Greetings to all my family and friends in both Canada and the US and anywhere else people might be following my blog.

Indeed, it has been a long time since I have posted to my blog.  Well, after 8 months home in Canada, I am now back on the African continent.  I am currently in Nairobi, Kenya where I have attended an APTEA (Association for Pentecostal Theological Education in Africa)  Conference with educators from all over the continent in attendance.  It was a great time of sharing experiences and learning from one another in the process.

The Principal, the AQcademic Dean and the Dean of Students from our college, Paqn Africa Christian College in Harare, Zimbabwe were attendees of the conference as well.  Am attaching here a picture of the four of us.  And no, I am not taller than the rest of them.  Just for laughs, I stood up on a railing behind them.

I believe I shared previously that PACC Academic Dean and I had written a text book on Writing qnd Research.  The book was presented to each of the educators in attendance...about 250 persons.  Both of us also received Level Three Teacher Training Certification.  Below is a picture of the two of us.  Publishing our book was part of the process towards certification and although the process was long (three years from start to finish) it was very rewarding to have worked as a team on this project..    

I have been invited to attend a three day Gradute School Seminar following the APTEA Conference.  It is now, as I write, the second day of that seminar and always there is so much to learn as we share together.  There are representatives from 14 countries in attendance.

Timorrow I will be lesving Kenya and traveling on to Harare where I will spend the next month teaching intensive block course to students at our college there.  I will also then teach 'Teacher Training' to a group of leaders from the Assemblies of God.  Arrangements for this have been/ are being made through AoG missionaries from the US who live in Zimbabwe.  

Will post pictures with my next blog, but just wanted to send a brief up-date and share my excitement in being back on the African Continent.

I am excited to join, once again, with family (adopted) and friends and colleagues in Harare.

Will post this brief blog just now and hopefully be in touch again soon.

Love and blessings to all.

Marj

Maka

 Greetings my family and friends

Happy Easter to all.

Surprise.  I know it has not been long since I posted but just felt today as though I needed to share.  I walked out simply to go to my office and an eery silence struck me.  The college is earily silent.  Yesterday our grads had their end of term party.

The government has forced shutdown of all schools, colleges and other institutions.  And no, it is not due to Covid.  The government has called for a country wide sensus and all citizens are to go to their respective homes.  This means our college is litterally shut-down as all our boarders had to leave.   This was sudden and we had to change our schedules to accomodate the order.  As a result, our semester had to be shortened, classes crammed in and our exam dates moved up.  Wednesday was our last 'special chapel' with the entire on-site student body.  I was privieged to lead a communion service.  Pictured below is the on-site student body along with staff present for the sevice.

So, on-site classes are now finished and it is strangely quiet.

Good news...our young sponsor girl, who now is not so young as she is eighteen.  Time has indeed passed quickly.  Maka was in grae four, if memory serves me correctly and now she has just gotten confirmation that she has passed her 'O' level course...equivelant to our grade 12. We are so proud of her!  Maka, her mom Linda and her borther Panashe are coming to spend Monday with me and we will celebrate her accomplishment by going out for dinner to one of her favorite places.

Today is Good Friday and I chose not to go to the Easter Conference and instead spent the day marking exams from yesterday.  

I did attend the Easter conference on Saturday and Sunday.  The conference was certainly a time of renewal and celebration of all that Easter represents for us in the Christian Community.  But, alas, sadness struck and just as the conference ended a young 1-1/2 year old boy was run over in the parking lot and killed.  How sad for both families involved; and indeed for the entire PAOZ family.  I attended the burial.  It was a rainy day and it seemed as though God was weeping with us all.  I have been doing some grief counselling as the community struggles to deal with the tradegy.

May 6th, 2022.  Well, another couple of weeks have passed and perhaps I should finish this blog.  It has been a busy time with final exams and marking papers and the like.  I finished marking for the semester and then took a break and went to Bulawayo to spend a few days with our friends, the Mullers. It was a welome break.

