Friday Featured Etsy Shop - Africa Baby Company

{quilts and blankets}

Y'all, I am so excited about this fresh new shop on Etsy. It's been in the works since May, but The Africa Baby Company has finally opened this week and I am thrilled to pieces. Not only because the products are unique, adorable and affordable, but because this shop supports a worthy cause. Kayle* and Eloise began this project in hopes of making a difference with the problems of poverty in Zimbabwe. They've hired three women who make most of the Africa Baby Company's products.

"By purchasing one of our baby items, you are personally supporting and empowering the lives of these women by giving them a job, a sense of dignity, a hope and a future!"

Owners Kayle and Eloise have worked so hard to build this small business and now, it's available to anyone online. So exciting!!

Africa Baby Company has various African patterns  to choose from  (animals, mamas and mini-buses!). The color combinations are endless!

{Travel Diaper Changing Mats}

{Hooded Bath Towels}

{Bibs and Burp Cloths}

I usually don't spend big money on fancy things for my kids, but this is worth it! I also love finding unique gifts for expecting friends. If you're like me and you want your shower present to be the talk of the town, please consider supporting the lives of these talented Zimbabwean ladies as you also celebrate new life.

*I met Kayle during our 6 week internship in Zimbabwe last summer. She and I immediately hit it off and I enjoyed getting to know her adorable family during that time. I can vouch for these items as I've personally seen their sewing room, materials and finished products. Seriously y'all, it's the real deal and you need to get in on this cute baby action!

Brothers

I love that both my baby boys have had the amazing experience of bathing outdoors in Africa. So sweet!

City Presby

Dan preached on our last Sunday in Zim at City Presbyterian Church (formerly known as Bulawayo Presbyterian). I missed most of the sermon trying to keep Lazzy quiet and have a short nap in the sling, but I know that the congregation appreciated his message and especially his greetings from New City Fellowship (NCF) in St. Louis. City Presbyterian has recently gone through big changes as it used to be a non-denominational church but is now proclaiming to be Reformed Presbyterian.

We were able to meet with the pastor and his family for tea on Monday and hear their story of transition. They are still working through a lot of issues, mainly discipling the congregation and leading them to a greater understanding of what it means to be Presbyterian. They have officially connected with NCF and are excited to welcome a team from there in February. We were thankful to connect, encourage and be encouraged by our brothers and sisters in our denomination across the globe and are excited to grow in our relationship with City Pres.

Elijah loved going to the big kid Sunday school class. He's proved himself ready to move up to the 3-4 yr old class at our church.

The Matopos

For our last weekend in Zim, the team spent a night camping in the Motopos Mountains. It's similar to Moab State Park in Utah with balancing rocks and rocky hillsides, just the African version.

We drove down a very bumpy dirt road for about an hour until it stopped. Literally, the road stopped right in front of a steep rock. We kept driving. (the rock begins just where the shadow is in the picture below)

At the top of the rock, there were a few little cottages built into the gigantic rock with views to die for.

We all enjoyed the sunset, a long and late chat around the campfire, the bright stars bright enough to cast perfectly crisp shadows and a 5am sunrise.

On Saturday, the team went for a long hike while Lazzy and I stayed behind to nap. Dan captured some pretty cool pictures of cave drawings believed to be over 2000 years old. The drawings depicted bushmen and the much taller Bantu people who came up from South Africa. No one knows exactly who did the drawings. Pretty amazing stuff.

I felt a bit sentimental as we drove away from our retreat, knowing it was our last weekend in Zimbabwe. I have so enjoyed our getaways here. We saw more of Zimbabwe in 6 weeks than we ever saw of Malawi in two years! I am so thankful we were able to experience so much of Africa this time around. It's just confirmed for me how much I really love that place.

Back in the States!

Since Friday morning:

4 airports

3 flights

Countless lines

5 in flight movies

20 minutes of sleep

36+ hours travel time

I am sitting on my couch with my feet on the coffee table, Lazzy in bed and Dan and Eli playing trains. We are home. Our flight from Johannesburg left an hour late which then put us on a downward spiral once in D.C. We missed our connection and all other flights to St. Louis were booked until the 21st. Ha. Yeah right.

We sat in lines for hours, prayed and managed to grab some standby seats on a flight this evening. Praise God!! Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We really really needed them. It was such a tough time, but we got through it.

Our Zim stories are not quite over, yet. We didn't have internet during our last week in Bulawayo so I have a few more topics to post on before officially wrapping up our time in Africa. For now, I am just thankful to be home!

We leave on Friday and I am not ready! I don't really like who I am in America...addicted to the internet and Target, a mom who grumbles when her adorable little baby wakes up from his nap, the woman who signs up for too much at the expense of her children...there's too much to do and I lack the discipline to say "no" when I should.

Actually, before we left, I stepped down from my nursery coordinator position at the church, so my schedule should be a little lighter. I just really want to hold onto these last few evenings spent on the stoop with my children and their father, all together in one place with no where to go.

My goals for after we return are to have fun with City Thistle, become a doula (more on that later) and only be on the internet when the kids are not around. We'll see if I can do it!

