Anticipating New Arrivals

(Mary Mutokoma with her grandmother)

Greetings Dear friends,

In our last update, we shared that we have resumed the screening of orphans in the district where Village of Hope is located because of the uncertainty with the outcome of the children from Livingstone.
As a result of our visit with the eight village headmen who are the community leaders in several villages, we were introduced to several families who are keeping orphans and consequently, we have interviewed a total of thirteen children, eight girls and five boys.

(Jenny, front left and Patricia behind her little sister)

(Miriam taking information during screening)

These children were screened from between August 17th thru September 7th this year. At Mpoola village, about 15km from the Village of Hope, seven children were screened. These children were identified by a local pastor whose church members have orphan children in their care. We interviewed seven children, six of them girls and a boy; they are all eligible for admission.

Most these children are single orphans and their surviving parents are living with HIV/Aids in very strenuous circumstances. One of the girls, was raped when she was three years old. Her mother told us that she is very introverted and she looked it too. Another, 4yr old Ethel Moono, has two deceased siblings, Josephine and Jackson Moono. I was informed that Josephine, aged two, died in 2002 due to neglect and her other brother, Jackson died last year at four years old, again as a result of neglect and starvation. Ethel's grandmother pleaded with us in tears to admit her in the children’s home because she was afraid of losing her too.

Agnes Mwaba and Idah Phiri are sisters but have different fathers, Idah’s father died in 2005, her mother has no income and she is also taking care of a 16-year old blind sister. I don’t know how they survive in this rural setting where jobs are hard to come by or almost non -existent. Melody, their mother, stated that the last time she received any form of government assistance was two years ago when she was given a bag of maize meal and some cooking oil. As a result of desperation, she moved in with a man who is HIV/Positive for companionship and for whatever practical help he can provide even though it be for a moment. It is terrible what abject poverty will drive someone to do when they don’t know the Lord. It boils down to the most basic human need, food; let’s eat today, for tomorrow we die.

I would like introduce you to these children; here are their names and their ages:

Ethel Moono (4)

Idah Phiri (5)

Jenny Kasongo (4)

Kahilu Kakoma (6)

Patricia Yusiku (8)

Agnes Mwaba (8)

Annette Yumba (8)

(Kimani, who was on outreach with Kamau, with Idah, her mother and young sibling)

The other four boys and two girls came to us through our contact with one of the village headman who had previously paid an introductory visit at the village of hope. Their names are:

Stephen Muyeba (6)—Double orphan, father deceased February 2007 and mother deceased 2005.

Shadrach Muyeba (7)—Brother to Stephen Muyemba--both parents deceased.

Frank Malama (8)—Father deceased January 2007and Frank’s mother left him with his uncle and disappeared.

Joe Michelo (8)—Mother died November 2008 and her father has not been seen since 2001. His mother was a policewoman prior to her death.

Terry Muleya (5)—Both parents deceased 2004/2005 respectively.

Mary Mutokoma (7)—Her father died December 2006 and her mother is partially blind due to complications related to Hiv/Aids.

(Joe Michelo & grandfather, waiting to be screened)




(From Right: Steven and Shadrach Muyemba. They will be new residents at Village of Hope)

**Please pray for these children as we prepare to receive them at the Village of Hope.

**Praise the Lord for answered prayers: The Lord has provided four house mother candidates whom we have begun to interview. This is great because two weeks ago, we did not have anyone on our radar screen.

**Please pray for discernment and guidance about which of the four housemother candidates God would have us choose to be caregivers for the new children.

Every 30 days we will feature a house that we would like for you to keep in prayer. We are asking that you pray for each of the children in that house individually and their housemother. In separate emails we will provide you with any new prayer requests or updates. For the next 30 days we are asking that you pray for Mama Rose Mugoma's house. Here are the requests:

**Mama Rose--to have the energy and perserverance needed to manage her household. She has a few children who have been somewhat difficult lately. Pray that she will have much wisdom and patience.

**Sharon S.--who has been diagnosed with a mild form of epilepsy. Pray that the medicine that was prescribed will be effective. Right now she has been falling asleep at odd times and sleeping for a long time. Praise God for her salvation, as she accepted Christ into her life last month at Hope Club.

**Isaac-- Isaac has been struggling with behavior issues and has found himself under discipline frequently. He recently invited Christ into his life, so pray that the Holy Spirit would begin to bring about visible changes in his life.

Brighton--Brighton has also recently received Jesus into his life. Mama Rose has stated that his behavior has been difficult lately. Again, pray that God's Holy Spirit will change his heart. Pray that he will obey his teachers at school.

**Moses--We are rejoicing that Moses has recently accepted Christ into his life. Pray that when Mama Rose asks him to do chores around the house, he will do them immediately without giving her a hard time.

