Another Year Passes

On Sunday the 26th October I celebrated the 47th anniversary of my (Eric) birth.. Can you believe it, I am almost fifty years old !! On Tuesday night, Sydney sat on my lap telling me about school etc and then out of the blue looked at me and told me I was old, and that she needed to get new dad. Stopping for a few seconds she looked up at me and then said -" Mummy will get a new husband". I am so glad that Sydeny at age five has gotten the message that children should really have a dad and a mum..

We are eagerly keeping our eyes on the postbox after receiving a phone call advising that our work permits have been renewed.. This is encouraging news especially since we can now make plans for Larnelle as regards High school..

Talking about Larnelle, last night we took a walk to Spar to get a few groceries.. I deliberately chose to walk so that we could chat.. As we walked and talked Larnelle turned to me and asked....
" Dad why did we come to Namibia? No Honestly, dad why are we here ?"
In the few moments before I answered, I realised that this was a very important moment for Larnelle.. She was trying to make sense of WHY we moved from our home, our family, home church, the school she loved - and came to a new country where she not only had to make new friends, she had to also learn a new language and adjust to a different culture... My answer to this very simple yet important question would significantly impact my daughter's thinking..

So what was my answer ?

I explained to Larnelle that Faye and I sincerely and genuinely believe that God called us to serve Him here in Christ's Hope International.. I used the opportunity to reinforce the reality that we are called to obey the Lord and to trust HIM fully - we call it living by FAITH.. Larnelle listened and I got the very clear sense that although she did not fully grasp everything I was saying she did understand that we are here at the Lord's invitation and command.

Joshua is now on his feet and very active. We keep a very close watch over him since he loves to explore and to climb whatever is in front of him. He now is in the habit of pointing at things he wants and he will not settle for less.. In this picture you can see our 'big' young man watching Larnelle playing softball..

Most of Larnelle's friends know Joshua and they all dote on him and want to carry him, play with and generally smother him with attention.. Joshua takes just so much and then he wants out..


This is Faye 'at work' getting the children into line at Kids Club.. Every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, Faye and the volunteers invest love and hope and blessing into the lives of these young people. It is not always easy and some afternoons the children are very rowdy and difficult to handle and then other times (most of the time) they are well behaved and listen carefully as Faye and the volunteers teach them principles from God's Word. The children are also encouraged to memorise scripture and put into practice what they learn at the club meeting.


Please do pray for these young people, many who face the kinds of challenges that children so young ought not to have to face. Pray that the Biblical lessons they learn will result in life change and that their choice to follow Christ will grow stronger with each passing week..

Catching up After the pictures

Our visit home was a time of refreshing for us as well as the time to catch up with friends and family.. We're back in Okahandja at the International Training Centre - What next?

Faye is very busy ensuring that financial records and movement of funds in and through the International Office are processed in a timely fashion and in keeping with our policies and procedures.. IN order to maximise on her time and accomodate Joshua it became necessary for Faye to move her office into our flat.. This allows her to work and supervise Joshua at the same time..

In addition to the administration and book keeping that Faye does, she also plays a very active role in the running of Kids club on a Wednesday and a Thursday.. Between 50-100 children attend club and at times some children have to be turned away due to the lack of sufficient staff to adequately monitor the children and give them the attention they need..

Larnelle is very busy with school and we have to at times insist on some controls for her other occupation which interferes with her effectively studying and doing homework.. At this point in time I am happy to say her other occupation is a lot easier to handle than a boy.. it's the cell phone.. We are very proud of Larnelle and very pleased with her performance at school. She has really exelled this year and we are loking forward to great things from her next year when she starts high school. We have made application for her to attend the local private school which is the one that will give her a very good education.. Please do pray for us as we take a bold step of Faith to trust God for the finances to cover her school fees..

Sydney continues to bring us much joy with her free spirit and very inquisitive mind. She will be returning to Smarties Kindergarten in 2009 and will start grade 1 in 2010.. How can I describe Sydney? She definitely thinks 'outside the box', is strong willed and very bright.. The other day I was playing with her and gave her a hug- turning to me she simply told me that I needed to have a shave ! Sydney still loves to go wherever dad goes and at times is very upset when she is not able to do so.. We are happy to say that she is now completely free of having to use pampers and thoroughly enjoys riding her BIG bicycle that papa Chappie bought her during his last visit.

Joshua is up and away.. He is walking now, can get up on his own and negotiates the small steps at the centre with quite a bit of ease.. He has a mouthful of teeth and whilst he continues to be breast fed he also has a very healthy appetite.. He of course is trying to talk now and can often be heard mumbling as he walks about the flat and the centre....

