MK Returns Home for the Summer

One of the blessings of being employed by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is that after a missionary kid returns to the U.S. to begin his adult life (most attend university, but not all) the IMB pays for them to have one return trip “home”. This summer (winter in Zimbabwe), Jason Fort has been home with his parents Gregg and Donna Fort.

“It has been great to be able to relate to Jason as a young adult,” says Donna Fort. “What a privilege to hear first hand how God has been at work in his life and to see the maturity he has attained in various aspects of his life. Communicating with a college man through e-mail is not always informative! But living with someone day in and day out you are able to catch up and hear about experiences that were never mentioned in an e-mail or on facebook.”



One of the things Jason has really enjoyed while at home has been working with Gregg to fix up an old land rover. Not only has he had fun doing it, but he is also learning skills that will come in handy when working with any vehicle.

Jason has also enjoyed having more time to spend studying God’s Word and reading inspirational books.

Shopping has turned out to be another fun activity for Jason as he has purchased a number of items he can’t get in the U.S. to take home with him! That’s a switch. Usually his parents are buying things in the U.S. to bring to Zimbabwe they can’t get!



The Forts have also done a little traveling to see and do some great things in Zimbabwe. A few days on the Zambezi River with our Zimbabwe team was a fun experience even though the river was at flood stage and the fishing was lousy, we still got to see a full lunar eclipse and that was a first for us all.



Jason had several other opportunities to catch up on some hunting and fishing experiences including one with his Dad and Uncle Gordon. Of course all that hunting meant we had a "butcher shop" on our back porch as the guys made biltong (beef jerky), steaks, roasts, and hamburger meat!



Donna and Jason visited team member Ramona Beam in Bulawayo and took her to see Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage which is an unusual place to visit. They take care of “orphaned” antelope, lions and other large cats, monkeys, and baboons and birds – mostly owls and eagles. They even had a few crocodiles! There is an “animal hospital” there as well where hurt or sick wild animals can be brought to heal and then are released back into the wild.

For Jason’s birthday the Forts traveled to Victoria Falls to celebrate. They went to the Boma to eat game meat and see traditional dancers. Jason also wanted to experience “high tea” on the verandah of the famous Victoria Falls Hotel.