Knightly News Update
August 16, 2005
This weekend we had a whirlwind trip from Lubango to Rio de Huila to Humpata to Namibe! The weekend started out with Dr. Steve Collins picking us up here at Mitcha, in Lubango to take us out to Rio de Huila, as Peter and Areni Ritchie invited us out for the day. The boys, Meagan and Pete went out to the hospital to watch Dr. Collins do an eye operation. I stayed behind and helped Areni sew an outfit for a gal going to a wedding on the Saturday. It turned out very nice. Gave me the spark I needed to start sewing again, unfortunately I didn’t pack any patterns in the container, I gave them all away! We had a lovely lunch at the Ritchie’s and when Dr. Collins was finished his surgeries we headed out to Humpata where he lives and spent the night at his house!
In the morning we drove to Namibe! This was the boys and my first time seeing where we are going to live (when the container arrives and we can get settled there). The Leba Pass is an amazing road down the side of an escarpment with at least 60 switchbacks, it is beautiful! Along the way we saw a springbok (not common in the Namibe desert), baboons (apparently another uncommon sight), and some other sights that I will never forget. Took lots of pictures! In Namibe we went to meet some of Steve Collins friends, it is nice to have some contacts for when we move there, and then it was off to the internet café. We went to the beach and the boys played in the water while we relaxed and ate lunch. Then we went to see the house we will move into when we arrive in Namibe. It looks great, needs a little work, but it looks like they are going to help us with that. We had a chance to visit with the Pastor in Namibe and we are looking forward to settling in and getting to know him and his family better. They are very nice folk. After the visit to our house we were off to the farm, Agro Sul, in the beautiful Giraul River valley. The Joubert family welcomed us for the weekend and we really enjoyed our visit with them. They have 3 boys, Evert (9), Johann (7), and Neile (5) and our boys had a wonderful time with them. They went out hunting for fossils first thing, found shark teeth, dinosaur teeth, and shells in the rocks around the farm!
On Saturday morning Pete and Strauss went into town to do some farm business. Sanette and I visited while Steve read and the boys explored around the farm. In the afternoon all the boys went fishing (they saw a cobra) caught some small fish but nothing worth keeping. Pete brought back some mussels which he cooked up back here at Mitcha. We are looking forward to the seafood at the coast.
Sunday morning we headed back to Humpata and went for a hike with a group (including our girls) from Lubango that met us at Steve’s house. It was nice to see some new sights around the dam near Humpata. It is heading into spring here and the leaves look like they do in the fall back in Eastern Canada. It is beautiful. In the evening we came back into Lubango and went to a bible study with a group of missionaries from several different organizations.
Monday, Pete went to the praca and did some shopping and while he was gone Steve Collins showed up to take us out and about. So the boys and I went for a drive with him, trying to find a farm (didn’t find the right one) and then downtown and up the hill to a place where a missionary family is building a house on the hillside. It overlooks the city of Lubango, it is a beautiful sight. It was another nice day (out and about).
Well, this is a glimpse into our lives! Be sure to write and tell us what you are doing and feel free to ask questions, we’ll try to answer them!
Prayer Requests:
Visa Renewal for the girls (almost overlooked that… they came in 2 weeks ahead of us)
Container Arrival
Smooth import of the contents of our container
Language Teacher
Adjustment for our family
Production of Agro Sul (the farm at Giraul River)
Praise Items:
Many new friends
Some new Portuguese words every day
Seeing the faithfulness of God in our lives on a daily basis
Health and safety
Relatively smooth adjustment to the climate and culture
Thank you all for your prayers. We’ll keep you posted as we adjust to our new life here in Angola!
God Bless,
Charlene for the rest of the Knightly’s
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Greetings from Angola
Knightly News Update
August 6, 2005
GREETINGS FROM ANGOLA!!!
Well, PRAISE THE LORD we have made it to Angola. On July 30th we started out from Windhoek, Namibia and drove as far as Oshiwaranga (not sure if I got the spelling right, but it is something like that!). We stayed in a wonderful Bed and Breakfast called THE BUSH PILLOW (just in case you ever go through and you want a NICE place to stay). On Sunday morning (the 31st), we started the day with Bible reading and prayer (it was a nice little church service) then we went much further up the road making a stop in Oshikati (again not sure on the spelling) to drop 2 of our travelers at a hotel there, so one could work on her visa the next day and catch a ride with someone else. The other gal, Karen Hendrickson, met us at the road to the border the next morning. We (the Stirling Fosters) traveled on to Ruacana to spend the night at a campground with a Bungalow.
On Monday morning (the 1st of August) we traveled to the border. On the Namibian side you must declare everything you purchased in Namibia, register who is driving each vehicle, the border guards check to make sure the registrations match the numbers on the engines, and each person must have their exit visa stamped in the passport. That whole process took almost 2 hours, then we drive a couple hundred feet to the Angolan border where we go through another whole process having passports stamped and new rules made for people entering on a visitor visa (meaning they would like some more money for us to be able to enter the country) next time it will be something different, but for our crossing it was that! On other days it has been money for bringing goods into the country!
So you cross the border, going from nicely paved roads to roads made from sand and tire tracks. You travel for what seems like endless kilometers (actually it really isn't that far distance-wise but it feels like you have just traveled across Canada and back when you are done) over wagon trails, "almost" broken bridges on and on and on, bumping, swaying, clunking, jolting, creeping, crawling, jiggling, and so on! The sun sets around 6:30 PM here and what a beautiful sight. Then it is pitch black with radiant stars shining in the sky! The Land Rover that Pete was driving had a radiator leak on the way, and the Land Rover that Karen was driving had the back hub go on her when we were almost to our destination, after switching it into diff lock we traveled the worst part of the road (thick powdery sand, almost like talcum powder) in front wheel drive!!! It was a nice sight to arrive at Tchincombe Ranch late in the evening it was also nice to arrive safe and sound (I would say in our right mind, but after traveling roads like that it takes days to return to your right mind... if you were ever there!!!)!
