June 21, 2009

• Sorry It Has Taken So Long...

  Sunday, June 7, 2009

  
  I am sitting here Sunday morning sipping on a cup of Hazelnut Decaf and listening to my Ipod.  I have decided to write you to once again thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and financial support.  Thank you for giving me grace when I have not been able to write weekly updates as I have done in the past. Today I am waiting for Sal to deliver the second baby of the day so that we can go to church together. If the woman (or should I say the baby) is uncooperative with my plan, I guess I will be going alone.  But, while I wait, I thought I would sit down and put thoughts to paper. There is so much I want to share with you…so much God is doing in the lives of people and on the farm….so much He is doing at the orphanage, school, church and of course the clinic! 
   
  Farm….

  • We had a whole training on “Farming God’s Way” early this year provided to all our farmers.  FGW is called “conservation farming” in the secular world and has proven itself to be effective in this area.  There is no need for plowing or big machinery…just a hoe, a little order and “God’s Blanket.”  The clinic garden was used as a sample and I must admit the carrots were beautiful…straight, bright orange, big and sweet!!!  Alexander has been moving forward with the plan for FGW and is leading the other farmers.  He also has been working with the “chili pepper people” in order to discourage the elephants.  You see, we had over 200 of the big guys and their babies coming through ravaging all the gardens and fields…sometimes in one night.  Firecrackers just weren’t enough! The rangers had to come and kill an elephant to get them to move on.  New markets have been opened for farm produce including our fruit from the orchards.  Professor has been working hard marketing and overseeing the orchard.
  • There are no more loans being given out…credit is coming to a halt and there is a need for teaching budgeting and money management skills. There is no more free seed and fertilizer this year, and the guys are ready to pay for it themselves. 
  • We have two villages that have the capacity for electricity and 10 homes have now been connected…all at their own cost and with a monthly bill. 
  • The Department of Road Transport is finally having the main road here paved so they have a Chinese company hired to do the work…the maps have slotted our little road to be the detour….so they are coming through widening our road and will pass right through two of our outlying villages and Revelation village and the front gate!! That means buses and trucks coming right past the front gate for the next three months….addressing our concerns, they have agreed to speed humps, a traffic attendant and watering to keep down the dirt and dust.  They have also agreed to widen the road to the Hill.
  • We just had a woman’s ministry here where 40 women were taught sewing classes by a retired home economist right here at the guest house.  She had four classes a day and the ladies made chetange outfits, as well as stuffed elephants and Tonga Lady dolls to sell. Sue purchased 4 hand crank machines to use and leave here and one of the more advanced Zambian women is going to continue the classes now that Sue has left.  We made the front room into a sewing room and the classes start up again Monday.  They are going to learn little boys shorts and little girls chetange skirts and/or dresses….the first ones will be for the orphanage before they make them for their own children. Another woman from a work team came during the same time and taught 20 ladies crocheting.  Both classes ended with certificate presentations and the sewing class was a fashion show!
  • The electric all over the farm has been updated and worked on making things safe in the guest house, orphanage, clinic, boreholes, new church site, and some of the tobacco barn and school.
  • New screens are being completed for the guest house as well as new curtains in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
  • Janice has left the farm….she has gone to Livingstone to join her husband Albert who got a very good pastoral position with Rainbow in town and their two children get free private education at Rainbow school.  It was a blessing and now they will be able to do ministry together.

  Janice's Last Day

  Carrots - Farming God's Way

  Crocheting Class

  One of the Sewing Classes

  

  Agatha with the Hand Crank Machine

   Eunice in her new chetange outfit

  Tonga Lady Dolls and Stuffed Elephants

  Tonga Lady Dolls (up close)

   

