ARK OKAHANDJA
Volunteers
Currently we have four volunteers: Anna and Lisa from Germany as well as Jelma and Willianne from the Netherlands. They are all actively participating in Kid’s Club. Willianne is also helping with Care and Compassion and Jelma is helping with Choose to Wait Discipleship Club.
Anna is serving with us until August. Lisa is serving with us until mid-April. Willianne will serve for five months but she is planning to extend her work visa to stay for six months. Jelma is serving with us until Feb/March 2009. These girls are doing a great job in the Ark, they are great help and we appreciate all the work that they do. They have servant hearts and are willing to go the extra mile!
Staff
Auntie Sophia continues to work in the laundry; she is doing an amazing job. Auntie Victoria in the kitchen, she prepares delicious meals and everyone enjoys it, they especially enjoy her homemade bread!
Auleria and Rachel are doing Care & Compassion. Pelgrina is teaching Choose to wait at Aurora Primary School.
Principal Lazarus is doing a good job running the Ark; Leila is on leave as she just gave birth to a beautiful little boy, James!
Ndemufayo is administrator as well as house parent. She is always extremely busy and works very hard.
Ministry Coordinator Peter Knightly is a great help in this ministry, he does almost everything.
Children
The children are doing fine. The Swartbooi family lost an Uncle. It is very sad for them, they buried him on Saturday. Victoria decided to join the school choir this year, which is good for her. Jannis has been behaving very strange month. At school he has been challenging. The Principal called Lazarus in to discuss the matter. The Principal explained to Lazarus that Jannis found someone’s school bag lying on the ground, he took the bag and cut the text books and other books with scissors and his friend cut the bag. The Ark will pay for the books and text book. Other than that all the children are doing fine in school.
On the 21st of March, the Ark Okahandja had an Independence Day celebration Braai down at the river. It was a day to remember. It was filled with plenty of activities like soccer, volleyball and American Football (a sport unfamiliar to the children). There was a volleyball match between the boys and the girls. Unfortunately for the girls the boys won, but only by a close margin.
At the fire, Uncle Pete prepared mouth watering steaks. The lunch as a whole was very delicious, it consisted of all kinds of salads, lamb, boerewors, rooster brood and brochen. I have to say the children enjoyed the dessert, which included cakes, chocolate and marshmallows.
The children were thrilled by everything and this is what some of them had to say:
“I like the games, they were good, I enjoyed myself,” Jannis.
“It was lekker (nice) and the food tasted really good. The balloon game was fun,” said Bernard. “I like the fact we all came together and just had a great time. Playing American football with Uncle Lazarus and Uncle Pete was fun,” Toivo.
In conclusion I would like to say that the children had a great time and were very grateful for everything. It’s a day they will always remember, and everyone hopes for another day like the 21st of March!
Ndemufayo

PETE’S WORK
Other than cooking mouth watering steaks on the Braai… Pete has been relatively busy this month!
The beginning of the month he spent time in Rehoboth for training as well as Prayer and Fasting with the other CHI staff and volunteers.
They have started a Choose to Wait Discipleship Club on Fridays. The girl who was to assist has left now to pursue a career, so he has more on his plate than he bargained for. However, he is very excited about a partnership with Reach 4 Life. They have developed a great Discipleship/Bible which is used in AIDS prevention.
He continues to help with Care and Compassion. He is hoping that one of the local staff will get a driver’s license before we leave!!!!
They are hoping to start a new OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) program here in Okahandja. The desire that we have is to see these children being taken care of IN their communities! They are going to work with long term Care and Compassion patients who love Jesus, these women will help to care for and feed children in their neighbourhood who are in need! Pete is very excited about this new program!
Kids Club is also going very well. There are 3 volunteers and 1 CHI staff member who are leading it this year. The kids love the new program!
Pete continues to supervise each of the ministries in Okahandja as well as come along side people like Lazarus to help him be able to keep things going when we leave! As Ndemufayo said in her report… “Pete does almost everything”. He of course rolls his eyes in his head!

KNIGHTLY KIDS
Meagan has started to work on her online schooling! She is not excited about it yet… but I pray that will come! She spent a week in Windhoek helping new parents with their baby! They were all surprised at how much she knows! She was surprised with them putting a string on the baby’s forehead to help stop the hiccups! HA! It was all she could do to keep from laughing to death! Meagan has developed bad allergies since coming to Namibia. She really reacts badly to the water (I think it is the chlorine). It is quite nasty actually!
Trevor is enjoying school. He has found some new friends and is more relaxed! He is really enjoying wrestling this year. Pray for his health… he has had a really bad cough for the last couple of months, I think it is from the weather, but it would be nice to have him checked out!
Tavis has settled into school a little better since one boy left and went to another school! Having the two together was big trouble. He really enjoys his friend Opa. He still enjoys cooking meals. He struggles with things like handwriting and it makes him very frustrated! Please pray for him as he tries to work through stress in his life… he is slowly learning to overcome, but it has been a ‘very slow’ process!

