Newsletter January 2018 (English)

And….. the mail dove from Zambia is trying to get out again, after weeks of very poor signal. So, I’ll start by wishing everyone a beautiful 2018, a year of going deeper. A new year always brings you to a moment to reflect upon the past year. We do so with hearts filled with thankfulness. God has blessed us in so many ways- big and small. We hope that the newsletter will also give you a little peak into our thankful hearts.

Our first thanks is to a friend who has willingly (I promise!) offered to assist us in sending out more regular updates, though we will try to keep it short and effective. This will hopefully also result in better dutch language skills;). We met Jeanet while working for Goeie Hoop in 2013. She has been out to visit us here in Zambia three times, and so knows what we are all about. She lives in Zwolle in the Netherlands and is trained as something similar to an occupational therapist. She comes to visit us and live with us, which we always appreciate. She is young and full of good digital ideas, so here goes…

Project Update

·         After some early good rains, we were able to start planting. We were HUGELY blessed by a donation to Hope Builders Ministries, that made a two-row no-till planter possible. The idea is to promote conservation farming techniques, by demonstration, as well as offering it as option to the farmers around. Recently, the rain has been very scares, and thus we are waiting for the next rains. Last year’s good rains has also left behind lots of pests, so it will be a tricky year. One of these are the rats- lots of them. Underneath there is a photo of our home made traps. The dogs meanwhile are experts in catching them, the cat is not interested anymore and the children think catching them is a great joy.

·         The hammer mill has paid the first dividends out to the ten shareholders- there were some big smiles around. We hope to soon attract more people to join the shareholder program to get more people milling (there are more people milling than just the shareholders). The program does not bring much profit to the project but keeps up a connection between the project and the community.

·         Due to sickness, we have lost quite a few of our layers. We remain with around 180 that produce 150 odd eggs a day. We are in the process of buying new chicks, Africa speed. It will take us 5 months before they start laying and meanwhile we will try to keep our clients happy. We were blessed with a private school this year which buys 30 trays a week that provides a steady income flow.

·         We have also started with a vegetable garden. The plan is to also sell these crops to the school as they are eager to support local initiatives. We have also dug a storage dam to be able to irrigate the veggies.

As family we’ve had a very busy and enjoyable time:

Waterpokken/ Chickenpox hit right in the school holidays

Birthdays of Tim and Isabel

Over the last three months we have thankfully celebrated the birthdays of Isabel (2 October) and Tim (4 November). We are thankful to celebrated Isabel’s second birthday and Tim’s 7^th. For Tim’s birthday we went to Lilayi Elephant Nursery with a few of his (girl)friends. It is a park where they take orphaned elephants and help them to survive until they are old enough to be placed back in their natural habitat. The children loved the day full of animals and the ice cream afterwards J

And for Isabel’s birthday, we went to a camp next to the Kafue River. It turned into a lovely weekend as family- though we burned to a crisp in the October sun- of fishing and bird watching.

Isabel

It is easier to see the development if you don’t see her everyday, so in this way it was nice to have Jeanet see her in July and again now at the end of December, because she could see how she is changing. She took her first steps in August, and by now she is in the swimming pool before we can get to her. She loves water- doesn’t matter if it is soapy cleaning water, or the dog’s drinking bowl, that will be where you can find Isabel. Even if it is in a new location, it is almost like she can smell it. In the swimming pool, she is starting to kick very nicely- we are working towards Olympic gold;)

She had an EEG in the beginning of December to rule out any presence of epilepsy. The result was as we expected: there is no epilepsy, her ability to rule out extra stimuli is slower than expected of her chronological age.

Triathlon

In the beginning of November, Carl, Tim and Rashelle participated in another triathlon. The boys have been thoroughly bitten by the bug. It is lovely to have a reason and way to keep fit.

Sunday school

We finished off the year of Sunday school, able to look back on a year of growth in our class and also in the spirits of the children. We are looking forward to the next year, in which we want to use a new curriculum and focus more on worshipping with the children. Our climax was our Christmas carol service, a joyful time of making Christ’s birth a reality.

Rashelle

Rashelle went on an outdoor school camp for home schooled children, with Carl. She was much younger that most of the children. She loved it, came home with all kinds of crazy games and songs, but also a prize for integrity which made us very proud parents.

Sinterklaas, Christmas and the New Year

As family we celebrated Sinterklaas in the beginning of December- the kids love the dutch tradition. Especially having to keep everything a secret, adds to the excitement. Just before Christmas we had our workers, James, Purity, Clement and Mary over for a simple meal. After the meal they played treasure hunt to find a small gift, and we were blessed by a donation of Children’s Bibles to give to their children.

Day before Christmas was our Carol service in our church. My (Ilne)’s sister wrote a beautiful Christmas story that we could share with the children. Rashelle could read some scripture in between. The church was full, yeah! Christ’s birth is part of our Gospel, and we love to share the Hope that is in Christ in this way.

Village life

Hope Builders Ministries, with whom we work, made available a whole stack of Children’s Bibles (God’s Word for the Children in pictures).

Story by Jeanet: On Christmas morning, ourselves and the children wished people a blessed celebration of Christ’s Birth and could bless them with one of these Bibles. These Bibles share the gospel with comics. We also had some cookies and small gifts in our bags. The people were really glad when they saw us, and took out furniture from the house for us to sit on. At one of the houses we were given ‘fritters’ (kind of doughnut). We can give the Bibles, now we wait upon the Holy Spirit to see the fruit. Later in the week, we were able to see the need for these Bibles. Twice people came to ask if there were any more Bibles for them, please. People were talking about the Bibles, telling one another about it. People are open to the truth, thank you Lord.

See you soon