Things are going GREAT here in Zimbabwe!!! I am sooo excited to share all that is happening but you must wait a little longer!!! I am now officially 24!! I celebrated my birthday like a princess. High tea and chocolate tarts at the Nesbitt Castle. It was so fancy! I even poked out my pinky when I sipped my tea! :) yipee!!
I am trying to learn some Ndebele and it is so hard. It's so amazing to see a young child that can speak 3-5 languages and I still struggle with my English! :) But it is going well, I can greet people!!! Oh well, believe it or not I am at a lost for words!! Till next time!!

Tootles,
~A

My lotion doesn't work in Africa!!!

Oh man....I'm so use to the 90 degree 100% humidity weather in Texas! But here, 70 degree 0% humidity!!!! That's right.....ZERO PERCENT!!! My poor skin is suffering. It all began with the daily routing of applying my cocoa butter lotion from the states.....5 minutes later and I'm ashy again. So, I do the natural thing and put on some more. STILL ashy! So Sherrie suggests that I buy some body butter, it's suppose to be sooo good! I use the body butter...ashy again within 10 minutes. Long story short, now I take a bath with body oil, apply cocoa butter, body butter AND straight glycerin! Geez!! Now my hair is beginning to suffer from the dry air! I never thought I'd miss the humidity of Texas but right about now I sure could use some moisture in the air.

Dry skin aside, I've been learning to drive a standard truck! This is a huge accomplishment for me since I've never driven one in my life. Add the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road and the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the truck, and you've got some interesting times! It's coming along quite well and I am getting the hang of it. I'm still quite nervous to tackle the round about so we'll wait a while for that one.

Another big update....I am no longer in Tutume due to unforeseen issues. But now I am more excited than ever. Bethany Ministries has some great projects lines up. I will be helping to establish a clinic in Zimbabwe to accommodate women and child health. I'll also work with an abandoned baby clinic and deliver much needed supplies to hospitals. Awesome things are happening!!! Stay Tuned!

~A

1 week in Tutume

Oh my, It's been such a while since I've added to the blog. While I was in Francistown we had access to free wireless internet. Here in Tutume we had to use 1 mobile modem between 3 internet users. You have to pre-pay for airtime. So during our last visit to Francistown we each bought a mobile modem for our laptops. With this type of internet, you must take your sim card from the cell phone and place it in the modem then connect to the internet. This is why my calls are sooo short. Both the internet and cell phone use "minutes" and the air time isn't cheap when you are calling overseas!

All that aside, D and I are stuggling to get use to the culture. It is more different from the US than I thought. I am praying for endurance and strength! We've only been in the village for a week but it feels MUCH longer than that. Aside from the culture, I am learning how to cook. Yesterday I plucked my first chicken then we boiled it and ate it for dinner. No, I did not kill it, I refused!!

Hopefully I'll be able to post as much as I'd like to!! Please stay tuned!

~A

Tutume

Today we finally made it out to Tutume, which is our final destination. The journey has been 5 days in the making. The host family is really sweet. They have 4 kids with the oldest being assigned to me. She will be there to help me the entire summer as well as translate when needed! I'm really excited about the things that are going to happen this summer. I will be able to meet with the Tutume district health team as well as the US ambassador for Botswana. I will also be attending various conferences and trainings. I am super excited. The area is very rural and the nearest grocery store is an hour away but I think that I can handle it.

~A

Francistown, Botswana

Today was AWESOME!! The morning began early considering I've been traveling since Wednesday night. We attended the church of the family we are staying with for the next few days here in Francistown. First service was in english and second service was in setswana!!! It was really cool to here them speak and sing in their native language. After service we went to visit some of Sherrie's friends, Tembi and Charles. Tembi was nice enough to let me help in the kitchen. She taught me how to make the staple food, sadza!! We also had greens made with tomato and onion, butternut squash and chicken. All the vegetables were from her own garden. She explained that it is soo expensive to purchase them in the store. Now it is just time to relax. Tomorrow we go to town to get sim cards for our cell phones and purchase other items that we will need in the village!

