our 17 year old great-granddaughter, Destiney.  Way to go, Destiney!!!!  We are so proud of you.  While in Alberta we will visit as many as possible as this will be the final trip for me before I leave.  Then on return from Alberta we will have our missionary friends here for a reunion.  Looking forward to that and to sharing our Zim stories and the like.  The Norries, from Ontario, have just returned from a one month trip to Zimbabwe and so will update us on the economy and changes since we came back to Canada in December.

No pictures for this time...but promise to be in touch soon.  Will try to blog once more before I return to Zimbabwe.

With much love and many blessings to all.

Marj

Hi out there to all you beautiful people.
It has been a long time since I blogged.  It seems as though much has happened and yet at the same time there is nothing earth shattering as far as our return to Zimbabwe goes and thus I have not blogged. We are still waiting our TEP (temporary employment permit).

As I write this blog, I am listening to Richard Chimbetete &D28.  Richard and his band are well known in Zimbabwe and listening to them makes me yearn to be back in Zimbabwe. (Even though I am enjoying being home in Canada and spending time with family and friends).  Richard is also closely connected with the Village of Hope community and has become a good friend.

And I know it has been way too long since I had blogged and so here goes to update all of you.  The months have flown by since we arrived home to Canada in December of 2015.  We have been busy traveling from Manitoba through to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and have thrown Texas in for good measure as we visited our son Geoffrey and his family there.  What a blessing to spend time with so many of our loved ones throughout the country.

I attended a CASC (Canadian Association for Spiritual Care) conference in Vancouver and was privileged to make a presentation at the conference in which I was able to share our Zimbabwe experience.  It was great to connect with so many friends and colleagues, people from all across Canada ,with whom I have worked and shared special friendships in so many ways.  I thank all of you for your support of our mission as well.

The Village of Hope orphanage and school for the underprivileged has a fund raiser from the sale of jewelry created from stones found on the grounds there.  The stones are tumbles and beautiful jewelry is created by a local artisan from Zimbabwe. Then to make a long story short (as the saying goes) we bring the jewelry back to Canada with us and sale it with the money going directly back to the village.  I have had so many opportunities to display the jewelry and share stories of both the Village of Hope and our College. I have been overwhelmed at the generosity and support of so many of you. Thank you; thank you; thank you.

I have stayed connected with my colleagues at our college in Zimbabwe through Skype and so the work continues.  Our library books (made available to us through generosity of both AOG and PAOC) will arrive at PACC on May 22nd.  I would love to have been there to be part of the celebration at receiving this wonderful gift but I will settle for knowing it will benefit our students beyond measure.
A digital library of approximately 1500 full text titles of books relevant to theological and biblical studies has also been made available to us and so I have been making USB copies to provide for our library at PACC.  some of those I have sent on with our friends and fellow missionaries, Gaye and Elizabeth Norrie, who are heading to Zimbabwe this Saturday.  I will then take copies with me, as well, when I return.  Indeed, we are richly blessed. On behalf of our college and so many people in Zimbabwe, I extend a huge thank you to all who are helping in so many ways.  Although the economic situation and the political situation keep getting worse in the country, we do what we can to help.  Indeed, sometimes it is overwhelming and I can only imagine what it is like for our friends and colleagues who live with that reality everyday of their lives.  And so we pray for God's intervention.

On a happier note, we have just returned from Mexico where we attended my niece Anessa's wedding.  Oh yes, it was Collin's wedding as well.  So often it seems we give all the attention to the bride and the groom gets rather sidelined.  Sorry, Collin!!  (Picture of Bride and Groom).  The wedding was on the beach.  It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple!

We had a fabulous week; got burned from too much sun and throughly enjoyed the break from routine.  One of the highlights for Glen and me was a very successful fishing trip, catching a 36 pound Wahoo...which we cooked up and served as an appetizer at the wedding reception.  Here's a picture of our fish! (and Glen).

Such fun!  Then we also enjoyed a golf game with the bride and groom a couple of days after the wedding.
While home in Canada I am once again a District approved counselor for the South Okanagan and so keeping busy with that and guest preaching at our home church and a couple of neighboring churches.