CHARLENE’S WORK
This has been a busy month. Juliet says “when you want something done give it to a busy person”… HA I say!
The beginning of the month I was a tour guide on a trip to Etosha and Swakopmund.
During the month we have had visitors from Angola; I have been able to help them with organizing vehicle rentals and shopping as well as having a Braai here and having people overnight. I am seriously considering purchasing a big house when we come back and doing a missionary guesthouse on the side! :0)
I helped Juliet by complete the Vat returns for the last period. There were a lot of amendments to make as many things had been missed in the previous return.
Easter weekend we had the Braai with the Ark, went to a house warming Braai in Windhoek at Berdian and Juliet’s, went to Eastside Baptist on Sunday morning and were invited to Todd and Erin’s (American missionaries) for lunch afterward.
I have spent DAYS at the computer, lots of correspondence, and work for CHI. I have edited the volunteer manual, prepared National Prayer and Praise reports, and the National Bi-Monthly Newsletter. As well I have tried to keep people updated and informed on our Home Assignment, and trying to arrange cheap flights and the many other things that will need to be taken care of upon our return!
I was sick with the flu for a week and managed to sew 8 aprons, a couple of handbags, a duvet cover and curtains.
I have also met with the C&C ladies to do beading, and in my absence Meagan has gone to help supervise (which has been very helpful).
The month is gonzo… where did it go?

THE SAFARI
I was a tour guide for a few days while Adrianna, Rachel, Jennie and Hennie (2 volunteers from Holland) were here to visit Namibia! We were told that because it was rainy season we would not see many animals! Well, God was good to us and we saw basically everything except for the Rhino! Everyone seemed to have a good time, I did especially! I don’t think I have laughed so much in the last 3 years! These girls were crazy! At one point Adrianna spotted a lion coming out of the bushes to cross the road… I slammed on the breaks, backed up and was able to get ONE good picture. However, the funniest part was that Rachel had been sitting out the window, and I was YELLING “get back in the car”… “roll up the window”. They had a great time making fun of me after that! I really didn’t want Rachel to be the lioness’s lunch!! I managed to get some great pictures of animals and scenery which I hope to have made into Calendars, prints, postcards etc… when I get back to Canada. Perhaps this will help with some income during our time at home!


NEWS IN NAMIBIA
I don’t know if you have seen it on the news but there has been a lot of rain in Angola and Northern Namibia. So much so that people are losing their homes, gardens, vehicles and their lives. Cholera has been rising steadily, as well as malaria. In the north some schools have closed because the water is too high for the kids to get to school. One of my C&C beading ladies said that the water is up to the necks of children. Some people are wading through hip-high water to go 10km to work! Even clinics have shut down due to the flooding. Some people are camped out in soccer fields, living in tents. When disaster strikes poor communities the effects can be devastating. They do not have insurance to cover what little they do have, so they are left with nothing!
Please pray for the people in the flooded regions!

JENNY
This month Jenny has been experiencing pain in her heart (heart palpitations), high blood pressure, as well as headaches! I am sure that it is because of the stress that her family as well as outsiders give her!
This month her mother and brother have been the biggest part of the problem. Her mother would like Jenny to do everything for her (she did after-all give birth to her!). We are trying to get her mother to return to Rundu. However, she will leave behind the 3 boys and 1 girl for Jenny to care for! Jenny is young and already has Queen and Tommy to care for! However she already pays for all the school fees, food, and whatever else they may need.
My biggest concern is that when we leave she will no longer have the steady income from housecleaning. Please pray for Jenny… pray that she will be relieved of the stress in her life, that she will have a steady income, and that she will shine for Jesus! Her testimony through all of this is amazing!!!


PRAISE AND PRAYER
Praise:
We were blessed to have 2 girls come from Vernon BC. They visited for 2 weeks. We were able to show them some of the ministries we are involved in as well as some of the beautiful country that we live in.

We are very blessed to have our needs met each month, and we praise God for how and whom he chooses to be a blessing!

We were able to get Meagan registered with on-line school in Saskatchewan.

Our computer was sent down from Angola, which helps with school! Thank you God and thank you Goertzen’s!

We are thankful that the boys are now settling into school. Trevor is really enjoying High School!

Prayer:
Please continue to pray as we work to get things prepared for going back to Canada on Home Assignment! We are trusting God that He will provide (spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially)!

Please continue to pray for the staff that we will leave behind. Pray that they will be motivated and strengthened to do the work. Pray for Berdian and Juliet that more people will come on board with CHI-Namibia to help with the work as well as supporting them personally!

Please pray for Talitha as she finishes up the year and graduates in June. Pray that she will seek the Lord’s guidance and direction for her future!

Please pray for our family as we seem to be riding an emotional rollercoaster these days! Pray for God’s peace as we seek to do His will in our lives! Pray that I (Charlene) will not be overwhelmed with the task ahead of planning and preparing to go back to Canada!

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).
Royal Bank information:
Please email for details!
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 Christ’s Hope USA, Inc. Regional Office PO Box 2238 Traverse City, MI 49685… Phone Inquiries: Phone: (877) 544-0914 Fax: (877) 698-0692,
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!