Advertisement
Published: March 7th 2015
Edit Blog Post
The day was off to a beautiful start - the sunrise from my room was breath-taking! Today is also one of the most important days of the trip - for the Give Movement Journey 2015 - led by Suzanne Evans (
http://www.suzanneevans.org) and Sandy Salle (
http://www.hillsofafrica.com)
I had breakfast on my favorite terrace, overlooking the Victoria Falls and river. Wow. I am blessed. I sit back and think about the life I have created over the past few years - big WOW. This hotel is magnificent - the people I am with are incredible - the circle that surrounds me in Suzanne's community have become family. This trip is a pivotal moment in my life and in my career.
As I enjoyed my green tea (the latte machine wasn't working - boo!) - and thoroughly enjoyed my chocolate croissants (I had been waiting for those, LOL!) - I was thinking back to my first trip here with this group 3 years ago. Kim Wannamaker and I enjoyed breakfast together - and it was toe-tapping, memory-making good!
Then it was time to get on the bus and get over to the church, where the women of the market were waiting
for us. Three years ago, we met in the dirt yard, under a tree in the churchyard. This year, I saw so much progress - we were INSIDE the church for one thing, but also when we stopped by the market yesterday, I could also see so much progress since my last/first visit. The women raced out to hug Suzanne, Melonie and Sandy and the rest of us. You could feel the excitement in the air - they were there to learn because they WANTED to, not because they HAVE to! What a difference being in this type of environment.
We spent the morning talking about what has worked since the last visit a year ago - and what problems/challenges do they have now. It struck me as interesting that what they shared is very similar to the discussions with my own clients - the HUGE difference is in the mindset of wanting to make things better- the sense of urgency - the fact that these women know they need help, appreciate the learning - and APPLY what they learn almost immediately. They ask great questions, they speak confidently, they are fully engaged and committed to the process. (and
they have so little!) Their appetite for learning is through the roof.
Women in Zimbabwe are the major bread-winners; the majority of these women are widows or divorced; the majority of them have 4+ children to support. They want to learn, to improve, to grow their business, to support their family in the best way possible. Their spirit is pure and contagious. Their singing is totally angelic! (be sure to see the photos and video clips - some are also on my facebook page)
After we summarized everything for the morning, gave the women homework assignments for tomorrow - we headed across the street to the school. We met the teachers and many of the students - who came outside to visit with us, to receive some gifts we had and to sing a fabulous song for us. (check my personal FB page to listen to the video clip!) So heart-warming. So sincere. (some of the students had to stay inside because they were writing tests .......)........and I did catch a photo of a few of the baboons hanging around the school yard too.
Back on the bus and time to go to Victoria Falls to support
my friends who had decided to go ziplining and do the 'Gorge Jump"! Yikes! Check out the photos below to see the experience my friends had at the gorge - I was most happy to observe from the sidelines and be the photographer and cheerleader for them. Amazing courage it took to do that!!!! I quite enjoyed the view back at the platform and also enjoyed a Zambeezi beer (2, actually! It was a HOT day ......).
From there, it was time to head back to the hotel, quick change of clothes and we were all off for a dinner cruise. Yikes. Here we go again - a water activity, LOL. Well, I am getting much better at this (Jan Bradley - I know you are smiling at this one and Kristy, I saw your comment on FB - YES, I had 2 Zambeezi beer in the afternoon and then 2 glasses of wine on the cruise - I was relaxed and calm!) - Some of my colleagues assured me they had been lifeguards in their earlier days and would take good care of me. I will admit, after the fact, that it was one of the most relaxing
and enjoyable evenings I have ever had on water .......go figure! The view was incredible - especially when the full moon started to rise over the water - we saw hippos in the water, an elephant on the shore - impala deer on our drive to the river - the food was incredible - and the evening was just very pleasant. Yay, me! That's all I have to say. Pretty soon, this will all be second nature to me - being on the water, that is.
And that ended a phenomenal day - of giving, sharing, learning, working, cheerleading, and relaxing. I love my life.
Let me just warn you - there are TONS of photos today - we pack so much into one day, and I do want to share so much of it with you. Enjoy. (MY clients - pay attention to the flip chart pages - we will discuss at our next retreat!!! #wearemorealikethandifferent )
More coming tomorrow ......watch for it!
Love ya all,
Pat
Advertisement
Tot: 0.087s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0562s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Carie Greene
non-member comment
These are the same problems we "complain" about...
It's amazing. No matter what level you're at in your business it all comes down to the same thing.