Dining Facility Under Construction

Thanks to a generous, anonymous contribution, our School of Hope Dining Facility is under construction.  This might be a fancy name for a simple building but it will be a good place for our cooks to prepare and then serve the lunches for 260 people every school day.  Instead of children sitting on the cement verandahs, or tree trunks, or the ground, they will be able to sit at tables, under a roof and out of the rain in the rainy season. 

The blocks for the facility are made out of dirt from our land, a little cement, and a small amount of water.  With the help of a diesel fueled block making machine, the workers are able to make 1,500 blocks per day.  In five days they will have enough.  In addition they are making the blocks we will need for the first building for our Hope Vocational Academy – our Secondary School. We will keep you posted as building continues!

Visit to the Prison

In January, we received seven children who have no one to take care of them because their mothers are serving long sentences in prison.  Two of these children were born in prison and some of them spent their early months with their mothers in the prison. 

Most of August is a school holiday month and children who have relatives that they can visit, often go to stay connected with the families.  This was our first time to take these children to visit their mothers in prison.  There was much excitement as they anticipated seeing their mothers.  They left early in the morning, taking food for their lunch, jump ropes, crayons and coloring books, and balls to have things to do with their mothers for the day as they were there. 

They came back and said that their mothers were so happy to see them and to know that they are in a good and safe place.  Here in Zambia it is a compliment to be told you are fat.  So Gift, a very sweet and sensitive girl, reported that her mom said to her, “You are getting fat.  Your hips are as big as mine.”  Knowing that their children were being fed well, healthy, and taken care of brought these women peace and joy.

Three Generations

Father – Daughter – Grandson:  Tim – Charity – Noah

In July we had a family of 3 generations come to serve at the Village of Hope.  Tim is my first cousin, lives in Kansas, and returned this summer to help us.  Last year his daughter, Charity was here also and she returned this year and brought her second born son, Noah. 

We can make a huge difference to following generations.  Tim has always had a heart for missions, which he has passed on to his daughter, and now is being passed on to his grandchildren.  Noah quickly entered in to the life of the Village and he was always out and about with the children who live here.  He helped measure the height and record the weight on all 240 children at the school when the team did the physicals.  He and Roman became good friends, a friendship that I expect to continue for many, many years.  His life will never be the same because he spent 2 weeks here in Zambia.

Over this summer we have had 5 young women, beginning their adult lives, who will carry with them the time they spent in Zambia at the Village of Hope.  Their lives will never be the same and the decisions they make for their futures will be informed by their experiences here.

We all need to pass on to those who are younger the call to be World Citizens of the Kingdom, giving and caring and serving members of our family that live around the world.  You are never too old or too young to be involved.  This summer our visitors have ranged in age from 7 years old to 81 years old.  Everyone can make a difference.

Good News shared at a Leper Village

The Liteta Hospital, about 5 miles from our Village, served as a leprosy hospital for many years.  Although there is now a cure for leprosy, there are still older individuals, most of them in wheel chairs, who suffer from the results of the disease.  When the hospital was a leprosy hospital, a village was built by the Zambian government to house individuals and their families who had leprosy.  Many of these individuals now have grandchildren that they are trying to care for.  Children are everywhere.

The children and youth from our Village of Hope and children and youth visiting from Calvary Bible Church in Neenah, WI worked for several days on a program that we presented to those who live in this Leper Village.  We also presented the program at a neighboring village on the Green Farm.  Thanks to the new bus given by Touching Heart in VA, we were able to transport (in 2 trips) about 60 children, youth, and adults to the two events.

We began with songs with fun motions that all could join. The skits (or “sketches” as they call them here) were:

Daniel and the Lion’s Den

The Birth of Jesus

Jesus quieting the Storm

The Good Samaritan

The Lost Son

The Wordless Book Explained

We were black and white, big and little, children (3yo), youth (to 16yo) and adults, Africans and Americans – all sharing the Good News of the love of Jesus.  All of us were blessed as well.

Village of Hope Girl’s Club

We have had our first meeting of our Girl’s Club for the girls 10 and older.  We had 25 girls in

attendance!!!

Goals of the Club:

1.  To build relationships between the girls and godly women who can speak into their lives.

2.  To grow in the knowledge of Biblical principles for being godly women.

3.  To learn practical skills:  health and hygiene, home skills, and skills that can be used in the community.

4.  To have a place and time for fellowship, fun, and mutual encouragement.

At our first meeting we had a devotion.  Then Clare Hickey from CO showed us how to make friendship bracelets from embroidery floss.  Some of the girls also helped teach others.  They had learned from a previous volunteer how to make them. 

Mary Zulu is joining Martha and me in leading the club.  It was a happy bunch as they worked together and I’m excited to do lots of things with these beautiful girls.

Volunteer Season

Summer in the US is the time when we have lots of teams coming to live and work among us for a short time.  Already we have been blessed with several teams. One of the big projects Fairfax Community Church worked on was painting the Take-Away a nice bright white.  It looks so clean and light.

We have also hosted Eastern Hills Community Church.  One of their big assignments was to help empty the container sent from Michigan.  There were so many school supplies on that container.

We also had a team coming from First Evangelical Free in Wichita, KS.  Actually I think of that as the Grist team since 2 cousins were a part of this team who were here last year from the Grist family. Many other members of the team will be doing physicals for all the kids at school and in the Village.

 

Finally we have a team coming from Calvary Bible Church.  Over half of the members of that team are teenagers or younger.  So we are planning to put together an outreach program with kids from our Village to share a few times around the community.

This is also the summer of beautiful young women who are staying at our house and getting to spend time with Sena and Isha.  One from Wisconsin, two from Maryland, one from Colorado, one from Texas, and our daughter-in-law to be from NYC.  What a blessing they have all been!!!  They have already had a call to give of themselves to others in our world. 

Much thanks to all of you!!!