Tuesday, January 29, 2008

ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY!

ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY! It has been sprinkling off and on since night. As of
this morning we have 9 mm of rain!

Jeffrey, Meghan and I starting a new school year this week. (The
possibility of a teacher fell through.) Jeffrey is in the 8th grade and is
starting at University of Nebraska in their distance learning high school.
He's taking a few courses this year to make the transition before starting
high school next year. His work and tests will be graded by UNL. Our
friend Brent, MAF pilot, has agreed to be J's proctor. Meghan is in third
grade and really likes school - I hope it stays that way!

On the 24th - the day the government was supposed to allocate teachers - we
sent the farm Chevy to Chiange in hopes of receiving said teachers. The
government delayed their allocation of teachers. You can always count on
things changing!

A group of people from the church here at Tchincombe went with the Chevy to
visit Jacob and Maria. The farm also sent window frames and shutters - they
were very grateful!

On Thursday Stirling goes to Chibia to be present for they weighing of 50
head of cattle being sold for meat. On Friday he'll supervise the loading
of another 50 heifers for the Cavango area. Then will accompany the truck -
remember last year lots of mud and stuck trucks! We hope this trip goes
better!!

Please pray for other clients for the other cattle we'll need to sell.

Pray for ladies' meeting on Wednesday.

Jerry Latimer has bulldozed about 6 km of road. He's basically doing an
interior ring road for the farm - it will be a great help in being able to
visit the corals more efficiently and also a big help for controlling fires
in the dry season. Louise Latimer was a huge help last week while Perpetua
was away and this week is helping with the clinic. Jerry and Louise are in
their 70's! They aren't letting grass grow under their feet!

We are grateful for Sheila Fabiano's return to Angola. Pray for her
transition and time of settling back into responsibilities at the seminary.

We love you all! We appreciate your prayers! When we all get to heaven
you'll see the results of your prayers - we'll be singing some hymns in
Olungambwe to be sure!

Pray for the opening of the primary school - we are in desperate need of
teachers!

In Him
Donna

Monday, January 28, 2008

what a GLORIOUS day!

Hi!

It has been overcast, cool with a shower or two - what a GLORIOUS day! We
still need more rain but today has been a relief from the heat and dryness.
Thanks for praying!

Donna for all of us!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Latimers and the Smiths arrived safely in Lubango

Dear Pray-ers,

Latimers and the Smiths arrived safely in Lubango and then here at
Tchincombe. What intrepid travelers - they arrived in Lubango, did
appropriate paperwork with immigration, had supper, left Lubango around 7 PM
and arrived here at midnight! It's much cooler to travel at night
especially since the A/C in the car needs charging! All are well and
healthy! Thanks for your prayers!!

We have had a light shower or two in the last few days - not near as much as
it should be nor as much as we need but every little bit helps! The field
that we seeded with millet is still surviving! Millet is the staple food
crop here - we are grateful that it hasn't shriveled up! We heard today
that our neighbor is beginning to sell off cattle. Sigh!

Thanks so much for your prayers!

In Him,
Donna for all of us

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

I wish I could say it has rained - it has not!

Hi!!

I wish I could say it has rained - it has not! The smaller trees (mongolos)
and the bushes are beginning to dry up. The sky has been overcast -
normally in January when it is overcast you can count on rain every other
day but we have had only a drop or two - nothing that even begins to wet the
ground.

The bright side we can see is that selling the cattle means we'll have money
to buy the fencing without having to borrow it from the bank! We made a
drive around the boundary of the farm - 56 km - it took most of a day!

Stirling went to Lubango today to take Jasper, our neice, to catch her
flight tomorrow. He will at the same time pickup the Latimers and the
Smiths who are arriving - it worked out very well the timing of these
comings and goings! The plan is for Stirling to come back tomorrow
afternoon but it all depends on how the Latimers and Smiths feel after their
long journeys! Pray for travel mercies - especially Louise Latimer who is
recovering from a sinus infection.

