Wednesday, June 13, 2007
On the Way home from Windhoek on Sunday... the sights we see!
Approaching the police checkpoint between Windhoek and Okahandja. They rarely stop anyone, it is always a joke to see them sitting on the chair and they can barely lift their hands to wave you past... the best one yet for me was when one of the officers had his legs crossed and he flicked his foot to indicate to me that I could pass through... they need energy pills for sure!!!
Pete wanted to get past this guy as quickly as possible... just incase the load on his truck decided to come flying into our windshield!
Some of the great names of the places here in Namibia... if you can pronouce it properly, you ought to move here!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Party at the neigbours
Today we were invited to a party next door! This was quite a combination... a baby had been baptized and dedicated... the dad had a birthday... and the baby's namesake had just been married! WOW! After we got home from church (Pete preached this morning and did a wonderful job, his topic was the Glory of God) we were hesitant to head over because we had missed the baptism at the church, and things had been underway for a while (or so we thought)... but when we walked in the yard they had just started!
We sat at a table with an elderly couple, when they brought the plates of food the Meme scraped the plates of food into a tupperware-like container and put it in a bag under the table. They even brought an extra plate and she did the same with that! Then she picked the orange off of the table and put it in a big pocket in her jacket. When Pete was finished chewing on his meat, she asked for his plate and proceeded to put it into her bag under the table. It was a bit humorous yet sad at the same time.
After the meal we moved around meeting with the people there... it started out kind of quiet, it is hard to meet new people when everyone is speaking Oshiwambo and Afrikaans... but once we started moving around people started speaking English to us! It was great. We finally got to know our neighbours a little better and some other people who live not too far away. One lady asked if I could take her 3 year old to live with me, and she tried to pawn off her sisters baby too! I always find that a bit disturbing! Happens often... "will you take my baby home with you"?!?!?!?
Well, we're home now, I'm tired (didn't fall asleep last night until 4:30 AM) and ready to go to bed under my 3 HEAVY blankets with my scarf, hat, gloves, sweater, sweatpants, socks, and housecoat... no word of a lie... that is how I am dressing for bed these days!!!!
Well keep in touch... we love hearing from you all!
God Bless,
Charlene
We sat at a table with an elderly couple, when they brought the plates of food the Meme scraped the plates of food into a tupperware-like container and put it in a bag under the table. They even brought an extra plate and she did the same with that! Then she picked the orange off of the table and put it in a big pocket in her jacket. When Pete was finished chewing on his meat, she asked for his plate and proceeded to put it into her bag under the table. It was a bit humorous yet sad at the same time.
After the meal we moved around meeting with the people there... it started out kind of quiet, it is hard to meet new people when everyone is speaking Oshiwambo and Afrikaans... but once we started moving around people started speaking English to us! It was great. We finally got to know our neighbours a little better and some other people who live not too far away. One lady asked if I could take her 3 year old to live with me, and she tried to pawn off her sisters baby too! I always find that a bit disturbing! Happens often... "will you take my baby home with you"?!?!?!?
Well, we're home now, I'm tired (didn't fall asleep last night until 4:30 AM) and ready to go to bed under my 3 HEAVY blankets with my scarf, hat, gloves, sweater, sweatpants, socks, and housecoat... no word of a lie... that is how I am dressing for bed these days!!!!
Well keep in touch... we love hearing from you all!
God Bless,
Charlene
Jenny's reaction...
So I went over to see Jenny and give her the money... Meagan took a video and I am glad... when I showed her the N$600 she jumped on me and hugged me and then said 'I am going to go to Rundu and get my boy'! She was so excited... she kept squealing and hugging me! It was quite a scene! So this morning she dropped in to get our cell phone numbers and let us know she was heading off to Rundu and would be back on Friday. We can't wait to meet her boy!
One day if I don't have to pay by the MegaBite I will upload the video for you all to see! Well, I just thought I would share with you. You can pray for Jenny this week as she spends time with her family in the village.
Charlene
One day if I don't have to pay by the MegaBite I will upload the video for you all to see! Well, I just thought I would share with you. You can pray for Jenny this week as she spends time with her family in the village.
Charlene
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Jenny's Beading...
Today was a very exciting day for Jenny... she doesn't know it yet, but when she finds out I will blog her response. I taught Jenny how to crochet necklaces (like the one Meagan is wearing in the photo Meagan... our sweet sixteen girl) out of beads. She has done an awesome job and is eager to make more. Yesterday I dropped a bag of necklaces, bracelets and earrings off with the Table Rock team. This morning I went to pick up the leftovers and show them a few more that I had added clasps to last night. They ended up purchasing NINE necklaces, for a total of N$1200. Considering that N$30 is an average daily wage here in Namibia, I think Jenny is going to extremely excited!!! Half of the money will go to Jenny and the other half to stock up on more beads, as all of the current necklaces were made with beads and supplies that I had purchased in Canada and here in Namibia.
If anyone is interested in financially helping toward this little business (the purchase of more beads, clasps, string, and other supplies) please let me know. I would like to do up some kind of a business plan and help Jenny with a plan for what to do with the money that she makes. I would like to enable her to be able to do it on her own should I move away. We will need to look into an easily accessible place to purchase her supplies. In the future I would like to see a percentage of the money going to Care and Compassion here in Okahandja. I would also like to get some of the girls at the Ark involved in beading so that in the future they will have a trade that might help them when they leave the Ark. We'll see how it all goes, and I will try to keep you informed on the progress, however as I mentioned if you are interested in helping toward this little business venture get in touch with me!!
Have a glorious day!
Charlene
If anyone is interested in financially helping toward this little business (the purchase of more beads, clasps, string, and other supplies) please let me know. I would like to do up some kind of a business plan and help Jenny with a plan for what to do with the money that she makes. I would like to enable her to be able to do it on her own should I move away. We will need to look into an easily accessible place to purchase her supplies. In the future I would like to see a percentage of the money going to Care and Compassion here in Okahandja. I would also like to get some of the girls at the Ark involved in beading so that in the future they will have a trade that might help them when they leave the Ark. We'll see how it all goes, and I will try to keep you informed on the progress, however as I mentioned if you are interested in helping toward this little business venture get in touch with me!!
Have a glorious day!
Charlene
Friday, June 08, 2007
Introducing Jenny...
Jenny & Queen
In December Jenny was referred to me to do braids (the small ones) for Meagan and myself before we went away on our holidays, Meagan to Angola and me to Canada. When she dropped in almost a month ago I realized that she could use the job of our house help. Here is her story.
