I have always been one to have the last word and this time is no different.  I felt it was important that  I also contributed my thoughts on the "African Escapades of Alex, Andrew and Jonno."    Besides I would hate for my younger sister to have nothing to read with her morning coffee tomorrow!!

I was supposed to do this last night but I was too miserable.  I guess that is one strike against me!!  Everyone in the Brennocks family walked around with long faces yesterday and the dinner table was certainly a sober affair.

Each child got to share what they liked about "the boys".  Christy they said "they gave her lots of sweets".  Thanks guys.  Which one of you is planning to pay the dental bill!  Becky said "I just loved all of them" and then broke into a half hour prayer for each one.  Remember when she said grace before supper guys!!!  She can be very longwinded.  Maddie said "They were great fun"  Stefi said "They were cool" and Lisa said "I loved everything about them."

I then asked myself what did I like about the boys?  That's difficult to answer without making this blog into a thesis.  I, like Lisa, loved everything about them.   I loved their enthusiasm, and obvious love for life.  I loved that they grabbed every opportunity with open arms.  I loved their compassion for the kids at the Sandra Jones Centre.  I loved the way they were so patient with my kids.   I loved their generosity and their servant's hearts. Nothing was too much trouble and they were always willing to do anything asked of them.  I loved their energy and sense of humour.

I loved their positive spirits.  I never heard them grumble or complain, I never heard them criticise, or whine.  Everything was done with a smile and it was obvious that their lives overflowed with joy.

They reminded me yet again that it doesn't matter what colour you are, or how old, or where you've come from..you can make a difference in a child's life.

But what I loved most of all, was the journey they took me on, back to the time when I was their age.  They reminded me of three best friends who did everything togther.  I could see in them that same passion that we had to serve the Lord....to be totally sold out for Him.  I was reminded of a time when we too believed that nothing was impossible.

 I was reminded that life was meant to be enjoyed.    I remembered what it was like to laugh, to share, and to just enjoy being with my closest friends.  I was reminded of what was really important...family, friends and of course,  the Lord.  It was a wonderful journey guys.  Thanks for the ride!!!

I know many of you will be wondering what I learned from the boys .

Well,  I learned that lounge chairs are meant to be climbed over and not walked around.  I learned that a pool is only useful for throwing people in.  I learned that that greatest thing on this earth is toffee syrup and that it goes with everything.  I learned that watching Fringe is a great way to spend a morning when one doesn't have a vehicle.  I am sure all these life lessons will prove to be very valuable in years to come!!!!

In closing I would like to say to their parents, The Taylors, The Robbins and The Lees...well done!!  You have remarkable sons who you can be so proud of.  You have obviously done an amazing job bringing them up and left me with a true example of christian parenting.  I hope I can live up to the standard you have set with these three young men.

To those who choose to come after them, beware!  The guys have set an extremely high standard for all future short term missionaries.

And finally to the boys...you were a breath of a fresh air in all our lives.  You left your mark in Zimababwe and I am incredibly proud of you!   We love you, and miss you already. When are you coming back?

Debbie

Day 64 - The Final Blog

Well, this is it. The end of our 9 week journey, which feels like it has passed by in a blink of an eye. A 9 week journey where we have had the opportunity to have a positive impact on the people we have met throughout our time in Zim, particularly the girls out at SJC where we have spent the majority of our time. It is these same people who have impacted each of us to a greater extent than we could ever impact them.

Playing at the babies home

Jonno, TK and some characters

Our final day in Zim began in typical African style, nothing went to plan. Curtain Wondervan was in need of repairs (yet again) so we were carless for the morning, which conflicted with our plan to finish off our last minute shopping. Instead we watched some Fringe for a change and started the dreaded job of packing our suitcases. The car never came and we were desperately wanting to get out to Willow Park to spend as much time with the girls before we had to say our final goodbyes. It turned out we had to borrow the bus off Tina to venture out to Willow Park one last time. We picked up TK and Shakes from the church and were out there by 2:30. There was something different about today though. Usually upon our arrival the girls would run up to hug us with smiles on their faces, but not today. It was obvious that the girls knew it was our last day and they were looking forward to saying goodbye as much as we were. In an attempt to cheer the girls up a bit we headed down to the babies home to say goodbye to all the little ones. We all had a good play outside, got a big group photo, said our goodbyes and then headed back up to the top where the older girls stay. Before we even made it back up to the top the tears began. I was walking with Bernice, Nokubonga and Theresa and before I could work out what was going on both Bernice and Theresa had tears strolling down their faces. These tears becoming contagious as time continued to pass all too quickly. When it came time for our group photo there were a number of girls sitting in the corridor refusing to get in the photo knowing we would have to leave after it was taken. We finally got the photo, which was only followed by the one thing we have been dreading for a couple of weeks now, the goodbyes. Tears flowed like Victoria Falls at its best and letters upon letters were given to us from the girls for either us personally or for their sponsor families at home. We said our goodbyes, gave our farewell hugs and reluctantly left the girls at SJC for the last time.

