Dearest friends!

We were blessed this last week that God has again “made a way where there seems to be none!”

We have been granted another year extension on our work permits here in Zimbabwe! We are good here until August 26^th, 2010!

Thank you for standing with us in faith, for standing with us in prayer! HALLELUJAH!

Things are now in high gear, as we prepare to leave home in Zimbabwe for 5 months, and make arrangements to spend time with family and friends in Canada! There is much to do! We praise God that accommodations are settled, but we are still in need of a car during our stay. Please continue to pray for plans and preparations – that God be glorified in it all and that children are saved because of our efforts.

We will be in Canada, October 2009 to late February 2010. We welcome the opportunity to update you on the Village of Hope and ‘our’ children, in person during that time!

So you can ensure you reach us, please email us at our new address of gacooledge@vohzimbabwe.com.

We noticed that many people are still using our old ZOL address, which will expire next month and we’d hate to miss your notes and encouraging words!

Update from the ground….

- We have 3 new housemothers at last starting on September 1^st, 2009. Please pray for Acquilline, Addeline & Elizabeth as they prepare to take up residence at the Village of Hope and train to be the Housemother God wants them to be!

- Levelling of the sports fields begins next week!

-  30 new CCP (sponsored) community children are having their pictures taken this week and will be prepped for starting school at Cornelius Hope Academy Primary School in January 2010, in both preschool and Kindergarten! Pray for sponsors in Canada through Child Care Plus, and that God would prepare their little hearts! (new little one pictured left)

-  Kudakwashe and Christinah (our 2 new additions of last month) are settling in well. They smile often and though a little cheeky at times J, are a real pleasure to be around.

-  CHAPS and the VOH were honoured to have their founder, Rev. Murray Cornelius, address the CHAPS students this month! PAOC’s African Regional Director -Rev. Steve Chaloner,  and Bishops from Uganda and Kenya also honoured us with their presence at the event. (pictured right with CHAPS caps)

- We are blessed to have our first ever CONTAINER on its way – loaded with school supplies like desks, cabinets and books. This is new territory for us and walking the papers through all the appropriate government offices is no easy task. Please pray that God would continue to make a way for this awesome donation to our children’s education! (ETA – 2-3 weeks)

- Our 3 newest Children’s Homes at the Village of Hope underwent an inspection this week. We have a few tweaks and repairs to obtain the occupancy permit. But bunkbeds, mattresses, couches and coffee tables have been ordered to fill the houses and get them ready for children.

- Please pray for the changes we need to our VOH orphanage registration, to ensure even more children have a place at the Village of Hope. That process can begin now that the new Children’s homes are almost ready and will change the allowable number of resident children from the current 24 (we are full!) to 56 (allowing 32 new spots for needy children). Pray for Mr. Mafa & Mr. Chimbetete as they do the legwork while we are in Canada.

- Secondary School Registration is still in process and making its way through appropriate offices. Please continue to pray this process through!

Telling the story…..

Despite all the business reports above, nothing tells the story of the Village of Hope better than a child! We were so very proud of our resident and other sponsored children this month as they received award after award at the end of 2^nd term at CHAPS.

Tinotenda has become a beacon to show what God can do in the life of a child!

Having been abandoned by a father with another wife, and a dying mother, the aunt that took over his care could no longer afford him. Tino became ill with HIV, he was weak and always sick. Tired from trips to the clinic and in desperation, the aunt handed him back to his delinquent father. At his new home, Tino’s father disappeared for days at a time and his new wife resented Tino’s presence.

Tino became a victim of neglect and abuse – he was refused food, clean clothes, a glass of water, or a place to sleep warmly. The father took no concern over the abuse. But God granted a caring neighbour and that’s where the Village of Hope came in! The day we drove to pick up Tino is a day that will stay etched in our minds forever. The depressed, withdrawn and sickly boy we led by hand to our truck that day bears no resemblance to the beautiful boy he is today!

Tino has now been with us at the Village of Hope for 1 ½ years. He is getting medical treatment for his HIV. His skin is now longer scaly and dry, but beautiful and healthy. He has gained height, weight and friends. He has begun to smile, although still preferring to play alone so often, his demeanour has changed. And glory to God – at end of second term at CHAPS – he was #1 in his grade 2 class!

We cannot emphasize enough what God has started in the life of one young boy through the Village of Hope and through you! We believe the sky is the limit for Tinotenda! HALLELUJAH!

Thank you for being a part of our lives and what God is doing for children here in Zimbabwe! Let us share a story and HOPE with you while in Canada!

‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life…’ (2 Peter1:3)

This has long been a favourite verse of mine. And since I love the KISS principle and am getting worse by the year at memorization  - I’ve shortened it to remind myself constantly that when times get rough, when you’re not sure which country you’ll be in next month, when the cost of living rises to what seems beyond our means, when you’re living through your 4th 12 hour electricity cut of the week, and when the future seems uncertain - that God still has everything I need to get by!