Jenny came from Angola as a young child and lived up near Rundu (in the north of Namibia). She has 2 children, one child lives with her and the other lives in Rundu with her mother. Her husband passed away from TB in Angola about a year ago. Her son was also very sick with TB, but he has recovered and is doing well. She hasn’t visited with him in a while though, as he is living with her mom. Her baby, Queen is 7 months and cute as a button. She gave birth to Queen on the floor of her adobe house. The children in the neighbourhood helped her by getting some scissors to cut the cord, and water to clean up! The call Queen the little bushman (something to do with being born in the dirt and her hair… she hates to have it combed).
Jenny is a Christian and loves the Lord, she is trustworthy and a hard worker. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 hours, as the rate we are paying is the ‘day’ rate. I can’t get her to go home… she reminds me of Rosa (in Angola). She LOVES to iron (I tell her it is a sickness… and when my iron quit working last week she was going on withdrawals from lack of ironing). She brings the baby to work every day, and lately she has not been feeling well, lots of colds going around because of this change in weather… from warm to freezing! I have also taught Jenny some of the bead stitches I have learned and she has beaded a lot of necklaces. I am hoping to begin to sell them for Care and Compassion and an extra income for her.
Jenny helped to translate for me when I needed to talk to Josef about Rosaria (*The Funeral Blog Entry). She shared the Gospel with Josef and when he comes to work in the yard she encourages him to start going to church. He needs a change in his life, and she informed him that this was the ONLY way to make that change happen. She enjoys going to church at the MPMC now with the Apex group and also to Bible study with Amanda (Apex missionary). This week she went with Amanda to the Wood Carver Bible study.
She has informed me of some of the ways we have answered her prayers. The first is the job! She had been praying for work as she needs not only to feed herself and Queen, but send money for her mother to use to support her son and she also helps her siblings with school fees! She is a young lady with a great deal of responsibilities riding on her shoulders. When I paid her for her work in May, she thanked me for hiring her to work and expressed how thankful she was for the job, and how she had prayed so hard for a job and now God had supplied one… then she went on to tell me about how she has been sharing with the other ladies in the neighbourhood. She said she has told them how God answers prayer, and not only by giving her a job but a good one where the people let her “sit at the table with them when we eat”, “bring my baby to work”, “share food with me when I have been praying because I knew when I went home there was nothing to eat, and Auntie Charlene gave me food without me asking”, etc! I am not sure why she calls me Auntie (perhaps it is because I am twice her age! Well not quite but almost.).
Lately Queen has not been feeling very good, she had an ear infection a few weeks ago, she is teething, now she has some kind of stomach problems (constipated and pain in the stomach). It’s difficult to get anything diagnosed properly here, she took Queen to the clinic for her ear infection and they said just give her Tylenol (although they don’t call it that here… Paracetamol), she told them she had already been doing that and so they then gave her antibiotics. No tests just a recommendation. It is difficult to get the health care workers to put the ‘care’ into health care! Thankfully I have been able to help her with some of the health issues (like teething gel for her sore gums and Tylenol for the pain).
This week we purchased some warm clothing for the baby, a warm jacket for Jenny and a nice fluffy comforter for their bed. Jenny came the next day and informed me that the baby slept through the night without crying once. We are so thankful to all those who are supporting us financially… it enables us to bless others… we couldn’t do it without your love offerings! May GOD richly bless you for your kindness! Jenny hasn’t take this kindness and become selfish either… the other day she had a friend drop by and when she realized that her baby had nappies (diapers) that were made from rags she gave her some new ones that I had bought for Queen, along with some clothes that a friend had given me to give away. This lady was taking 2 of her 3 children to the north to live with extended family as they were eating out of dust bins (garbage bins) here in Okahandja to stay alive. She will return with the baby and try to get a job at a farm where her husband is working so they can send money north to help feed the other 2 children. There are so many stories like this in Namibia.
Well, I just thought I would quickly introduce you to my new house help and friend, Jenny, so that you will know who I am talking about when I mention the name. If you think of it please pray for her as she works hard to support her extended family along with her two children… all alone without a husband to help. Also pray for the health issues that seem to put a damper on Queen’s contentment. Currently she is out in the yard sobbing… poor little girl.
Until next time,
Charlene
In December Jenny was referred to me to do braids (the small ones) for Meagan and myself before we went away on our holidays, Meagan to Angola and me to Canada. When she dropped in almost a month ago I realized that she could use the job of our house help. Here is her story.
Jenny came from Angola as a young child and lived up near Rundu (in the north of Namibia). She has 2 children, one child lives with her and the other lives in Rundu with her mother. Her husband passed away from TB in Angola about a year ago. Her son was also very sick with TB, but he has recovered and is doing well. She hasn’t visited with him in a while though, as he is living with her mom. Her baby, Queen is 7 months and cute as a button. She gave birth to Queen on the floor of her adobe house. The children in the neighbourhood helped her by getting some scissors to cut the cord, and water to clean up! The call Queen the little bushman (something to do with being born in the dirt and her hair… she hates to have it combed).
Jenny is a Christian and loves the Lord, she is trustworthy and a hard worker. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 hours, as the rate we are paying is the ‘day’ rate. I can’t get her to go home… she reminds me of Rosa (in Angola). She LOVES to iron (I tell her it is a sickness… and when my iron quit working last week she was going on withdrawals from lack of ironing). She brings the baby to work every day, and lately she has not been feeling well, lots of colds going around because of this change in weather… from warm to freezing! I have also taught Jenny some of the bead stitches I have learned and she has beaded a lot of necklaces. I am hoping to begin to sell them for Care and Compassion and an extra income for her.
Jenny helped to translate for me when I needed to talk to Josef about Rosaria (*The Funeral Blog Entry). She shared the Gospel with Josef and when he comes to work in the yard she encourages him to start going to church. He needs a change in his life, and she informed him that this was the ONLY way to make that change happen. She enjoys going to church at the MPMC now with the Apex group and also to Bible study with Amanda (Apex missionary). This week she went with Amanda to the Wood Carver Bible study.
