Newsletter November

I hope we’ve been quiet for long enough that you are happy to hear from us again. For a while there, we were quite regular visitors to your email-box- now it has not been necessary. Life is (mostly) peaceful and happy. So, what do you write if the highest point of drama for the day, was a dead chicken? I thought I would take you on a small tour.

Welcome to project Nongo. It means clay pot in our local language, Tonga, and represents the widow’s clay pot that never ran empty as long as there was need. This is part of Project Dignity- which is the orphan and widow outreach leg of Hope Builders ministries (a pastor’s training 

ministry).

This is Emma, and her son Amos, our shopkeeper. The little shop serves the local community- with their daily needs. Emma’s heart desire is to become a teacher. She is academically strong, good with children, and has the right motivation. Her husband has recently taken a second wife, and this has caused her to withdraw and decide to pursue her dream. We are trying to help, without interfering in their marriage. 

This is the hammermill. It is the social meeting place on Friday evenings when everyone comes to mill their maize/corn for the weekend/week. This is also to help with development of the community, and providing income for the project.

Here is kiddies corner. Luckily you do not have to be able to speak Tonga fluently to have fun.

You are now in  the chicken house. This is our biggest sustainability program. We have 80 old layers, that we are ready to let go. And then we hope these little guys/girls will take over the job. We are trying to see if it is cheaper to raise the layers ourselves, or to buy at the age when they start to lay eggs. I guess it does depend a little on how many survive. We have just short of 400 little girls. Trying to raise them free range in a safe environment. We can not allow them to go outside, it is just too dangerous, but we try to give them enough of what they need.

Our fields are ready, waiting for the rain. The rain is in the air, but has yet to drop. This will be the first moisture to break the long drought. How lovely!!! Carl will be planting maize/corn, sunflower, soya beans and maybe some sunhemp. He will use conservation farming techniques, but not do it by hand. The area is too big and the hands too few. He is working on an implement to make the holes as prescribed by conservation farming guidelines.

 Here is the storehouse, for storing maize. For ourselves and others- to keep the harvest safe. It is also workshop, and general store place. It is made from old tobacco driers- works like a charm. We’ve just finished the last part, allowing for work to be done outside in the shade.

On the developing side, we are seeing things draw to an end. This will hopefully provide us with more time to relate, train, talk, learn the language. Reaching the people. This has of cause been happening, but it can soon become our focus.

And now you are welcome to have a bit of refreshment with our family in our house. Carl has recently brought down the in-house temperature with about 10 degrees Celsius, by placing a ceiling. I can not humanly explain to you the difference between 38 and 48 degrees. It is lovely. He also did the ceiling in the training/guest side. It came at high cost. The scaffolding disappeared from under Carl and his right hand man, and both of them landed extremely hard. Carl is still limping, even though nothing was broken.

 Welcome to ‘Paalman@home’- our official school name. This is where young minds are formed, and mothers made grey. Just joking, it is really lots of fun to be forced to do arts with your children. Simon will still stay in crèche away from home next year; they all go there first for some English influence.

 And here we have the two new rooms for the children. Dad and mom were tired of having to go to bed at 20:00, so we didn’t wake the children.

And this is Isabel, who many of you have asked about. She is doing extremely well. The doctor has firmly instructed me to forget all set milestones. Isabel will develop at Isabel’s speed. She is so very tiny, but becoming the little princess that she was created more and more. Her life has been one long lesson to us. Two weeks ago, she provided us with another testimony. She has been doing much better since the operation, but she was still regurgitating and she really struggled to pick- up weight. Two weeks ago, she became very weak and sick- as babies do. She has very little reserves to fall back on though. I finally realized that I was not in control, when she had lost three months of weight, had extremely high fevers and started to vomit blood (she had already been vomiting constantly for a few days). So, off I went to our friend the paediatrician. The nurse in the practice made a good and quick assessment, and she stayed with us for the rest of the day. Slowly, with a few injections, Isabel started to revive. We left in the afternoon, with a bunch of medication. Isabel responded well, and was quick to recover. But the testimony part was still to come. The doctor started her on a specific medication due to the blood in her vomit. We had discussed this often, but was not convinced that it would make a difference. Man o man, what a difference it has made over the last 10-14 days. We can not believe how much she is eating- one night she had 4 bowels! She is almost not spiting up at all. For her weight we will wait until the end of the month. But she is much more chatty and happy. In this week, for the very first time since her birth, she squilled with happiness to see me. It has been amazing. A week after she was started on the medication, the paediatrician sent me message to say that someone has just donated a bunch of this medication, I can come get it. The Lord has walked this road with us, every single day. All glory to Him!

The only other news we wanted to share, is that we hope to visit the Netherlands in April/May next year for three weeks. It has been four years since myself and the children have seen our family in the Netherlands, so we have bought the tickets, and are looking for the logistics now- place to stay, car etc. The children are expecting snow, so I hope it is a late winter. Just joking, we would not know what to do with ourselves in the cold.

Good bye then, till we meet again!