Group shot at the babies home

We headed to Des and Pete's for our 'last supper' as Alex called it. Pete and Des put together a ripper bbq dinner for us as we sat around and chatted away. Unfortunately we had to continue our goodbyes as we said goodbye to Des and Pete. A couple that have been a great support to us and two people that we have witnessed are an amazing support to Debbie and the Sandra Jones Centre. They are two amazing people who give so much and have the best stories!! We are going to miss them a lot.

Today was really hard...I mean really hard. I don't think we knew or expected how close we would become with the girls by the time we were due to leave. We were just like one big chaotic family. We did so much with these girls over our trip and we have seen that every single one of these girls have gifts, skills and abilities as well as hopes and dreams. Despite the pain and suffering these girls have had to endure they have big smiles, they have amazing voices and are simply amazing girls. I will never understand the pain and suffering that these girls have suffered. What I love most about these girls is the fact that they haven't let their past determine their future. I love that instead of blaming God for the pain they have endured, they thank Him for the provision of each day. It may not be easy but they do it. I have had a much easier life than these girls and am much more 'privileged' from a worldly perspective, but I have so much to learn from these amazing girls who have a much greater faith and attitude toward life than I do. We will miss them. Their positivity, their happiness, their enthusiasm and their grateful hearts. These girls are captivating and inspiring, which is why it was so hard to say goodbye to them today. We've been continuously asked "When are you coming back?" over the last week and I don't have a specific answer but we will be back.

L to R: Jonno, Alex, Lisa, Sam, Senzo, Andy, Shamiso

When asked at church Sunday night how God had changed us during our time in Zim I immediately knew my answer. God was calling me to be less selfish. To give until it hurts. Because if it doesn't hurt when I'm giving than it's not really a sacrifice and to be honest I can give so much more and live with so much less. Instead of comparing my giving to what others give I'll seek to give as Jesus did...Selflessly and completely.

Thank you all so much for reading our blogs, commenting and keeping us in your prayers. Our trip has been a life changing experience that we will never forget. Some of you have given money, which we were able to use to bless the people here with. Thank you for your generous donations, which have done so much.

We MAY have one finally blog from a special guest tomorrow or over the coming days so please keep an eye out for that.


Cheers

Andy

Day 63 - Alex's Last Blog

Day 63 started at precisely at 6:53 with Lisa franticly knocking at our door with a pair of dirty socks.  Being significantly more asleep than awake, all that I got from our brief conversation was, "hide these socks or Busi will kill me twice".  How one can kill another twice is beyond me, let alone killing someone over a pair of dirty socks.  So as killing someone twice would, logically, be twice as bad as killing someone once, I hid the socks.

The rest of the morning was far less dramatic.  Our van had broken again, this time leaving us unable to secure the vehicle as the driver's window developed a tendency to fall down on it's own accord.  We had arranged to get it fix but repairs didn't happen until afternoon.  This lest us with no other choice than to watch Fringe and do some things around the house that we'd promised to do.

When the van had finally been fixed, we dashed into the shops to buy toffee syrup and a few 1L glass bottles of Coke.  Andrew and Jonno purchased every bottle of toffee syrup that the TM supermarket had in stock (7 bottles in total).

Following our short shopping adventure, we picked up the girls from school and dropped everyone home while Lisa and I went to the other side of town.  We had arranged to see a couple of girls that had stayed at the SJC center and were sponsored by my parents.  One of the girls had recently given birth to a boy and had requested that I come and take some photos to send home to Mum and Dad.  Unfortunately because of time, we were only able to stay for a short while.

Lisa and I headed back home to pick up Andrew and Jonno for our last ever game of ultimate frisbee.  We arrived part way through the first game and immediately jumped into teams.  We played three games in total with Jonno and I winning two of those.

You know it's come close to the end of your trip when you start noticing everyone talking about weekly events that you'll miss because you are leaving.  It's difficult thinking about having to leave as I walked into this trip thinking that two months would be enough.  Looking back at the last nine weeks, I can honestly say that nine weeks was not enough but was still one of the best trips that I've made here.  We have accomplished far more than I would have thought, made significantly more friends than I would have though and yet, it feels like we've only just started scratching the surface.