She has informed me of some of the ways we have answered her prayers. The first is the job! She had been praying for work as she needs not only to feed herself and Queen, but send money for her mother to use to support her son and she also helps her siblings with school fees! She is a young lady with a great deal of responsibilities riding on her shoulders. When I paid her for her work in May, she thanked me for hiring her to work and expressed how thankful she was for the job, and how she had prayed so hard for a job and now God had supplied one… then she went on to tell me about how she has been sharing with the other ladies in the neighbourhood. She said she has told them how God answers prayer, and not only by giving her a job but a good one where the people let her “sit at the table with them when we eat”, “bring my baby to work”, “share food with me when I have been praying because I knew when I went home there was nothing to eat, and Auntie Charlene gave me food without me asking”, etc! I am not sure why she calls me Auntie (perhaps it is because I am twice her age! Well not quite but almost.).
Lately Queen has not been feeling very good, she had an ear infection a few weeks ago, she is teething, now she has some kind of stomach problems (constipated and pain in the stomach). It’s difficult to get anything diagnosed properly here, she took Queen to the clinic for her ear infection and they said just give her Tylenol (although they don’t call it that here… Paracetamol), she told them she had already been doing that and so they then gave her antibiotics. No tests just a recommendation. It is difficult to get the health care workers to put the ‘care’ into health care! Thankfully I have been able to help her with some of the health issues (like teething gel for her sore gums and Tylenol for the pain).
This week we purchased some warm clothing for the baby, a warm jacket for Jenny and a nice fluffy comforter for their bed. Jenny came the next day and informed me that the baby slept through the night without crying once. We are so thankful to all those who are supporting us financially… it enables us to bless others… we couldn’t do it without your love offerings! May GOD richly bless you for your kindness! Jenny hasn’t take this kindness and become selfish either… the other day she had a friend drop by and when she realized that her baby had nappies (diapers) that were made from rags she gave her some new ones that I had bought for Queen, along with some clothes that a friend had given me to give away. This lady was taking 2 of her 3 children to the north to live with extended family as they were eating out of dust bins (garbage bins) here in Okahandja to stay alive. She will return with the baby and try to get a job at a farm where her husband is working so they can send money north to help feed the other 2 children. There are so many stories like this in Namibia.
Well, I just thought I would quickly introduce you to my new house help and friend, Jenny, so that you will know who I am talking about when I mention the name. If you think of it please pray for her as she works hard to support her extended family along with her two children… all alone without a husband to help. Also pray for the health issues that seem to put a damper on Queen’s contentment. Currently she is out in the yard sobbing… poor little girl.
Until next time,
Charlene
Care Packages Revised Namibian Version
Care Packages
I had many people asking about care packages while I was back in Canada. Yes there is a chance that it will get lost in the mail, but those that have made it have encouraged and excited everyone in the family (especially the kids). It doesn’t have to be big, even cards and letters are exciting to receive (I guess it just lets everyone know that they are being thought of, prayed for and cared about). It is not always easy living in a foreign country; there are always things that you miss.
Here is a list:
Iced Tea crystals
M&M (peanuts, almonds, and regular)
Stickers
Canada stuff (I brought lots… from the dollar store… back for kids and staff at the Ark and our friends… they LOVED it)
Gum (sugar-free)
Chocolate Chips
Beads and beading supplies
Patterns (Easy)
Yummy lip stuff
Spices (chilli, taco, salsa… there are some awesome Epicure spices that I miss, just send an email)
KD (cheese packs, you don’t have to send the noodles)
Spitz (different flavours)
Energizer rechargeable batteries (AA & AAA)
DVD’s (just send a quick email and see if we have what you are thinking of sending [we don’t have any Disney movies/animation… DVD’s are burned in a different region here, so we can only play the Canada/US region on our players, we use our DVD’s at the Ark too for ‘fun’ night, and they are a hit with everyone our kids bring over… we are also enjoying some ‘new’ series we had never heard of before i.e. House m.d.)
Computer Programs (Movie Maker, learning programs for kids [they will need to be able to run on windows 95/98], card making programs, newsletter design, photo design, etc)
Good Pens
Books (Piper books and CD’s, and DVD’s www.desiringgod.org , kids books, O’Malley series [Meagan currently owns books 1 and 3].
Vinyl Café CD’s (you can find them on the CBC store website)
Seeds (varieties including flowers, dill, veggies and fruit)
Sour Candy
Craisins
Music CD’s (Christian music)
Maple Syrup
Leatherman
Good knife sharpeners (the Ark needs one or two and so do we)
DVD/CD cleaner (you can find those at Walmart… made by Magnavox, didn’t have room to bring one back)
Ziploc bags (all sizes)
When sending a care package you don’t need to keep the stuff in their original packaging, you can take it out and place it in a Ziploc bag… CD’s and DVD’s can be taken out of their cases and put into those CD cases from the dollar store (the zip up ones that fit 10+)… You should check with the post office on size and weight limits (once you hit a certain weight and size you cross over into a new ‘bigger’ price range)… there are many suggestions for packing things light and yet safely… when you put the declaration form on the front there are some suggestions, you can write an extensive list of the less valuable things and end with gifts (reason being that sometimes people read the list and then decide if it is a good package to take home with them… so be careful what you write on the list).
Last year one of the volunteers here received a package and ‘half’ of the cookies were eaten from the container that they were in… it is a fact of life in this country, there is no respect for ‘others’ things, their attitude is if they see something they want they should just be able to take it (I am not sure why they hide it on the way out, if they truly feel it is a right). I do know why but basically you get what I mean!
Send packages to:
Knightly Family
C/O Christ’s Hope
P.O. Box 9979,
Eros Windhoek,
Namibia
If you send us an email knightvision6@gmail.com we can keep an eye out for it, but if you don’t, please don’t be surprised if we do not respond for a month or two… or if it doesn’t ever arrive then you will understand! We appreciate your kindness and love to our family!
God Bless,
Charlene
I had many people asking about care packages while I was back in Canada. Yes there is a chance that it will get lost in the mail, but those that have made it have encouraged and excited everyone in the family (especially the kids). It doesn’t have to be big, even cards and letters are exciting to receive (I guess it just lets everyone know that they are being thought of, prayed for and cared about). It is not always easy living in a foreign country; there are always things that you miss.
Here is a list:
Iced Tea crystals
M&M (peanuts, almonds, and regular)
Stickers
Canada stuff (I brought lots… from the dollar store… back for kids and staff at the Ark and our friends… they LOVED it)
Gum (sugar-free)
Chocolate Chips
Beads and beading supplies
Patterns (Easy)
Yummy lip stuff
Spices (chilli, taco, salsa… there are some awesome Epicure spices that I miss, just send an email)
KD (cheese packs, you don’t have to send the noodles)
Spitz (different flavours)
Energizer rechargeable batteries (AA & AAA)
DVD’s (just send a quick email and see if we have what you are thinking of sending [we don’t have any Disney movies/animation… DVD’s are burned in a different region here, so we can only play the Canada/US region on our players, we use our DVD’s at the Ark too for ‘fun’ night, and they are a hit with everyone our kids bring over… we are also enjoying some ‘new’ series we had never heard of before i.e. House m.d.)