We expect the next few months to be busy with having family and friends visit us at our home here in the Sunny Okanagan.  We look forward to being at home and hosting those who come.  That will all be fodder for the next blog.

Well, that is a snapshot of what's happening for us (or not...in the case of our work permits) but it really is a time to wait and see...and pray!  We're doing lot's of that and we know God holds our future in His hands and will work out the details.

Love and blessings to all
Marj (and Glen)

January 28th, 2016
Greetings to all of you following my blog.  May each of you be richly blessed in 2016. 

My humblest apologies.  It has been way too long since I last blogged.  As all of you know we are now home in Canada and enjoying reconnecting with family and friends.  So here's the latest update.  We arrived home to Canada on December 5th with Bette and Brian (Glen's sister and her husband) meeting us at the airport in Kelowna. Thank you Bette and Brian for your willingness to come to the airport at that hour of the night/morning.  Much appreciated.

So much has happened in the short time we have been home.  And to think that last year we in December we were only home for a month.  Our time is quickly booking up with so many things we need/want to do while we are here.

At the moment our plan is to return to Zimbabwe end of July.  We are in process of getting the required documentation together to reapply for our TEPs. (Temporary Employment Permits).  I have to apply for a new passport as I have run out of pages on my current one.  It does make a neat souvenir to look back and reflect on all the parts of the world I have been privileged to travel to.  Yesterday we did the fingerprint thing at the RCMP and then applied for security checks.  Immigration want your entire life history, such as birth and marriage certificates, educational certificates, etc.,  We supplied all of that when we initially went so I'm not sure why we have to do it all again.  Perhaps they don't keep things like that on file once you have a permit.  So, we just jump through the hoops and once again, pull it all together.

At Christmas time we made a call and spoke to Makanaka (our sponsor child) and her family.  They were so excited to hear from us.

No serious problems at our home here at St. Andrews when we arrived home...unlike the last two trips home in which we experienced water problems and damage to our house.  Glen has finished all the repairs from last year.  Our son Sternie did a lot of the repair work from the water damage when he was with us last Christmas (thank you Sternie so much) but he was on college break and didn't have time to complete the work.  Now it is done.

Since being home we have made trips to Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as to Vancouver Island and other points in British Columbia.  It really was great to see so many of you and catch up on your lives as well.

I am still heading up the PACC (Pan Africa Christian College) team working towards accreditation.  It is not quite as convenient working from Canada but we are holding Skype meetings and that works quite well when they have electricity.  Wow!!! Isn't technology wonderful?  Well, most of the time...but it does offer some challenges and I am so glad to have IT people both in Zimbabwe and Canada who I can call on when my technology challenges present themselves and believe me they do that often.  Anyway our PACC team had a Skype meeting on Monday and with only a few hitches, we accomplished much.  JFYI, our Skype meeting was at 4:00 am my time which is 2:00 pm in Harare, Zimbabwe.

No promises, but I will try and blog monthly while I'm here in Canada as well to let all of you know what is happening in our lives.

Sorry, no pictures this time!

Love and Blessings
Marj

Final Post

Greetings to all our family and friends in Canada and the US
Thinking of all of you and looking forward to seeing many as we return to Canada very soon.  Our flights are booked for December 3rd.
I write this to all at this time with mixed feelings...not knowing what the future looks like for us here in Zimbabwe.  As I have shared in previous blogs, I have been asked to remain at the college for at least the next two years.  That is the desire expressed by both PACC (our college) and PAOZ (Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe) under whom the college operates.  However, Zimbabwe Immigration have the final say. And processes take time and everything seems to move very slowly in this country.
So, having said that, this is where things are at for us at this time.  PACC and PAOZ had requested a two year extension for us for our TEP (Temporary Work permit).  We have been advised that we can not get an extension but have to begin the process of applying for a TEP all over again as though we have never been in this country.  Albeit we have lived here in Zimbabwe for more than two years.  Most of our missionary friends have experienced similar difficulties with most being denied TEPs.
We need to be in Canada in order to apply as we now need to, once again, get Police clearances and supply all our relevant documentation once again.  That process will take time...anywhere from two to four months. With all of this we know it will be end of July, 2016 before we return to Zimbabwe.

