So Far and Yet so Close !

These past few weeks have been quite emotional for us.. Eric's Mum was admitted to hospital to have a knee operation. At the time of writing we are very thrilled to hear that mum is out of hospital and is recuperating very well.

Our hearts were torn with sadness when we were informed that Aunty Cocksen (Bulawayo) was diagnosed with cancer and after a second opinion in South Africa would undergo major surgery.

All of this information was relayed to us via email and SMS messages.. Though we are thousands of kilometres away we felt very close to mum and Cocksen in this time of tremendous emotional stress.

We give thanks to God for all our loved ones and are thankful for the technology available to us that allows us to stay in touch so easily and promptly.. We may be far away but truly feel very close to all our loved ones.

Earlier this evening we took some family photos and I thought it would be good to post some of these pictures for your viewing pleasure..

Drop us a line we'd love to hear from you..

Three Awesome Children

Sydney, Larnelle and Joshua..

Larnelle - 12 yrs old
Sydney - 4 yrs old
Joshua - 8 months old.

Faye and I consider ourselves profoundly blessed to have such beautiful children and they are a constant source of joy for us both. To all our friends and family and visitors to this web page we invite you to enjoy your children and always let themknow how deeply you love them and how special and important they are to you..

Family Update

The Garnie Family are alive and well in Okahandja Namibia and it has been some time since last some news was posted about the family.

Larnelle is enjoying the break from school and her leadership responsibilities - she is a prefect at the school. At the close of the school term she and some of her classmates participated in a school arts expose. Larnelle and friends chose to dance to the music from an Indian (Bollywood) movie..

As you can guess my dear wife was the dress maker and dad was the financier.. Larnelle tells me they received top marks for their performance..

Not to be outdone, Sydney was part of a school play just after the Easter weekend. Sydney attends Smarties Kindergarten and one of the fun things is learning to speak German. Qute a few of the songs the children performed were in German and both Faye and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It is true that parents always look for their child first at such events. Both Faye and were very proud of Sydney and I guess we were somewhat saddened that none of our family were here to share in the wonderful experience.. We are absolutely sure that Faye's dad and my folks would have made a point of attending the school play.. Despite having a bit of a cold, Sydney took part in the production with great gusto..

Sydney has on the orange T'Shirt..

Faye is thrilled to have our facility manageress (Elfie) back. Aside from the fellowship we share, the extra work load Faye has had to bear following Elfie's return to Germany for a while has been lifted off her shoulders.

Our Short Term Leadership course has commenced and we have seven students in training from now until the 5th August this year. We are equippping these young men and women to take their place as leaders in their communities. Leaders who know and fear the Lord God and who are committed to the welfare of their families, their towns and villages and their country. These are some of the young men and women we are trusting will make an impact and a difference with their peers. In addition to being strengthened in the Christian Faith and walk with Christ we are truting that they will spearhead a generation of young men and women of integrity, who will not be corrupt or immoral and will be instrumental in bringing about a reduction in HIV/Aids prevalence rates by choosing a sexual lifestyle that honours and follows Biblical principles. Lessons are held each day from 8:00am until 8:00pm, with breaks for tea and lunch interspersed during the course of the day..

Filip, Lady, Zelda, Magdalena and Kauna are all Namibians, Assed is a Tazanian and Diuedonne is originally from Burundi and now lives in Windhoek (Namibia).

STLD Students

Back Row: Assed; Filip & Diudonne

Front Row: Zelda, Magdalena, Lady & Kauna.

Please do get in touch with us, we'd love to hear from you.. For those who are believers in prayer please do uphold us in prayer that our work permit renewal situation will be resolved very soon. Faye and would love to be able to travel home (Bulawayo-Zimbabwe) to visit family and friends, introduce them to Joshua and also to apply for Joshua's birth Certificate.

Fathers and Sons

The Other day Faye was going through some draws and found a picture of my dad and I. It immediately got me thinking of a picture taken of me with Joshua.. Well you have a look and tell me what you think.

One thing is for sure, my dad was a real good looker in his younger days - I am so glad I take after him.