The thing about Zimbabwe, and Africa, is that it will be different to your pre-conceived ideas that you would have developed listening to the media.  While the media only focus of the negative, the negative is such a small part of Zimbabwe that, when you arrive, it seems crazy that you even worried about it in the first place.

For those of you have considered coming - just do it.  A trip to Zimbabwe is one that you will never forget.


Alex

Day 62 - Jonno's final blog

Hello bloggers

Grab a seat, make yourself some coffee, unplug the phone and get comfortable. This is going to be a long blog. 

Our day started at around 7:30am with me pushing Stefie Brennocks into the pool. That's how the past 2 days have started with someone being thrown into the pool. We hope to keep the tradition alive for the next few days. We all then sat around the breakfast table and munched down on some cereal with toffee syrup and toast with toffee syrup.

It was time for church so everyone got organised and we hurried to make the start of the service. Pastor Jeff continued his series, 'Designing life that works' and presented to the congregation a brilliant sermon. He spoke about how there were over 700 unconditional promises (promises with no strings attached) made by God and over 2000 conditionals promises (promises where actions from us are needed). Just using the book of Psalms, Jeff extracted around 20 conditional promises, all with one action needed from man, to fear God. Fear in the sense that we need to acknowledge God is smarter and stronger than us. Jeff used the example of the life of Jacob, a schemer with a conniving attitude who realised his wrongs when wrestling with the angel of the Lord. It was a great sermon and it kinda sucks not being able to listen to the rest of the series as it was very applicable to everyday life. 

We were booked to lead the afternoon service at Bulawayo Baptist with Andrew also preaching and we thought it would be awesome to tell the congregation at the night service what we've been doing in Zimbabwe for the last 2 months, hanging with the girls at Sandra Jones Centre. We thought it would be even more awesome if we got the choir girls from SJC to perform at the service. The plan was to bring a busload of girls to Debbie's house for a pizza lunch and so Debbie could help the girls practice their 2 songs. Alex drove the bus with Lisa and Senzo to pick up the girls at Willow Park while Andrew and I stayed to entertain our guests from church, T.K, M.K, Groove, Shakes and Elyse who were also joining us for pizza lunch. We sat around and just chatted to our friends with Andrew posing his theological questions to everyone. It definitely got everyone involved. I think Andrew was just using this time as practice for when he would preach in front of the night service. Des and Pete also joined us for lunch and we were now just waiting for the SJC girls to join us for the 10+ pizzas, boxes of donuts and soft drinks. Can I just say that the pizza in Zimbabwe are much better than Australian pizza. Alex drove into the driveway and it was a welcoming sight seeing all the girls colourfully dressed with their creative hairstyles. We all tucked into the delicious lunch kindly donated by the Taylors and the Wawns and now it was time to get down to business. Debbie took the girls into the house to practice while us guys continued chatting and then started to organise for the church service. We could hear the girls' voices and harmonies from outside and it was just an amazing sound to hear. It definitely impressed our guests from church. We were all excited to see the girls perform. With chord sheets printed, cameras charged, sermon printed and bags packed, we all jammed into the bus and headed for the church, all 20 of us. The bus fits maximum of 14. Thank God there was no police roadblocks. 

