November 27 Update

Knightly News Update
November 27, 2005
Hi all,
I figured it was time to send out another update, since the last one sounded as though we were not going to make it out alive! We are still alive; a little beat up but still breathing! :0) God is good... All the time!
Some of the highlights:
1. Thankfully we have had more regular power.
2. Our rusty water lines were replaced with PVC (the backyard is still all in an upheaval, but we have water!!!) 3. We have managed to have a meeting with our leadership here in Angola, we were able to discuss our concerns and they responded very well. We are looking forward to more regular meetings (possibly monthly) just to keep the lines of communication open! Praise the Lord.
4. We had some unexpected visitors for a few days which was nice, a fellow missionary's Landy broke down and we ended up towing it to Lubango last week. I took some great pic's for all you Landy fan's out there :0) We also had a very nice visit while they were stranded, we got to know a short term missionary who is from Manitoba she just finished a 3 month term in Menongue.
5. We had another visitor from Lubango, an MK (Missionary Kid), it was nice to have the visit, PLUS it was also nice to have a translator to help out for a few days!
6. Pete has planted his garden at the farm, it is amazing how fast things grow here, the corn had sprouted and was up about 1 inch in 4 days.
7. Pete has been doing some work at the farm (gas and produce runs), a good warm up for when the Joubert's go for Christmas for 6 weeks (Ahhh). Strauss had been away to South Africa for 2 weeks and we are glad he is back!
8. Pete helped work on the water pump at the farm (which is very old and in NEED of replacement), it is up and running now... we must pray that it stays that way!
9. We have been able to go and minister to a group of people in Namibe that live in patched-up tents (they were evicted from the caves they lived in), we look forward to getting to know them better... we'll keep you posted!
10. We are very thankful for the truck that God has provided us with (it stands out like a sore thumb here in Angola, although there is a man with a white crew cab Dodge Ram here in Namibe). People here in Angola walk many miles in their lifetime, and our feeling is that if we can lift that burden for even a few miles "em nome de Jesus" "in the name of Jesus" then we will do it. Please pray for the safety of our passengers and that the truck will continue to run efficiently!
11. The kids still struggle away at their school work; sadly all the Angolan kids have holidays now until February... it IS summer here!
12. Talitha is thinking she would like to go back to Canada for grade 12, so we are working on where she will stay and go to school. She really enjoys it here, but she has some specific courses she would like to take and it will benefit her to return home.
13. We were able to purchase a side of beef from the Tchincombe Farm (another UIEA project) for the 'summer'... pray that the parts for our generator come soon as we need a back-up when the power goes out.
14. We renewed our visas in Lubango for our first renewal back in-country, as here in Namibe they translate the rules a bit differently (instead of the first renewal after exiting the country, they say the first renewal for your lifetime), the difference is about $25 US dollars per person!!! So we drive 2 hours for our first renewal! Please pray about our work visa process, it is difficult to know where it is at (or if it is LOST). The next OUT OF COUNTRY trip will be mid-January (if we have to!!!).
15. I must say that we are very thankful for the Joubert family; we are really going to miss them over the Christmas holidays. They have been a great encouragement to us and we say "thank you"!
16. On another note... I can't believe it is less than a month until Christmas!!!! It is SO warm here!!! What a transition! We'll keep you posted on how we handle that!
17. Almost forgot, Tavis had malaria a few weeks ago. He is up and running again but he sure was lethargic and worn out for a good week. Thankfully we were able to buy some good malaria med's in Namibia before we came up (we are also taking an anti-malaria medication... but it doesn't STOP you from getting it, it supposedly just weakens the effect?) 18. It looks as though we have found a language teacher. We will keep you posted on how it goes!
Well, that is probably enough for now... everyone is feeling ok now (it is off and on... kinda like the electricity... ha!). We sure appreciate all of your prayers and communication. It is so nice to hear from you. Have any questions??? Just drop us a note, we'll try to answer! Internet is one of the highlights of our week (if it is working... :0).
Just in case you wanted to send out some snail mail our mailing address is:
Knightly Family
Igreja Evangelica de Cristo
CP 307
Namibe
Angola
Via Portugal
(If you live in Africa you can leave off the via Portugal, but otherwise it gets to us quicker if you send it that way)
We look forward to hearing from you, and those of you in the north "enjoy the cold and snow"!!! If we start to miss it we will just hop in the freezer for a while!
Love and prayers,
Charlene for the Knightly Gang!