Zimbabwebound

Things are definitely changing in Zim with business’s now being able to register to accept foreign dollars instead of Zim cash; even government departments are able to charge in forex.  It makes things easier to purchase but also the prices are continuing to sky-rocket with some stores charge more than 5 times the price of what you could get the same item for in Botswana or South Africa.

The telecommunication provider is also charging in forex and prices are extremely high.  For dial up internet alone it cost 9 us cents per minute you are connected.  This means that if Jodi and I use the internet for 30 mins per day, 7 days per week in a month we will be charged close to 85 USD just for dialling up the ISP.  This is going to make blogging very expensive … Not to worry though; I will try my best to keep you all informed on what is happening over here (but there may not be as many pictures).

On Tuesday, Jodi and I set out again to go to Francis Town (in Botswana).  The last time we made this treacherous journey we waited in line on the Botswana side for close to 4 hours just to pay for the road access fee; the time before that I think we were there for about 2 hours … let me tell you this … we were not looking forward to this journey.  We arrived at the Zim border post at about 11 am to find only a few people meandering around the place; 5 minutes later we were on our way to the Bots border post.  To our disbelief (and utter joy) there were few people on the Bots border post too … ohhh my goodness … the whole border crossing to less than 30 mins.  This was definitely a good day!!!!

I don’t know the best way to tell you this so I am just going to come out and say it … Jodi is Pregnant.  Yes you have read correctly … Jodi is now 19 weeks pregnant and is starting to show (even though she doesn’t like to admit the growing belly).  I thought she would be bigger by now but it is only a little bumb.  It took a long time and many wardrobe changes to take a picture that actually showed her “little bump”.

 Now that Jodi is pregnant we have had to make some pretty big choices about where we are going and what we are doing.  At this stage we both feel like we should be heading back to Australia to have the little one.  This time back in OZ will be a great chance to reflect on Zimbabwe and where we feel God leading us in the furture.  We both have a passion for Zim but we are unsure on what steps we are to take next.

So what does this mean … well, Jodi is heading back to Brisbane at the end of March and I am heading back in June BUT I have a HUGE amount of things to do before I venture back and I do need your help with some of them.  Stay tuned for more info on how you can chip in on a few of the projects that need to be completed.