Computer Programs (Movie Maker, learning programs for kids [they will need to be able to run on windows 95/98], card making programs, newsletter design, photo design, etc)
Good Pens
Books (Piper books and CD’s, and DVD’s www.desiringgod.org , kids books, O’Malley series [Meagan currently owns books 1 and 3].
Vinyl Café CD’s (you can find them on the CBC store website)
Seeds (varieties including flowers, dill, veggies and fruit)
Sour Candy
Craisins
Music CD’s (Christian music)
Maple Syrup
Leatherman
Good knife sharpeners (the Ark needs one or two and so do we)
DVD/CD cleaner (you can find those at Walmart… made by Magnavox, didn’t have room to bring one back)
Ziploc bags (all sizes)
When sending a care package you don’t need to keep the stuff in their original packaging, you can take it out and place it in a Ziploc bag… CD’s and DVD’s can be taken out of their cases and put into those CD cases from the dollar store (the zip up ones that fit 10+)… You should check with the post office on size and weight limits (once you hit a certain weight and size you cross over into a new ‘bigger’ price range)… there are many suggestions for packing things light and yet safely… when you put the declaration form on the front there are some suggestions, you can write an extensive list of the less valuable things and end with gifts (reason being that sometimes people read the list and then decide if it is a good package to take home with them… so be careful what you write on the list).
Last year one of the volunteers here received a package and ‘half’ of the cookies were eaten from the container that they were in… it is a fact of life in this country, there is no respect for ‘others’ things, their attitude is if they see something they want they should just be able to take it (I am not sure why they hide it on the way out, if they truly feel it is a right). I do know why but basically you get what I mean!
Send packages to:
Knightly Family
C/O Christ’s Hope
P.O. Box 9979,
Eros Windhoek,
Namibia
If you send us an email knightvision6@gmail.com we can keep an eye out for it, but if you don’t, please don’t be surprised if we do not respond for a month or two… or if it doesn’t ever arrive then you will understand! We appreciate your kindness and love to our family!
God Bless,
Charlene
Wireless Internet...
Namibia has moved up in the world... we now have Wireless Internet. Can you imagine? We applied back the second last week of March and I received it yesterday! Yes the process is slow, but the Internet is a little faster than what I am used to and I can be connected anytime of the day and wherever I chose to sit... in the living room, out in the yard (in the sunshine), in the car, in Windhoek, at the beach in Swakopmund, or Oshakati! WOW! In Windhoek, Swakop and Walvis they connect us at 3G's... but here in Okahandja we are at 1 1/2G's (or there-a-bouts). I must say that it makes life just a little more 'convenient'!
Well, I do have things to do, so I can't be on here ALL day long!
Keep in touch,
Charlene (for the rest of the Knightly family)
Well, I do have things to do, so I can't be on here ALL day long!
Keep in touch,
Charlene (for the rest of the Knightly family)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
May Update
Ark Okahandja
May began with a continuation of the kid’s holidays, and after the second week of holidays the schools of Namibia decided that 4 weeks wasn’t enough, so they added an extra week, making it a 5 week holiday! Most of the children went on holiday with extended family; some were able to go to a camp and some on a school choir trip during the 5 weeks. The girls who didn’t get to family during the holiday came to visit Auntie Charlene for a week! It was a busy but fun week with Francina, Tuuliki, Selma and Emily. Trevor went and spent a few days at the Ark with the boys. School went back on the 28th of May.
The staff at the Ark is doing well. Auntie Leila is back from her maternity leave (she was always around, just not responsible to do anything but bond with the new babe). Uncle Lazarus felt a little lost without Pete, but Charlene filled in where she could during the time Pete was in Oshikuku. Pelgrina who teaches the Choose to Wait program has not been doing well physically. She has AIDS and struggles from time to time with different health issues.
We welcomed 2 new volunteers this month. Joanne from the USA and Mari from Japan have joined us for short term. Joanne for 8 weeks and Mari for 6 months, Joanne has been helping with Care & Compassion and Mari with the children and will try each of the ministries to see which one fits for her. We also had a large team from Ireland come and spend some time here in Okahandja. They blessed the people beyond measure, with their time, talents and finances! A 7 member team from the USA arrived the end of the month and will spend a week joining in with each of the 3 ministries of the Ark. This team comes from Table Rock Church which almost fully funds the Ark Okahandja each month!
Walter, the National Director spent the month in Kenya at a Directors training.
Winter has come to Namibia!
I thought I would explain why the SNOWFLAKES in the newsletter this month. The cold weather has arrived EARLY this year! I have been thinking about how to explain how cold I mean… it is like camping in the late fall in Canada… bone chilling comes to mind! I wear a toque to bed! No… really… I do. We sleep on the floor (since our beds are still in Angola) and so it gets very cold on the cement floors, although thankfully we have a thin layer of carpet to keep the ice from forming! HA!
There’s no central heating in the houses so the cement houses feel chilly all day and really cold at night… the people in community who live in tin shacks are either freezing at night or roasting in the daytime!
I am writing this at 10 AM and it is 15 Celsius in the house… I would guess in the night we are getting down below 10 degrees! It usually doesn’t get this cold until July/August, so we are feeling the chill early this year.
Pete’s Ministry
This month Pete spent a great deal of his time with Joe up in Oshikuku or on the road (to and from). They managed to get a lot of work done tiling the Ark. Of course, Joe was able to see first hand some of the “GREAT” frustrations we encounter on an almost daily basis here in Africa, and I think he left with a better understanding of things and will probably read between the lines in our newsletters from now on! Pete sure enjoyed having Joe around this month; we wished he could stay longer!
The beginning of the month began with CHI prayer and fasting which Pete was responsible to plan and run. He chose the theme, The Glory of God. The CHI staff and volunteers were very positive in their reviews of the 2 day program.
Pete also helped the Irish team get involved in Care & Compassion and Kids Club during their stay. This team left a lot of money behind for different people and ministries and since WINTER has come we were able to purchase some blankets and jackets for the ladies at 5 Rand in the C&C program! They were overjoyed and are now much warmer at night.
