Thursday, November 22, 2007

Trevor's bee sting


No he wasn't in a fight... well in a fight with a bee, yes! He doesn't react so nicely to stings!
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Newly Sewn Clothing

Pete was proud of the hem he sewed... Francina was embarassed!
Nice job girls!
Meagan helped Francina with her skirt!
Ndemufayo did a good job on her pants (trousers)!
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Okahandja Primary School




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More Awards Pictures




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Awards Night at the School




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Sunday, November 18, 2007

Random Happenings!

Random Happenings!
SUNDAY
Hey guess what? Uncle Steve Collins is coming down from Angola today and he is bringing some of our stuff from the container... what's the bad news... well the container was full of rats and rat pee... and one of them even ate through a CAN of cranberry sauce. Remember our stuff was only to be stored in a container for a month... its been 16 months now... so they had a lot of fun while we were waiting! Hopefully not EVERYTHING is wrecked... but at this point I feel like someone has kicked me in the stomach and the wind is knocked out. Not that THINGS are the most important thing in life... but when you chose carefully what THINGS to send from Canada and then you find out that a lot of those things are destroyed, its kinda hard! Our good friends the Goertzen's braved their lives getting into the container to sort through things to send down. I hope that the rat pee doesn't kill them! This is life in Africa! Some ups, a few more downs, and a lot of longing for HEAVEN!

SATURDAY
Well, Friday we showed up at the MPMC and there was no power... it is 'pay as you go power' so someone hadn't purchased a card! :-) So we beaded instead of sewing... but Pete came to our rescue in the afternoon and he purchased some power and then he proceeded to 'sew' some place mats, AND teach someone else how to use the serger! HA! Saturday we met at the MPMC again... Victoria, Helen, Ndemufayo and 3 of the young girls from the Ark! WILD times! Victoria was learning to use a pattern and electric machine, Ndemufayo wanted to make trousers, Helen is beading for the second time, the girls... well they beaded but mostly just made a mess and said Auntie Charlene about 300 times. So I must say that by the time I got home at around 8PM I was EXHAUSTED! At one point I was sewing a hem, took my foot off of the presser foot and well the machine just kept going, as I am freaking out I look down and there is the little foot of Tuliki keeping my machine running (almost lost a finger!).

FRIDAY
I am going beading and sewing today with Ndemufayo... I wish you could all meet her... she's great! She would like to make TROUSERS today... that's what we call pants in Canada!! Should be fun, just hanging out with Ndemufayo and teaching her to sew. She has invited me to come and stay with her in the village up north during Christmas holidays... we'll see how it goes! Just thought I would say hi to everyone! HI

CHECK THIS OUT:
http://kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/friendsneighbours/article/125222
Ok check this out... its the article on Talitha's school fund raiser!!!!

Another Sateco update...

Well now we have $670 in our account for Sateco. Please pray that he has a place in the program... as it is a bit late and he still needs another $470 or so to register. We'll keep you updated on the progress!
God Bless,
Charlene

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Update on Sateco

I just wanted to give a quick update on the status for the Sateco University Project! We are at 6 out of 10 pledges now. Four more pledges of $114 ($456) and Sateco goes to University next year.

One of the pledger's had a great idea... you know how some people give a goat or chicken for Christmas through World Vision or Samaritan's Purse? Well... they are giving someone the chance to go to University from a 3rd world country! So they are going to include in their Christmas letter that they gave someone the opportunity to go to university as a Christmas gift in their honour! I think it is a wonderful idea, the gift that keeps on giving!!!

Let us know if you are interested in filling in one or all of those 4 pledges left!
God Bless,
Charlene

Friday, November 09, 2007

Another New Skirt!

Ok so this morning I made one for Meagan while she was home doing school work! This one fits her... so now we are twins! HA!
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New Skirt!

Meagan made this skirt for herself... but it was too big... I get to have it! Fits perfect!

Nice job Meagan (I helped a little)
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Monday, November 05, 2007

October Update

This month at Ark Okahandja…
October is the month for grade 10 exams (pretty much the most important year in school here in Namibia). Francina is the only one in grade 10 and she did a LOT of studying for her exams. We are praying that the results of her hard work will pay off in great test results!
The children are all doing well. There are a couple who really struggle with reading, so please pray that the right decisions will be made for their futures (sooner rather than later!).
A new computer was purchased for the office, a HUGE blessing… the church in Oregon that supports Ark Okahandja sent the money to pay for it and for that we are truly thankful! What a difference it makes in being able to complete work and communicate with supporters and past volunteers!!!
There have been two funerals with Care and Compassion patients. One was a man who passed away and the other a baby of one of our C&C patients. It is difficult to see patients that are not doing well physically, you don’t know who will be next.
The staff at the Ark are all well. Most of them are working hard without any complaints and that is a real blessing!
The volunteers, Natalie (who will go home soon) and Anna (she is staying for a year) are doing well. Helping with Kid’s Club, home work, and driving kids to and from school, and of course filling in where needed. I am hoping to recruit Anna to help with the C&C project!
Continue to pray for the finances to run the Ark and for unity among the staff. Also pray for the other Arks in Namibia, as some of them struggle to cover their basic needs!

