June 2006

Happy winter! We are in the midst of our winter and it got down to 51 degrees one morning this week! That is freezing for us! I had 3 sweatshirts on and my teeth were still chattering! We eat all meals outside and it is hard to eat breakfast!

We have a team from Adventure Christian Church in Roseville, CA here with me now. There are 8 on the team and they have been keeping busy at the hospital with paper work and statistics. They leave tomorrow for some sights at a safari camp and Victoria Falls. 3 more visitors arrive over the weekend--and until October people are in and out.

I am sending Ben (who has been with me the last 5 months) to Harare today to pick up visitors and to do a list of errands. He gets a map and a cellphone--sounds like a good plot for a reality show. He has 2 days to complete his mission and go to the airport twice to pick up people! In the last group of people he picks up at the airport will be his father, a public health doctor from my hometown of Santa Rosa. He has come to spend the last 2 weeks of Ben's internship here, with him.

I am doing well and feeling fine after my surgery in April. I have recovered well.

We have great news to share and that is we have finally hired a doctor after 8 months without one. His name is James Chanaka and he finished his residency last year and has been working at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital for 8 months. He is married and has a 2 1/2 year old son. He started work on Tuesday this week. This is a great relief to me and should give me time to catch up on some of the paperwork I have put off. Thanks to all of you who have been faithfully praying for this position to be filled!

Zimbabwe continues to have problems. Inflation has officially reached 1000% which means it is probably closer to 2000%. They keep printing money as fast as it is spent! We have to carry cardboard boxes of money around to pay. The visitors wanted to see some coins and so we found some at the hospital and they figured they needed 2 million, 5 cent pieces to pay for a coke! It keeps us laughing! When we go to a restaurant to eat I always "have" to go to the bathroom when the bill is brought so that whoever is left at the table has to count out the money for the bill! with a 50,000 bill as the largest bill (worth 23 cents US) it means a long time counting! God is good and continues to provide for us and protect us!

Enjoy your warmth wherever you are and thanks to all of you who are interested and support our work so much.