We set off excitedly but with some fear and trepidation from Stansted Airport at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon and after a stop over and change of plane at Amsterdam arrived in Harare at 10.am the next morning. The flight was wonderful apart from a slight hiccough in trying to land in Johannesburg. There was a cloud of fog covering the airport and the Captain announced that unless the cloud lifted within 15 minutes, we would be diverted to another airport. At this point our prayers (to quote Jane) became very specific. As always, prayers answered we landed safely. To quote a local lady who was a frequent traveller this had been "the worst flight she had experienced". To us novices with our faith it was no problem. We were met by an English guy called Mark who was the project manager.

We packed ourselves into the smallest car, 5 adults, 9 pieces of luggage and 1 guitar in a hard case. Our home for the next 2 weeks turned out to be truly a God-send. It was a working dairy farm with horses, pigs, cattle, goats, chickens as well as about 15 dogs, of all breeds and lots of cats and kittens. Many of the animals had been left at the farm when their owners were repatriated, sometimes arriving at the farm in a taxi with a little note pinned on them asking Robyn (our hostess) to care for them.

The next 2 weeks were spent between a little bit of sight seeing and a lot of time with the children at the Training Centre; in total, there were 130 children; 100 boys and 30 girls between the ages of 5 and 23. At 18 they were supposed to leave but one of the big administrative problems is that some children have no birth certificate. The older children are now being taught farming skills and some are hoping to join the Army. Many of the children have lived rough on the streets of Harare having been orphaned by Aids in one or both parents.

Despite their poor start in life the majority of these children were spiritually blessed - they had nothing but gave everything. All 4 of us were able to minister in differing situations in our own way. I now know what is meant by being Spiritually rich and Materially poor and Materially rich and Spiritually poor. The whole experience has led me to question my values and to reassess my priorities and I ask the question,"Where are you in this".

During our stay we took lots of photos and Pete narrated a video film which, when edited, we will share with you. A BIG THANK YOU for all gifts given to us to at the last minute. We are all going to keep in touch with our new found friends. I am currently exploring my airport contacts to try and find some cheap means of sending things over. If anyone has contacts in this area please let me know. There are many ways both Spiritually and materially we can help these underprivileged children, not least of all remembering them in our prayers.

Both Jane and I were conscious of God’s presence with us on our trip and thank you all for your prayers.