It is currently starting Spring, and Spring is hot and dry in Zimbabwe. We just went through a time where Winter was ending and Spring was coming- yet it was not hear yet…the mornings were crisp- you could see your breath, but by about 10 or 11 am the sun would be out and it would be hot;  a dry hot that you just wish there was air conditioning or at least a breeze to take away the denseness of it.  It is interesting when the seasons are changing; that in that transition you don’t really want to be there, you either want to be able to wake up put on a turtleneck and fuzzy socks and stay bundled all day long OR dig deep into the drawer pull out your summer cloths and flip flops and just call it a day…

When the seasons change it is uncomfortable…do I stay warm with my turtle neck and risk it could get hot (and you know it will- but when you are cold in the morning you find that hard to believe) or do you wisely dress in layers and prepare for the inevitable blast of heat that you actually craved so badly during that cold season…

When I heard my Visa appeal for my Zimbabwe work permit had been denied I actually had peace…like I knew summer would be coming and I was sick of the cold winter (metaphorically in my life). I had prayed and said to God if he wanted me in Zim he would approve the Visa and if I was to go home it would be denied…so prayer answered eh?

I have now been back in Zim for two weeks. After a grueling 15 hour bus ride and a 30day Visitor Visa stamp at the border I got back to this place I had been calling home…but not for long…soon I would be, be really GOING home…hmmmmm….

The exciting thing about how your life works if you surrender it to God, is that you know he has a plan greater than anything you  could imagine. Two weeks ago my project teaching Sexual Reproductive Health and Gender Based Violence prevention, as well as making of re-usable sanitary pads started. Week one was an intro to Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH)-A highlight for me was during the conversation about dry sex (which is when women put indigenous herbs into themselves to help dry themselves out in an attempt to make intercourse more pleasurable for the man- yet painful for the woman and in fact helps to spread HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections as the vagina is now more easily torn) and about menopause, I was spurred to stand up and ask the women if they wanted a way to have this ‘tight’ sex without using the herbs and for the Gogo’s to also be able to continue to have a healthy sex life with their husbands…

The answer was a resounding YEBO! (yes in Ndebele!) I taught how to do kegal exercises to these women and they loved it…I hope nothing was lost in the translation to Ndebele but when I sat down they applauded and hollered very loudly…a small seed planted? A piece of fruit starting to sprout?

Teaching the pattern and sewing details as well as handing out or "Pad Packs"

Week two we started to sew the pads. After asking what sanitary wear they use and finding that newspaper gets rubbed to be softened and then inserted like a tampon or old pieces of blankets find their way between the legs of these beautiful, God-created women- they were thrilled to learn they would get the materials to make 12 re-usable sanitary pads each! It was a ball- the old Gogo’s needed their neighbour to thread the needles and then they got going with perfect stitches! The ones who had hit menopause were making them for their granddaughters and the 20-40 year old women- you could see a sparkle of …could I almost call it 'freedom'… in the corner of their eyes as they cut and sewed their personal re-usable pads

The cool thing it that the idea is catching on EVERYWHERE! Many other projects locally are wanting to adopt the idea, women are wanting to take it into the prisons and other communities to help bring this simple idea to help these women who just do not have a sanitary option for something that I see as a human right!

These two sisters walked approx 20km to get to this training and arrived late and asked to be let in...they got busy right away! The older sister guiding her younger... it was priceless!

So God, why did you bring me to Africa? Why did you bring me to the depth of this hot, dry, dusty place called Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, why? Well, I can see that sometimes the question is not about what you give others but about what you gain for yourself. I can see that he loved me so much to call me, to marinate me, to change me, so then I could share that change with others…a secret is that when you serve often the service is to yourself and God knows exactly what you need! Our God is an AWESOME God!

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The Seasons are changing…in less than 3 months I am on a plane back to North America. A piece of me will stay here just like a whole chunk of me stayed in North America when I came…thanks God for choosing and trusting me!