Since I last wrote, Makanaka has been accepted into nurse-aid training with the Red Cross.  That will give her a taste of nursing and then it is her goal to enter registered nursing.  Indeed, we are so proud of her!.

Inserting here a picture of her when we first met her and a picture of the beautiful young lady she has grown to be.

    

We have two graduations upcoming.  Our PACC grad on-site will be on the 21st, and then we will travel to Kwekwe for our Distance Ed certificate graduation the following weekend.  Will try to blog following those events and post some pictures.

I'll sign off here.  Will be in touch before I return to Canada. Blessings to all who are following my blog.

Marj

 Greetings to all my family and friends back in Canada and the US.

Wow!  Already more than a week has past since I arrived here at PACC in Zimbabwe. 

I can hardly believe it has actually happened and that  amidst all the chaos in the world, I am nowhere on the other side of the world.  The trip was rather lengthy but I arrived here with no huge obstacles.  I left my Canadian home on March 27th to travel to nearby Kelown to accomodate the requirement of Covid-testing at a costly price tag of $350.00.  Ouch, that hurt, but you do what you have to do to accomplish the goal.  

Prior to leaving for Zimbabwe, we, Glen and I managed to join our dear friends, Bob and Bernice Kurtz for lunch and the opportunity to remenise our joint expereinces in Zimbwe. It is always such a joy to share our experiences with friends who have lso been there and done that. 

Glen and I then stayed overnight in Kelowna as my flight was 6:00 am on 28th and so allowing for the three hour post-flight requirement meant I had to be at the airport at 3 am.  Arrived at the airport only to discover that my Alaskan Air fight was cancelled.  Dilema...what to do??? I have a connecting flight out of Seattle and then another connection out of Doha.  It is now 3:30 am and I know my travel agent will not be available at this hour of the morning so I contact Alaskan Air direct.  they were very helpful and booked me on Air Canada; same time but with an exta leg including Vancouver.  With long layovers in both Seattle and Doha, I finally arrived at Robert |Mugabe Airport in Harare on March 30th at 12:00 noon.  All in all, other than the 3 day journey, there were no obstacles.  I thank God for computer and internet connections at the airports and on planes these days.  It certainly helps one to pass the waiting time.  

On arrival I was met by PACC principal Rev. Munaki and his wife Charity who have become good friends. It has been awesome to reconnect with the many friends we have made over the years and with  my colleagues here in Zimbabwe. 

One hour after my arrival I was already sitting in a BOA meeting amd then teaching an inperson class the very next morning.  No time for jet lag and I am grateful that I don't normlly suffer much from that aspect of travel.

The transition from on-line teaching to in-person is a rewarding experience.  Although on-line teaching has certainly provided an important alternative, especially during Covid-19 shut-downs and restrictions, I appreciate the face to face contacts with my students.

I am still living on campus but in a different place from before.  I am now in a little guest house and having a bit of reno work completed for comfort sake.  Simple things like having the shower fixed and a bit of clean-up and painting. 

Am attaching here a couple of pictures of the grounds here at our college.  The rains have cetainly made everything green and beautiful.  We will be having grad in May and once again it will be outdoors.  the grounds crew under the direction of my dear friend Nellice, are already beginning to prepare the grounds for that event.  The first picture below is of the creativity of Nellice and the second one is just the beauty of our surroundings.

All is well and I look forward to the rest of the journey ahead and the opportunities for further teaching and ministry.

I will try to send further updates by month's end.

Blessings to all.   

 Wow!! Indeed, it has been a while since my last blog.  Covid-19 has changed how we do things.  I have been home in Canada since June 2021 and now am looking forward to returning to Zimbabwe...God willing!

While home here in British Columbia, I have been busy teaching on-line.  Courses for the 2nd semester for 2021 have just wrapped up with PACC (Pan Africa Christian College) and all papers and exams marked.  On-line has been necessitated because of Covid for Africa just as it has been around the world.  This has been a learning curve for me, as I'm sure it has been for many.  It certainly has allowed our students to continue their studies, but in all honesty, I much prefer being on site, and interacting in person with my students.