Tuesday (August 2) we spent the day recovering. Pete and Stirling fixed the hub on the Land Rover, and Donna (Foster), Karen and I went to where the farm workers live with their families and Karen who is a doctor checked some little boys who had circumcisions that had gotten infected, and Donna (a vet) administered the med's from the farm clinic and they both explained to the dad's how to care for their little boys to help with the healing. Then we went to see a little baby who had burned his little hand in the fire the night before. It was really badly blistered, so we took the babe and his mom to the house and Karen had the mom wash it with soap, then Karen put some ointment on and wrapped it in 2 clear plastic bags and taped it up! Poor little guy! In the evening, Jeffrey and Meghan Foster (Stirling and Donna's children) and our boys decided to camp out in the field... so they set up tents, started a campfire, and roasted their wild game over the open fire. Meghan decided to come back to the house, and the boys spent the whole night out in the COLD and DARK! It is winter here in Angola, so it is quite chilly at night!
Wednesday (August 3) we climbed into the Land Rovers again for another long day over trails, which I later realized were MUCH better than traveling on the "PAVED" Angolan roads. It is something you have to EXPERIENCE to understand. A tiny bit of the road is paved the rest is "a" BIG pot hole! Most people drive in the ditch! After banging and thrashing over the main road into Angola we stopped in a place a half an hour out of Lubango (I am really not sure on the spelling but I will say it "sounds like" this... Reu de Huila) to drop Karen's things off at her house, the medical supplies at the clinic where she works, and some things that we brought up for the Ritchie family who live next door to Karen! Then it was on to Lubango to "finally" get to see the girls and to have lunch with the Holden Family who have so graciously taken the girls into their family (we still haven't gotten them back). It was nice to see them again. Talitha was looking very ill, she had a high fever, chills, headache among other things... she has officially become Angolan (according to one of the pastors here in Lubango) SHE HAS MALARIA!!! We met up with Dr. Karen after lunch and she took her for blood tests (which of course turned up negative, being ex-patriots it takes a lot of "looking" on the lab tech's part to find it in our blood), however Karen explained to the tech that it need to be checked more thoroughly and Becky Loewen (our new neighbour at the Mitcha Compound where we are staying in Lubango) took her down in the evening for her second blood test and it turned up positive! She is now on Coertum and feeling MUITO BEM (very good)!
The leadership of the UIEA (the church we have come to work along side) set up a schedule of lunches so that we could go and meet the pastors, missionaries and their families. That has been a WONDERFUL experience! Thursday we went to Pastor Chiquete's house, we had a great visit (he speaks English quite well). Friday we went to Pastor Bioco's house (Jonathan Holden came along to translate) and we had another great visit. On the way home Pastor Bioco and his wife took us to the market, that was quite an experience! In fact, Pete and the boys just headed out to the PRACA (pronounced prasa) to see if they could have some fun (being that we can't speak Portuguese yet)!!! We are learning however, and I think it will be easier once we reach Namibe as not as many people speak English and we will not be able to get by without learning! This afternoon we go to Becky Loewen's (right across the driveway from us) for lunch, and then this evening we are going to Senorita Bioco's birthday party. Looking forward to that! Tomorrow afternoon we go to Dr Steven & Peggy Fosters for lunch after church.
We have been very busy as you can see, and of course without a vehicle makes it hard to get around and do things like connect to the internet! Everyone else except for Becky has left the Mitcha compound and so the only phone available is Becky's cell. We are looking into getting a cell ourselves, but we'll see how that goes! We may just wait to go with a land line phone when we reach Namibe, and we are NOT sure when that will be! Our container was due to arrive yesterday but being that we have had no way of communicating with the outside world we don't know if it is there yet. Pastor Zebedeeu (really not sure on the spelling with this one) our pastor in Namibe is the son-in-law of Pastor Bioco and we had lunch with him yesterday at the Bioco home... he will check to see if it is there on Monday morning. Once the container arrives we have a HUGE process to go through. Applying for exemption, registering the vehicle and unloading the stuff in a secure compound will be first on the list. It is going to cost around $5000 US to bring the goods into the country and to register the vehicle, we had no idea of the cost on this end, but we trust that the Lord will provide for our needs and so we are not worried about it. Please pray that it will either be less or that it will be provided.
So this is where we are at...
We wait for the container to arrive.
The church takes care of the paper work.
We unload the container.
We register the vehicle (this can take time).
We get to know the people in Lubango.
We start ever so slowly to learn Portuguese.
We fix up the house in Namibe (and hopefully get the water running and the toilet fixed)
We would ask that you pray that these things will go smoothly and quickly, and that we will be able to get moved into our house in Namibe. We would also ask that you pray that our family makes the adjustment well (it has been tiring and tense at times during the wait in Namibia and the LONG drive up to Angola, now that we are settling in things are beginning to relax a bit). We are babysitting a little dog, Wriggles (we've been calling her Squiggles... I just read on her dog food bag that it is Wriggles... she seems to answer to Squiggles) that belongs to a MAF guy who has gone to Three Hills Alberta for a month and a half... this has been a great distraction for both us and the boys. Thanks Brent (even though he doesn't know we have his dog!!!!), I am sure Gary and Tammy will let him know when they read this email!!
