(Brighton, seated, and John playing on our outing at Fringilla)
(Maggie enjoying the swings at Fringilla) 
(All eyes are turned towards the horse as the children wait their turn)
(Kimani & Brighton playing on the seesaw at Fringilla)
(Adam & Miriam at lunch )Hello Dear Ones,
This has been a rather interesting week. On Tuesday, the generator broke temporarily and we were concerned because we could not pump water into the tank which supplies water to the houses as well the construction site. This is a very busy time at the farm because we are trying to finish up the two cottages which will allow us to admit twenty children by end of December. Construction work on the other 4 cottages has begun and the foundations are currently being dug. Benedict and Kathleen have being living in a rented guest house but will hopefully be moving into the Village during the first week of January once their home, which is currently under construction, is completed.
Schools are out now for the Christmas break and it has been a new experience for our six children who begin attending the Okada School when they moved into the Village in October. One of our boys got himself into trouble this week when upon arrival to school, he made a beeline straight to the female teacher and gave her a big “how wonderful to see you and am I happy to be in School this morning” hug. The teacher's reaction was swift and shocking to our four year old and to us as well when we learned of the supposedly terrible cultural crime he had committed. She spanked, yes, spanked Adam for hugging her! Apparently, the teacher took offense because Adam, a boy, had the audacity to hug her. This grieved all of us because we take great delight in hugging the children and providing them with the affection that they need. Our housemothers take pains to teach our kids what we think are good manners and respectful behavior, but it now appears that we stumbled this one. Our housemothers who are Zambian seem to think it could have been a personal attitude on the part of the teacher and/or cultural prohibitions concerning teachers and students. Poor Adam was so hurt and confused such that when he returned home from school, he made straight to his room without saying anything to his mom and auntie or hugging them as usual.
All of us were delighted to hear that at the end of the school year ceremonies, our children placed very well in their class. Isaac placed number one out of 48 students! We know that your prayers for the children are being heard because when they began school, it was the last term of the year. In order to celebrate their hard work at school we took them to Fringilla Lodge, which has a beautiful garden park setting, so that they could enjoy lunch, play on the play ground and go on horse rides. It was fun to see their excitement as they waited for their first ride on a horse!
This has been a rather interesting week. On Tuesday, the generator broke temporarily and we were concerned because we could not pump water into the tank which supplies water to the houses as well the construction site. This is a very busy time at the farm because we are trying to finish up the two cottages which will allow us to admit twenty children by end of December. Construction work on the other 4 cottages has begun and the foundations are currently being dug. Benedict and Kathleen have being living in a rented guest house but will hopefully be moving into the Village during the first week of January once their home, which is currently under construction, is completed.
Schools are out now for the Christmas break and it has been a new experience for our six children who begin attending the Okada School when they moved into the Village in October. One of our boys got himself into trouble this week when upon arrival to school, he made a beeline straight to the female teacher and gave her a big “how wonderful to see you and am I happy to be in School this morning” hug. The teacher's reaction was swift and shocking to our four year old and to us as well when we learned of the supposedly terrible cultural crime he had committed. She spanked, yes, spanked Adam for hugging her! Apparently, the teacher took offense because Adam, a boy, had the audacity to hug her. This grieved all of us because we take great delight in hugging the children and providing them with the affection that they need. Our housemothers take pains to teach our kids what we think are good manners and respectful behavior, but it now appears that we stumbled this one. Our housemothers who are Zambian seem to think it could have been a personal attitude on the part of the teacher and/or cultural prohibitions concerning teachers and students. Poor Adam was so hurt and confused such that when he returned home from school, he made straight to his room without saying anything to his mom and auntie or hugging them as usual.
All of us were delighted to hear that at the end of the school year ceremonies, our children placed very well in their class. Isaac placed number one out of 48 students! We know that your prayers for the children are being heard because when they began school, it was the last term of the year. In order to celebrate their hard work at school we took them to Fringilla Lodge, which has a beautiful garden park setting, so that they could enjoy lunch, play on the play ground and go on horse rides. It was fun to see their excitement as they waited for their first ride on a horse!
Malaika celebrated her second birthday in Zambia! She is now a happy seven-year old! We celebrated her birthday with her new playmates at the village and friends from Zimbabwe.
We are daring to hope that Zesco, the power company, may be getting ready to do some serious work at Village. They have dug holes for poles and a few days ago, they brought out a roll cables for installation. Please continue to pray earnestly for power by the end of the year, due to our need for reliable power.
Please pray for rain because we should have them by now but they are late. Almost ten acres of land has been prepared for our crops and we cannot plant them until the rains begin. It has been raining in other places not far from the Village but we have gotten very little.
Grateful for your interest & support,
The Kamaus
