Thursday, June 26, 2008

News from New Brunswick

We have been house hunting. We have to live somewhere for a year, and since house prices and rent are so high in the west we began to consider living in the East or in Saskatchewan. We did some house searching online while in Africa and seriously considered Saskatchewan. However, before returning our search was led to NB. Not by my family (who lives out here)... in fact, my mother didn't seem convinced that we would feel comfortable living back here... but we explained that we don't need to feel comfortable (too comfortable) since our desire is to return to Africa!!! That being said... we would just like to have something to come back to (somewhere to touch base) and not have to worry every single time about where we are going to live. We won't always have our parents to lean on... praise God we have them now (as they understand furlough's and how it all works and that it is not that easy)... however this would relieve some pressure having something to come back to that we can have organized and be ready to move in when we return. Currently we are looking in an area where my mother grew up. In fact, this house is VERY close to where she grew up. We have gone to look at the house, gone through it, and talked with the lady who owns it. I grew up with her daughter-in-law. Anyway, all that being said, we have asked them to get together and discuss what it is that they want for the house (they are asking $70,000) and what they are willing to leave with the house (i.e. beds, fridge, stove, etc)... they will get back to us on Sunday or Monday and then we can make a counter offer... or just say YES or NO. WE would ask for your PRAYERS! Please pray this weekend that God will sort out all of the details and we will know one way or another... whether or not it is the right thing or the wrong thing. We don't want to be hasty, yet we have to settle on something before we head out west, as when we return we will need to get our kids into school. So PRAYER... that is what we need... and lots of it! Discernment, wisdom, guidance, etc...! Once we have figured out this whole house thing we will pack our bags and head out on a road trip to the West! We are looking forward to visiting with many of you... of course we will not be able to connect with ALL of you... but we will do our best. Once we know what our plans our we will publish and itinerary and if we are in your area then you can contact us and let us know if you would like us to visit. Quebec and Ontario are the only places we don't know a great deal of people... so if you know someone who would like to host a family of SIX... we would love to hear about it! The area between Sault St. Marie and the Manitoba border is the most boring and longest part of the trip (or so it seems)... so if you know anyone between there (Thunder Bay, etc) man we would love to have someone to drop in on. We are hoping that Pete can find a job in Alberta on a rotation (month on month off or something like that) for while we are back... first of all to help make a large dent in the mortgage... secondly to put food on the table... thirdly to keep him busy... and fourthly to try and get some finances together to enable us to go back to Namibia with some of the necessary funds to be able to carry out the projects God has laid on our hearts. That is a lot to think about...! We are very dependant on God and his people to continue to help supply our needs here in Canada. We are also going to be in touch with a mission or two that we would like to have umbrella us upon our return to Namibia (so people can get receipts). We have a lot to accomplish, and we are tired and feeling a little burnt out. Also our bodies are not adjusting as quickly to the humidity, elevation, food, time change, etc as we would have hoped. But... that is a part of the adjustment period. We would ask you to continue to pray concerning our finances...! God knows our needs... so you can ask him to reveal them to you... or feel free to send us an email. The trip west will be expensive with fuel, food and lodging (if we have to take hotels)... but we know it is a necessary journey that we must make... not only for the sake of our supporters but for the sake of our family.We look forward to sharing with each of your personally concerning our vision and passion for Africa, and to answer any questions you may have! We thank you for your financial and prayer support over the last 3 years, and we look forward to seeing how God will work out the details for the road ahead!
Blessings...
The Knightly's

More of the House

23 Acres... 5 Bedrooms... 3 sheds... near the Miramichi River


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The Yard




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House Hunting


I "AM" as tired as I look...

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Our TRIP!!

Here I am sitting at the computer (true high speed internet) and with the sun shining in the window and everyone is sitting in the living room behind me chatting about all kinds of things! It sounds nice… comforting.

June 9, 2008 we were up early in the morning tying up loose ends! Finished moving our mattresses and blankets, signed our papers for the selling our vehicle, piled in the Bakkie (truck) and Condor and headed to the airport with… Lazarus, Leila, Ndemufayo, Anna, Larnelle, and our family (and all of our luggage). We stopped on the way to pick up Fenguito and Vivas (a couple of Angolans who wanted to say goodbye at the airport). At the airport we weighed our bags (and were given grace on our weight!), had our bags plastic wrapped and checked in! Then we spent the time spending our bucket of change on drinks for everyone, and sitting at the restaurant visiting. Then it was time to say goodbye...! We then went through immigration (with our properly stamped passports… Praise the Lord) boarded the plane for Johannesburg and were on our way. In the Jo’burg airport we wandered around and waited for our connecting flight and after a 3 hour wait we boarded the flight for Frankfurt Germany. We flew Luftansa (not a very nice plane at all… cramped and no personal TV sets to entertain people, and in Pete’s row of seats none of the controls worked so they couldn’t even listen to the movies or music!). Behind the boys was an extremely drunk man (who managed to drink more alcohol on the Luftansa flight) and he began to sexually harass the stewardess and said some very nasty things to Tavis and punched Trevor’s seat when he tried to lean back to sleep. Finally the stewardess came to me and asked about whether or not the man was bothering us… and so when we told her what he had been up to they took him to the back of the plane somewhere and had the police waiting for him when we arrived. I didn’t get any sleep through the night, so I felt pretty yucky when we arrived in Germany!