~A

Johannesburg, South Africa

Yesterday we finally made it to Africa!!! I was so excited to finally see the land through the clouds as we prepared to land after an 11ht flight. The people there were really friendly and I have never felt so much like a tourist. The culture is entirely different. Our hotel was cute although it felt more like a dorm! The food is tasty. I had a tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch and kingklip for dinner...so good!! We had a long trip to Francistown, Botswana!! It took about 11hrs by truck. And we had that truck loaded down!!! 22 pieces of checked luggage and 6 carry-ons. It was amazing how we fit it all on the truck...and it was a small truck at that. There aren't any large vehicles here at all....even my F-150 back at home is way too big and considered wasteful! I'm so happy we made it to Francistown!!! Time for bed!

~A

London, England

Greetings from London, The flight wasn't bad at all....it actually didn't seem that long. 9hrs!! Now we are stuck in the airport, unable to leave because the layover isn't over 9hrs(ours was 7) It's now around 3:45pm London time and we are departing at 6:45pm for a flight to South Africa. I can't wait to see what the land is like there.
It's wierd having to pay for wireless internet!! $14 for 3 hrs. So no time to play around!! I was able to call my parents on the computer and talk with them for 15minutes or so. That was nice...AND...free! : )
I am super excited about this trip and I look forward to all the adventures!!

Tootles
~A

Oh my, hard to believe that this time tomorrow I will be on my way to Tutume Botswana. So here is the breakdown. I leave tomorrow at 7:55pm from Houston, TX. I will fly 9hrs to London, England. I will then have a 7hr lay-over. From London, I will fly 11hrs to Johannesburg, South Africa. We will stay over night then travel by car 8hrs to Francistown, Botswana. One more over night stay then travel to Tutume!! By then I'll probably be sooo tired, but I'm sure the excitement will keep me awake!
I still need to make 1 more run to Wal-Mart!! I'm running out of time. Just when I think I have everything, I remember something else!!!
My parents and I are going to leave Jasper tomorrow around noon so we can hang out a little in Humble...believe it or not I STILL have to purchase a camcorder. So, we'll pick up one there.
I'm hoping that I will be able to make another post while in London!!! AND sneak out of the airport to see the city and take pictures!!!

~A

I'm Packed...

I can't believe that I'm all packed. Still not quite ready to leave. I need to get a camcorder so I can shoot some good footage!! I can't believe the 13th is almost here and I'm not nervous yet. My parents are nervous enough for me! : )
We are headed to Houston tomorrow to take my nephew to the Dr. and enjoy some quality time. Also need to take care of a few last minute things at my apartment....like paying up my rent for the next 3 months.
It's getting late...I'm off to bed.

~A

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!! Had an awesome time at Harvest Church this morning as always!! I love my church family, they are the best!
Only 3 days until I leave and believe it or not I haven't even began to pack!!!! Perhaps tomorrow. Just been so busy watching the NBA playoffs!!! : )
Well I'm off to bake cookies with KeLon for mom. Yummy!!!

~A

Well everyone..... I have finally purchased a laptop. It took a 3 month trip out of the country to force me to get one!! Now I will be able to be in contact with everyone. I will be chatting on Yahoo Messenger...my ID is alicia_ogilbert so please add me.
Today is the day before mother's day and I am enjoying my time at home with my folks!! I know that they are getting nervous!! : ) Well I'm off to watch a movie with mom! Good night!!

~A

Just a few more days!

Well, I am counting down the days until I leave for the trip of a life-time. May 13 will be here before I know it and each day I find myself becoming a little more nervous. I am truly excited about the possibilities. I've wanted to travel to Africa for quite sometime now and I can't believe that it is actually happening. I've learned at a young age that sometimes you have to create your own opportunities, and I intend to create as many as I can!!!! I look forward to what I am about to learn and I promise to share each and every experience.