It was 4pm and we arrived at the church after the cosy but uncomfortable ride. We all pile out of the bus and headed inside ready to rehearse. It was our turn first so Andrew led worship with lead vocals and guitar, Shakes was backup vocals, Alex was on bass guitar, Yonku on lead guitar, TK on drums, another mate on guitar and me on keyboard. It was a great rehearsal and we were pumped for the 6pm service. It was the girls turn to practice and the world felt like it stopped when they began to sing. Their harmonies reverberated throughout the church and everyone just stopped and focussed on their angelic voices. Words can't even begin to describe their sound. That's why Alex decided to record them so we can bring the audio home and show everyone. 6pm rolled around and the service started. Des and Pete arrived as well and brought a very important item for us, an Aussie flag. It was draped over a music stand for everyone to adore. We played four songs, My redeemer lives, Oh happy day, Mighty to save and lastly How great is our God. The songs got people up on their feet and the coolest thing about African churches are that the people do their African dance moves to the songs. It's really cool to see especially when you're performing. It was now the SJC girls' turn to perform in front of the congregation and they did not disappoint. I'm sure their voices sent tingles and shivers down people's spines after hearing them for the first time. They received a massive applause when they finished their 2 song set. It was now time for Andrew to preach but before he did, he promoted SJC to the youth at Bulawayo Baptist, encouraging them to hang out with the girls as we had been doing for the past 2 months. Andrew then started to preach about chapter 30 in Jeremiah stating how the promises in this book were parallel to that of Christ, the promised Saviour. It was a great deep and meaningful message which Andrew summed up with how it was applicable to our lives. We played one more song and then finished the service. We thought it ended there but then pastor Jeff and T.K both raced for the microphones to say a few last words as a final farewell for us. I was flattered and humbled and I'm sure Andrew and Alex felt the same. Being put on the spot we were asked how God has changed us since coming to Africa. It took some time to think of an answer so I'm so glad that Alex was volunteered first. Pastor Jeff then asked the crowd if anyone had any questions for us and it was dead quiet. That's when Alex thought it was fitting to shout out 'These two are single!'. We'll get him back somehow. And that concluded the service. We said our goodbyes to many friends we've made at the church, all of them asking the same question, 'when are you coming back?'. My answer is, 'Next year, hopefully'.

As this is my final blog I just want to finish it off with my final thoughts. Coming to Africa changes you. Meeting and hanging out with the babies and girls of Sandra Jones changes you. Meeting Debbie Brennocks and hearing her stories about Sandra Jones Centre changes you. Meeting the staff of SJC and the Gogos that look after the girls at SJC changes you. Meeting and chilling out with all our friends from church changes you. Seeing the amazing Victoria Falls and game parks changes you. All my perceptions of Africa have been totally quashed. Yes, there's things I appreciate back home like no pot holes and constant electricity but my appreciation for Africa has sky rocketed. Africa has opened my eyes at just how friendly people are. With little to no money and possessions, struggling to make ends meet, Africans are still constantly smiling, always laughing and would just stop to have a chat. Africans have a great sense of humour and are very sociable. Alex once told me that when you've been to Africa, you leave a part of yourself their and I for one can only agree with that. That's why this is Alex's 4th trip and Andy's 2nd. It's a place that you just want to come back to. Every foreigner we've met and spoken to has stated the exact same thing. So I can only highly recommend that you come to Zimbabwe, meet Debbie and meet the girls at the Sandra Jones Centre. I will guarantee you that they will change your life, as they have done mine, and when you go home all you can think about is when you will come back to Zimbabwe.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people. Deb, thank you for being a sensational host. Hearing how you and Sandra Jones took a dream and turned it into reality is truly inspirational. The work you, the staff and the Gogos do to give the little ones and the girls opportunities at life can only be applauded. Des and Pete Addison, thank you for your gracious personalities and all the help you’ve given us. Every time we’ve had a problem, you had the solution. The guys and girls of Bulawayo Baptist, thank you very much for your welcoming gestures. It’s been brilliant jamming, playing Frisbee and just hanging with you all. To the Hickeys, you are just awesome. The Brennocks kids, you guys are so cool! And lastly, the girls at Sandra Jones Centre. You girls are so inspirational. Thank you. Umuhle ladies.

Thank you bloggers for reading, commenting, supporting and praying for us over the past 2 months. Apologies if you didn’t know any of the names in the above paragraph. Come to Zimbabwe, meet them and then you too will be writing a ‘thank you’ note for changing your life.

Thanks for reading

Jonno  

The girls at lunch

L-R: Shakes, T.K, Andy

L-R: Steph, Groove, Elyse

Pizza boxes

Aldo and donuts

Girls having fun

Girls singing at church

Debbie and the girls

Us and the girls

Day 61 - Firsts and Lasts

Pre match talk

For the first time in 61 days Alex was not the first one awake. With only a few days remaining on the trip Jonno wanted to experience what it was like to be the first one out of bed. This morning pretty much the whole crew had breakfast together. Not for the first time did Lisa take something of mine. My fork, knife, juice and anything else she can get her hands on she takes from me and claims as her own. Today was no different. Lisa decided my toast was a better option than having to make her own so she took it from my hands and ate it. I warned her that if she did it again she would be thrown in the pool. She ignored my warning and as I was about to sink my teeth into my second attempt at a fresh slice of toast she whipped it out of my hands and ate it as quickly as she could. This was the first time Lisa was thrown into the pool fully clothed at breakfast. I have a strong feeling that it will not be the last time she ignores my warnings or takes something of mine.

