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.