2021 has been a challenging year for British Columbia.  Fires, floods, mud and rock slides have all been disastrous for many in our province and in many places around the world.  We, here in the South Okanagan have definitely been among the fortunate as other than roads all around us being closed, we have escaped all the disasters, including Covid-19.

Next week starts our new semester at PACC and I will be facilitating three courses.  I will begin those on-line and, hopefully, will switch to in-person when I arrive back in Zimbabwe.  My plan, God williong, is to leave Canada the end of March and be in Zimbabwe only for two months this time.  While I am there I will continue to completion the three courses started on-line in Canada, attend a graduation and offer two teacher training courses to teachers and potential teachers from both the AOG  (Assemblies of God) and the PAOZ (Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbawe).  That is the plan and we'll see how things unfold. 

I have kept fairly busy while home here in British Columbia.  I do some counselling in the capacity of 'District Approved Counsellor' and some guest preaching, in connection with a number of the churches in our district.  As well, I am involved with METP which is a ministry essentials training program offering training to people in remote areas who do not have the opportunity to attend theological colleges. My role is to review all course material with a view to constantly update and improve how we do things.  It is an exciting new challenge!  

Covid-19 has certqainly restricted what we do and how we do things.  It has been two years since we have seen our son and his family in Texas.  Glen and I have tickets booked to travel to spend a week with them beginning of February.  

I so appreciate the prayers and support of so many family and friends as I travel to the mission fields of Zimbabwe.  Indeed, that is my second home and I look forward to returning there.  Although I am in constant touch with colleagues and friends there, being physically on the ground is so much better.

Till the next time, and trusting that I still have some readers out there where-ever.

Blessings to all.

Marj

 

May 16th. 2021

Once again, greetings to my family and friends in Canada and the US.  This may be my final blog from this side of the world before I return to Canadian soil.. My return to Canada begins on June 7th.  I will then, unless things change rapidly, have to spend 3 days in quarantine in a govenment approved hotel in Toronto which is my first point of entry into Canada.  Sadly, the way things are at the moment I have to pay for the hotel, three meals a day (which I'm sure I won't eat...I never eat three meals a day, and certainly not from menues chosen by someone else).  However, I do need to come home so guess I'll have to abide by the rules.  Even if I don't agree with them.!!!!  I did enquire to see if it was possible to only pay for the hotel room but that is not allowed.  If I had my druthers, I would prefer just to fast for three days, or order room delivery from a local restaurant to be able to order what I would like. Not allowed.  I guess our Government wants our money.  But, enough complaining.  It will be good to get home, whatever it takes.  I am keeping informed on changes regarding Covid-19 restrictions and the like, both online, through my travel agent and of course my hubbie keeps me informed on a regular basis.

Time has passed very quickly and I have been busy teaching and marking papers.  Classes ended end of April and we celebrated graduation (the first in three years) which was an awesome event.  I'm inserting a couple of pictures here.  The first picture is of our grads just as they prepared for the grad exercises.

The next couple are of the grad ceremonies.  The entire graduation, including the exercises and the grad banquet, was held outside.    Each of our grads was presented with a study Bible, along with their certificate, as they begin their ministry in the various areas throughout the country.  

Here is a photo of yours truly with one of our grads and his pastor.

Amidst all the celebrating and enjoying such a fabulous week here at PACC, there are always the reminders of the situation on the ground here in the midst of poverty and the struggles of our people.  Yesterday as Rev. Munaki (our principal), his wife Charity and I were running errors around town we drove through Mbare, one of the high density areas of the city.  Although we are not supposed to, I took a few pictures so I could share with all of you the reality of life here in Harare for so many people.  Below is a picture of the street market and this gives you an idea of how many people try to eek out a living. These street markets, as they are called, line the streets in many areas.   

