Community Living

Life here at the International Training Centre has taken on a very international flavour.. Desmond Marshall, who has just joined the International Office staff come from Ireland, Assed Josephat who is here for Leadership Training hails from Tanzania, Hennie and Jannie come to us from the Netherlands, Helen is a Namibian and of course we are Zimbabweans. We have allocated dinner duties to each of the folk on site and so we get treated to exotic dishes like Irish Stew, Namibian Fat Koek, Tanzanian delicacies and Dutch 'Hashi' (Excuse my spelling)..

This past week I met with Pastor Derek Moore (who leads Manna New Covenant Church) to talk about issues of leadershp within the local fellowship and the role that Faye and I could fill. These are exciting days and the challenge for Christian Leaders is at its highest. We are truly convinced, as never before of the need for Christian leaders to get involved within the community rather than simply see themselves as leaders exclusively in the church.. The word that comes to mind is engagement..

Joshua is on the move, he is pulling himself along the floor and we expect that he'll be crawling within the next week or so. he is moving so quikly that this morning I installed a gate which we can close off the the bedroom area upstairs and thus be able to leace Joshua to crawl about upstairs without worrying that he will fall down the steps.

Sydney is quite thrilled that she gets to go swimming during her morning at 'school'. Today she impressed us all by swimming on her own (with the aid of inflatable arm bands). Of course our ever adventurous daughter is already talking about swimming with the arm bands !!

Larnelle has had some of her friends from school stay over for the night. We decided to make yesterday (Friday) night a movie night. Friends were invited, boerewors rolls (easy to prepare) were served for dinner and we had most enjoyable night of entertainment..

Faye and I would love to hear from friends and family - So do get in touch with us..

How Time has flown..

A man was found hanging in a room.. There was no table or chair in the room, no bed or anything of that nature in the room.. Investigators were desperately trying to figure out how he had actually hung himself. What also puzzled them was the fact that on entering the room they found the floor covered in water several centimetres deep.. So how did he hang himself ? I couldn't figure it out either until my daughter (Larnelle) solved it for me.. He stood on top of a large block of ice !!

So what does this have to do with this post ? Nothing except the challenge that as we face a new year with all the many challenges and uncertainties we wll find ourselves in seemingly perplexing situations the answers to which appear impossible to find. The key appears to be thinking outide the box. This year by God's grace we plan to deliberately think outside the box an dare to believe we'll find solutions.

These opening months of 2008 have been a busy time for Faye and I.. Aside from having to find a new school for Sydney we were very busy with the preparations for Prayer/Fasting and Country Directors Summit. This is a time set aside by the International Office of Christ's Hope to gather our Country Directors and Representatives for a time of spiritual input and encouragement as well as training and equipping for greater effectiveness in ministry. You may be familiar with the story of the old wood cutter who was challenged by the younger one to see who could cut the most trees by the end of the day. The old man won and pointed out to the younger man that the key was taking time out to sharpen the axe.. This is our time to sharpen the axe and hear from God.

The event was successful and benficial for all who attended. Representatives came from Zimbabwe, Zambia, The Netherlands, USA, Tanzania, Kenya and of course Namibia. Two somewhat sad events took place during the training period. Our Kenyan Country Director was compelled to return home after the violence in Kenya flared up after a period of relative tranquility. Elfie, the International Training Centre Facility manageress returned to her native Germany to be with her sister who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Our children continue to be a blessing to us and to inspire us. Sydney has become quite the singer and whether we are travelling in the car or simply sitting at home this little angel is always singing. Larnelle is the young lady in the house. Joshua is the smiler and even during his recent episode with measles remained a generally cheerful lad and only gave us a sleepless night or two.

More updates will be posted during the coming weeks and this mainly due to the fact that Faye's laptop has been returned to us from the USA and is working perfectly. Secondly, with prayer/fasting and leadership summit behind us we will have more opportunity to set aside time to keep this site up dated and allow you to follow the developments in our lives and ministry..

This past Tuesday was quite a day for me.. At about 9:00 am I was on the main B1 highway to Windhoek when I was faced with an oncoming vehicle that was in my lane and headed toward me. By God's grace and providential care a head on collision was avoided and my car was subjected to a side swipe. Both myself and the other driver were uninjured and the other driver has admitted responsibility and committed to pay for the repairs to my car. The repairs are quoted between nine and twelve thousand Namibian dollars. Several years ago two of my really good friends were killed in a head on collision outside of Bulawayo- As I spoke to the other driver and then went about getting my car on the road to go back to Okahandja I thought of Lester and Freddie and gave thanks to God that He was gracious enough to spare me and to spare my family the trauma of either having me seriously injured or even killed. Join with me in giving thanks to God for His care and protection, and may you today experience the Lord's pleasure and His favour.

We'd love to hear from you..