Tuesday, January 25, 2005

1 week to go...

One week until we thought we would leave. Are you frustrated, worried or anxious... you ask? No! All we are waiting for is the house to sell, and actually I have enjoyed the time just to relax a little before the rush... it is like a calm before the storm! We have been working at getting the kids to do some more of their school work, which has been difficult with all that has been going on. I have started packing a little at a time for the shipping container, but it is hard to know what to take and what to leave. Too many decisions to make all at once.

So we will keep you posted on how things are going, and we of course will let you know AS SOON AS the house sells! Keep in touch, we love to hear from you!

Love,
The Knightly Family!!!

Monday, January 17, 2005

2 weeks to projected leaving date!

So far the house has not sold, and that is our marker for leaving Kamloops! Although we have had a projected leaving date all along, we knew it could certainly be sooner or later. So we will take it one day at a time, as we should at any given time along this journey called "life"! We trust God that He knows when the right time is for us to leave. So when people say "when are you leaving, haven't you left yet, I thought you were leaving on such and such a date", I can say "we are already there" (thanks to good advice from a friend). Truly we are already there, our hearts, our minds, everything but our physical body! We know we have been called, we know that God has laid Angola on our hearts for a reason, and now we will just wait for His timing. One never knows why they are being kept in a place longer than expected, but when we look back we see it and thank God that He is much wiser than we! We do trust His Word and lean heavily on His promises "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose", "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness", "Be still and know that I am God", there are many more that point us to WHO is in control and WHO we should trust in! Our biggest concern is that ALL Glory and Honour go to our Heavenly Father, and that in the end He is made much of and we are not! So in saying all of this, if it takes 2 weeks, 2 months, or longer... We will trust in God and continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Saturday night Pete's coworkers gave him an excellent going away party, even though they do not know when exactly we will go away! It was a wonderful evening of reminiscing and talking with one another. They were also very generous in their giving, and we thank them for that.

Sunday morning our church gave us a commissioning service. They have sent us off with a powerful blessing and we know they will support us in our call. They are our family and we truly appreciate each and everyone one of them. We are also thankful to those who do not attend our church who came to share in this special day! It was so encouraging and really lifted our spirits, we feel so blessed to have so many amazing friends. Thank you Fred for coming on the bus from Vancouver, for bringing Micah, and for your message... We wish we could have spent more time with you! Thank you Zach for your message and for your passion and encouragement. Thank you to all of you who came to the service. Thank you to those who delivered such a fantastic luncheon, thanks for your hard work and dedication.

Well, thank you all for your love and support. If you need anymore information email us at knightvision6@gmail.com and we'll do our best to answer your questions.

Keep in touch!!!!
Love,
Charlene, for the rest of the gang!


Commissioning Service


Monday, January 10, 2005

3 Weeks! Lots of Prayer NEEDED!

We are at the 3 week mark! I do not know how it can all be done in this amount of time, but if God wills... It WILL happen. I am going to start packing this week... Things that will go in the shipping container. This should be a fun process, what to keep, what not to... Isn't that going to be fun!

We as a family have a few prayer requests!
First: Please pray that the house will sell soon, with a possession date of February 1st or soon after.
Second: Please pray for our visa process. We mailed in all the forms (however one was missing as we could not seem to get in contact with anyone in Angola), so please pray that the forms will be accepted anyway, without a problem, and that God will be glorified and praised when this process is ended. It has been a very taxing and frustrating process, but we have seen God work and move through out and we are pleased that He is in control and not us! Otherwise we would never have gotten this far!
Third: Please pray for the whole packing process. We need wisdom and discernment for what to pack, how to pack, how to get everything to Toronto to ship, etc! It is a big process and not without its many concerns and difficulties.
Fourth: Please pray for the truck that God would have us have for the farm/orphanage. We are looking for a crew cab diesel pick-up and we will need a vehicle that is in good condition for an excellent price. Please keep that in your prayers.
Fifth: Please pray for the kids, they are finding it really hard to concentrate on any school work, and they have portfolios to have in to their teacher before we leave. This is becoming a bit stressful, but it must be done, so please pray!
Sixth: Please pray for us as a family. It has been very overwhelming and I really do not want to become discouraged or frustrated. This process has been difficult and time consuming... And yet God has been faithful. However, we believe in the POWER of PRAYER, and so we are pleading with you our friends to hold us up in prayer.

Now I must end on a THANKFUL note of the BLESSINGS in our lives!
First: Yesterday we spent the day at Judge Shupe's Workshop. He is a semi-retired Judge in Kamloops who makes wooden toys to give away to needy children! He has made 150 cars/trucks/trains/doll cradles/tool boxes to send to Angola for the orphans! What a huge blessing!! It was a thrill for us to go out and help him to finish them off yesterday! Meagan, Trevor, Tavis, Pete and I drove out in the afternoon (Talitha chose to stay home as we could only take 3 of the kids, as we are down to one car that only fits 5 people at the moment) and we spent 3 hours painting the cars/trucks/trains with mineral oil! Then Judge Shupe blessed us with some cake and pop. His wife came in for a visit also and it was nice talking with her!
Second: We are thankful for the generousity of our friends and family! Thank you to all of you who have given us financial gifts. It has been a huge blessing at this time, as you can imagine all of this preparation has taken a toll on our budget! So we thank you, and may God bless you for your gifts.
Third: Thank you to those of you who came sledding with us on Saturday. It was great to spend time with our friends, even if we froze our bodies! The fire was nice (thanks for the wood, Katherine) and the fellowship was great! So thanks for coming and spending some time with us!

Well, I must sign off now, time to clean the house, and get the kids started in some school work! It is so strange getting ready to go somewhere, you know that down the road there is a BIG move, but you still have to keep up with all the routine daily chores of life! Sometimes I think we forget that we are embarking on such a big JOURNEY!

God Bless You ALL!
Love,
The Knightly's

Saturday, January 01, 2005

4 Weeks to GO

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Well almost, in another 2 hours. We just got home from a wonderful potluck at the church. We enjoy spending time with our church family, they are very special to us. Pete still isn't home, he had a flat tire on the way home with the boys. He should be home soon, hopefully in time to ring in the New Year, although I think we will both be way too tired to wait up!

So we are looking at 4 weeks to go on Sunday, until the projected leaving date. It has been a long haul the last few months getting everything together for the visas, the shots, the paperwork, the cleaning, painting, selling, getting ready to say good-bye, etc!!! It has been nice to take the last week off, to rest, relax and enjoy some time with family and friends.

We are looking forward to how God is going to move in our lives over the course of this next year. We anticipate and exciting and yet exhausting year!

We hope that you have a Happy New Year!
God Bless,
Charlene and the family