Well it is that time for us to return to Canada for a year of home assignment. Here are some of the postings that I placed on my Facebook Group called "Knightly's on Home Assignment". Just a quick progress report... we now have $366.28 toward our tickets to Canada... that leaves $9633.72 left to go. I know, it looks like a lot... but every little bit that gets deposited will put us one step closer. We appreciate your love and support!

What is a home assignment anyway?
Well, it is a time that missionaries take to go back to their country of origin and travel around seeing their supporters, friends, and family sharing what they have been doing in a foreign land for the past few years! They bore people with their pictures, dress up, show native trinkets, sings songs in a foreign language, and share stories! Ok it is more than that... but when I was a missionary kid that is what I thought furlough (the oldfashion word for Home Assignment) was! I did enjoy meeting people and telling them wild tales about eating raw meat and stuff though!It is also a time of rest (not that you feel very rested when you return to your work, but it is a change of scenery which helps you put things back into perspective) regrouping and ministering to those who have been faithfully supporting us through the years of preparation as well as our time on the field. We appreciate all of those who have prayed, written letters, sent packages, and financially helped us to meet our needs and the needs of others!! We look forward to seeing you all and spending some quality time with you!If you have any questions about HOME ASSIGNMENT... please ask! There are no stupid questions! We will do our best to keep you up-to-date with our progress on THE RETURN OF THE KNIGHTLY'S!

Progress Report
I updated the blog a week ago with the information concerning Home Assignment. Since then I have had a couple of people email for our bank details, and last night friends of ours transferred 90 Euros. That translates into about $150... so we have $9850 more to go and our tickets will be paid for! :-) As the finances come, we will continue to update. We want you to know that we are trusting God for our return and we are excited to share how HE is doing it!!!So here is where we are at:
1. We project that the Return One Year Opened Ended Tickets will cost $10,000 for the 5 of us!2. We will need to lease or purchase a vehicle upon return (we have a contact in NB who has offered to sell us a vehicle and buy it back when we leave... so that is a blessing and a great option).
3. We are looking at staying in Cranbrook for the school year (as Pete's parents own a house that we may be able to stay in).
4. We hope that Pete can go the middle of June for Talitha's graduation.
5. We hope that the rest of us will follow in July (that way the children can have one FULL school year in Canada).
6. We hope to travel across Canada visiting friends and supporters between July and August, and we would like to attend Pete's niece's wedding the end of August in Alberta.
7. Meagan is registered with on-line schooling now and we hope to have her brain stimulated enough to re-enter school without any problem :0)
8. The boys will have to leave half way through the school year here (Jan to Nov is the school year on this side of the equator), and we would like to have some Afrikaans resources to take back with us when we go, so they don't lose the language!
9. We have a lot of planning to do in regards to filling a calendar with speaking engagements and visiting!
10. We hope and pray that on the way 'home' (to Namibia) we will be able to visit some of our friends and supporters in Europe (UK, Holland, and Germany).
There... that is probably enough information for now! We will let you know how things go as we find out! I am not sure when to book the tickets... that is always the scary thing... book before the money comes in... or wait and risk having the tickets cost more? Oh the difficulties and excitement of planning a Home Assignment!

Preparation for Leaving Namibia
There are many things that we need to do before leaving Namibia for one year! Here are some of the things that I can think of at the moment, and I will continue to update as we realize the things we have forgotten!
1. Pete is the Ministry Coordinator in Okahandja. There will need to be a replacement before we leave, or at least someone within the ministry already who can take over the responsibilities that he has. He also manages The Rock (the Multi Purpose Ministry Center), where several ministries (CHI and Apex) function during the week. We get the security calls, he is responsible when things break or stop working, organizing and scheduling events, etc! He also does a lot of the driving for events during the week, like Care and Compassion.
2. I have the beading ministry and some people (mainly from the Ark) are just learning to sew! I need to find someone to replace the administrative end of things, financial issues as well as training, restocking and supervising!
3. We have to consider what to do with the house (we are hoping we can find someone who will rent it for the year, as finding a place here is not an easy task... unless we could consider purchasing when we return) and the 'stuff'!
4. We also have a contract for our Internet, and we will need to find someone to take that over while we are gone.
5. We are considering renting out our vehicle to missionaries who come down from Angola, or people who come to Namibia with CHI on short term missions. We'll see how that works itself out... but it would be nice if it got used for the year that we are gone. We also need to consider perhaps replacing it with a 4x4 upon return, especially if Pete returns and starts doing village evangelism (we'll see what happens).
6. We will need to say good-bye... and that is NOT something that I look forward to! A lot can happen in a year and good-bye's are not an easy task!
7. We would like to make one more trip up into Angola before we hit the road for Canada!
8. We need to help Jenny get fully established without needing the money she gets from cleaning here each month, or find her another job.Well, that's all that I can think of for now.

Preparation for Re-entry to Canada
This is something that may sound funny to you, but it is scarier than coming to Africa for the first time! Lots of things have changed in 3 years (I know because I returned after a year and a half and a lot had already changed). There are a lot of things to think about...
1. Should Pete get a job? If so, how does that work when we need to go visiting churches and people?!?!
2. How much of a budget do we need to project? It will be more than living here, and fuel will be a big part of it.
3. Getting the kids registered for school in a new place (completely unfamiliar).
4. Getting used to hormones in the meat, preservatives, fast food, etc!!
5. Seeing a tropical specialist and getting all our digestive problems worked out! :0) And of course the money to pay for that.
6. Finding a dentist who can work on our teeth and not unload our pocketbook!
7. The kids will have to learn to wear shoes to the shopping mall again!
8. We can't carry things on our heads anymore.
9. Learn to drive on the right side of the road again, and to enter the vehicle on the 'drivers side' not the passenger side (looking like an idiot... did that when I went back in Dec 06). Watching for traffic when walking... looking BOTH ways and remembering which way the traffic is COMING from!
10. Finding a church to get involved in and help serve while we are home! It will be important for us to find a body of believers who is going to stand behind us and support us physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially when we return! High priority!Oh I can think of a ton of things... you may think they are funny, but seriously... some of those little things are what makes life difficult to adjust upon return! Well, enough for now! We'll keep you posted!

How Can YOU Help?
Here are some quick suggestions, if you can think of others please feel free to leave your ideas too... These are just some suggestions of how you can have fun raising some money for our One Year Home Assignment! Let us know if you have done something fun to raise money for the 'cause'! We look forward to hearing from you!!!
1. Have a yard sale
2. Have a dinner party... host some friends, share what the Knightly's do in Namibia, give them each an information sheet on how to contact us directly or include our banking details
3. Put some of your 'stuff' in the Buy and Sell
4. Have a spaghetti dinner at your church, youth group, or any other group you belong to
5. Have a challenge with your friends
6. Do a penny drive
7. Save ALL of 'your' change in a bucket
8. Collect bottles
9. Spring clean for people
10. Do a service auction... house cleaning, car repair, house painting, etc
11. Sponsor an African night with your friends (you can think of ideas, things you could do)
12. Cancel your cable for 3 months
13. Drive past the restaurant, go home and make sandwiches
14. Walk or take the bus for one month
15. Stay home and watch a movie

Questions????
Ask us questions if you don't understand, or want some clarification. We will be happy to answer as best as we can!

Hope you have found this to be helpful!
We'll keep you posted!
God Bless,
Charlene