TK the referee 

After our very entertaining breakfast we headed to the video guy for hopefully the last time. He had left off some episodes and series we had asked for from our last visit so we reluctantly returned to finalise our TV series purchases. Everything went smoothly and we surprisingly got everything we asked for, which we didn’t really expect.

Today was also a first because I somehow scored the opportunity in playing in my first African soccer match. But this was not just any soccer game. This was against an archrival Mawabeni with a trophy on the line, which the Bulawayo crew (the team I played for) had taken off them in their last game. I was a little anxious about the match because everyone that I had told about the match laughed and told me it would be very rough and expect to hurt or break anything. That’s exactly why Alex and Jonno didn’t play. As Alex continually said when asked why he wasn’t playing he simply replied, “I value my life.” So, for the first time I had to go and purchase boots and shin pads 20 minutes before we left for the match. One shop we went to didn’t have my size and told us to come back in February because he was receiving stock then. When we told him we needed the boots for a game that was within an hour he was fairly surprised. We ended up going to the markets at bendover and picked up some boots for $30 along with a jersey.

The goal posts

The drive out there was hard work in itself. Passing 3 police roadblocks with little trouble with Alex behind the wheel is nothing short of a miracle! But unfortunately for hopefully the last time our luck ran out when Alex overtook a very slow truck on a bridge with double-lines about 200 metres before our final roadblock. Not for the first time was Alex forced into talking his way out of yet another fine, which he successfully did with a generous $20 donation to go toward ceasing crime in Zimbabwe…There’s also a pretty good chance that it may have gone gone straight into that particular policeman’s pocket.

The post axing photo captured by AT

We made it to the field (I will never complain about the quality of fields at home ever again) and we were ready to roll. For the first time in my many years of playing soccer I was the only white person on the field.  For the first time in my life I was playing on a field with rocks, ant mounds, no markings and three well-built sticks at each end for goals. I was told to have blue shorts but I only had black so I was a little worried. I shouldn’t have been. Some guys weren’t even wearing anything on their feet when they played (very different to home).However, these things didn’t stop us from having a great match…I think they actually added to the experience! We went into half time 0-0 but the game picked up in intensity in the second half. It got a bit more physical and I literally ate dirt at one point after being axed from behind. Despite the intensity we had a great silent cheer squad consisting of Alex, Jonno, Lisa and Elyse who were silently barracking from the sidelines. We scored an early goal in the second, which was later followed by 2 more and at the final whistle we had won 3-0 in a well fought match.

Shakes in some midair action

I had an absolute ball playing in the match today and I’m really thankful to Shakes from church who gave us the opportunity to play in the match. For the first time I gave away a brand new pair of boots to a young guy on our team who was from an orphanage called SOS that we have been to a couple of times. I’m pretty sure they were a bit big for him but there was no way he was knocking back some free boots. We made it home with no police trouble…although it wasn’t, it did feel like it was for the first time! Pete and Des joined us for dinner, which was a Jamie Oliver lamb roast Deb was attempting for the first time. It was seriously good!

For the second last time from me…Thanks so much for being a part of our journey in Zim through the blog.

Andy

Day 60 - Antelope Park

Mister Bones

Today was the last 'free day', which we decided we'd spend at Antelope Park, a national park and animal conservation project.  Antelope Park is a 2 hour drive from Bulawayo which meant an early morning.  The other two woke up at 6:30, and discovered that there is another 1.5 hours to a morning.  After seeing the girls rush out the door, we threw a few things in the car and left.

The goal for the day was to see a lion and, immediately after arriving, the other two were booked in to walk with the lions.  We also arranged for a game drive through the national park before hand.

We made a new friend while waiting for lunch.  His name was Mister Bones and he was a little monkey.  Our first encounter involved him running across Jonno's and my lap, jumping on Andrew head and biting his ear.  Needless to say, his behavior did improve.

After lunch it was game on.  We jumped in the back of a Land Cruiser ute, fitted with bench seats for game viewing, and headed into the park.  As this national park is fairly controlled, the game viewing was quite good as the drivers knew where to go.  We spent 1.5 hours in the park all up.

Once we had arrived back at the camp site, Andrew and Jonno left for the walk with the lions.  They were both given a stick (which was not for beating the lion should it attack you) and given a brief overview of what Antelope Park actually do with the lions.  After the debrief, they headed into the national park once again with their lion cubs and had the opportunity to walk with them, pat them and take photos with them.

Although the weather was pretty poor, it was a great day at Antelope Park amongst the animals (and the surprising number of Aussies) admiring God's creation.