**Selita--Selita has a lovely voice and sings on the worship team. She received Christ into her life last month. Pray that God's Word will sink deep into her heart and that she will grow to be a godly young woman. Ask God to continue to give her a cheerful servant heart.

**Maggie--Maggie recently accepted Christ into her life at Hope Club. She is experiencing some difficulty in reading and retaining what she has learned. Pray that God, who is the One who gives knowledge, skill and understanding, will help her in this area.

** Adam--Adam also made a decision to receive Christ into his life last month. Adam is having trouble recognizing letters and it is difficult for him to focus. Please ask God to open up his understanding.

**Docklin--Pray that Docklin will learn to be obedient to Mama Rose the first time she is asked to do something. Pray for her salvation.

A Visit From Home!

(Amy Weber at Liteta outreach)

(Jeremy Weber at Liteta outreach)

Greetings Dear Ones,

What is it like the morning after a team has arrived at the Village of Hope, especially when they are from your home?
Well, I am sure you can imagine the joy and excitement when we finally get to see them in person after all of the email correspondence over the past few months! It almost seems surreal to see them walking around the village while they take in their surroundings and meet the children and staff for the first time.
This is just what it was like when the Delaware Team arrived in July! Even after a very long time of traveling, they were up early enough to join the children for 7:00am assembly at the Village of Hope before leaving for school. They accompanied the children as they walked to school each morning.

Do you wonder in what ways the arrival of a team from your home church encourages the heart of a missionary? Here are just some:

• First, it deeply encourages us to see familiar faces that you have known for years, come from so far away to visit with you and participate in what the Lord is doing here in Zambia.
• Second, it is just great to have people to talk to that you share the same culture
  It is wonderful to see the ministry of the Villages of Hope through their eyes. It refreshes us!
• Also, it allows us to get to know them much better than we might be able to at home because of busy schedules that keep us apart. While they are here, the pace is slower and there is more time to spend together.
• We take great delight in seeing them fall in love with the children that live at the Village of Hope, children that were unknown to us, but on our hearts just three short years ago!

(Jeremey & Bret Weber during outreach at Liteta)

All of these things make an impact on us in some way and that is truly special to us! So thank you Delaware Team for sharing your lives with us for a too short a time! And thank you church for releasing and sending each member for the team who came. The Kamaus, the staff and all the children at the Village of hope are very grateful!

(Students listening to Bible teaching at Okada)

(Sorting through contents of container)

(Students at Okada Outreach)

(Delaware Team, Hamelrycks, Teachers at Okada, Patty Family at Okada School for Oureach)

The team held outreach to children in locations outside of the Villages of Hope as well. Over 300 children participated in Bible instruction and fun activities that they don’t normally get to experience. The team also assisted in painting, holding a soccoer camp, teaching at the School of Hope and unloading the container which some of them helped pack a couple of months before it was shipped from Maryland.

(Soccer Camp at Village of Hope)

On the other matter regarding the relocation of children from the orphanage in Livingstone, things are still pending, not because of the strike, that ended in June after six weeks of mayhem and chaos,but rather because the children’s relatives at the orphanage expressed concern to the social welfare officials in Livingstone that vast distance involved, about 500 miles, will make it very difficult to visit with the children should they be relocated at the villages of hope. As a result of this, Social Welfare wrote to the management of a newly built SOS children’s home in Livingstone asking them if they are able to admit the children from the Sons of Thunder orphanage into their facility. We are therefore waiting to hear the decision reached by the SOS regarding the request received from the Social Welfare which will let us know how to proceed.

In the meantime, we have resumed screening orphans in the district where village of hope is located and to date we have visited with eight village headmen who are the community leaders in several villages comprising a little over five thousands people. We provided information about the village of hope and how we can help alleviate the suffering of the orphans in their communities. The headmen will then disseminate this information to their subjects with instruction on how to contact us for assistance.

Praise/Prayer Requests

• We are praising God for the safe arrival of the Hamelryck family from Maryland in July. Paul, Anne Rachel and their ten children have come to live in Zambia as part of the Village of Hope team. Paul will be overseeing the construction and maintenance of the building structures. Their enthusiasm and friendliness have enlivened our village and we thank God for them.
• Pray that God will lead us to the next group of sixteen children that will become part of the Village of Hope family. We are asking that this will happen before the rainy season in November because it becomes extremely difficult to go for outreach during that time.
• Please pray for the next two housemothers and aunties that will provide care for the children that will come. This is a very critical need because we need godly housemothers and aunties who will love the Lord first and devote themselves to the care of His children.
• Pray about the situation with the children in Livingstone, that the Lord will make clear His will and that whatever happens they will find a loving home and family that will take care of them.
• Pray also that God will open other locations for Hope Bible Club. Kimberly and Mary Zulu believe that the Lord desires for them to teach in other places but they need His direction to lead them to where He wants them.