…From Kamau
Greetings,
We hope this finds you doing well, It has been raining heavily on and off since our return in January. Not far from the Village of Hope, some grass and mud huts have collapsed as a result of the ground being saturated and submerged in water. The crops are doing great though, we are praying that the Lord will give us just the right amount of rainfall we need. Too little and the crops will not mature properly, too much and the water will flood the fields and completely wipe out the crops. We trust that the Lord knows our needs and He knows also how to take care of His own.
We are rejoicing at the arrival of three children who arrived on Friday, February 6th, the children are 11yr old Paul, his sister, 6yr old Precious and a cousin, 9yr old Prudence who has lived with them since she was 4yrs. Their journey to the Village of Hope started on the morning of February 2nd. I received a call from a farmer who informed us that a woman who was his house help and lived at his farm had died suddenly the previous day and left 7 orphaned children ranging from a two week old baby to a 15yr old.
(Prudence, three days after the death of her Aunt. She lost her own mother when she was four, she has been orphaned twice.)
The woman's husband passed away in 2003. The farmer stated that these children had nowhere to go and that the father of the two week old baby who was a guard at nearby farm, had disappeared when he found out that the woman had became very sick soon after the birth of the baby.
We took two week old Blessings, their little sister, to an infant rescue ministry in Lusaka. The plan was for Blessings to be reunited with her siblings at the Village of Hope after she was weaned for 6-12 months unfortunately, she died two weeks later on February 18th due to complications related to acute pneumonia.
The children's 13yr old sister and 15 year old brother were taken in by an Aunt and uncle, who suddenly found themselves overwhelmed with the latest death of their sister and were wondering how they were going to provide for the seven newly orphaned nieces and nephews since, in addition to their own children, they were already taking care of other orphans belonging to two of their other siblings who have also passed away.
(Prudence, being welcomed by Joyce, Terence & the other children)
(Paul's introduction to Legos by Sharpi)
(Front from Left: Paul, Precious & Prudence; Back from Left: family friend, Uncle & Aunt when they brought the children to their new home at the Village of Hope)
…From Kimberly
Our time visiting friends and family was wonderful for us and we are very grateful to the Lord for allowing it to come to pass. We are happy to be back in Zambia and settling into our routine of ministry and homeschooling.
(Saturday morning at Hope Club)
It was great to get back to Hope Club as well. In school, the teaching theme for part of the year is "Who Am I?" They have been learning various things about themselves, their bodies, etc. In Hope Club we have be learning about the ways that Jesus grew during His time on earth; growing in stature, wisdom, favor with God and with men and that we need to grow in the same ways. Right now we are learning about what it means to grow in wisdom and in the different ways we can be wise. So far, we have talked about the wisdom of obedience, receiving counsel and in the use of our tongue.
(Returning to their homes after Hope Club)
Two weeks ago, we held our first church service in the community center. It truly was a day of blessing as we hosted members from Pastor Emmanuel Lusumpa's church and neighbors in the community. It was a very joyful time of singing and celebrating what the Lord has done over the past two years.
(Malaika and Sharon after the church service at the community center)
Prayer Requests
- The opportunity to return to Okada School to hold Bible Clubs there has opened up again, so Mary Zulu and Kimberly have begun this new time of ministry with the children in the surrounding communities. Pray for the Lord to prepare the soil of the hearts of the children to receive His Word. Praise also for the excitement and receptiveness that was shown by the children as the Bible Club began again.
- Due to the growth of the Village of Hope and need for everyone to receive regular spiritual nourishment, we will be starting church services at the community center beginning on the 15th of March. Please pray for God's direction as we begin.
- We have some discipline issues with two of the children who are showing some defiance and disobedience toward their house mother and their teachers at school. We are asking for wisdom to address the problem and that God will work to change their hearts.
- Pray for continued unity in our ministry and for strong interpersonal relationships.
- We are currently in need of born-again, godly housemothers and aunties. Please pray that God will lead us to them.
- Pray that Kimani & Malaika will continue to receive all that they need to thrive in home school as Kimberly instructs them.
- Pray that Kimberly's mother will be strong enough to travel for a visit this year and that the finances for her ticket will be available when it comes time to purchase her ticket.
With Gratitude,
The Kamaus