Eric - Busy and asking for wisdom to balance the many responsibilities on his shoulders..

Bottom Line - We are well, we are strong, we are thrilled to have granny Maria visiting us.. We are very thankful for all our friends and family and for those who have committed to pray for us and who partner with us financially..

For our prayer/financial partners please could you add these few items to your prayer list:

1. Wisdom for Eric and Faye as they parent the children.
2. Finances for Larnelle's High Schooling in 2009..
3. A new vehicle- our present vehicle has put in a request for retirement..
4. For continued sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as we serve as Missionaries in Christ's Hope International based here in Namibia..

THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU !

Seeing is Believing

What follows are a collection of various pictures covering the past few weeks.. Some of the pics are from our time in Zimbabwe and others are from Namibia.. A picture says a thousand words.. Please view and enjoy...
Joshua Helping Mapunya at the Centre..
Maria on her way to kids club with Faye and the Interns
Saturday Afternoon at the Swakop River..
Relaxing at the Swakop River
Check out the Braai - (Don't ask about the Water in the river).
Joshua making good use of the 10 or so teeth he has in his mouth - Can see this is a good Ndebele boy !
Mother instructing Larnelle's friends on gardening- out backyard looks great now..
Joshua 'driving' his trolley car at Maerua Mall in Windhoek..
Helping granny play solitaire in the morning !
Westacre Cuisine-
Larnelle was thrilled to see Tawanda outside the YFC Offices..
Sydney and Pastor Wayne Nel and Georgia's girls playing Dress UP !
Visiting No 1 Lister Avenue - Dad and Gloria keeping a watchful eye on Joshua..
African Photos - Time to remember
Buying meat at Westacre..

Play Time with Sydney and Joshua
Larnelle so pleased to see Bishop Tudor Bismark's Son during their brief visit to Windhoek..
Dad and mum - Buddy and Maria.. This shot taken during our recent visit to Zimbabwe..
Faye and Chernelle Shirto catching up..

Graduation

About four years ago (while still in Zimbabwe), I enrolled for a bible study course through Victory Fellowship (Bulawayo). The course was through CLST (USA).. On coming to Namibia I could no longer continue with the course but was absolutely amazed to find that I was elgible for an Advanced Diploma in Church Ministry.. Not only was I eligible, but Faye was also eligible for a certificate in Church Ministry.. While in Zimbabwe on our recent visit we were able to attend the graduation and receive our certificates/diploma etc .. It was such a pleasure to see some of the students that I had studied with and of course to be awarded the advanced diploma brought such a sense of satisfaction and achievement.. It was great..

Home is Home

Following the busy time after the International Board Meeting at the end of July and the comencement of our internship training, Faye and I were sensing a real desire to travel home (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to visit family and friends, to get a sense of the situation prevailing in the nation as well as to simply have a break and get some much needed rest.

A few key things needed to fall into place for this to happen..

1. Work permit renewals finalised and re-entry visas granted as part of the process.
2. Travel documents for Joshua.
3. A vehicle for the journey- including a police clearance for the vehicle.
4. Finances to cover the costs.

We can truly declare that God worked on our behalf to make all of the above come to pass.. Om Tuesday 2nd September we received our pasports indicating that a 3 month work visa had been granted to both Faye and I, and this included re-entry visas. The high point in my opinion was however on the Wednesday.. We needed to have a temporary residence permit endorsed in Sydney and Joshua's travel documents( this involved having to gain access into Home Affairs in Windhoek), but we also needed to get a travel document for Joshua from the Zimbabwe Embassy ! In Addition to this we needed to get a police clearance for the vehicle processed and available to us on the day we wanted to travel- FRIDAY !!

On the Wednesday in question I not only was granted an appointment at Home Affairs, but we managed to get Joshua's travel document sorted and both Sydney and Joshua's travel documents endorsed with the necessay stamps. By the time Faye and I left Windhoek to return to Okahandja we had all the paper work sorted out and were able to tell the children we would be travelling on Friday, provided the police clearance was provided.. When applying for the police clearance on the Wednesday I was told it would only be ready on MONDAY ! We praise God it was ready on Friday at 2:30pm and after stocking up on some groceries for home and food for the journey we set off from Windhoek at about 6:00pm

We stopped over in Ghanzi (Botswana) at 11:45pm. We slept in the combi and got going again at about 3:30am. We crossed the border into Zimbabwe at about 2:30pm (No long delays or problems) and were home in Bulawayo at about 4:00pm Crossing the Border Between Namibia and Botswana....
Sunrise in Botswana.. Driving into Maun..

