Zimbabwebound

I have the best family in the world & am finding it hard to leave them behind & go on our adventure.  My older brother Robert & I were 12 & 10 when our sister Kirsten was borne.  I have always loved babies so I thought this was fantastic, being able to help feed & change her.  A year & a half later mum & dad (Toni & Shane) told us that we were getting another two babies.  Stuart & Megan were so keen to be with our family that they came 10 week early.  I was in heaven! Three babies!  A lot of time was taken up with hospital visits as they were only around 3lbs borne.  Stuart had a lot of problems right from the start & mum was told that he may not make it.  Pleased to report everyone is doing well.  Stuart has a disability called FG Syndrome, this means that everything he has ever learned has been a huge struggle & if it weren’t for mum & dads dedication he would not be where he is today.  He can now walk & talk, Feed & dress himself (with a bit of prompting).  He attends a special school where he has been able to develop even further.A few years down the track & my brother Robert & his now fiancée Lorissa has a son Scott.  One of my uncles was hanging around our house a bit more than usual & seemed to have this guy Andrew with him all the time.
I had been getting into trouble at home & at school – for not being at school. As punishment mum sent me along with my Nana to help out at Boys Brigade where she was a leader of Anchor Boys.  This guy Andrew also happened to be a leader there. 
So it turns out that three & a half years later he gets down on one knee.  I was only 17 & still at school but I knew it was right & my parents were very supportive & loved him.
We got married on my 18th birthday & the next day hopped on a plane to Ayres Rock Resort to work for a year.
That move was the best thing for us & it has defiantly made us a stronger couple, as I was tempted every day to jump back on a plane & head back to Brisbane to be with my family, I was so homesick.  But I now know that this has prepared me for being away from them & going to Africa.

We moved back to Brisbane & our lives have been pretty ‘normal’ since then, getting jobs, cars & a house.
Somewhere in the next couple of years we went back to church & somehow I became a Christian.  I just started to realize I liked all of the things I had been hearing since I was 14 & helping out at Boys Brigade. 
Andrew mentioned to me one day that he felt God was bringing his attention to Zimbabwe.  It was a bit weird, but I knew something was up because I very open to the idea (very strange for someone who can’t bear to be away from their family).

In March ’06 we went over to Zimbabwe & loved every minute.  We were so sad & depressed to leave our new friends in Africa that we knew right then that we would be back.