June 10, 2008… 5 AM we arrived in Germany, it took a while to find our gate and we waited in a long line up to clear the inspection counter (xray and all)… once we were settled the kids laid on the seats and got some sleep (well except for Tavis)… I happened to have 10 Euros in my purse so I went to McDonalds and bought 5 cheeseburgers and 5 small soft drinks. We were a bit worried about what our Air Canada flight was going to be (especially after expecting that the Luftansa flight would be better than the Air Canada)… however we were pleasantly surprised with a beautiful brand new plane… lots of leg room, individual TV’s, and excellent service! Very impressed! After a long and pleasant flight to Toronto we collected our luggage (ALL of it arrived safely and still plastic wrapped) and without any issues cleared customs (they didn’t even look at anything or ask any questions)… we then exited the secure area and found my brother Roger ready and waiting to spend the 7 hours of waiting time with us in Toronto… what a great blessing! He took us out to a Greek restaurant and got us out of the airport for a few hours! Then we visited at Starbucks in the airport until we needed to go through security again. While waiting to board the plane to Moncton, Meagan’s Science teacher showed up… we were wondering if he didn’t make it, but he was flying in from Saskatchewan and managed to be in on time to visit with us for about 10 minutes before we had to board our plane! He is a money collector and Meagan had gotten him Namibian and Angolan money… which was very exciting and I made placemats for his wife! It was nice to meet him… Meagan and him spend a great deal of time online laughing and carrying on, so it was good for her to meet him face to face!!! After a couple of hours we touched down in NB… tired and dizzy from all the flying we headed out to the baggage claim area and around the corner I could hear all these people yelling and carrying on… rounded the corner and there was Talitha JUMPING… UP and DOWN…. UP and DOWN!! My mom and dad, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Randy and Talitha came to greet us!!! Again all of our bags arrived safe and sound… we packed into the two vans they brought to pick us up in, and headed for home (in Sussex)… I drove one of the vans, on the right side of the road and under 140km/hr!!!!! We arrived sometime around midnight; I had a shower and then crashed until 11AM the next morning!!!

So here we are… tired, burnt out, and taking the time to relax (sort of). I am going to get my hair done today by a REAL hairdresser… that’s exciting! I better go and get ready… just wanted to let you know how our trip went!
Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and greetings!! We appreciate you all!
Love,
Charlene (for the Knightly’s)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Back in Canada

Here we are back in Canada. I am VERY tired, and can't really think straight, so I won't bother to write a detailed blog, but when I get my thoughts together I will fill you in! Just wanted you all to know that we are safe and sound in New Brunswick at my mom and dad's.

Charlene

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Tomorrow is the BIG day...

Tomorrow morning we get up, get ready and get on a plane at 12:50PM heading to Jo'burg South Africa (3 hour wait) and then on to Frankfurt Germany (5 hour wait) then on to Toronto Ontario Canada (7 hour wait) and then to Moncton NB Canada (almost 2 hour drive to my parents....). That is a total of 38 hours in airplanes and terminals! YIKES.

Please pray for sanity... patience... etc! Also pray that our bags will all get on the plane without having to pay any weight penalties, and that they arrive safe and sound in NB!

I am tired just thinking about it... so I think I will go to bed!
Love,
Charlene

Friday, June 06, 2008

THREE days to go...

3 Days to go…

Here we are and 3 more days to go before we fly from Namibia to New Brunswick, Canada! Up to now we have had so many things that just seemed to fall apart… so many unknowns… and so many discouragements. Today was the last possible day to get things worked out with our visas, and Pete went into Home Affairs and the lady graciously and very quickly granted an exit (or re-entry) Visa so when we get to the airport there will be no problem in leaving! What a load off of the mind, heart, body, stomach……….! Also some wonderful, gracious American missionaries offered to clear out a space in their garage that we can store our things in for while we are gone. So tomorrow and Sunday we will spend time carting things over there. Continue to pray for Elfie as she is still looking for a place to rent. We know that God will work it out in His time, but pray for Elfie as she is waiting!!

Let’s see what is left to do… we have to get our bags packed with 50lbs of stuff and no more, we have to get our stuff ‘moved’, I am picking up my friend Tammy at the airport on Saturday, we have church on Sunday (saying goodbye) and driving Tammy to the airport so she can catch her flight to Angola, Monday morning we get up early and head to the airport at 9:00 AM.
Now once we arrive in NB… Meagan and Talitha both have exams, Talitha has grad ceremonies etc, we have to decide where we will live (and we are leaning toward living in NB), we need to make a trip west, and Pete is anxious about finding a job, we will have to get the kids registered in a school somewhere, registered for medical, etc… etc… etc…! There are a lot of things to do and the task seems overwhelming, but we trust that God has a plan and he will work it through for GOOD!

We appreciate all of your prayers and we are extremely thankful to those who have given toward our tickets and general living expenses. We appreciate your giving to the Lord! We look forward to the year ahead; it will be interesting to see how God works everything out for GOOD once again! I do hope it will be a restful year, and that we will be renewed and ready for another term on the field.

Keeping you posted!
Blessings,
Charlene

Monday, June 02, 2008

ONE WEEK to go...

Here we are at one more week. Saturday we found out that on Wednesday the church decided to sell the house and not rent it to Elfie. That was a BLOW! We are all floundering now... her with all the plans to move in (just formalities, shouldn't be a problem, blah blah blah)... and now no where to go but back to the center. Us with all of our stuff that was going to be stored in the garage. Great! Well... we have one week to figure something out or leave the stuff in the street. Sounds depressing but I am sure that God has better plans! Since all things will work together for good... :0) There is much to think about now... oh and we still have NOTHING settled regarding our visas either. So here we are... one more week... I am sure it will be a great story to tell in the years to come of God's faithfulness, but going through it and waiting (and knowing there isn't much time to wait) is not easy!

We appreciate your prayers... a LOT!
Charlene