I realize this is LONG, but we have had so much happen since our last communication so I thought, "why not tell as much as I can" so you can get a feel for what we are experiencing in our first days in Angola. We are very glad to be here, and we look forward to how God is going to use us as we do what He has called us to do! The leadership at the UIEA has stressed that the first year is to be spent learning the language and getting involved in our local church in Namibe (learning culture and adjusting to life in Angola). They want us to have the foundation of language before any other ministry is started, we think this is wise and so we prepare for our first year... LEARNING PORTUGUESE!
Keep in touch... please write and tell us how you are doing and feel free to ask questions about ANYTHING and I will try to answer! In the meantime we appreciate your prayers and communication... THANK YOU!
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly Family!
August 6, 2005
GREETINGS FROM ANGOLA!!!
Well, PRAISE THE LORD we have made it to Angola. On July 30th we started out from Windhoek, Namibia and drove as far as Oshiwaranga (not sure if I got the spelling right, but it is something like that!). We stayed in a wonderful Bed and Breakfast called THE BUSH PILLOW (just in case you ever go through and you want a NICE place to stay). On Sunday morning (the 31st), we started the day with Bible reading and prayer (it was a nice little church service) then we went much further up the road making a stop in Oshikati (again not sure on the spelling) to drop 2 of our travelers at a hotel there, so one could work on her visa the next day and catch a ride with someone else. The other gal, Karen Hendrickson, met us at the road to the border the next morning. We (the Stirling Fosters) traveled on to Ruacana to spend the night at a campground with a Bungalow.
On Monday morning (the 1st of August) we traveled to the border. On the Namibian side you must declare everything you purchased in Namibia, register who is driving each vehicle, the border guards check to make sure the registrations match the numbers on the engines, and each person must have their exit visa stamped in the passport. That whole process took almost 2 hours, then we drive a couple hundred feet to the Angolan border where we go through another whole process having passports stamped and new rules made for people entering on a visitor visa (meaning they would like some more money for us to be able to enter the country) next time it will be something different, but for our crossing it was that! On other days it has been money for bringing goods into the country!
So you cross the border, going from nicely paved roads to roads made from sand and tire tracks. You travel for what seems like endless kilometers (actually it really isn't that far distance-wise but it feels like you have just traveled across Canada and back when you are done) over wagon trails, "almost" broken bridges on and on and on, bumping, swaying, clunking, jolting, creeping, crawling, jiggling, and so on! The sun sets around 6:30 PM here and what a beautiful sight. Then it is pitch black with radiant stars shining in the sky! The Land Rover that Pete was driving had a radiator leak on the way, and the Land Rover that Karen was driving had the back hub go on her when we were almost to our destination, after switching it into diff lock we traveled the worst part of the road (thick powdery sand, almost like talcum powder) in front wheel drive!!! It was a nice sight to arrive at Tchincombe Ranch late in the evening it was also nice to arrive safe and sound (I would say in our right mind, but after traveling roads like that it takes days to return to your right mind... if you were ever there!!!)!
Tuesday (August 2) we spent the day recovering. Pete and Stirling fixed the hub on the Land Rover, and Donna (Foster), Karen and I went to where the farm workers live with their families and Karen who is a doctor checked some little boys who had circumcisions that had gotten infected, and Donna (a vet) administered the med's from the farm clinic and they both explained to the dad's how to care for their little boys to help with the healing. Then we went to see a little baby who had burned his little hand in the fire the night before. It was really badly blistered, so we took the babe and his mom to the house and Karen had the mom wash it with soap, then Karen put some ointment on and wrapped it in 2 clear plastic bags and taped it up! Poor little guy! In the evening, Jeffrey and Meghan Foster (Stirling and Donna's children) and our boys decided to camp out in the field... so they set up tents, started a campfire, and roasted their wild game over the open fire. Meghan decided to come back to the house, and the boys spent the whole night out in the COLD and DARK! It is winter here in Angola, so it is quite chilly at night!
Wednesday (August 3) we climbed into the Land Rovers again for another long day over trails, which I later realized were MUCH better than traveling on the "PAVED" Angolan roads. It is something you have to EXPERIENCE to understand. A tiny bit of the road is paved the rest is "a" BIG pot hole! Most people drive in the ditch! After banging and thrashing over the main road into Angola we stopped in a place a half an hour out of Lubango (I am really not sure on the spelling but I will say it "sounds like" this... Reu de Huila) to drop Karen's things off at her house, the medical supplies at the clinic where she works, and some things that we brought up for the Ritchie family who live next door to Karen! Then it was on to Lubango to "finally" get to see the girls and to have lunch with the Holden Family who have so graciously taken the girls into their family (we still haven't gotten them back). It was nice to see them again. Talitha was looking very ill, she had a high fever, chills, headache among other things... she has officially become Angolan (according to one of the pastors here in Lubango) SHE HAS MALARIA!!! We met up with Dr. Karen after lunch and she took her for blood tests (which of course turned up negative, being ex-patriots it takes a lot of "looking" on the lab tech's part to find it in our blood), however Karen explained to the tech that it need to be checked more thoroughly and Becky Loewen (our new neighbour at the Mitcha Compound where we are staying in Lubango) took her down in the evening for her second blood test and it turned up positive! She is now on Coertum and feeling MUITO BEM (very good)!