(Update)...It is now October 29th.  Yesterday I went to immigration and we did manage to get a 30 day extension from the date our current TEP expires so we are now good to be in Zimbabwe until December 9th.  Our flights home to Canada are on December 3rd...so we are thrilled.  We thank God for every small miracle and trust him to work out the greater details as well. That means I will be able to complete the courses I am teaching this term, oversee my exams and be here for graduation. 
The closer it gets to our return to Canada the more excited we are getting.  It will be good to be home!  We know we will miss Zimbabwe but we remain hopeful that we will get our TEP and return in 2016.

Below I am attaching a couple of pictures of Maka.  As we somehow lost all the ones we had previously, Maka and her mom came to our home and Maka put on a private show for us in our front yard.  She is such a delightful child and I am constantly reminded of how much we miss our family, grandchildren and great grand children back in Canada and the US.

Time is passing quickly and we are making preparations for our departure. This coming week I will be hosting our APTEA team as we review the report that has granted us conditional endorsement and determine 'next steps'.
Then on Saturday we are hosting our faculty and spouses to a Braai.  I'm sure the month plus that we have left will fly by.  Perhaps before I send this off, I will include some pictures of our Braai.

Two days of 'work' meetings have come and gone.  Busy time with hosting the entire team all day...but great fun even though it was a work day.  Amidst the fun we accomplished a lot.  Trying to squeeze as much as possible in before we leave for Canada.  The latest is that I have agreed to, along with another of the PACC faculty, conduct an internal audit for the past four years.  Hopefully we will do that in the next couple of weeks. 

Glen just got another delivery trip for clients of our friends in Bulawayo.  Gives him a break from the routine of repairing desks and chairs for the college.  I think he has now replaced seats and backs on over 100 chairs and refurbished a couple of dozen desks.  He doesn't mind but needs the break of doing some of the things he thoroughly enjoys.  I so thank God that he is supportive and chooses to be with me as I respond to God's calling to come to Zimbabwe.

We have decided to try to fit in as many of the 'touristy' things as we can while we are here. Towards that end we travelled with our friends, the Norries, on Saturday to the Great Zimbabwe.  Great Zimbabwe is the remains of an ancient city and one of the places many local people tell us is a must.
We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and touring around the old ruins.  Here are a couple of pictures for you and just a bit of history.

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mitirikwe and the town of Masvingo.  It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's late iron age.
Great Zimbabwe has the largest collection of ruins in Africa South of the Sahara.

 

 

Well, my computer battery is dying and we do not have Zesa so I will close for now.  Might try to send one more blog before we leave on December 3rd for Canada.

 

With much love and many blessings to all

Marj

Better Late Than Never????

Greetings all
     I'm trusting that the saying in my heading is actually correct...and hoping that none of you have forgotten me as it has been such a long time since I blogged.
     The weather is absolutely wonderful.  It is my kind of weather with temperatures reaching 30 degrees during most days.  I love it; I love it; I love it!!!  Trees are in full bloom although rainy season is not here yet.  I'm attaching a couple of photos taken on our street and at the college.  The Jacarandas  are amongst my favorites.  The brilliant purples just remind me of wedding settings where flowers are scattered along the path for the bride and her entourage to enter.