Alex

www.antelopepark.co.zw

Day 59 - Quiz Time!

So here's a little quiz for all those who've been following the blog for quite some time

Q1: Who wakes up first out of us 3?
Q2: What do we always eat for breakfast?
Q3: What did we watch on tv today?


Answers at the bottom of the blog


'Our last Thursday in Zimbabwe', We all thought it, but none of us wanted to utter the phrase.
We awoke and greeted the slightly cold morning in the usual fashion, Alex awake first, then Andy then me. We had brekkie and were ready to start the day. Unfortunately, we didn't have episode 11 of 'Fringe' so we were still left on a cliffhanger. Luckily we had some important errands to do in the morning, or else it would have been another slow and boring morning.

We headed to the Sandra Jones Centre office and met Debbie where she gave us our important mission should we choose to accept it. We chose to accept it and our mission was to find school uniforms for Sam and Shamiso, two girls from the SJC village who were starting public schooling at Townsend School (where Lisa Taylor goes) for the first time next week. Our 3 hour shopping endeavour was about to begin.

We picked up the girls from their abode and drove into the city to find their school uniforms. The cool thing about public schooling is that there are quite a few shops that sell their uniforms so we decided to head to a place called ESATS, where we purchased the numerous amounts of plates and cups some time ago. The girls received their uniforms and after trying it on were getting quite excited for public schooling, I'm sure. Alex purchased their matching hats, socks and a few backpacks and we were ready to buy the next item on the shopping list, shoes. But before we did that, we needed to extend our Visas for another 5 days so we wouldn't be classed as illegal immigrants.

After having our passports extended to the 29th Jan when we clearly stated we fly out on the 25th, we hopped into the van to hunt down some school shoes. Getting new shoes and clothing is a rare thing for the girls and seeing the looks and excitement on their faces when they received new shoes and uniforms, well, you can tell they really appreciate it. Lastly, we needed to buy some book covers for their massive amount of exercise books they use at school. I found a lolly shop nearby and to my amazement they sold blocks of Milo chocolate for 15 rand, just under $2USD. I snatched up 5 packs and handed it to everyone once they finished purchasing the school supplies. Andy, and Alex especially, were shocked and infatuated when I gave them their chocolates. I'm pretty sure Alex finished his before I was halfway through mine.

It was around 12pm and we had a bit of time to kill before we departed for SJC at 1pm. There was an idea floating around that we should have some Chinese for dinner at the only chinese restaurant in Bulawayo (I'm pretty sure) with our American friend Elyse and our good mate Shakes. The text was sent and a few minutes later we had confirmation. Dinner was on like donkey kong.

1pm rolled around and we headed out to SJC. It's been a few days since we last visited so it was really exciting to see the girls again. We just caught them when they had finished school so majority of them were still in their school uniform. The really great thing about SJC is not only do they provide a safe environment for girls who have been in abusive and neglected situations, but SJC also provides education for the girls. SJC hires teachers for most grades, teaching a range of subjects, so the girls can receive quality education and not miss out due to their isolation and the closest school being ages away. We were greeted with many hugs and we were given a tour of their classrooms with much excitement.

We purchased a deck of cards from the shops for 50c so we thought we'd bring it along and show some games to the girls. We introduced them to the game 'Cheat' where the winner is the one who discards all their cards by any means necessary, even if that means lying/cheating. The older girls loved the game as they got to test their lying and cheating skills on each other. We also played a few games of 'Snap' before we had to go and pick up Debbie's kids from school.

Dinner time arrived and we drove into town, met up with Shakes and Elyse and headed to the Chinese restaurant called 'Shangri La'. The restaurant had some authentic ornaments like lanterns and artwork and really brought about an oriental atmosphere. Well done guys. The waiter came over and asked us what we wanted to drink. I asked for chinese tea, the waiter said they didn't have it. To me, that's the equivalent of a video store saying they don't have movies. We each ordered our mains and heaps of rice, enough to supply a chinese family for a week. We ate and talked and talked and talked. So much so that the waiters had to turn off the fans and lights to give us the sign that we needed to go. The time was 9:45pm. It was brilliant hanging out and talking to 2 young adult Christians who are both passionate about and serving for the Lord.

Alex the billionaire with our 10 billion Zim dollars

Road markings are hand painted

Alex, Andrew and Sam

Our card game

Alex and Moussa

Food prices at local bakery 

L-R: Alex, Jon, Shakes, Elyse, Andy

Answers
1: Alex
2:Toffee syrup on toast
3:nothing, we don't have episode 11 of Fringe