The leadership of the UIEA (the church we have come to work along side) set up a schedule of lunches so that we could go and meet the pastors, missionaries and their families. That has been a WONDERFUL experience! Thursday we went to Pastor Chiquete's house, we had a great visit (he speaks English quite well). Friday we went to Pastor Bioco's house (Jonathan Holden came along to translate) and we had another great visit. On the way home Pastor Bioco and his wife took us to the market, that was quite an experience! In fact, Pete and the boys just headed out to the PRACA (pronounced prasa) to see if they could have some fun (being that we can't speak Portuguese yet)!!! We are learning however, and I think it will be easier once we reach Namibe as not as many people speak English and we will not be able to get by without learning! This afternoon we go to Becky Loewen's (right across the driveway from us) for lunch, and then this evening we are going to Senorita Bioco's birthday party. Looking forward to that! Tomorrow afternoon we go to Dr Steven & Peggy Fosters for lunch after church.
We have been very busy as you can see, and of course without a vehicle makes it hard to get around and do things like connect to the internet! Everyone else except for Becky has left the Mitcha compound and so the only phone available is Becky's cell. We are looking into getting a cell ourselves, but we'll see how that goes! We may just wait to go with a land line phone when we reach Namibe, and we are NOT sure when that will be! Our container was due to arrive yesterday but being that we have had no way of communicating with the outside world we don't know if it is there yet. Pastor Zebedeeu (really not sure on the spelling with this one) our pastor in Namibe is the son-in-law of Pastor Bioco and we had lunch with him yesterday at the Bioco home... he will check to see if it is there on Monday morning. Once the container arrives we have a HUGE process to go through. Applying for exemption, registering the vehicle and unloading the stuff in a secure compound will be first on the list. It is going to cost around $5000 US to bring the goods into the country and to register the vehicle, we had no idea of the cost on this end, but we trust that the Lord will provide for our needs and so we are not worried about it. Please pray that it will either be less or that it will be provided.
So this is where we are at...
We wait for the container to arrive.
The church takes care of the paper work.
We unload the container.
We register the vehicle (this can take time).
We get to know the people in Lubango.
We start ever so slowly to learn Portuguese.
We fix up the house in Namibe (and hopefully get the water running and the toilet fixed)
We would ask that you pray that these things will go smoothly and quickly, and that we will be able to get moved into our house in Namibe. We would also ask that you pray that our family makes the adjustment well (it has been tiring and tense at times during the wait in Namibia and the LONG drive up to Angola, now that we are settling in things are beginning to relax a bit). We are babysitting a little dog, Wriggles (we've been calling her Squiggles... I just read on her dog food bag that it is Wriggles... she seems to answer to Squiggles) that belongs to a MAF guy who has gone to Three Hills Alberta for a month and a half... this has been a great distraction for both us and the boys. Thanks Brent (even though he doesn't know we have his dog!!!!), I am sure Gary and Tammy will let him know when they read this email!!
I realize this is LONG, but we have had so much happen since our last communication so I thought, "why not tell as much as I can" so you can get a feel for what we are experiencing in our first days in Angola. We are very glad to be here, and we look forward to how God is going to use us as we do what He has called us to do! The leadership at the UIEA has stressed that the first year is to be spent learning the language and getting involved in our local church in Namibe (learning culture and adjusting to life in Angola). They want us to have the foundation of language before any other ministry is started, we think this is wise and so we prepare for our first year... LEARNING PORTUGUESE!
Keep in touch... please write and tell us how you are doing and feel free to ask questions about ANYTHING and I will try to answer! In the meantime we appreciate your prayers and communication... THANK YOU!
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly Family!
Monday, July 25, 2005
We are in Namibia
Hi everyone,
After 4 weeks in New Brunswick, 2 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa, we have now arrived in Windhoek, Namibia. We will spend 2 weeks here at the AIM/SIM guest house and then travel up to Angola with Stirling and Donna Foster, SIM missionaries.
We have seen as a family God answer many prayers and be continually faithful to us. It has overwhelmed us just how faithful He has been.
The 4 weeks in NB, was spent visiting family and speaking in churches in both Maine and NB. We are confident that there are many who are upholding us in prayer. We thank all of you for your prayers and support.
We had many concerns as we headed out to South Africa, we were unsure about our flight into Montreal as we only had 1 1/2 hours in-between flights, our flight out of Moncton was delayed an hour, and when we arrived in Montreal they were just finishing up boarding the plane. However once we were all settled that plane was delayed about an hour, so we had nothing at all to be concerned with. We really didn't in the first place as we had prayed and knew God had a plan.
In London we spent about 11 hours relaxing in the airport, and had some chance to sleep. We boarded the plane in the evening and began our 11 and a half hour flight to Cape Town. We had no problems whatsoever clearing customs and having our passports stamped with a visitor visa.
In Cape Town, my friend Philippa and our Guest House Host, Gordon, were there to greet us. I think Gordon almost fell over when he saw how much luggage we had. We crammed it into the two vehicles and headed off to the guest house. We all climbed into bed about 6 hours after arriving and spent the next 20 hours recovering from jetlag, at one point Pete, myself and the girls got up and had a bit to eat (I think it was about 3 AM) and then we headed back to bed for another few hours of sleep.
