As a family we enjoyed 3 weeks of total rest and visits from our eldest son – home from Bible College – and Gord’s sister and her husband. What a joy to share a little of our lives with them over the past 5 years, to see the Village of Hope and Zimbabwe all over again, from a new-comers eyes. So much has become routine and ‘normal’ to us that never used to be. It was a blast! (read more of our newsletter in the embedded .pdf below)

Week #2 of school for 2011 and all is well!

461 children in the primary school and 53 in the secondary school.  So 514 children learning at the Village of Hope each day!  What a blessing!  280+ of those children would not be here if it wasn’t for people like you – may it come back to you ‘pressed down, shaken together and running over’! We hit a few glitches and momentary panic set in the first day or two as classes were shuffled, but now all teachers are present and accounted for and classes are in full swing.

We’ve had a steady stream of kids through our VOH offices as Mrs. Zowa fits them for new uniforms, school shoes and school socks.  I forgot how much a kid can grow in a year!  WHEW!

Team #1 of 2011 hits the ground on Saturday and we are all looking forward to it.  They will be painting our front durawall, helping with a walkway at the front gates to keep our kids out of traffic as the school grows, installing a new gas stove for the school, and entering all our kids in a database so we can keep better records, get stats, etc…

Over the last few weeks, I have been dwelling on the awesome promises of God – what a test of our faith to actually believe them!  God is good.  “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart” Ps. 37:4

Week #2 of school year 2011 and all is well.

The primary school has 461 students.  The secondary school 53.  A total of 514 children on site each day! Hit a glitch or two the first day which caused some class shuffling and momentary panic, but now all classes are full and teachers present and accounted for. 280+ of those kids couldn’t be here without you!

Missions Team #1 for 2011 hits the ground this Saturday and we’re looking forward to it!  They’ll be painting our front durawall, installing a gas stove for the school and doing data entry of our 280+ CCP kids into a database so we can keep more accurate records, get stats, etc…

School and resident children are in and out of our offices being fitted for new uniforms, new school shoes and new school socks. Forgot how much kids can grow in a year !

God is good and for days now, I’ve been concentrating on the awesome promises of God.  It really is a test of our faith isn’t it – to actually believe them and let them carry us through on days we feel ‘unpromised’?  “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart.” Ps. 37:4

Seems I hit a speed bump at the end of 2010 – or as they say here ‘a go-slow’.  Sorry for not communicating, but we took some much needed rest with some visiting family and our eldest son home from Bible College.  Now let us bring you up to date….

- just before Christmas we welcomed a new resident child – 5 yr. old and extremely smiley Tinashe.  Another sad story but oh so glad he is now with us.

- initial results of our grade 7 exams (end of Primary school here) were #3 school in our district! Just behind 2 other high end private schools – but not official yet .   Praising God!

- Because of the generosity of sponsors, we hosted a fabulous Christmas party for our resident kids and they were all blessed with gifts, burgers and an ice cream sundae as well as jumping castles and a swim in our pool.  What an awesome and needed blessing for them, and a change from routine – a chance to feel special.

- again, because of the generosity of sponsors, we handed out new knapsacks, school socks, t-shirts, uniforms, food baskets and a host of other gift items to community sponsored children.

We pray that your Christmas was full of family fun and blessings and that your New Year has started well with His spirit and Word as your guide!  Thank you for being a part of our children’s lives!