Sussex Regional High School Fund Raiser…
Sussex Regional High School jumped on the ‘cause’ band wagon and has raised a LOT of money for the Care and Compassion sewing project! Talitha brought in my proposal letter and they decided to do a penny drive in her class… it then expanded to the whole school! The school raised $1215.75. Her class raised the most money and so they won the Subway 6 Foot Sub… which they sold raffle tickets for and raised another $640. Now the teachers are planning to give their charity money this month to the C&C project… they each put money in a pot each month that goes to a charity!
AMAZING! Big thank you to SRHS!

Pete’s Ministry…
This month Pete has been busy as usual with Care and Compassion. Especially in the garden! He and Lazarus have enjoyed spending time together working the soil! On Saturday mornings they pick up the ladies from 5 Rand and go and weed. He has also helped with transporting the ladies back to 5 Rand for me on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s when he is available.
This has been a bit of a stressful month in relation to some staff issues, and there are still several things that need to be dealt with concerning these issues! It is never an exciting thing to have to deal with rumours and things like that, and even worse when you are trying to investigate without causing an uprising and an uprising happens anyway. Pete has been on the chopping block and would appreciate your prayers in this regard, as he is becoming discouraged!
Pete goes to staff devotions every weekday morning at 8 AM, for the last week of October, Eric Garnie (training director of CHI) has been leading the study.
At the beginning of the month we helped Berdian and Juliet (our director and wife) with a fund raising dinner. It was a big success and they raised enough money to pay for their tickets to America and Europe.
Pete also preached on the 7th of October. His text was in Micah, and several of the young men spoke to me after they had enjoyed learning something new! In fact, it took several minutes for the congregation to even find the book of Micah!
Prayer and Fasting was in Okahandja again in October and so Pete helped with arrangements and setting things up. Several of the staff and volunteers from Keetmanshoop and Rehoboth come for the event and so there is lots of planning in regards to accommodations, schedule, devotionals, etc. We have had this responsibility several times over the last year and we are happy it is in Rehoboth in November!

Special Project…
A young man from our church approached us one day after church. He was heading back to Angola due to lack of funds to finish University, he was accepted for last year but could not go due to lack of money to cover the course. He explained to us his difficulty and left it with us to pray about. We have decided that we would like to give our friends and family the opportunity to help if they so choose. The young man’s name is Sateco Manuel Guengo, he lived 4 years in the Osire Refugee Camp in Otjiwarongo. The United Nations High Commission sponsored his schooling as a refugee and he did well in High School. His grade point average was a 37 out of a possible 42. His desire is to attend UNAM (University of Namibia), taking Information Technology and/or Engineering (Oil field related). The course takes 4 years and the cost per year is N$8000 which is currently $1142 CND. The next school year begins February 2008 but he must register soon in order to ensure a spot for himself in the course.
Our desire is that God will lay it on several of your hearts to give. If ten people gave $114 per year for 4 years this young man would exit school with a degree in Engineering. His desire is to return to Angola after schooling, and he is a fine young Christian man. Please pray about this opportunity. We have had 2 pledges so far!

$$ Our Support $$...
As you know the Canadian Office for CHI is in the process of getting set up to take money and give receipts. We are still waiting for this process to be completed.
Currently our support level has dropped below half each month for the last 3 months and we are eating away at our medical saving to pay the bills. Our budget does not include things like emergency funds for car repairs (of which we have had several this last couple of months: breaks, shocks, tires, etc), dental, medical, etc.
We would appreciate your prayerful consideration in the area of pledging toward our monthly support. This is a difficult topic to share with all of you and I pray that you understand that we are still trusting the Lord in ALL things; however sometimes we have to share the difficult things too!

May God bless you as you give freely!

Charlene’s Ministry…

This month has been a busy month. I have been meeting at the MPMC on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s with 5 of the ladies from the Care and Compassion group out in 5 Rand. They have learned several new beading stitches and are doing really well! We had some conflict to deal with but it seems sorted out now. With Talitha’s school raising the money for the expansion project I have been able to purchase 3 sewing machines, 1 serger, lots of material and some other sewing essentials. It is very exciting to see the project expanding, mostly because it is income generating and not just a one time financial gift! The gift that keeps on giving!
I set up an office at the MPMC on the 10th of October and we began using a under-utilized room upstairs for our beading that same week!
We had a few CHI staff over for Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner! None of them had ever tasted stuffing and cranberry sauce in their lives! It was awesome, we went around the table giving thanks and that was most heart-warming!
Other than completing the Prayer and Praise reports for Namibia, having company at our house (Tammy Goertzen) for a week from Angola (a very encouraging time), and keeping up on correspondence for both CHI and our family… I have been filling my time at the Ark, in Windhoek running errands, doing things on the computer and other tasks that take time but seem unimportant… but MUST be completed! It has been a productive and busy month, but encouraging and enjoyable for the most part!
Ndemufayo celebrated her birthday the 30th of November and I took her out to a Lodge for supper! It was nice to fellowship with her and relax. She is a very hard working girl and needs to take time to rest or she will burn out! I enjoy my time with her! She is a good friend!