     Hate to sound like a broken record, but the reality is it has been very busy here.  Busy with things such as having company and of course, classes and the like.  We were blessed to have Jaquie, a good friend from Nova Scotia (just recently having moved back to Canada from Houston), a good friend of hers (Jen) from Vancouver and Jacquie's sister, Sam and her husband Todd (newly weds) living in Halifax and just about to move to Toronto spend a couple of weeks with us.  It was such fun.    We had four guests and Glen and I all crowded into our little cottage.  We gave up our bedroom and the spare room and Glen and I moved into our living room for the duration.  Although we had the use of two vehicles when we travelled out of Harare, when we were around town we all crowded into one and a couple of us would crawl into the back of the truck and believe we were locals.  It is quite a common practice here although not something I've done since childhood days.  The first picture attached below is of Jacquie and I taking our turn riding in the back.  The second one is of Glen and our guests enjoying the evening meal at our camp site.  The group of us went to a place called Mana Pools (about a 6 hour drive) where our good friend Frick from Bulawayo guided us on game drives.  The picture is taken at the camp there at Mana Pools.  And then later Glen took our guests to Victoria Falls while I started back at the college.

     Our missionary friends from Ontario, who have lived in Zimbabwe for about three and one half years, returned to Zim last Thursday.  It is great to have them back and we are trying to cram as much fellowship in as we can as they are only here for a short two months.  So, the other night we went to a live performance at a local theatre here.  The play was a comedy titled "Where there's a Will..." and we all had a good laugh.  That was the first time any of us had done something like that here.
I'm also keeping busy helping Maka (our sponsor child) in numerous ways and we have them to our home quite often.  She is involved in talent competitions and is now doing singing, modeling, dancing and presenting.  It is quite an experience for many local children and it is about participation; not all about winning.  I had hoped to include a couple of pictures of Maka singing and modeling but my camera seems to have done something weird and has corrupted some of my pictures.  Isn't technology great????  Rather I think it is that I am still somewhat technologically challenged and I have no doubt it is because of something I have done.  Maybe my techy guy can help.  He usually does.
     This week we have been honored to have Canadian missionaries, currently, living in South Africa, spend a couple of days with us. Cecelia, Felix and their 16 month old daughter Hanna are visiting family and friends here in Zimbabwe.  It has been lovely to meet them and host them here at our cottage.
     We still have no idea of what the future holds for us here in Zimbabwe.  I am busy trying to get everything arranged just is case we do not get an extension on our work permit and have to leave the country before this college term ends.
     We are so looking forward to returning to Canada again at Christmas time and hopefully (prayerfully) by that time we will have some answers as to whether or not we will be returning to Zimbabwe.  Part of the planning for 'whatever' is making arrangements as to how I can assist the college from Canada.  Technology does allow for such things and while that is not necessarily what I would prefer; it can be a workable solution.  I see myself still being able to act as an advisor and assist in the process of accreditation, along with other possibilities as to how we, as a college, move forward even in these difficult, challenging economic times.
     I think I will call it quits for now and go and pick some mulberries and perhaps make a mulberry crisp. (If our electricity comes back on at some point this evening.  We now are without electricity most of the time.  It usually goes off about five am and returns about 9-10 pm.  Thank heavens for our generator to at least charge our phones and my computer.  We have a gas two burner stove so cook on that.  I prefer gas to electricity anyway and that is even what I have (propane) at home in BC.
     So, enough said for now. 
     Sending much love and blessings to all.
     Marj
    

Greetings to my family and friends in Canada and U.S.

Humblest apologies.  I promised in my last blog to send a further one before the end of the month.  (I began to write this blog on August 1st but then decided to postpone writing hoping I would have some news to share regarding some important decisions on our part and the part of both our college and our denomination.)  However, this is Africa and the wheels of progress move very slowly at times.  So, I must send of a blog and keep all of you in the loop.  "What loop?"  you might very well ask.  Well, I'm not sure.  The only thing I know for sure is that God is in charge and I trust that His Will ultimately will be done and we will be where He wants us to be.  

Having said all that, and I trust that maybe by now you are a little confused and a little curious and I promise you that if that is so, then we will all be on the same page.

Perhaps I'll add some clarity...and then again, perhaps not.  But here goes!

July was a very busy month.  The accreditation team came for a site-visit and spent two full days touring our college, interviewing people and reviewing all our files and documents.  It was truly a learning experience for us all.  Many meetings and a couple of dinners/suppers later; we discovered that we had all survived and lived to tell the tale.