Meet Rosie and Flyway

The house we are staying in has recently been bought by the private school across the street. The previous owners lived many years in that house and had a full time maid and gardener, Rosie and Flyway. Actually, I learned today that Rosie's mother Mary used to work as the maid before Rosie took over.

Anyways, the private school kept Rosie and Flyway as the house managers and so we have been enjoying their company since our arrival. Rosie helps with the cleaning, dishes and laundry and Flyway takes care of everything else. Elijah has completely adopted Flyway as his new best friend. It is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

Each morning, Eljiah wakes up asking if Rosie and Flyway have come yet. He scarfs down breakfast just in time to join Flyway in the garden. One morning, I went outside calling Elijah to come in for a snack but he was no where to be found. Apparently, he had gone across the street with Flyway to get the lawnmower from the school. In his pajamas. Barefoot. Elijah and Flyway cannot be separated.

Tea time is Eli's favorite part of his day. He just gets to sit back and kick it with his two besties, Rosie and Flyway.

I am so thankful for their company and help throughout the day. Rosie has been such an encouragement to me. After all, she's mothered three girls who are now older. Her enthusiasm for the boys helps to lighten the more moody times of the day, too. I have loved getting to know her and her family and will miss her when we leave.

Why I Love Africa

When people ask me what Dan and I hope to do upon graduating, I always answer “Lord willing, we will be teaching theology in Africa”. Dan is all about the theology part, I'm all about the Africa part. Kind of joking, but really, I love Africa but so does Dan, just for the record.

The other night, Dan and I were talking about our day filled with random events and it hit me: I love Africa because you never know what will happen. You may or may not have Zesa, money in the ATMs, petrol at the filling stations, etc. You can't plan on much.

I know, I know. That sounds strange coming from the biggest planner in the universe. The thing is, in Africa, I plan to be surprised. It's all about your attitude. If I'm mentally ready for change, it doesn't bother me one bit. Every time I leave the house, I know to be ready for a weekend away should that come up. Seriously, you never know!

As much as I appreciate a good plan, my life could not possibly have enough change in it. Africa is the perfect place for me because things are always changing. Just this morning, I woke up with a few possible plans in mind, but a phone call at 7:30am changed everything. I still had a great day! You just have to let go of a few expectations but once you're freed from those restraints, anything could happen. Even if the surprises are frustrating, like when the filling station attendant put petrol in my diesel engine in Malawi, at least it's not monotony.

This kind of lifestyle makes for a very exciting environment. People are up for anything at the drop of a hat. Everyone is hospitable as there's always room for one more. Kitchens are stocked with biscuits and tea because it's almost a given you will have someone drop by at any point in the day. Last week, I was walking home with the boys from Kayle's house (about 30 minutes away) and we met a woman with two kids similar to Eli and Laz in age. We stopped and chatted while the kids played for 15 minutes.

(the path along our street)

Two strangers stopped on a path in the middle of their day to be together. That does NOT happen in America. Well, maybe in the South. If your name is Susie Meeks ;)

TCZ in a nutshell

In an attempt to share a bit about the school, here are some words from Dan the way he sees it:

Theological College of Zimbabwe is held in an old hotel. TCZ has 40 students in all (not counting the spouses involved in the women's ministry classes). Most of the students are from the southern region of Zimbabwe, Ndebele land (roughly pronounced In-Da Belly). There are two main tribes represented in Zim, Shona (the now dominant tribe) and the Ndebele (who arrived in Zim in the mid 1800's fleeing from South Africa). Most of the student body is Ndebele, though there are a fair number of Shona as well.

The majority of students live off campus. I would guess that half are married, and another good handful are involved in local ministry. Almost none of them work another job (yes, yes, I am very envious). They take about 6 or 7 classes a semester. From what faculty members have said, most students go on to do pastoral work in a wide range of settings.

(campus housing)

(sports day with the students)

Many of the professors here have a masters in theology, NT or some other related field (Church History). As well, most of them are from Zimbabwe. The others are from all over but married to Zimbabweans. The only other faculty members who are not from Zim are Matt and Kayle Pelletier who are a lovely couple from Gordon-Conwell. They have been here through the worst of it when the currency was exploding, and bear the same polite chipper-ness that resembles the other Zimbabweans.

Classes run year round with a few lovely month long breaks in between the tri-mesters. The B.A. in Theology curriculum lasts three years. They also run a Theological Studies Diploma program which is concurrent with the B.A. Program. The college is inter-denominational with a range of denominations represented on the faculty (only two Presbyterians).

Largely since arriving, I have been attending classes. The first few days I tried to attend as many as possible, but after the first week, I trimmed down my schedule to those that I was signed up to share lecturing responsibilities in. I am now helping in first year Greek, and a second year Greek reading course, an NT Epistles class and an Ecclesiology class. All of these have been great fun for me to attend, and now prepare lectures for. I will also be teaching a night class on the book of Amos next Tuesday.

Things are much busier this week and next as we wrap up the internship. I will be preaching at City Presbyterian this Sunday and have a paper to write for Craig Jones about our experience here. Hopefully I will be able to write more but it might come after we've returned

Bathing Beauty