(Nelson & Paul)

Greetings to Everyone!

As we approach the end of this month the weather is still cold, but our hearts were certainly warmed by the visit of a team of four from Colorado. It was a small group but they certainly provided a great deal of much needed assistance in various areas, for which we are very grateful.

One of the goals that we have at the Village of Hope is to raise children who will be able to boldly share their faith in Jesus Christ with their generation. Recently, Kimberly began to hold a training class for Nelson and Paul to instruct them in how to share the Gospel, teach Bible lessons, and participate in other teaching activities within Hope Club. Her background with Child Evangelism Fellowship has once again proved to be very useful in helping to prepare young people to become involved in missions.

All of us were delighted with the colorful teaching of Mark, one of the team members. He used balloon sculpture and Gospel illusion to captivate the attention of children and adults alike!

In these pictures, Mark is giving us instruction in how to make balloon sculptures and teaching ideas as we prepare for ministry in surrounding villages.
We were also able to have sewing instruction for some of the girls and caregivers at the Village of Hope and also the Chimwemwe Ladies Club. Verla showed them how to operate the machines and to make bags, shorts, and skirts. All of the students were very enthusiastic and it was truly a joy to see!

(Verla with Malaika, Namakau and Mary S.)

(Malaika making a bag)

(Matilda working on a sewing project)

Towards the beginning of the year, guitar instruction began at the village with three students! Here is Brighton hard at work on a musical piece he is learning.
The chicken pox and mumps are still making their rounds at the village. Here are some of the sufferers of chicken pox, Maggie and Joyce with anti-itch calamine lotion decorating their faces, arms and legs.
Using what we learned from attending the Foundations For Farming conference in farming God's way, we have been busy collecting natural materials just laying around the property so that we could make our own compost. In these pictures the children are engaged in picking up cow manure. As you can see, it was an unpleasant task but they willingly went about it without complaining!

(Standing by the pile of manure for our compost)

When all the materials were gathered, we began to make our compost. We made repeated layers of grasses and leaves that had been cut when they were green, sticks, dry grasses and leaves, and manure and then added water to the cube of materials. It will take about eight weeks for it to be ready. We are really excited about the idea of using this compost to enrich our soil for maize and other vegetables. This will teach our children that it is not necessary to depend on the store-bought, high cost chemical fertilizers, (which damage the soil over time) and hybrid seed to grow crops.

(Working together to make the compost pile)

Here is the completed pile! We will turn it about once a week so that it can decompose properly.

So, as you can see, these few weeks have been a delightful time of teaching others new skills and learning many helpful and fun things!

May the grace of God and His peace rest on you!


The Kamaus