  Orphanage…

  • There have been many inaccurate reports spreading about the “orphanage closing and us sending the kids all over the country.”    Those reports were initiated when people from outside the district used the pulpits of our smaller planted churches in the surrounding areas to put fear into the Zambian families of the children and it has caused a bit of havoc. Families have been going to Social Welfare asking for their kids…most not in any position to take their kids and some with the intent of giving them to another orphanage outside the district. I just hate gossip and unfortunately no one has come to Sal and I to secure the truth.  When we returned in December, three boys (Misheck, Thomas and Wilson) had been moved to Global Samaritan according to Jaime’s plan to reunite some of the kids with their siblings.  There was one more boy slotted to go, so Joseph quickly followed his buddies.  Now in case you are not aware, our largest donor has chosen to reduce their support by one half effective in June, and to continue with half through the end of 2009, at which time they will contact those who have given, and give them our address with the opportunity for them to continue to have part in the orphanage work.  We trust they will.  While others have deserted the children and the work, God has helped us remain faithful to provide and care for the children’s needs with the resources He provides.  God is a big God, our Provider and He will take care of the kids.  Remember this is His vision and those are His kids…He has promised never to leave them nor forsake them. Right? So as we look to God for His plan for the children, we continue to walk through the doors He opens. When I was at Global Samaritan last month for a certificate ceremony for a ladies ministry (same as here at SoT that I told you about above) I spoke with Miriam who is now running the operations there and she told me she had two positions for girls open up unexpectedly and she also had three more boy positions left in the same house as the other SoT boys.  Taking that as an opportunity God provided and clearing it with Social Welfare, Racheal and Peggy were moved last week and Steven, Joe and Mapalo are scheduled to move by the end of the month….Nine of the older children moved to be with siblings, closer to Sons of Thunder Primary School, eight to a house with English-speaking house mothers and guaranteed secondary education (Global is currently in the process of building a secondary school for their children). All that sounds like God’s provision to me!  Peter was reunited with his father and sisters…his dad has a good job, is remarried living in town and is now able to take proper care of Peter.  So approved and recommended by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Peter went home! That makes 10 children…taking our numbers down to 38.  Now God also opened the doors for a possible 8 children to go to Villages of Hope Children’s Home up by Lusaka. Villages of Hope is with the man who first approached SoT to partner and put money into our orphanage, a plan that was negated by field management at the time.  That Christian investor had the same vision as SoT and has since established a children’s home with individual houses, 8 children and a house mother to each home. He has a school started and is also constructing a clinic.  There is farming and even a restaurant on site.  The director of Villages of Hope and some Board members came to SoT to meet and discuss the possible transfer of children since they just happened to have a house being built that should be ready by June. We all went to the Ministry of Social Welfare and they were in favor of the transfer….the Ministry of Social Welfare up near Lusaka was also in favor and authorization from families is now being sought by the social workers.  If forward progress continues, 8 more children will be provided for through the countenance of God.  That would take our number down to 30.
    Funny, but we are really only approved for a capacity of 25….the original director of the orphanage however chose not to abide by the government regulation and accepted more than double that amount causing overcrowding and all the public health issues that arise as a result of sleeping two and three children to a bed and now not having enough toilet facilities for the number of children, etc. Since God’s Word tells us to submit to local authorities, I am looking to see if we indeed will be at 25 soon!...and that would take us to 50% !   These are the only plans we have for the orphanage right now …we have no Plan B, no plan of man, just stepping as God lights up the next stone.

  Racheal and Peggy go to Global!

  Peter Reunited with His Dad

  Luyando Reunited with His Aunt

  • On a lighter note, we are being sponsored by David Livingstone Safari Lodge in town.  They had a Christmas party for the kids here at the orphanage with food, a tree, “Father Christmas” and a gift for each child.  They brought maintenance workers and a cleaning crew…along with a television crew and newspaper journalists…even the Provincial Minister came to deliver a short speech.  At Easter time, they sent a very plush bus to pick up 25 children and 5 adults for an Easter luncheon at the Lodge.  They had a lovely buffet with long tables set up on the lawn along with a moon bounce to jump in and baby chicks for the kids to hold and pet. 

  Dressed Up Waiting for Bus

  Easter Luncheon at David Livingstone

                                                                                                     

  Notice the Forks!

  Faith Holds a Chick!