Pete lost his Bible the last week of May… he feels like someone who has lost an arm or leg. It has been a very difficult thing for him to handle, not only because it is marked and well read, but also because we cannot get this version here in Africa, and it is the version he has memorized from.
Visitors
Joe arrived April 28 and went home May 26. He showered our family with lots of goodies… the kids were especially excited (from the sugar high), and Pete was thrilled with his new watch and Leatherman! Joe spent most of his time in Oshikuku working on the Ark. He also went to C&C at 5 Rand a few times. He helped cut some branches off of one of the trees at the Ark… with his Leatherman, and he also fixed a door there. He fixed our door too, now we keep slamming it, as we were used to having to ‘drag’ it closed!
Kelly and Dakotah arrived on the bus at 4 AM on May 7. Kelly attended the prayer and fasting day with us, she shared what was going on with CHI Zimbabwe. During the week we traveled to the Cheetah reserve north of Otjiwarongo (where they have the ‘best’ pizza). We had a flat tire on the way, which Kelly and Trevor replaced with the donut tire. As the tire was being replaced we ate pizza! The next day we traveled to Walvis Bay and stayed a wonderful guest house run by a generous Christian couple! We took the kids to the Dunes and after climbing to the top and rolling down Trevor negotiated with the Quad guy for an awesome rate… so the kids went Quading on the Dunes. The next day we spent at the ocean and the smaller dunes where the kids went dune boarding with their greased up boards. We had a great time visiting together and getting to know each other!
Joy from Florida arrived May 24 to be Matron of Honour at Buddy and Julia’s wedding. I personally enjoyed spending time with Joy and I wish they were still living here; I realized in her time here how much I missed having her around!
Jonathan arrived on May 30. He came on the bus from South Africa and arrived late at 6:30 AM in Windhoek (he was supposed to arrive at 5:45AM). He will be staying with us for 2 months and has already been getting involved with helping. The boys think he’s great!!
New House Help
Meagan gave up her job as our house help as Jenny needs the money to ‘survive’. Jenny is an excited newer believer with 2 children. Her little boy lives in Rundu with her mother, and Queen her 7 month old baby lives with her. Her husband died from TB before Queen was born (on the floor of her house here in Okahandja). Her son was also very sick with TB but was diagnosed correctly in time and was treated properly. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 and she loves to iron. With tears in her eyes she thanked me for hiring her… she said that now she can send money to help her son, her mother and her siblings. She has experienced many blessings in her life as she has remained faithful to God, and prayed to him for the things that she needs to live. You will hear more about Jenny in the days ahead, I will try to put something on the website soon sharing ‘her story’ and photos!
Charlene’s Ministry
This month has been extremely busy. With Pete gone for part of the month and people coming and going I have been kept going non-stop. I was trying to think of a job title for myself, I wanted something creative, but I haven’t had time to think… so here it goes… I am a HOLE FILLER! I have realized that there are those who dig the holes, those who supervise the work and those who fill them in again… I am the filler!
There were a lot of ‘holes’ this month! Barbara (the volunteer coordinator) was away and so when the volunteers who were going home it was me picking them up from the bus or dropping them off at the airport (1 1/2 hours from Okahandja)! There were about 6 trips to the airport, 1 trip to the bus stop in Windhoek and some were two trips in one day.
I helped with filling in holes during the planning for prayer and fasting. One of the missionaries here got married and there were several trips in and out of Windhoek, I think I made 5 trips to Windhoek in one week (twice one day). The bi-monthly reports were due this month, and since Walter was away the Prayer & Praise reports fell into my hands. I had a wedding shower/Braai at my house for the bride-to-be! There were many other things, but I don’t have space.
I was able to have a restful week when Kelly and Dakotah came from Zimbabwe on their way back to Canada. We traveled around giving them a little taste of Namibia. We saw the Cheetahs north of here and the coast to the west! It was a lot of driving, but we had a great time with the kids!
Also during this month I was very sick. I have had a terrible pain in my chest since the middle of the month and now a cough. You can pray that it is nothing more than pleurisy or a cold, however one day I will go in for a TB test... when I have some time!
The Funeral
I attended my first African funeral. You will have to check out the website to hear the full story as it had more twists and turns than the Leba in Angola (the switchback up the side of a mountain). At the beginning of the month our yard worker, Josef came and shared with us that his wife had died, they have 3 children (one was six weeks old at the time). The Irish team left money for formula for the baby and whatever might be needed for the funeral arrangements. One day I took Josef out to a farm to buy a goat for the day of the funeral, he managed to tie the front leg to the back and throw it in the back of my ‘car’! It cried and pooped all the way back to town… in my ‘car’! The day of the funeral as I was standing at the gravesite through a round about conversation Josef’s sister informed me who the woman was who died… we had a connection even though we didn’t know it. If you remember newsletters from August and September we talked about Rosaria (she died from TB… and had been beaten and sexual abused by her step-father). Well long story short, Josef seems to be the guy, although when I sat and talked with him he claims innocence. All I could do is share the gospel with him and hope and pray that things change in his life. The baby has now fallen ill and they are not sure the cause.
The Knightly Kids
Meagan turned 16 on May 7! We had cakes at the Ark after the prayer and fasting day was over. She used her birthday money from her grandparents to buy a new cell phone (it takes pictures… teenagers). She has been struggling with motivation for school, Pete has her reading encyclopedias now and doing Math. She loves to read! She has gotten some great books from our visitors.
Trevor is still enjoying wrestling, and especially liked learning new moves from Joe (a champion wrestler in his youth). Joe even went to club with them and taught his trademark winning move! He enjoyed spending time with Dakotah, both boys went on a hike up the mountain with her; they brought home a snake skin! I think Trevor is getting taller; he will be 13 in September (almost a teenager)
Tavis goes to wrestling but he has a hard time getting motivated to get out the door, but enjoys it when he gets there. He keeps busy and especially enjoys walking to the grocery store to purchase things for me. He is making plans for entrepreneur day at the school, and seems quite excited about it. It is common to hear Tavis say “do you want me to make you something for lunch”? He loves cooking!
Prayer and Praise
Praise
For safety in all the traveling we have done this month and for the finances to put fuel in our tank.
For special visits with friends from North America, this has been such a huge blessing and encouragement!
For the strength to complete all of the tasks that needed doing this month!
For the boys going back to school! Five weeks was a long time… for Mom!
For all of the ways to minister here in Namibia.
Prayer
Health… a common theme for Charlene! This month has been difficult health-wise. Pray for healing of this pain in the chest.
