Thursday, December 27, 2007

Greetings again from a DRY and hot Tchincombe!

Dear All,

Greetings again from a DRY and hot Tchincombe! We've had no rain in the
last 3 weeks - grass is stopped in its tracks in terms of growth. If it
doesn't rain soon we will need to start making plans to sell animals!

We had a great holiday with Steve, Peggy, Rachel, Rob, Shelley, Peter,
Jasper and our good friend, Brent. Lots of good food, lots of flying of
model airplanes and lots of laughter!

We usually go to the beach for New Year's and my birthday but with all the
travels lately, the weather situation, and no pastor for the church we'll
stay here for the New Year holiday. We'll try and go to the beach on the
weekend 5-7th.

In Lubango on the 8th the UIEA will have its monthly meeting. There are
financial issues to be discussed and reviewed so please pray for wisdom for
all.

January 10 - 16 will be our evangelism/missions conference. Pray for Pastor
Dinho has he leads/teaches and that the Believers here will catch a vision
for the other unreached people groups in Angola.

THANKS so much for praying!! Thanks so much for your words and e-mails of
encouragement at the death of our dear friend. Please continue to pray for
her husband, Fernando, these will be very difficult days for him!

Our 4X4 shipped on 4 December - we've just received the balance due on the
vehicle = 5339 pounds = $11,000. Pray!

In Him,
Donna for all of us!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Hello

Hello. We have gone and come to Lubango in less than 24 hours. We were
able to visit with our dear friend - she was in and out of consciousness but
she did recognize me and she wanted me to pray with her. We are very glad
that we went as she passed away this morning. We believe that she did know
the Lord. Please remember in prayer her husband, Fernando. They have been
married for 35 years and being farmers they have essentially spent all their
lives together. It will be a difficult adjustment for him. His father also
died of lung cancer 20 years ago. Pray that he will hunger to know God.
Thank you for your prayers. In Him, Donna

We rejoice with you to know that Jesus was born, died, and LIVES so that we
might live with Him!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Dear Friends,

Dear Friends,

Please PRAY - Stirling and I are headed into Lubango ASAP. We just received
word via HF that our dear friend, Jú, is very ill. She thought she had TB
but meds didn't improve her situation - she has lung cancer. The doctor
expects her to live only a day or two. Shelley and Peter will stay here
with Jeff, Meghan and Brent. We'll hopefully come back tomorrow.

In Him,
Donna & Stirling

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

OOPS! The dates for the conference on evangelism

OOPS! The dates for the conference on evangelism are January 10 - 17 not
December 10-17!!!! Sorry!

We all arrived safely back to Tchincombe. We have set up the tree and
decorated the house and are in the midst of baking and present making! It's
pretty hot as we haven't had rain for two weeks.

Please continue to pray for Mena and Zeferino - not only have they lost
their infant son but apparently have been having some marital struggles.
Pray for us as we counsel and encourage.

Pray for Stirling and I as we read together "The Wounded Heart" (by Dan
Alleander) - when I read through it the first time I felt the book was
written about me! In some ways it will be a walk through the valley of the
shadow of death but there is light and hope at the end of it all.

Pray for Twevenonga and his wife - their +/- 10 year old daughter broke her arm
yesterday - she is going to the Evangelical Medical Center today with Peter and Shelley.
Pray that they will experience the love of Christ there!

With Love,
Donna & Stirling

Friday, December 7, 2007

Good Morning/Evening!

Good Morning/Evening! It's 6 AM here but most of you are just going to bed
or have already been in bed a while! It's December! For us a hot, wet and
rainy month - even after so many years it's still strange for me to have
cold weather in December and at Christmas!

We had a great week at the beach! Found a lovely beach - definitely only
accessible with a 4X4. We saw whales spouting in the distance for 2 days,
dolphins once, and a sea turtle lazily swimming in a cove! Each morning on
the beach there were turtle tracks coming up onto the sand to lay their
eggs! We never managed to see one on shore as they came only late at night.
There was a place to go snorkeling - nothing exotic but still fun! Jeffrey
was able to catch 6 good sized fish - the biggest being 3 kg! And we all
managed not to get sun burned!

PRAISE!!! The Latimers did receive their visa!! It's too close now to
Christmas for them to come in December as planned but they will come in
January!

PRAISE!!! Our new 4X4 shipped from the UK on 4 December!! It's scheduled to
arrive here on 7 January! We will not hold our breath for that - it would
be a miracle if it got here in that time - but at least it's on the way!

Today I go back to Tchincombe - Stirling & the children will come on
Saturday as tomorrow he is going to finish (hopefully) putting back together
Pastor Calenga's Land Rover. Stirling will return on Saturday morning along
with Peter and Shelley who will be coming to spend most of December with us.

Peter will be helping us weld desks for the primary school. Up till now the
children have sat on benches only! Shelley will be teaching a Traditional
Birth Attendant course - it will be her first time teaching it - kind of a
practice before the program gets underway here in the Lubango area.

Pray for Pastor Calenga (President of the UIEA) and Pastor Chiquete (General
Secretary) as they are traveling to and from Zambia for a conference.

December 10 - 17 we'll have the head of evangelism for the UIEA come and do
a conference for our little church at Tchincombe! It only occurred to me
now that it will be like our first missions conference in a way! There are
many unreached people groups in Angola. Pray that Tchincombe Church's
vision to reach out will continue to grow!!

Pray for Dagmar, our field leader, she is reapplying for the 3rd time for a
visa to live in Angola! The whole visa application system has changed
AGAIN! We really need her to be in Angola!

Jacob and Maria have been living in the house with no windows and doors -
the windows and doors have gone to Chiange pray for the logistics of getting
them installed - availability of cement, sand and a good brick layer!

Continue to pray for teachers for Tchincombe! As well as a nurse! People
who will see the job as a ministry and not just a way to earn a living. We
will be making a trip next week to Chiange to meet with the municipal
Administrator for Education to make a request for teachers. Pray firstly
that the gentleman will be there - there's really no way to communicate with
them before going. Then Pray that he will be receptive to our request.

Thanks so much for standing with us in prayer! You are a vital part of this
ministry!!

In Him,
Donna for all of us!