The Knightly Kids…
Talitha is settling into school in a new town. She has made a lot of new friends through this fund raiser that was started at her school for C&C. She really enjoys photography and has taken some great photos of herself as well as the fall foliage back in New Brunswick!
Meagan is enjoying the rain! We are still trying to get her into school. They have such a different system here (and it doesn’t make a lot of sense). She has been doing a lot of reading as well as helping me with the beading ministry!
Trevor is just being himself. He can be quite a comedian! Although sometimes we just don’t understand his humour! He is doing well in school. He also enjoys baking cakes and cookies with his friend Shika. Sometimes they make such a mess I wonder if I will let them bake anymore… but you have encourage the whole baking thing!
Tavis celebrated his birthday on the 5th of October. He opted for a trip into Windhoek for a sleep over weekend with his friend from school! His friend’s parents live on a farm just outside of Windhoek, so he had fun all weekend (harassing the animals). He will be happy when school is over (sometime the end of November). He purchased a cell phone with birthday money from his grandparents! He loves to SMS (send messages, they are free on Friday, so we get a lot from him then). Tavis loves to run errands to the grocery store and make meals!

Praise and Prayer Report…
Praise:
Our director has made the decision for us that we ought to stay in Okahandja for one more year. We are relaxed about the decision on our behalf as we were having difficulty deciding which way we should go. We actually have peace about remaining here and have had some confirmation from friends that this is where they think we ought to be. Thank you for your prayers!
We had some (not all) of our stuff from Angola arrive at our house on Sunday!!! It was the stuff that had been shipped in the container April 2006 and arrived in Lubango, Angola 2 days after we left the country!!!
That the beading ministry has now expanded to a sewing ministry also! The best part about this ministry is that it is an income ‘generating’ thing, rather than a one time gift that ends there. This is the gift that keeps on giving in more ways than just financially… it enables these women to have a skill that they can use outside of the CHI ministry!
I am so thankful for the friendships that have developed with some of the Ark staff. We enjoy spending time with them and sharing who we are and our struggles. Sometimes I think they find it hard to believe that even ‘we’ have trials to deal with in our personal lives!
Prayer:
Please continue to pray that the CHI-Canada office will get things sorted out for being able to give tax deductible receipts.
Continue to pray that Meagan will get registered in a school here in Namibia!!! This is very important!
Continue to pray concerning our monthly support. Things are tight right now and we need courage and faith to face this trial one day at a time!
There have been some situations with those we work with that have been trying. Please pray for wisdom and strength, especially to stand up for the truth.
Please continue to pray that our family will endure under trials and struggles, that we will not become discouraged and forget ‘the call’. It is not always easy but God is faithful and good! May we trust HIM and not others for our strength and guidance each day!

Financial Information…
We are in the transition phase with our finances and would appreciate your prayers during this time. Currently we are unable to receipt those who live in Canada (CHI has just been approved as a charitable organization in Canada… it will take some time to work things out… but we hope that things will be ironed out soon! We thank you for your patience.)
For those who desire to support our ministry financially you can do so by
DIRECT DEPOSIT (either through Internet Banking or at the Royal Bank) into our
account or sending cheques to Ron and Marge (Pete’s parents).

Ron and Marge Knightly
Box 4, Ft. Steele BC V0B 1N0
Phone:250 426 4782

If you live in the USA you can mail your donation to CH-USA and you will receive a receipt for tax purposes. The address is PO Box 52038, Longwood FL, 32752-0328, please include a ‘separate’ paper indicating that your donation is for the
“Knightly Family-Namibia”!
Thank you for your support! We are continually overwhelmed by God’s provision for not only our daily needs but for the ability to help meet the needs of others through the generosity of those who give financially to our ministry here in Namibia. May God richly bless you!

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Meagan...

Showing off the NEW pillow... nice for an airplane ride, or throw pillow on a couch!
It isn't finished yet... but we will once we purchase the proper batting!
It's been a long day today, setting things up... time to go on home and have a rest!
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Material, Scissors, Patterns and People!


VERY nice scissors! They cut beautifully! We will probably lock them up so that they are ONLY used for material!!!
Auntie Victoria loves the patterns!!!! She would like to see more FORMAL wear patterns... hint hint! Patterns are HARD to find in this country!
Adjusting the serger and trying to get it to work properly... it is up and running now!!!
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More sewing project pictures!

My favourite material... but it's pricey! N$120 per meter... which translates to about $20 Canadian!
Do you think he is going to learn to sew? I doubt it...
He is just sitting around trying to look cute!
Checking out the serger!
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The Material!

Anna from Germany
Victoria from Okahandja (our cook at the Ark... she loves to sew!)
Ndemufayo from Okahandja (one of our house parents/secretary at the Ark)
Meagan from ???
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Care & Compassion Sewing Project

With the money raised from Talitha's school (Sussex Regional High School) I was able to purchase 2 used machines, 1 new sewing machine and 1 new serger... as well as LOTS of gorgeous material!


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