Indeed, each day is a combination of joy and sadness.  It grieves my heart to see the struggles of the general population here.  The sadness comes in knowing that it is all so unnecessary.  Zimbabwe has all the resources to enable it to be a prosperous country.  Sadly the corruption runs deep.  The few at the top enjoy the rewards earned on the backs of the struggling majority.  I met a young man at church today who had been severly beaten by his landlord because he could not pay his rent.  Reality can be tough.

My joy comes in watching the young men and women graduate and knowing that I have been privileged to play a small part in their lives as I have journeyed with them through their studies.  It comes in seeing people who hold onto faith, they hold onto their trust in God and a hope for the future.  They prayer for their country, for their leadership and for God to intervene on their behalf.

As I prepare to return to Canada, I know that a piece of my heart will remain here in Zimbabwe with the people I have come to love.  

On that note I will close this blog.  I hope you hear my heart and I solicite your prayers for all of my 'family' and friends here at PACC (Pan Africa Christian College) and throughout this beautiful country of Zimbabwe. 

Sending hugs to all.

Marj

 March 23rd, 2021.

Greetings all you beautiful people out there.  Have been meaning to wrote for some time but time seems to have slipped through my fingers.  I can hardly believe how long it has been since I last wrote. My time here in Zimbabwe is already half over and June 6th I will be leaving to return to Canada.  I'm praying and ask for your prayers that things have settled somewhat with Covid-19 and I won't encounter any problems returning that side.

Things have been crazy busy here at PACC.  I am teaching six online classes.  Two of my first year classes  have 70 people in them.  So the majority of my time is spent teaching and marking papers.  I calculated out that by the end of our semester I will have marked over 500 papers. 

The Principal, Academic Dean, Dean of Students and I journeyed to Kwekwe (about 3 1/2 to 4 hours drive, depending on the potholes and the like) for a weekend of inperson intensive training.  This particular group of students are first year students and are enrolled in five courses.  We taught segments of all five courses beginning Friday evening and then all day Saturday.  We were blessed to join them for a prayer rally Saturday night and then join their Sunday services before being hosted for lunch and then the drive back to Harare.  

It was great to meet so many of our students who, up to this point, had just been online.  The pictures below are just some of those who were still around as we were about to leave to return to Harare.

Pastor Tich, our Academic Dean (Center in the above picture with brown and white shirt on) and I have just completed writing a text book for writing and research  and our manuscript is now in the hands of a local printer who is doing the formatting and layout.  The next step is to send off to the publisher.  Yippee. It is done!!!!  We started work on this project just over a year ago.  We are currently teaching a writing and rsearch course and our text is the official text book.  Our students are invited to give us their feedback on the user friendly aspects of the text.  All of this is part of a process in which both Pastor Tich and I will be certified as level three (highest level) teaching supervisors with  the Association for Pentecostal Theological Education in Africa (APTEA).  I have been facilitating teacher training with this group for the past five years or so and so it feels good to now be certified at the highest level.

Schools resumed for most students this past week and we, Gken and I, were able to get our young Malanaka enrolled in a boarding school near where her family live.  It was an exciting time as she, like so many students had been out of school for most of the past year.  Studnts weat uniforms at most of the schools here.  When we first met Makanaka, she was in grade four and now she is in grade eleven or form four as it is called here.  

At our college we will be finishing the semester with on-line courses.  We are planning a graduation the beginning of May and praying that things remain open for us to be able to do that.

The economy in Zimbabwe continues to be a challenge for the majority of people in this country.  With the lockdowns due to Covid-19 the challenges have increased...and I realize that is the same for much of the world.  On the positive side, the rains have come this year, after three plus years of draught.  The grounds are beautifully green and the weather is great.  

Enough of my ramble for now.  Blessings to all.

Marj

  

 Greetings to all you beautiful people in Canada and the US.  