As the months fly by here, the Village of Hope seems to take on a life of its own, and we are running, trying to keep up with the grace of God. We are at the tail end of a Zimbabwean winter and still using heaters at night and layering clothing. The USD has made many things available again, but is still elusive to the average citizen. Salaries and services simply cannot match the high demand for the greenback.

In the midst of it all, here’s what God’s doing on the ground at the VOH right now…..

Work Permits

Gord and I travelled to Immigration on Thursday last week to check. There is no news. Please keep praying as waiting for that much-needed visit home to Canada with family, friends and all of you, is getting harder to wait for by the day. Pray for our children who are nervous about the long furlough – Zimbabwe is now home where friends, school and youth group are.

Community Outreach

These last 2 months, as the grass grew high on the sides of the road, people in our community were getting mugged and assaulted along Good Hope Rd. which leads from the highway to the Village of Hope and beyond. The perpetrator would then vanish again into the grasses. So we took the problem to heart, dropped our pencils and shovels, and shut down our computers one Friday afternoon to slash the grass along the roadway. This meant a clear walkway for our neighbours without fear of hidden culprits on their way home. We thank our staff who took it on willingly! (before and after shots below)

In August, another afternoon is being planned to fill in the deepening potholes along Good Hope Rd. And to add speed humps in front of our gates, to protect the hundreds of Primary School children using the roadway now. We are worried about a fatal injury if the cars aren’t slowed down.

Our kids program on Wednesday afternoons is now holding their own services – identifying music and worship talents in our kids. Though unpolished, the electric atmosphere on Wednesday afternoons is something we wish you ALL could be a part of!

We ended term 2 again with a bang, and a FUN DAY for all the kids from our feeding program!

Cornelius Hope Academy Primary School

We celebrated loudly this past month as our Volleyball team made it all the way to Provincial competitions and won 2nd place! Basketball won at district levels and more than the winning that happened, we were so proud of our kids for the comments they got on their sportsmanship. When a rival player went down on the court, our CHAPS Head Boy was the first one across the court to check on him and help him up!

We thank God for the Canadian people and communities that have invested in CHAPS and the double storey, and so named the Library ‘Hanover Community Library’ and the Computer Lab – ‘North Pointe Computer Centre’ in honour of those that sacrificed to make it all happen!

Term 2 closes August 6th. Term 3 begins Sept. 8th.

Cornelius Hope Academy Secondary School

An application for a Secondary School on site is now in process! To help all our kids with quality Christian education right through their learning years and without interruptions, we are excited for this new phase at the Village of Hope!

Sponsorship

A number of difficult meetings happened through July, as our committee met to pray over and review 120 needy children’s profiles. And yet we could only accept 30 into preschool and Kindergarten for January 2010. Home visits to verify information, and more data is now being collected so that these children can be sponsored through Child Care Plus after final decisions are made.

Children’s Homes

We now have 24 resident children in 3 open Children’s homes, as we welcomed 2 new little girls into Dumisani this month – Kudakwashe & Christinah (pictured below).  We have removed the need to call our homes by number, as most of our Children’s Homes now have a name!

1. Genesis (the first )

2. Kadesh (a place of decision, of new paths, of entry into ‘the promised land’)

3. Dumisani (this mean praise in the Ndbele language – one of 2 main people groups in Zimbabwe)

4. Rehoboth (Gen. 26:22 – “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”)

5. To Be Announced!

6. Nyasha (this means ‘grace’ in the Shona language)

Praise God that through the PAOC’s ‘Just Add Water’ Campaign & North Pointe Community Church, Edmonton, we were graciously supplied with a new borehole JUST for our Children’s Homes! (pictured above) This means that when the other taps are on, our moms and kids no longer have to run and fetch buckets because of the lower water pressure. We’ve added a 5000 L water tank on a tower to continue to supply them when the electricity (and the pump) goes out.

We are interviewing for House mothers – again! These dear women are hard to find and we value the ones who have made a commitment here. Please continue to pray this process through – that God would provide! We need to hire 2-3 immediately for children’s homes that are almost ready to move into!

Hope Community Church

Celebrate with us, as our own Pastor Zowa graduates with a Master’s degree this Saturday, August 1st from PACU (Pan African Christian University), Nairobi, Kenya. They were blessed by donations from past team members that sent his wife with him to Nairobi, to share in this momentous occasion!

Feeding Program

The VOH continues to feed about 350 children each day. About 200 at our gate before they start their day at CHAPS, and another 150 in the local community at 3 feeding points. We praise God for ERDO (Emergency Relief and Development Overseas) who are providing cereal for us in assistance!

God bless you for being part of all our lives here in Zimbabwe!