Still no word on going north, please pray that God will guide and direct not only us but the National Director in his decision making.
Still no sign of our things from Angola, we have tried to get in touch with the man arranging the transport down, but to no avail. As the weather gets colder we could use our beds, bedding, warm clothing and warm PJ’s that are still waiting in Lubango.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in dealing with the ‘many’ difficult situations that we encounter. There are many people with obvious need here in Namibia and we can only financially and physically do so much. There are ‘many’ children who pick through the garbage to find food, how do you drive or walk by without feeling compassion?
Pete, Joe and I drove to the dump this month and gave bread that had been donated by Pic n Pay to 40 children who were picking through a fresh arrival of garbage. It’s heartbreaking!
I taught some kids to play hop scotch at 5 Rand while Joe was here, and afterward both Joe and I were wondering how one boys legs didn’t break from jumping, they were just skin and bones!
Jenny helped a woman the other day with some of the things that I had given her for the baby. This lady was cutting old clothes to use as nappies (diapers) and they were wearing rags. She shared nappies I had bought for her, and baby clothes that Joy had left for me to give away. This lady is taking 2 of her children north to live with family as they are starving, she will keep the baby with her and try to get work at a farm where her husband is working.
This is just a small portion of the needs we meet each day… so please pray! We truly need wisdom for who to help, when and how much!
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 (but we are working on it!).
For those who desire to support our ministry financially you can do so by
sending cheques to Ron and Marge (Pete’s parents).
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 PO Box 52038, Longwood FL, 32752-0328, 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!
May began with a continuation of the kid’s holidays, and after the second week of holidays the schools of Namibia decided that 4 weeks wasn’t enough, so they added an extra week, making it a 5 week holiday! Most of the children went on holiday with extended family; some were able to go to a camp and some on a school choir trip during the 5 weeks. The girls who didn’t get to family during the holiday came to visit Auntie Charlene for a week! It was a busy but fun week with Francina, Tuuliki, Selma and Emily. Trevor went and spent a few days at the Ark with the boys. School went back on the 28th of May.
The staff at the Ark is doing well. Auntie Leila is back from her maternity leave (she was always around, just not responsible to do anything but bond with the new babe). Uncle Lazarus felt a little lost without Pete, but Charlene filled in where she could during the time Pete was in Oshikuku. Pelgrina who teaches the Choose to Wait program has not been doing well physically. She has AIDS and struggles from time to time with different health issues.
We welcomed 2 new volunteers this month. Joanne from the USA and Mari from Japan have joined us for short term. Joanne for 8 weeks and Mari for 6 months, Joanne has been helping with Care & Compassion and Mari with the children and will try each of the ministries to see which one fits for her. We also had a large team from Ireland come and spend some time here in Okahandja. They blessed the people beyond measure, with their time, talents and finances! A 7 member team from the USA arrived the end of the month and will spend a week joining in with each of the 3 ministries of the Ark. This team comes from Table Rock Church which almost fully funds the Ark Okahandja each month!
Walter, the National Director spent the month in Kenya at a Directors training.
Winter has come to Namibia!
I thought I would explain why the SNOWFLAKES in the newsletter this month. The cold weather has arrived EARLY this year! I have been thinking about how to explain how cold I mean… it is like camping in the late fall in Canada… bone chilling comes to mind! I wear a toque to bed! No… really… I do. We sleep on the floor (since our beds are still in Angola) and so it gets very cold on the cement floors, although thankfully we have a thin layer of carpet to keep the ice from forming! HA!
There’s no central heating in the houses so the cement houses feel chilly all day and really cold at night… the people in community who live in tin shacks are either freezing at night or roasting in the daytime!
I am writing this at 10 AM and it is 15 Celsius in the house… I would guess in the night we are getting down below 10 degrees! It usually doesn’t get this cold until July/August, so we are feeling the chill early this year.
Pete’s Ministry
This month Pete spent a great deal of his time with Joe up in Oshikuku or on the road (to and from). They managed to get a lot of work done tiling the Ark. Of course, Joe was able to see first hand some of the “GREAT” frustrations we encounter on an almost daily basis here in Africa, and I think he left with a better understanding of things and will probably read between the lines in our newsletters from now on! Pete sure enjoyed having Joe around this month; we wished he could stay longer!
The beginning of the month began with CHI prayer and fasting which Pete was responsible to plan and run. He chose the theme, The Glory of God. The CHI staff and volunteers were very positive in their reviews of the 2 day program.
Pete also helped the Irish team get involved in Care & Compassion and Kids Club during their stay. This team left a lot of money behind for different people and ministries and since WINTER has come we were able to purchase some blankets and jackets for the ladies at 5 Rand in the C&C program! They were overjoyed and are now much warmer at night.
Pete lost his Bible the last week of May… he feels like someone who has lost an arm or leg. It has been a very difficult thing for him to handle, not only because it is marked and well read, but also because we cannot get this version here in Africa, and it is the version he has memorized from.
Visitors
Joe arrived April 28 and went home May 26. He showered our family with lots of goodies… the kids were especially excited (from the sugar high), and Pete was thrilled with his new watch and Leatherman! Joe spent most of his time in Oshikuku working on the Ark. He also went to C&C at 5 Rand a few times. He helped cut some branches off of one of the trees at the Ark… with his Leatherman, and he also fixed a door there. He fixed our door too, now we keep slamming it, as we were used to having to ‘drag’ it closed!
Kelly and Dakotah arrived on the bus at 4 AM on May 7. Kelly attended the prayer and fasting day with us, she shared what was going on with CHI Zimbabwe. During the week we traveled to the Cheetah reserve north of Otjiwarongo (where they have the ‘best’ pizza). We had a flat tire on the way, which Kelly and Trevor replaced with the donut tire. As the tire was being replaced we ate pizza! The next day we traveled to Walvis Bay and stayed a wonderful guest house run by a generous Christian couple! We took the kids to the Dunes and after climbing to the top and rolling down Trevor negotiated with the Quad guy for an awesome rate… so the kids went Quading on the Dunes. The next day we spent at the ocean and the smaller dunes where the kids went dune boarding with their greased up boards. We had a great time visiting together and getting to know each other!
Joy from Florida arrived May 24 to be Matron of Honour at Buddy and Julia’s wedding. I personally enjoyed spending time with Joy and I wish they were still living here; I realized in her time here how much I missed having her around!
Jonathan arrived on May 30. He came on the bus from South Africa and arrived late at 6:30 AM in Windhoek (he was supposed to arrive at 5:45AM). He will be staying with us for 2 months and has already been getting involved with helping. The boys think he’s great!!
