Wild is Life, LDS Charities, and "My Kupa"

 

Making friends with this new girl; she even let me pet her! 2023.09.13

                        Four heads are better than one! Sister Anderson & Salizar at Wild is Life.

        Wednesday afternoon, Sister Eubank and some South African Leaders over the Humanitarian efforts came to visit the temple. Our new Welcome Center finally got furnished and has street access to the public. Bruce and I explained our duties on the temple construction site and explained the buildings. We can't take people in the actual construction zone, but we can show them the buildings from our Visitor Center and the street. It's nice to finally have a Visitor Center and office. We are waiting patiently for the internet to get hooked up. What's 7 more months anyway?

At the Harare Zimbabwe Temple Site; some of our first Welcome Center visitors. The Humanitarian tour with stake Relief Society sisters and Sister Sharon Eubank, from LDS Charities visited. Our social media elders, Elder Clark and Delacruz stopped by while in the neighborhood. Our first visitor from the street was Vanessa, a returned missionary from our Highlands Ward.

Our new Visitor Center, preparing gravel out front to cut down the dirt. 2023.09.14

Wednesday afternoon, the senior missionaries went to "Wild is Life" together for a nice outing with Sister Eubank. It was fun to get up close and personal by feeding and petting the giraffes. Bruce missed out and played pickleball with our friends the Gibsons. This was the second time I've gone to this animal refuge park. Wild is Life rescues animals in the wild that have been injured or abandoned. They try to reinstate them back into the wild after they've been healed or raised in similar herds. They specialize in giraffes, elephants, and lions. They have one of the only endangered pangolins, which they guard and protect. They always serve nice tea and snacks that seem very British.

Sister Lori Salizar pets a giraffe. Megan and Eric Lewis are serving as missionary leadership and live in the apartment by us. Sister Lewis, Anderson (me), and Warne pose.

Wild is Life with the Seniors and Mission Presidency. I got to play photographer again with Sister Judd's nice Canon camera. She deligated me for the job. I had fun catching shots of the group and animals. All these cute elephants were rescued and are recovering from hardships. The baby was found orphaned when its herd got hit by lightning at Victoria Falls. 

    Our senior missionary group with Pres. & Sister Judd, his counselors, and Sister Eubank, 2023.09.14

I let Sharon Eubanks know about my interest in volunteering to teach Neonatal Resuscitation or Help Babies Breath. She knew Elaine Bond, with whom I did an NRP LDS Charity trip to Ammon, Jordan. Zimbabwe certainly could use some of these LDS charity programs here. I also volunteered through our ward Relief Society to help screen with the MAUC tape for malnutrition in children 0-5 years old. Our Relief Society and stake are helping to pilot the program to supply supplements and food (peanut butter) for protein and fat to undernourished children. They partner with Unicef. This is why we had Sharon Eubank, from LDS charity, come to Zimbabwe to visit. She was a very nice lady and I also attended a multi-stake meeting Thursday night to discuss the importance of ministering to the poor. We have a "squatter camp" in our affluent area of Highlands. Jennifer "My Kupa" and her 3 daughters and adopted daughter are members of our ward. I personally let the stake R.S. know they needed to go and screen her family. The little 9-year-old girl, Jennifer took in last year since her sister died, is bone thin. She's trying to feed her four children, herself, and an older aunt with HIV, who moved in with her. We went last Sunday to visit her and take her some food storage items. The sister missionaries are teaching the 9 year old and we went with them for a Sabbath day visit. We sang some primary songs. Bruce started crying looking at the appalling living conditions in basically a dump yard shanty town of cardboard, reeds or thatch, tin tents, and lots of garbage all around.

Jennifer and her children, Kupa, Agness, and Shiela. She is also caring for her aging ill aunt. This is the "Squatter camp" she's been living in for several years. Jennifer or "My Kupa" since her eldest daughter is named "Kupa" is a member of our Highland Ward. She is trying to survive in the poorest and humblest of conditions. It breaks our hearts but the ward and welfare services are trying to help her. It's a hard line not to cross to not interrupt the processes the bishop has in place.

We sing, "I'm trying to be like Jesus" with the children, and "I love to see the temple" which is in view on the hill above the Squatters camp. Sister Nicol and Delamar from Utah are teaching the family and a 9-year-old girl. Her mother died last year and "My Kupa" has taken her in as her own.

My heart breaks not knowing how we can help these families and try to help them become self-reliant at the same time.

Sister Delamar & Nicol with "My Kupa" and girls at Squatter Camp