The Sunday after we arrived we went to two different churches; they were both fantastic, great preaching and friendly people. It was refreshing and both sermons applied to our lives and we were challenged by them. On Monday we finally got brave enough to take the train, we traveled the whole week in 3rd class and met some great people, and it was a good experience for our family. We had many strange looks, but mostly people were friendly and talkative. We took a "black taxi" on a few occasions, which is quite an experience (they fit about 16 passengers in a van). We did a lot of walking, site seeing, and swimming or laying on the beach. It was a good calm before the storm!! We spent several days visiting with our friends Philippa and Darryl, and really enjoyed getting to know our email buddies. They were great and we can't wait until the come to visit us in Angola. If you would like to check out Darryl's site you can see some great photos and read his story of his experience in traveling the southern half of Angola. That is how I met him and his wife... by checking out this site: http://reports.overland.co.za/Darryl_Lampert/Angola_2003/
On Thursday the 14th we were given a lift to the airport by our host Gordon and another missionary who graciously offered to help out by taking a car load. Very thankful for God's provision in that area!! We had no problems checking all of our luggage back in (even though weight restrictions are very different over here)! We flew off EARLY (imagine that!), and arrived in Windhoek early! We had absolutely no problems going through the visa process, which again was a concern for us as we flew in on one way tickets. God is SO good! We were picked up by Dean, a missionary here. Now we are staying at the guest house, and in this 2 weeks that we have here we will need to get some things organized in regards to banking, internet, grocery shopping, etc!
For those of you praying for us here are some specific prayer requests:
1. Our container has been delayed and we would appreciate prayers in regards to importing it into Angola, it may be costly and there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be accomplished before it arrives.
2. Getting through the border in Angola can be a challenge, so we would appreciate your prayers concerning that also.
By the looks of things we will be staying at what is called the Mitcha compound (a MAF... Mission Aviation Fellowship compound) in Lubango until our container arrives and we have the house in Namibe fixed up a little (i.e. the plumbing fixed and water running). This will also give us a chance to meet with the leadership of the church and hopefully have a chance to talk about some of the plans for the orphanage.
We certainly appreciate ALL of the prayers, and letters that we receive they are a great encouragement to us.
Well, I must finish up, I am hoping to connect to the internet tomorrow, we'll see how that goes! Just thought I would give an update and let everyone know that we are still alive and well!
God Bless,
Love,
Charlene for the KNIGHTLY FAMILY!
After 4 weeks in New Brunswick, 2 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa, we have now arrived in Windhoek, Namibia. We will spend 2 weeks here at the AIM/SIM guest house and then travel up to Angola with Stirling and Donna Foster, SIM missionaries.
We have seen as a family God answer many prayers and be continually faithful to us. It has overwhelmed us just how faithful He has been.
The 4 weeks in NB, was spent visiting family and speaking in churches in both Maine and NB. We are confident that there are many who are upholding us in prayer. We thank all of you for your prayers and support.
We had many concerns as we headed out to South Africa, we were unsure about our flight into Montreal as we only had 1 1/2 hours in-between flights, our flight out of Moncton was delayed an hour, and when we arrived in Montreal they were just finishing up boarding the plane. However once we were all settled that plane was delayed about an hour, so we had nothing at all to be concerned with. We really didn't in the first place as we had prayed and knew God had a plan.
In London we spent about 11 hours relaxing in the airport, and had some chance to sleep. We boarded the plane in the evening and began our 11 and a half hour flight to Cape Town. We had no problems whatsoever clearing customs and having our passports stamped with a visitor visa.
In Cape Town, my friend Philippa and our Guest House Host, Gordon, were there to greet us. I think Gordon almost fell over when he saw how much luggage we had. We crammed it into the two vehicles and headed off to the guest house. We all climbed into bed about 6 hours after arriving and spent the next 20 hours recovering from jetlag, at one point Pete, myself and the girls got up and had a bit to eat (I think it was about 3 AM) and then we headed back to bed for another few hours of sleep.
The Sunday after we arrived we went to two different churches; they were both fantastic, great preaching and friendly people. It was refreshing and both sermons applied to our lives and we were challenged by them. On Monday we finally got brave enough to take the train, we traveled the whole week in 3rd class and met some great people, and it was a good experience for our family. We had many strange looks, but mostly people were friendly and talkative. We took a "black taxi" on a few occasions, which is quite an experience (they fit about 16 passengers in a van). We did a lot of walking, site seeing, and swimming or laying on the beach. It was a good calm before the storm!! We spent several days visiting with our friends Philippa and Darryl, and really enjoyed getting to know our email buddies. They were great and we can't wait until the come to visit us in Angola. If you would like to check out Darryl's site you can see some great photos and read his story of his experience in traveling the southern half of Angola. That is how I met him and his wife... by checking out this site: http://reports.overland.co.za/Darryl_Lampert/Angola_2003/
On Thursday the 14th we were given a lift to the airport by our host Gordon and another missionary who graciously offered to help out by taking a car load. Very thankful for God's provision in that area!! We had no problems checking all of our luggage back in (even though weight restrictions are very different over here)! We flew off EARLY (imagine that!), and arrived in Windhoek early! We had absolutely no problems going through the visa process, which again was a concern for us as we flew in on one way tickets. God is SO good! We were picked up by Dean, a missionary here. Now we are staying at the guest house, and in this 2 weeks that we have here we will need to get some things organized in regards to banking, internet, grocery shopping, etc!
For those of you praying for us here are some specific prayer requests:
1. Our container has been delayed and we would appreciate prayers in regards to importing it into Angola, it may be costly and there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be accomplished before it arrives.
2. Getting through the border in Angola can be a challenge, so we would appreciate your prayers concerning that also.
By the looks of things we will be staying at what is called the Mitcha compound (a MAF... Mission Aviation Fellowship compound) in Lubango until our container arrives and we have the house in Namibe fixed up a little (i.e. the plumbing fixed and water running). This will also give us a chance to meet with the leadership of the church and hopefully have a chance to talk about some of the plans for the orphanage.
