Wow! I can hardly believe I haven’t even been back in Zimbabwe a full month yet; it feels like a year…life has been so busy!
Last time I sent out a newsletter I asked you pray that I’d have the stamina to make it through Hannah and Josephat’s wedding as I was ‘wearing so many different hats’. Thank you…I made it! We had an absolutely wonderful day.
H & J are now getting used to married life together in Harare. They popped out for a weekend visit at the end of July and seem to be very happy and adapting really well.
A few days after the wedding I flew to England for a much needed break. Thank you to every one of you who made my time there so very, very special. I came back on 15th July feeling completely refreshed …and I certainly needed to be ‘ready to roll’ because it has been the most incredibly busy few weeks.
Just three days after I arrived back we received another little life into our care. Diana Kokora, aged about a month, came to be part of our family. She was very ‘shut down’ upon arrival…didn’t cry, avoided all eye contact… an indication of real neglect or trauma. However after a few days of experiencing our family’s love and care, she relaxed, discovered her cry and is even smiling at us now and again.
Four days later our family increased once again…this time with furry additions! All rather sooner than I had anticipated, but after we lost our dog, Toby, and cat, Tiqvah, in May I had promised the children we would get more animals, and the night after I got back we received information about some puppies in need of a home, which also led to news about two 3 month old kittens also needing a home.
The kittens came first. Asher, the ginger and white male, and his sister, Zoe, were released to us by Cat Rescue Zimbabwe. They are currently ‘indoor cats’ until they get a little bigger and they have, in typical cat fashion, taken over my home and, of course, thoroughly trained me to their specific requirements! About a week later the puppies came from the Zimbabwe SPCA. Ollie, the small brown male, and his female companion, Abby, are gradually settling into life at Montgomery. Abby is very quick to respond to training, but Ollie is rather stubborn. Thankfully he seems to take the lead from his friend, so we are hoping she will help bring him into shape. It’s a lot of work getting them accli-matised to our large property and its many residents, but we are getting there. The children and staff are delighted to have furry friends around again although some are still a little nervous of the rather rambunctious puppies.
Lesley