New House Help
Meagan gave up her job as our house help as Jenny needs the money to ‘survive’. Jenny is an excited newer believer with 2 children. Her little boy lives in Rundu with her mother, and Queen her 7 month old baby lives with her. Her husband died from TB before Queen was born (on the floor of her house here in Okahandja). Her son was also very sick with TB but was diagnosed correctly in time and was treated properly. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 and she loves to iron. With tears in her eyes she thanked me for hiring her… she said that now she can send money to help her son, her mother and her siblings. She has experienced many blessings in her life as she has remained faithful to God, and prayed to him for the things that she needs to live. You will hear more about Jenny in the days ahead, I will try to put something on the website soon sharing ‘her story’ and photos!
Charlene’s Ministry
This month has been extremely busy. With Pete gone for part of the month and people coming and going I have been kept going non-stop. I was trying to think of a job title for myself, I wanted something creative, but I haven’t had time to think… so here it goes… I am a HOLE FILLER! I have realized that there are those who dig the holes, those who supervise the work and those who fill them in again… I am the filler!
There were a lot of ‘holes’ this month! Barbara (the volunteer coordinator) was away and so when the volunteers who were going home it was me picking them up from the bus or dropping them off at the airport (1 1/2 hours from Okahandja)! There were about 6 trips to the airport, 1 trip to the bus stop in Windhoek and some were two trips in one day.
I helped with filling in holes during the planning for prayer and fasting. One of the missionaries here got married and there were several trips in and out of Windhoek, I think I made 5 trips to Windhoek in one week (twice one day). The bi-monthly reports were due this month, and since Walter was away the Prayer & Praise reports fell into my hands. I had a wedding shower/Braai at my house for the bride-to-be! There were many other things, but I don’t have space.
I was able to have a restful week when Kelly and Dakotah came from Zimbabwe on their way back to Canada. We traveled around giving them a little taste of Namibia. We saw the Cheetahs north of here and the coast to the west! It was a lot of driving, but we had a great time with the kids!
Also during this month I was very sick. I have had a terrible pain in my chest since the middle of the month and now a cough. You can pray that it is nothing more than pleurisy or a cold, however one day I will go in for a TB test... when I have some time!
The Funeral
I attended my first African funeral. You will have to check out the website to hear the full story as it had more twists and turns than the Leba in Angola (the switchback up the side of a mountain). At the beginning of the month our yard worker, Josef came and shared with us that his wife had died, they have 3 children (one was six weeks old at the time). The Irish team left money for formula for the baby and whatever might be needed for the funeral arrangements. One day I took Josef out to a farm to buy a goat for the day of the funeral, he managed to tie the front leg to the back and throw it in the back of my ‘car’! It cried and pooped all the way back to town… in my ‘car’! The day of the funeral as I was standing at the gravesite through a round about conversation Josef’s sister informed me who the woman was who died… we had a connection even though we didn’t know it. If you remember newsletters from August and September we talked about Rosaria (she died from TB… and had been beaten and sexual abused by her step-father). Well long story short, Josef seems to be the guy, although when I sat and talked with him he claims innocence. All I could do is share the gospel with him and hope and pray that things change in his life. The baby has now fallen ill and they are not sure the cause.
The Knightly Kids
Meagan turned 16 on May 7! We had cakes at the Ark after the prayer and fasting day was over. She used her birthday money from her grandparents to buy a new cell phone (it takes pictures… teenagers). She has been struggling with motivation for school, Pete has her reading encyclopedias now and doing Math. She loves to read! She has gotten some great books from our visitors.
Trevor is still enjoying wrestling, and especially liked learning new moves from Joe (a champion wrestler in his youth). Joe even went to club with them and taught his trademark winning move! He enjoyed spending time with Dakotah, both boys went on a hike up the mountain with her; they brought home a snake skin! I think Trevor is getting taller; he will be 13 in September (almost a teenager)
Tavis goes to wrestling but he has a hard time getting motivated to get out the door, but enjoys it when he gets there. He keeps busy and especially enjoys walking to the grocery store to purchase things for me. He is making plans for entrepreneur day at the school, and seems quite excited about it. It is common to hear Tavis say “do you want me to make you something for lunch”? He loves cooking!
Prayer and Praise
Praise
For safety in all the traveling we have done this month and for the finances to put fuel in our tank.
For special visits with friends from North America, this has been such a huge blessing and encouragement!
For the strength to complete all of the tasks that needed doing this month!
For the boys going back to school! Five weeks was a long time… for Mom!
For all of the ways to minister here in Namibia.
Prayer
Health… a common theme for Charlene! This month has been difficult health-wise. Pray for healing of this pain in the chest.
Still no word on going north, please pray that God will guide and direct not only us but the National Director in his decision making.
Still no sign of our things from Angola, we have tried to get in touch with the man arranging the transport down, but to no avail. As the weather gets colder we could use our beds, bedding, warm clothing and warm PJ’s that are still waiting in Lubango.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in dealing with the ‘many’ difficult situations that we encounter. There are many people with obvious need here in Namibia and we can only financially and physically do so much. There are ‘many’ children who pick through the garbage to find food, how do you drive or walk by without feeling compassion?
Pete, Joe and I drove to the dump this month and gave bread that had been donated by Pic n Pay to 40 children who were picking through a fresh arrival of garbage. It’s heartbreaking!
I taught some kids to play hop scotch at 5 Rand while Joe was here, and afterward both Joe and I were wondering how one boys legs didn’t break from jumping, they were just skin and bones!
Jenny helped a woman the other day with some of the things that I had given her for the baby. This lady was cutting old clothes to use as nappies (diapers) and they were wearing rags. She shared nappies I had bought for her, and baby clothes that Joy had left for me to give away. This lady is taking 2 of her children north to live with family as they are starving, she will keep the baby with her and try to get work at a farm where her husband is working.
This is just a small portion of the needs we meet each day… so please pray! We truly need wisdom for who to help, when and how much!
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 (but we are working on it!).
For those who desire to support our ministry financially you can do so by
sending cheques to Ron and Marge (Pete’s parents).
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 PO Box 52038, Longwood FL, 32752-0328, 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!