It was great to be home and to see family and friends.. we were particularly thankful to have arrived on the Saturday as it enabled us to see Faye's dad who was leaving early Sunday morning for South Africa..

Yes we experienced the power cuts and even a water cut BUT we also saw the amazing depth and vibrancy of Christian Faith in so many of our friends and members of our Home Church (Revival Centre Ministries).. We saw in many of the believers an authenticity in their faith which I believe has stemmed out of the realisation that only God can be truly relied on and that they were living in a 'wilderness' and needed to depend on the 'manna' God provides daily..

Whilst being saddened at the situation and deeply concerned at how the situation would play out, I was very definitely inspired and encouraged by the faith I saw displayed...

To Be continued in subsequent posts...........

A Variety of Family Events...

The past few weeks have been quite challenging for the Garnie Family.. Sydney got the ball rolling with a tooth ache. I took her to the dentist and our little girl had her first extraction.. Sydney had a great time talking with the dentist BUT after her tooth was removed she told me very clearly that we must NEVER come back to this dentist because she made her mouth sore..
Sydney in the Dentist's Chair..

Next in line was the whole family. There was a bug in the air and all of us were down with colds and coughs.. I (Eric) was down for about a week, Joshua and Sydney for 10 days and Faye still has a nasty sounding cough.. It does seem though that we are over the worst.. Joshua's cold was compounded by the fact he was cutting some really large back teeth on his lower jaw..

The other evening we went to the senior citizens home, along with the children from Sydney's Kindergarten.. With lanterns they made at Kindergarten during the week we listened with joy as the children walked among the housing units singing a variety of songs in both English and German..

Larnelle has once again impressed us with her performance at school. She obtained all A's and one C. Her average mark aside from the C was in the mid 90's.. She continues to excel as a prefect and on meeting the school principal in Spar he made a point of telling me how wonderful Larnelle is and that we can be proud of her..

We are still awaiting news on the status of our work permit renewals.. It appears that whilst the permits are being finalised, we will be granted work visas (valid for 3 months) until such time as our work permit renewals have been finalised. Once we have the work visas, we plan to make definite plans to travel home to Bulawayo for a visit.. We have not been home in more than a year and would really like to visit our family and friends and introduce them to Joshua..
Faye and Joshua sharing a fun moment together..

Eric holding on to Joshua while watching Sydney and her school friends sing to the senior citizens.
Brother and sister eating Doritos outside the kitchen window while sitting at the front door..

Eric and the guys from Manna Church music team..
OFC Okahandja's response to KFC.. I think Larnelle's Face says it all - Not about the chicken BUT about her dad taking pictures of her.. Oh by the way Larnelle had an unpleasant experience a few days ago.. She was using my Brand New Nokia 2630 Cell phone and had it snatched out of her hand. The thief ran away and I guess we can kiss the phone goodbye. We have blocked the phone and the SIM card was a pay as you go line.. My dear daughter has learned a valuable lesson and will definitely take more care with her cell phone in the future.. We are simply glad that she was not in any way harmed and that aside from the sheer frightening nature of being robbed she seems to be just fine..

Faye and I look forward to hearing from friends and family and we do thank you for praying for us and also for those who partner with us as missionaries in a financial and material way. We are very thankful to you...

THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!

Oshikuku

Just before the Board meeting got underway I travelled about 700kms to the north with the seven STLD students who were due to particpate in the prgramme for the official opening of the Ministry Centre that Christ's Hope has established in Oshikuku..

This was my first visit to the north. There is a difference between the north of Namibia and where we live in the central areas..

This is us stopping for breakfast at a service station in Otavi.. Yes it was rather cold..

On arrival at the ARK in Oshikuku we were called in to help with the cleaning and preparation of the ark for the official opening that would take place the following day..
The Ark (Oshikuku).. Greeted by many children who come to the centre and who were there for a club meeting with a team of Dutch young people who were in Namibia on a missions visit.. It was great that they would also be in Namibia for the opening of this facility, especially since Christ's Hope Netherlands have been instrumental in the construction, funding and establishment of this particular ministry Centre..


STLD students singing at the opening ceremony.. Guests under the tent of meeting!

It was a joyful day and of tremendous encouragement was the presence of government and community leaders who all attended as an indication of their support for this ministry centre which we are fully convinced will make a significant positive impact in this community.

Please pray for our people in Oshikuku as they reach out to the community and offer care and love to the children...