Have our third team of the year on the ground.  Great and hard working bunch – doing After Schools Discipleship with our kids, treating our resident kids to a Fun Day and a day out doing some local sightseeing, teaching English as a Second Language to local moms, and finishing off the last touches to our new Medical Clinic.

Second Term of the 2011 school year started up last week and the Village of Hope is busy and noisy once again.  LOVE all the noise from playing and happy kids!  This week we’re updating thank you notes to our sponsors and children’s pictures – watch for them in the mail!  God is great!

We rejoiced yesterday with the angels in heaven, when we heard that 2 local men had given their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ!  Now the church is growing and there are new salvations almost weekly, but these men are special to us!

From having a reputation for drinking and being aggressive with his family and relationships whenever he drank, ‘Mr. Y’ is a changed man!  We have sponsored his daughter for years, and upheld his wife through some tough years in moral &  prayerful support. What an answer to prayer, a life of change for his whole family, and a witness to his community!

Then there’s ‘Mr. C’ who is father to 2 of our resident children. From a life of desperation after his wife passed away, and the hope provided for his girls and family through the Village of Hope he began seeking, even pronouncing that he was going to give his life to Christ.  He followed through and today is attending the church’s New Life classes, learning the basics of the christian walk.

The Village of Hope is a place of healing not just for children!  God be praised!

After 2 mos. away from the blog, it’s time to catch up.  So sorry.  But hey, there’s good reasons….

- hosted a team of 9 through March that did HIV/AIDS teaching; blessed a Children’s home with all it’s contents & decor; taught, loved on and played with our children; painted our Medical Clinic rooms; and hosted a Fun Day for children from the Chosen Ones Feeding Program.

- welcomed our 56th resident child into the Children’s Homes.  Leeroy is now safe, loved, and being schooled!

- travelled to Kenya to do Child Protection Training at the VOH in Kisumu

- attended an all Africa Missionary retreat – what a blessing!

- hosted and did orientation with the Directors coming to replace us, God willing, in September.  Keep watching this space for their picture and story.

- are preparing to host our 3rd team of the year in May – doing ESL (english as a second language); prepping our first Youth apartment; blessing our resident kids with a field trip; building the ablution block for the SS; taking CCP pictures; teaching in the school; and blessing our moms.

- Hope Community Medical Clinic is almost complete!  Now just to pray the registration process through.

WHEW!  So we’re back and finding a few moments to update you all.  Thanks for joining us and staying abreast of all the news, praying for our children, and loving on all of us.  The Village of Hope doesn’t happen without YOU!

There is an African saying… “It takes a village to raise a child.”

We have adopted this at the Village of Hope and on Wednesday afternoon we were so very proud, as 3 y.o. Natasha returned from a surgical repair of her umbilical hernia, and staff from the Village all over, came to check on her, to lay hands on her and pray for healing and a quick recovery.  2 days later, she is doing fabulously and is weaning off her pain medication, sitting up and eating full meals.  What a blessing!

Thank you to Lighthouse Christian Assembly for providing the funds needed for Natasha’s surgery!

Another purpose filled week!  As we welcomed into care little Moses from a past of abuse, and beautiful Memory after being abandoned.  Please pray for these new 4 children as they start school at CHAPS, get settled into a new home and new ‘mom, brothers & sisters’.  They are so very precious!  Wish you could meet them in person!

Moses

(Bear Tinashe &) Memory

Takunda

Lessie

Over the past 2 weeks, we’ve welcomed into residence Lessie & Takunda.  Lessie saved from a life of abuse.  Takunda saved from a life on the streets.  Both are now living with Housemother Rachel in a newly opened Wasaga Beach Home!  We praise God for this development and a place for Lessie and Takunda!  We’ll be officially dedicating the home with the arrival of a missions team from Wasaga Beach early March.  Please pray for these 2 new additions, for their healing.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming how emotions can change day by day, minute by minute.  The highs we hit are…

- having a team here and how incredibly hard they worked finishing their projects in half time

- the beautiful new durawall and walkway for our children away from the cars.  And the 120 CCP parents and guardians who volunteered their time to make it all possible.

- Lisa hit 9.9 kg this week!  She is standing and clapping and attempting steps and has such a proud smile each time she ‘gets it’.

- Evans started walking.  Another proud moment!

- A new Children’s home is being opened this week, ready for their housemom and 3 little girls as a start to the family.

But amongst the days, a few dark clouds passed.  Please keep praying for these situations….

- the start of a new year and new children each day in the classroom has brought 2 new cases of abuse to light.  These are always heart wrenching to deal with.

- Lisa developed a fluid filled lump on the side of her head which needs some investigating.

- a local 2 yr. old boy fell into a drainage pipe and lost his life.  Please pray for the family.

- a boy in CHAPS grade 2 was struck by a live wire of 240V and was burnt and hospitalized for several days.  We praise God that Munashe’s life was spared!  Please pray for continued healing.

- the team lost a day at the VOH as their flight out of Victoria Falls was cancelled and a contingency plan was made.

Despite it all, God continues to move.  His hand is evident here.  Thank you for taking time and being a part of ‘Village life’!

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