Dear friends, family, partners,

It’s been a while. Seems that some of you didn’t get our last update at the end of August and so our apologies to you for the electronics and internet we battled with that month. So at this point, please know that our family is safe and sound on furlough in Canada, and that things are carrying on well at the Village of Hope in our absence. Here’s a little update…..

KUMUSHA….

Having received another one year work permit in Zimbabwe in late August, our family made plans to head to Canada – to see family we hadn’t seen in years, to rest and reflect, to report back to our supporters and prayer partners in person.

You see in Africa, everyone has a rural home. In Shona it’s called ‘Kumusha’, and so in Zimbabwean terms we are at Kumusha and enjoying our roots for a while.

We have been so blessed in the people that have already helped us settle into a home for 6 months, furnished it, and loaded it with groceries. We have been blessed by those that helped us find a used vehicle at cost, at the dinners and coffees as we catch up with one another, and at the warm reception at churches. And so the weeks are now flying by as our own children are being homeschooled through the weekdays and we travel to a different church each Sunday, sharing the story of the Village of Hope and the children whose lives it touches. God has been good to us!

AT HOME IN ZIMBABWE….

At the Village of Hope, Pastor Zowa has assumed the position of ‘Acting Director’, and other duties have been metered out to our management team. Gord is spending a lot of time on the internet here in Canada, still reviewing finances and being involved in bigger decisions. And Anita is still reviewing sponsorship and child care issues. But we thank God for the Administrative Team He has brought to the Village of Hope, that we can come to Canada for a while and continue raising support, that the Village of Hope continues to affect little lives for years to come.

So today here’s where we are with…

1. CHILDREN’S HOMES – The application to amend our registration from 24 to 56 children is still in process.

We have lost one House Mother due to a difficult family situation and so her 9 VOH resident children endured yet another loss in their lives. Please pray that God will continue ‘to make a way where there seems to be none’, pray for the healing of their hearts.

Pray for new House Mothers – we are desperately in need if we are to expand into the new Children’s Homes, now completed.

2. CHAPS (Primary School) – Our grade 7 children are now writing their provincial exams that will mean the difference in high school (high school starts in grade 8 here). Please pray for them. Our teachers have put a lot of preparation and time into getting them ready and encouraging them with prayer at the start of each day.

The container of school supplies arrived! Thank you Queensway Cathedral! We have been blessed with enough books to start our library; and files, desks, children’s toys, chairs, whiteboards, screens and other school supplies to see us through the growth of our last school block and God willing, into the Secondary School!

And the development of a double basketball/tennis court, and a 400 metre oval track around the soccer field for our athletics department, is about half way complete.

The final school block is now receiving finishing touches. Once an occupancy permit is granted – CHAPS will be complete!

THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU FOR THE PEOPLE THAT HELP ALONG THE WAY!!

3. Secondary School – The application for a Secondary School is still in process. We have applied for an amendment as the Village of Hope does not have as much land as they prefer to dedicate to a SS and so this has slowed the process down. In the mean time, we are seeking places for our grade 7 class off site for grade 8 (Form 1) in January of 2010 because the time is getting too close to hire teachers and begin SS on site for this next year. This will require transportation.

Please continue to pray this process through as we would like to assist our sponsored and resident children right through their education.

4. Farm – As development of the Village continues, our farm land is shrinking. We continue to grow and sell staple vegetables like carrots and kovo, and any other unused land is now being planted with maize to provide the staple food of mealie meal through the next seasons.

5. CHILD CARE PLUS – As we flew to Canada, we carried 28 new profiles of children that will need sponsorship before 2010 – they will enter Cornelius Hope Academy Primary School at Preschool and Kindergarten level in January 2010. We are blessed with a waiting list of sponsors! But if God moves your heart to take on one of our new children, please call 905-542-7400 and ask for Child Care Plus, or access them through the PAOC website.

As our family enjoys the colours of a Canadian autumn in our travels, the beginnings of the rainy season are being felt in Zimbabwe. And if you are watching the news, the politics is also in flux again. Please continue to pray for stability of both politics and economy in the beautiful country of Zimbabwe. Though we are all now using foreign currency, and a lot of goods that had disappeared are again on the shelves, these are still elusive to the average Zimbabwean without a job or bank account and so the hunger has not stopped, and the need for a safe haven for abandoned and orphaned children is still high.

Thank you for being a part of the Village of Hope, Zimbabwe! We pray that we get to shake your hand in person in our travels and reporting in Canada. May God bless you richly!