Not exactly and RV trip but definitely an adventure!
As many of you know, Paul and I have a passion for mission work. So far it has been a gentle relationship and geared towards construction type projects like Appalachian Service Project (ASP), Hurricane Katrina rebuild and Habitat for Humanity. Our previous church youth group participated in ASP every summer so Paul and I had several opportunities to participate with our youth group and our kids Jen and Jeff.
Our current church, Covenant Doylestown, supports a Children’s Home in Domboshava, Zimbabwe. The relationship has been strong but Covid put a pause in our ability to physically be with Peter and TsiTsi who started the home less than 10 years ago. Peter and his wife also oversee Runyararo Children’s home in Harare, Zimbabwe and have 5 aged out kids (over 18) living with them due to the limits placed on ages in the orphanages in Zimbabwe. One of Peter’s visions was to have a place for the over 18 young adults to live and a place to call home while they learn how to do adulthood, get jobs, go to college and figure out what to do next. Covenant Doylestown Church purchased a property in 2021 to accommodate Peter, TsiTsi, their 4 natural children and 5 aged out girls. There is much to be done to the last building on the property so the older, over 18 boys can also have a permanent place to call home but Peter has been able to do much of the work with fundraising in his network of Christian supporters.
There is a statistic that there are over 2 MILLION orphans in Zimbabwe and only 3000 spaces in orphanages! Peter and TsiTsi spend their lives trying to change and improve this statistic.
This year, Bold Hope partnered with Covenent to send a team to Domboshava to reconnect and strengthen the relationship with Peter, TsiTsi, the caregivers (Everjoy, Lovemore and Loveness) and especially connect with the children.
When Paul and I heard of this trip our response was… “why wouldn’t we go?” “Sign us up!” We ended up going with Jen, Linda, Marybeth, Kim, Kevin and one of our pastors, Bruce. The eight musketeers, otherwise known as ZimTeam, are ready for an adventure!