We certainly appreciate ALL of the prayers, and letters that we receive they are a great encouragement to us.
Well, I must finish up, I am hoping to connect to the internet tomorrow, we'll see how that goes! Just thought I would give an update and let everyone know that we are still alive and well!
God Bless,
Love,
Charlene for the KNIGHTLY FAMILY!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Knightly News Update!
Here we are in New Brunswick, visiting family and awaiting the time to fly off to Africa. I can hardly believe that we only have 10 days left until we fly away. There are moments of excitement, fear, anxiety, thrills, and so on... But all in all we are ready to go. It would be one thing to embark on such a change as a single or married couple, but with 4 children in tow it makes things a little more challenging. Some of you have asked, "How did you come to this decision?". So I thought I would write a little about how we got to this point and where we feel God is leading us.
As children both Pete and I grew up in missionaries families on reserves across Canada. We both felt a call to the mission field when we were young. However, after growing up and getting married we drifted away from our vision of missions and began to pursue a future with a good job, kids, money, things, etc! However, we never felt at peace with pursuing happiness in that manner. A couple of years ago Pete went to a prayer conference that changed his life. God was working in my life also with a Bible Study that I was attending with a group of friends. God drew us both into a matching vision to pursue missions now rather than later in life (which we had discussed for years... "When we retire"). However God had other plans, and as He began to reveal His plan for us, we began to grow excited about what He had in store for us. So we began to search on the internet for the needs of the children in Africa, and through many hours, days, months, of searching, emailing, talking to people and seeking God's direction... We were directed to a church organization in Angola, Africa who had been working on developing an orphanage project for the past 5 years. We are thrilled to join them in a few weeks and begin this journey that God has for us working along side the UIEA (Uniao de Igrejas Evangelical de Angola... Union of Evangelical Churches of Angola).
For the first year we will work on learning Portuguese, learning the culture, developing friendships, becoming involved in the church in Namibe, and developing a vision for an orphanage near Namibe. We are excited with what God has in store, we don't know all of the details, but we know that God is in control and He will work out those details as time goes on.
We would appreciate your prayers as we fly out in 10 days, on June 28th at 8:15PM from Moncton NB arriving in Montreal at 8:44PM... Pray that we meet our connecting flight to London at 10:30PM without any problems, and that our luggage is transferred to our plane. We appreciate all of your prayers and love during this journey, we are so thankful for those of you who have been praying, writing, calling, and giving toward what God has called us to. THANK YOU!
God is GOOD... ALL the time!
Love,
Charlene for the gang!
As children both Pete and I grew up in missionaries families on reserves across Canada. We both felt a call to the mission field when we were young. However, after growing up and getting married we drifted away from our vision of missions and began to pursue a future with a good job, kids, money, things, etc! However, we never felt at peace with pursuing happiness in that manner. A couple of years ago Pete went to a prayer conference that changed his life. God was working in my life also with a Bible Study that I was attending with a group of friends. God drew us both into a matching vision to pursue missions now rather than later in life (which we had discussed for years... "When we retire"). However God had other plans, and as He began to reveal His plan for us, we began to grow excited about what He had in store for us. So we began to search on the internet for the needs of the children in Africa, and through many hours, days, months, of searching, emailing, talking to people and seeking God's direction... We were directed to a church organization in Angola, Africa who had been working on developing an orphanage project for the past 5 years. We are thrilled to join them in a few weeks and begin this journey that God has for us working along side the UIEA (Uniao de Igrejas Evangelical de Angola... Union of Evangelical Churches of Angola).
For the first year we will work on learning Portuguese, learning the culture, developing friendships, becoming involved in the church in Namibe, and developing a vision for an orphanage near Namibe. We are excited with what God has in store, we don't know all of the details, but we know that God is in control and He will work out those details as time goes on.
We would appreciate your prayers as we fly out in 10 days, on June 28th at 8:15PM from Moncton NB arriving in Montreal at 8:44PM... Pray that we meet our connecting flight to London at 10:30PM without any problems, and that our luggage is transferred to our plane. We appreciate all of your prayers and love during this journey, we are so thankful for those of you who have been praying, writing, calling, and giving toward what God has called us to. THANK YOU!
God is GOOD... ALL the time!
Love,
Charlene for the gang!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Thunder Bay ONTARIO
I don't have time to write anything at the moment, so I will give you my MSN website address and you can check out some great photos of our day yesterday, and since the beginning of the trip!
http://spaces.msn.com/members/knightvision6/
Check it out!
Charlene
http://spaces.msn.com/members/knightvision6/
Check it out!
Charlene
Friday, May 20, 2005
In Kenora Ontario!
We spent the night in Caronport Saskatchewan, and then headed on to Winnipeg... after having supper at a great Chinese restaurant we continued on to find a hotel. We reached Kenora by 1 AM and found a Super 8 to spend the night in. Now it is almost 10:30 AM and I have just popped out of bed, and we have to check out at 11 AM!
It has been a safe trip thus far. The trailer is heavy but hauling very well (although the Saskatchewan roads made us feel like we were on a four-wheeler going over a field full of gopher holes). Perhaps it was just getting us prepared for the roads in Angola!
This is all I can write for now, I must get everyone up and ready in a half an hour!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well and still on the road. We will ship the container from Toronto on the 24th of May (Tuesday), so now that we are in Ontario we'll need to find a place to camp out for a few days.
I can't really think at the moment, so I will write more later!
Keep Praying!
Charlene for the gang!