On Monday Stirling, Paulo, and I went to Chiange (3 hours from here) to see
about new teachers for Tchincombe but also to visit Pastor Jacob and Maria.
Please keep them in your prayers! They moved from here two months ago and
in Chiange they don't know anyone so they are having to make friends and
survive in a new place. Their house has doors and roof but no windows! For
them it is good that it is not raining! Pray for them to find good friends,
pray for Jacob as he preaches on Sundays and visits neighbors that he will
be filled with love and compassion for that community!

We learned on the visit to Chiange that on the 24th of January the
government will allocate teachers to their posts. We plan to go back to
Chiange on that day in hopes that it will encourage the board of education
to assign teachers to us! The two teachers that we had last year live in
Lubango and want to go home every weekend but that is impossible. So we are
hoping for teachers who would like to make their home at Tchincombe! The
ideal would be a couple!

Paulo took the measurements for the windows of Jacob and Maria's house and
we also plan on the 24th to deliver windows to them!

Jerry and Louise Latimer will be bringing a projector and the Jesus film.
Pray for wisdom about when and to whom we should show the film. We'd like
to show it in Chiange to help Jacob kick off that ministry. We'd also like
to show it in the villages where our workers come from. A few years ago we
showed the film in a place called Yanja. In the morning a lady who had
watched the film said she thought all night about 'that man' in the film!

I sent photos to town today to update the blog! It will take a day or two
but they should appear soon!

THANK YOU!!!!!
Love,
Donna for all of us

Thursday, January 10, 2008

A farmer friend was killed yesterday morning!

Dear Friends,

A farmer friend was killed yesterday morning! He
was in town and preparing to go to his farm. He was putting his gun in the
car when it went off and shot him in the head. Stirling delayed his trip
home in order to attend the funeral that was this afternoon. There are no
cold storage facilities or funeral homes per se and so burial is usually the
next day. Pray for his widow and their 2 grown sons.

Stir left town at 5:30PM so he'll be here around 10PM.

One thing that you can count on in Angola is that plans WILL CHANGE. Our
'missions conference' has been delayed. Pastor Dinho's wife is to have a
baby any day now - not sure how he forgot this when planning this date but
that's life!

At the UIEA meeting that Stirling attended on Tuesday the important item on
the agenda dealing with finances got put off again.

Still no rain.

Got word from our field leader that there is the possibility of a teacher
from Germany who speaks both English and Portuguese. She would like to come
for 6 months. Pray for a visa to be granted ASAP! She would be a big help
with for the primary the school here as well as help with J & M.

PRAISE! I taught in the ladies' meeting almost entirely in Olungambwe:}!
The ladies clapped and giggled alot when I finished!

THANKS for standing with us!
Donna

Monday, January 7, 2008

Dear Praying Partners

Dear Praying Partners,

Stirling went to town today to get food for the workers, to attend a meeting
tomorrow, to get some groceries, and hopefully to finish Pastor Calenga's
Land Rover! Pray for him and tomorrow's meeting.

We knew it was bound to come - the first HIV positive couple. They are the
same couple that lost the child last month. After thinking more on the
whole history of the child it was decided to test the parents for syphilis
and HIV - they are positive for both. The wife is a Christian but the
husband not. They have gone to town today to have their other children
tested and to get free anti-viral meds from the government hospital. Pray
for us a community that we will be full of compassion, wise counsel and know
how to help the family.

There is still no rain - everything is drying up. We are beginning
discussions on how many animals to sell and how many workers that we'll need
to lay off. Please continue to pray for rain and/or the strength, patience,
wisdom, and faith to endure if it doesn't rain.

Pray for Jerry and Louise Latimer who should be arriving on 17 January.

Pray for meetings here Jan 10-14 with Pastor Dinho on missions and
evangelism.

Continue to pray for the visa of Dagmar Henchoz our field leader!!!

You are vital to this ministry - thanks for praying!
Donna for all of us!