 Wow...lockdown in Zimbabwe!!!  Lockdown in the world!!!  Life has certainly changed over the past year.  The 2nd lockdown here in Zimbabwe came into effect while I was intransit on my way to Zimbabwe and against some advice to turn around in Toronto and return to British Columbia, I really felt to carry on.  So with a negative Covid-19 test in hand, I boarded Ethiopian air, had a brief stop in Addis, Ethiopia and then on to Harare.  Clearing customs at the airport was uneventful and then suddenly here I was, halfway across the world in Africa.  Weather is beautiful and warm.  Perfect for me.  I looove the heat!

I arrived on Wednesday and it is now Sunday morning...nearing noon here in Zimbabwe.  We have just finished our 'family worship service' which I hosted at my home.  Home services are allowed with your family unit. Rev. Munaki (principal of our college) lives just across the way from me on on campus, and has kindly invited me to be part of their family circle.  The circle includes Charity, Munaki's wife, his sister Tendai and her young daughter Hazel, and Munaki's two teenage boys.  We are studying through a serious on evangelism, what that means to each of us, and how we do evangelism.  In the midst of lockdown it is good to have others to get together with in prayer and discuss biblical concepts.  I am truly blessed.🙏🙏

Week two...Last week was a difficult week in some ways.  At that time I did not have transportation, as my truck was not on site, but was in Mutare, a neighboring city, undergoing repair.  Although there's really no place to go anyway.😢😢.  I woke up one morning to a feeling of being trapped.  We were on lockdown, I was without transportation and I was half a world away from the comfort of my home in Canada.  It was a strange feeling but one which I had to acknowledge and work through.  I did this by simply walking around the campus, spending time in the prsesence of God and giving thanks for the many blessings I enjoy...the most important at this point in time is that I am healthy.  I have travelled halfway around the world amidst lack of social distancing in airports and yet am protected.  I am so privileged to be able to call home through WhattsApp and as I do that, my feelings of loneliness disipate.  I am connected and all is good. 👌

Later.  I'm busy with class prep and just needing a break from educational things so thought I'd ramble a bit on my blog.  Thinking of all my family and friends back in Canada.  Even though we are doing our classes online, it has been a busy time.  I think, in many ways, it is more work teaching online than it is in the actual classroom.  There are numerous challenges, not only for our students, but also for us as lecturers.  It is truly a learning experience.  Hey, I guess that means one is never too old to learn.  😂😂😂 

We have had a lot of rain here lately.  A couple of storms have left us without power.  But on the positive side, we are not without power on a regular basis as in the past.  Also there are no fuel lineups and fuel is readily available.  The rain has left everything beautifully green.  Attaching here a couple of pictures showing firstly the beautiful night sky of the impending storm and then simply the beauty all around us here after the rains.

    

Both of those pictures are taken just outside my house.  

Well, break time is over.  Must get back to responding to my students.  Will finish this off later.  

Now is later.  It is now February 7th and I have now been in Zimbabwe for more than one month.  So, I thought I'd best add a few more lines and send this out so all of you know I am still alive and well.  Ignore what I said earlier about electricity not being as challenging as in the past.  It is now an ongoing challenge.  It almost seems to be off more than it is on.  Such is live and as my mother used to say "you just make do".  

We have just had 54 students added to our first year classes.  As a way of connecting on WhatsApp and getting to know my students remotely, I am having each one post a picture of themselves and a brief bio.   I now have six classes.  Two days a weeek I am teaching from 5:30 -7:30 in the morning and then 4 days a week from 9:00 to 11:00 but of course am available at other hours.  It certainly is a different way of teaching but we make the most of it to redeem the time.  (That's an expression borrowed from one of my bible college professors long back).

Big news.  I just went and got a hair cut today.  Chico, the barber who I went to in the past when I was here. is now doing home visits.  I was first introduced to him by my dear friend Nellice as that is who cuts her hair.  So he was going to her home to cut her hair and she phoned me to let me know.  Wow, that was a biggee!.  I'm sure some of you can relate in not being able to go to hair dressers and the like.  It sure felt good.  As I said, life has changed.  Things we have in the past, taken for granted have now become almost a gift.

Well, my rambling has come to an end.  I must prepare for tomorrows classes.  So, until next time, blessings to all.

Marj