It has been a safe trip thus far. The trailer is heavy but hauling very well (although the Saskatchewan roads made us feel like we were on a four-wheeler going over a field full of gopher holes). Perhaps it was just getting us prepared for the roads in Angola!
This is all I can write for now, I must get everyone up and ready in a half an hour!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well and still on the road. We will ship the container from Toronto on the 24th of May (Tuesday), so now that we are in Ontario we'll need to find a place to camp out for a few days.
I can't really think at the moment, so I will write more later!
Keep Praying!
Charlene for the gang!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
In Calgary!
Here we are at friends in Calgary. We are on our way! We had a great day of travelling through the mountains today (I slept most of the way, after popping a gravol... I was feeling a bit sick, probably more from being SO tired than anything else). The truck pulled the trailer through those mountains nicely. The kids travelled alright on their first day (we'll let you know how that is going on day 10).
Just thought I would write a quick blog and let everyone know that we made it safely! We'll keep you posted!
Love,
Charlene
Just thought I would write a quick blog and let everyone know that we made it safely! We'll keep you posted!
Love,
Charlene
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
We are back in Kamloops...
...And yes, we have a truck. PRAISE THE LORD! He is good to us. It has been a very long day, but I have to say that God has a way of working things out for good, even when we are not sure! I will tell you more about it when I am awake and can type! I am way too tired after driving all the way back, part way in the car and the rest of the way in the truck! I will give a better post later, but for now, we want you to know that we found the truck!
God Bless and thank you all for your prayers.
Charlene
PS... remember the time is set for Angola already! Currently it is midnight in BC!
God Bless and thank you all for your prayers.
Charlene
PS... remember the time is set for Angola already! Currently it is midnight in BC!
Sunday, May 08, 2005
In Calgary!
For those of you checking in on how we are doing... We are in Calgary. We had a very unsuccessful day yesterday, traveling about 500 km's around Calgary, north and south looking for the right vehicle. We know it is out there somewhere, we would ask for prayer in helping us find it! God is faithful and in control of all things, even finding the truck that we need for Angola! We had a great time yesterday traveling around, looking, talking, bonding... :-) We aren't even feeling stressed out over the whole thing. We realize that our plans change like the wind, but God is steadfast and stable, so we look to Him for our strength. He has been SO good to us, and we praise Him.
Last evening we went for dinner with friends. We are staying with Linda, Sean and little Jordan, and they are treating us GREAT! Linda, Pete and I met Gary and Tammy for supper. We had a great time of fellowship together.
This morning we attending Linda and Sean's church, First Alliance in Calgary, the worship team was wonderful, the sermon was pointed and very encouraging, and we enjoyed looking over their map of missionaries that they support afterward in the foyer!
Now we are going to make some calls on some trucks that look interesting and are in the ballpark money-wise! Oh that we will be faithful stewards of what God has given us and trust Him for the rest!
Happy Mother's Day to both of our MOM's... Marge has our boys in Cranbrook... Thanks Mom! My mom is in the hospital in St. John, NB getting ready for her open heart surgery! Please pray for her this week, she will be opened up on Tuesday to fix the hole in heart! Love you Mom!
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during this time! We will keep you posted!
God Bless,
Charlene
Last evening we went for dinner with friends. We are staying with Linda, Sean and little Jordan, and they are treating us GREAT! Linda, Pete and I met Gary and Tammy for supper. We had a great time of fellowship together.
This morning we attending Linda and Sean's church, First Alliance in Calgary, the worship team was wonderful, the sermon was pointed and very encouraging, and we enjoyed looking over their map of missionaries that they support afterward in the foyer!
Now we are going to make some calls on some trucks that look interesting and are in the ballpark money-wise! Oh that we will be faithful stewards of what God has given us and trust Him for the rest!
Happy Mother's Day to both of our MOM's... Marge has our boys in Cranbrook... Thanks Mom! My mom is in the hospital in St. John, NB getting ready for her open heart surgery! Please pray for her this week, she will be opened up on Tuesday to fix the hole in heart! Love you Mom!
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during this time! We will keep you posted!
God Bless,
Charlene
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Please Pray!
Hello everyone.
Time is getting short before we leave Kamloops. We are looking today at leaving in 10 days, Lord Willing! We have experience many blessing along the way, and also many set backs. We are learning once again to TRUST the Lord to supply all of our needs, including the need for sanity! We are getting down to the wire, and have been searching endlessly for a vehicle. We know that God has one available for us, and we just need to stop and listen for His voice, so He can show us where it is. We are going to Calgary to look this weekend. I believe that He has something for us there, but I would ask you all to pray that we trust in Lord and not the power of our own strength. This has been a difficult process, but God has been, is and will be faithful! I believe!
My verse for the day is what I read in Hebrews this morning in my time of devotions:
Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
First of all it is a time of NEED and secondly during all the madness we have to take the time to DRAW NEAR! And not just drawing near for the sake of drawing near, but with CONFIDENCE knowing that you will receive mercy and grace! We have an awesome God, and He is SO good to us!
So the agenda for today is to find out how much our tickets are going to cost and to compare prices and hopefully hold them, until the money from the house comes through. Pack some more, look into finding someone who would like to drive back east with us who has a pick-up truck and can haul a trailer back here to Kamloops, meet a friend for lunch, pick Pete up, meet another friend for a quick coffee on the way to the Doctor (where I will hear him say "your headaches are due to STRESS"), I guess I just need to hear it! Then the evening will be spent packing the boys for a visit with their grandparents in Cranbrook (we will meet them in Golden on the way to Calgary tomorrow), pack ourselves, and the girls for their weekend with Jackie!