  Moonbounce, Fun and Games

  Easter Egg Hunt for Those Left Behind

   

  • A young woman from Scotland named Kelly, who had been here last year, returned with a friend to work at the orphanage. They are with a group called Travellers Worldwide and are here for 2 weeks coming back and forth each day from town.  They stayed here the weekend and just yesterday they and 31 children along with 4 ladies and Doubt (who is now called Able) just took 31 of the older kids to the Mosi-o-tunya Game Park in the lorry driven by Terry.  They also included the children who went to Global along with two boys and the house mother from Global. They saw the animals at the park, had a picnic lunch at the Baobab tree and got ice cream from Steers at the Spar shopping center.  When they got back to the farm, they were filled with excitement all telling me what they had seen!!!

  Group Ready for the Game Park Outing

  In the Lorry

  Ice Cream!

  Tuckered Out!
   

  Church….

  • Pastor Hank came on a work team and taught a Pastoral Counseling Workshop at the beginning of the year for Pastor George and the surrounding pastors. 
  • Pastor George is the District Evangelist and has been going out doing outreaches showing the Jesus film
    He has planted a new church in the District.  He was in charge of the local conferences in the District
    He is growing spiritually….God has shown him his responsibility as a Pastor to speak the Truth and confront sin, as well as discerning spirits and the role of spiritual authority in the church.
  • Construction on the new church was resumed after more than a year of sitting at foundation level.  Right now, it is at roof level and electric is being installed. 

  New Church at Roof Level

  New Church Stage Area
   

  School…

  • School sponsorship has been implemented
  • Killian’s contract was not renewed and a new Headmaster/Education Secretary was hired.  Phillip holds a University degree for teaching and gives us the qualifications we needed for grant-aided status.
    Paperwork for grant-aided status was corrected and resubmitted with Provincial Ministry of Education’s approval…waiting for national approval.
  • Final inspection and paperwork made for SoT to be a seventh grade examination center
    Maintenance work done at the school and one of the teachers houses worked on….making provisions for an American teacher to spend 2010 teaching at the school.
     

  Clinic….

  • Geoffrey left Christmas eve, leaving Sal and I the only professionals…but God provides and we ended up having 4 groups of nursing students over a 12 week period…no less than 14 on the farm at any one time.  They stayed in the tobacco barn and rotated between the clinic, orphanage and school…a week at each site.  They covered nightshift and helped with emergencies and we got to teach them some skills and theory.  The director of the school liked the experience and training they got here so much that she has asked Sal to teach some lectures starting in August. 

  Nursing Students

  More Nursing Students

  Students:Health Teaching to Orphanage Workers                                                                                        

  • We hired an RN/Midwife….she and the new Headmaster are married.  We put them in the tobacco barn and Philip drives so he has been driving back and forth to the school on the Hill.
  • Community Health Evangelism….classes continue on Thursdays and then outreach on Fridays with dramas and home visits to HIV clients.  Support groups rising up in 4 outreach areas.  Reminds me of “each one, reach one.”  What I teach and we discuss on Thursdays, they put into practice on Fridays and now they are starting to teach in their areas….etc.
    Many stories to tell……

  
   Work teams…

  • Started off with team of 3 pastors….Pastoral Counseling
  • Couple of men from Farming God’s Way – (unexpected…a God encounter)- training in Farming God’s Way to about 35 of our farmers
  • One doctor from UK….worked with us in the clinic…a blessing
  • Group from Villages of Hope….spur of the moment….open doors
  • One woman from Indiana….sewing ministry/devotions for 40 women during the month of May
  • Team of 5 from US…crocheting classes/devotions for 20 women, Farm Feast and fellowship, outreach with Pastor George
  • Team of 16 from Gonzaga University…dinner and fellowship, visit to clinic and orphanage
  • Traveller volunteers…orphanage workers…took children to Game Park
     
    It’s hard to believe it’s only 6 months since we arrived back on Zambian soil.  God has been accomplishing a lot ….there’s in between the lines stuff that has been taking place also but this would end up 20 pages or more and I think I will spare you!!! J
     
    Love to All…
    Sal and Renee

   

  • 9:56 am
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