Inserted here is a picture of the site-team and our self-study/accreditation team taken outside our academic Dean's office.  The three member site-team included APTEA members from the US, south Africa and Malawi.  We will continue work with them as the journey continues.

Their report should be available to us in the next week or two.  (It is now August 16th and we are still waiting) I expect we will be endorsed rather than accredited at this point in time but even that is a huge step forward for our college; especially in the very difficult economic times here in Zimbabwe.  The site-team were impressed with many things at our college and yet we know we have much work that needs to be done.  One of the areas that we definitely need to improve is the area of our library.  Our books are very old and text books are non-existent for some of our courses.  That is an area that we will definitely be exploring all possibilities.
(Update from original writing) - Praise God...we have been informed that a theological College in the US has just closed and their entire library is available for us. Now it is a matter of getting the books shipped to us here in Harare.  Thanks to the PAOC and a personal thank you to Dr. Carl Gibbs for getting access to the library and Rev. Steve Chaloner and the PAOC we are almost certain that a way will be found for this to happen.  Again, we praise God!  What a bonus this will be to our college and we are so grateful.
Much is happening!  Renovations are taken place, thanks to the TAC (turn-around-committee) and the fund raising efforts they have made on our behalf.  Jeff and Rebecca Smith (from the US) are living on campus and doing and directing much of the on-the-ground work.  They are currently home in the US fund-raising and will return to Zim in November to continue the renovation work they have begun through the TAC team.  To date the kitchen and dining room have been renovated, bathrooms and student dorms are in process of renovations, and the library and the chapel are on the list to be given face lifts.  We indeed are in transition at our college.  It is an exciting time in the midst of economic difficulties.

We could not do it alone. We thank all of you for your part, whether supporting us (PACC - Pan Africa Christian College) in thought and prayer or financially, we so appreciate each and everyone of you.  Please continue to pray that as we are faithful to teach the Word of God and train up men and women to spread the gospel, that He will continue to meet the needs of our staff and students. Scripture tells us that His grace is sufficient for all our needs and we are trusting in His Word.

As I've shared in a previous blog, I chaired our college self-study accreditation team.  I will continue to work with the college as we move forward to strengthen our college as we continue to train men and women to enter the ministry in various roles.  With today's technology it is amazing how one can work from afar and still remain part of the team. And o, whether I am here in Zimbabwe or back in Canada I will continue to be part of the team.

As you know, our work permit was denied and then extended for a few short months.  Currently that permit expires November 9th and we will seek an extension to Dec. 3rd which is when our plane leaves for Canada.  However, I was officially asked yesterday if I would consider taking on the role of principal.  It would be for an interim period (not sure what that looks like at this point in time) but with today's technology there is the possibility that I would not have to be on the ground here in Zimbabwe all the time.  Now that excites me.  Perhaps I could have the best of both worlds...living in Canada part of the year and in Zimbabwe part of the year. 

That might be possible because I would be mentoring a Zimbabwain local who would work along side me training to take on that role down the road.  Also, our college is seriously talking of changing from the current three term system that we have to adopting a semester system.  We have two days of workshops this week in which we will be discussing many of those things.  If we adopted the semester system our Canadian Universities/colleges use then I could be here for eight months - being September through April and then be in Canada from May through to August.  That would seem about perfect to me.  One of the major determining factors would be getting a work permit for the next two years.  

Here are a couple of pictures inserted to break the monotony of my longwinded monologue.

The first picture is of a little boy sitting on a log, just at the corner of our street, while he waited for his mom to get water from the community bore-well.
The second is; from left to right, our Academic Dean, Joseph Mufema, our Dean of Students, Felix Bondayi, and then our Principal, Bruce Mugavagava.

Well that must be enough of a ramble for now.  I think I may have repeated myself a bit, as I've written on three different days.  However, my computer battery is dying and I better send this off and then recharge before we loose ZESA...plus Glen almost has supper ready.  Yes, he does that quite often.  After forty plus years of marriage, I think I'll keep him around.

With much love and blessings to all.
Marj