One other bit of information for those interested... we have found some water pumps and generators for a MOST EXCELLENT price, if anyone wishes to donate money to that cause let us know, the more we can take the better. The farm could use a couple more for sure (it is 350 acres and in need of irrigation). Also I found mosquito netting at JYSK for $8.88, if you would like to donate some just drop them off in the next week so that I can get them packed into our luggage or in the supplies for the container.
We thank you all for your prayers and friendship! You have been a blessing!
God Bless,
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly's
Time is getting short before we leave Kamloops. We are looking today at leaving in 10 days, Lord Willing! We have experience many blessing along the way, and also many set backs. We are learning once again to TRUST the Lord to supply all of our needs, including the need for sanity! We are getting down to the wire, and have been searching endlessly for a vehicle. We know that God has one available for us, and we just need to stop and listen for His voice, so He can show us where it is. We are going to Calgary to look this weekend. I believe that He has something for us there, but I would ask you all to pray that we trust in Lord and not the power of our own strength. This has been a difficult process, but God has been, is and will be faithful! I believe!
My verse for the day is what I read in Hebrews this morning in my time of devotions:
Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
First of all it is a time of NEED and secondly during all the madness we have to take the time to DRAW NEAR! And not just drawing near for the sake of drawing near, but with CONFIDENCE knowing that you will receive mercy and grace! We have an awesome God, and He is SO good to us!
So the agenda for today is to find out how much our tickets are going to cost and to compare prices and hopefully hold them, until the money from the house comes through. Pack some more, look into finding someone who would like to drive back east with us who has a pick-up truck and can haul a trailer back here to Kamloops, meet a friend for lunch, pick Pete up, meet another friend for a quick coffee on the way to the Doctor (where I will hear him say "your headaches are due to STRESS"), I guess I just need to hear it! Then the evening will be spent packing the boys for a visit with their grandparents in Cranbrook (we will meet them in Golden on the way to Calgary tomorrow), pack ourselves, and the girls for their weekend with Jackie!
One other bit of information for those interested... we have found some water pumps and generators for a MOST EXCELLENT price, if anyone wishes to donate money to that cause let us know, the more we can take the better. The farm could use a couple more for sure (it is 350 acres and in need of irrigation). Also I found mosquito netting at JYSK for $8.88, if you would like to donate some just drop them off in the next week so that I can get them packed into our luggage or in the supplies for the container.
We thank you all for your prayers and friendship! You have been a blessing!
God Bless,
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly's
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
The GIRLS!
We said good-bye to Telo this morning at 1 AM... she went on the bus to Vancouver and she will fly out tonight at 8:30 PM! (Tuesday, May 3 @8:08 AM Pacific)
Monday, May 02, 2005
13 days, but who's counting?
13 Days... but who's counting?
Ok, I am counting. I have so much to do and so little time to do it in! I am sure it will all get done, but it can be a bit stressful at times!
Friday night Katherine P. came over for a visit (can't wait until she comes to visit in Angola ). Saturday in the evening we went for a BBQ at the Marlow's, we had a very relaxing evening, and enjoyed the visit! Tavis almost broke his nose on the trampoline (go figure), but he is fine, just a bruise, and perhaps he will develop a couple of black eyes!!! Better than the last time when he busted his teeth on a tramp.
Sunday after church we had a BBQ luncheon, it was great! Nice to be fed (meals have been pathetic in the Knightly household as of late), however going out has been GREAT! We go to the Gill's tonight for some GREAT East Indian Food! Always look forward to that!!!!
Last evening (we have Telo, from Zambia staying at our house until she heads back to her home in Africa) Binyam popped in for pictures (he is headed to Prince George to tree plant for the summer) it will be our last time seeing him before we head to Angola... it was a tearful goodbye, we will miss him and his constant smile! As we will miss Telo and her constant smile! We love you both!
That's it for now, I must make some phone calls and see what I can organize for today!
Keeping you posted!
Love,
Charlene
PS... check out the other blog, as there are MANY great photos posted there! http://spaces.msn.com/members/knightvision6/ hope you enjoy!!!
Ok, I am counting. I have so much to do and so little time to do it in! I am sure it will all get done, but it can be a bit stressful at times!
Friday night Katherine P. came over for a visit (can't wait until she comes to visit in Angola ). Saturday in the evening we went for a BBQ at the Marlow's, we had a very relaxing evening, and enjoyed the visit! Tavis almost broke his nose on the trampoline (go figure), but he is fine, just a bruise, and perhaps he will develop a couple of black eyes!!! Better than the last time when he busted his teeth on a tramp.
Sunday after church we had a BBQ luncheon, it was great! Nice to be fed (meals have been pathetic in the Knightly household as of late), however going out has been GREAT! We go to the Gill's tonight for some GREAT East Indian Food! Always look forward to that!!!!
Last evening (we have Telo, from Zambia staying at our house until she heads back to her home in Africa) Binyam popped in for pictures (he is headed to Prince George to tree plant for the summer) it will be our last time seeing him before we head to Angola... it was a tearful goodbye, we will miss him and his constant smile! As we will miss Telo and her constant smile! We love you both!
That's it for now, I must make some phone calls and see what I can organize for today!
Keeping you posted!
Love,
Charlene
PS... check out the other blog, as there are MANY great photos posted there! http://spaces.msn.com/members/knightvision6/ hope you enjoy!!!
Tavis at Thompson River
Leslie D. took the boys out for the afternoon on Sunday... they had a great time at McArthur Park... feeding the marmots, and playing in the water!
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