May Update
Ark Okahandja
May began with a continuation of the kid’s holidays, and after the second week of holidays the schools of Namibia decided that 4 weeks wasn’t enough, so they added an extra week, making it a 5 week holiday! Most of the children went on holiday with extended family; some were able to go to a camp and some on a school choir trip during the 5 weeks. The girls who didn’t get to family during the holiday came to visit Auntie Charlene for a week! It was a busy but fun week with Francina, Tuuliki, Selma and Emily. Trevor went and spent a few days at the Ark with the boys. School went back on the 28th of May.
The staff at the Ark is doing well. Auntie Leila is back from her maternity leave (she was always around, just not responsible to do anything but bond with the new babe). Uncle Lazarus felt a little lost without Pete, but Charlene filled in where she could during the time Pete was in Oshikuku. Pelgrina who teaches the Choose to Wait program has not been doing well physically. She has AIDS and struggles from time to time with different health issues.
We welcomed 2 new volunteers this month. Joanne from the USA and Mari from Japan have joined us for short term. Joanne for 8 weeks and Mari for 6 months, Joanne has been helping with Care & Compassion and Mari with the children and will try each of the ministries to see which one fits for her. We also had a large team from Ireland come and spend some time here in Okahandja. They blessed the people beyond measure, with their time, talents and finances! A 7 member team from the USA arrived the end of the month and will spend a week joining in with each of the 3 ministries of the Ark. This team comes from Table Rock Church which almost fully funds the Ark Okahandja each month!
Walter, the National Director spent the month in Kenya at a Directors training.
Winter has come to Namibia!
I thought I would explain why the SNOWFLAKES in the newsletter this month. The cold weather has arrived EARLY this year! I have been thinking about how to explain how cold I mean… it is like camping in the late fall in Canada… bone chilling comes to mind! I wear a toque to bed! No… really… I do. We sleep on the floor (since our beds are still in Angola) and so it gets very cold on the cement floors, although thankfully we have a thin layer of carpet to keep the ice from forming! HA!
There’s no central heating in the houses so the cement houses feel chilly all day and really cold at night… the people in community who live in tin shacks are either freezing at night or roasting in the daytime!
I am writing this at 10 AM and it is 15 Celsius in the house… I would guess in the night we are getting down below 10 degrees! It usually doesn’t get this cold until July/August, so we are feeling the chill early this year.
Pete’s Ministry
This month Pete spent a great deal of his time with Joe up in Oshikuku or on the road (to and from). They managed to get a lot of work done tiling the Ark. Of course, Joe was able to see first hand some of the “GREAT” frustrations we encounter on an almost daily basis here in Africa, and I think he left with a better understanding of things and will probably read between the lines in our newsletters from now on! Pete sure enjoyed having Joe around this month; we wished he could stay longer!
The beginning of the month began with CHI prayer and fasting which Pete was responsible to plan and run. He chose the theme, The Glory of God. The CHI staff and volunteers were very positive in their reviews of the 2 day program.
Pete also helped the Irish team get involved in Care & Compassion and Kids Club during their stay. This team left a lot of money behind for different people and ministries and since WINTER has come we were able to purchase some blankets and jackets for the ladies at 5 Rand in the C&C program! They were overjoyed and are now much warmer at night.
Pete lost his Bible the last week of May… he feels like someone who has lost an arm or leg. It has been a very difficult thing for him to handle, not only because it is marked and well read, but also because we cannot get this version here in Africa, and it is the version he has memorized from.
Visitors
Joe arrived April 28 and went home May 26. He showered our family with lots of goodies… the kids were especially excited (from the sugar high), and Pete was thrilled with his new watch and Leatherman! Joe spent most of his time in Oshikuku working on the Ark. He also went to C&C at 5 Rand a few times. He helped cut some branches off of one of the trees at the Ark… with his Leatherman, and he also fixed a door there. He fixed our door too, now we keep slamming it, as we were used to having to ‘drag’ it closed!
Kelly and Dakotah arrived on the bus at 4 AM on May 7. Kelly attended the prayer and fasting day with us, she shared what was going on with CHI Zimbabwe. During the week we traveled to the Cheetah reserve north of Otjiwarongo (where they have the ‘best’ pizza). We had a flat tire on the way, which Kelly and Trevor replaced with the donut tire. As the tire was being replaced we ate pizza! The next day we traveled to Walvis Bay and stayed a wonderful guest house run by a generous Christian couple! We took the kids to the Dunes and after climbing to the top and rolling down Trevor negotiated with the Quad guy for an awesome rate… so the kids went Quading on the Dunes. The next day we spent at the ocean and the smaller dunes where the kids went dune boarding with their greased up boards. We had a great time visiting together and getting to know each other!
Joy from Florida arrived May 24 to be Matron of Honour at Buddy and Julia’s wedding. I personally enjoyed spending time with Joy and I wish they were still living here; I realized in her time here how much I missed having her around!
Jonathan arrived on May 30. He came on the bus from South Africa and arrived late at 6:30 AM in Windhoek (he was supposed to arrive at 5:45AM). He will be staying with us for 2 months and has already been getting involved with helping. The boys think he’s great!!
New House Help
Meagan gave up her job as our house help as Jenny needs the money to ‘survive’. Jenny is an excited newer believer with 2 children. Her little boy lives in Rundu with her mother, and Queen her 7 month old baby lives with her. Her husband died from TB before Queen was born (on the floor of her house here in Okahandja). Her son was also very sick with TB but was diagnosed correctly in time and was treated properly. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 and she loves to iron. With tears in her eyes she thanked me for hiring her… she said that now she can send money to help her son, her mother and her siblings. She has experienced many blessings in her life as she has remained faithful to God, and prayed to him for the things that she needs to live. You will hear more about Jenny in the days ahead, I will try to put something on the website soon sharing ‘her story’ and photos!
Charlene’s Ministry
This month has been extremely busy. With Pete gone for part of the month and people coming and going I have been kept going non-stop. I was trying to think of a job title for myself, I wanted something creative, but I haven’t had time to think… so here it goes… I am a HOLE FILLER! I have realized that there are those who dig the holes, those who supervise the work and those who fill them in again… I am the filler!
There were a lot of ‘holes’ this month! Barbara (the volunteer coordinator) was away and so when the volunteers who were going home it was me picking them up from the bus or dropping them off at the airport (1 1/2 hours from Okahandja)! There were about 6 trips to the airport, 1 trip to the bus stop in Windhoek and some were two trips in one day.
I helped with filling in holes during the planning for prayer and fasting. One of the missionaries here got married and there were several trips in and out of Windhoek, I think I made 5 trips to Windhoek in one week (twice one day). The bi-monthly reports were due this month, and since Walter was away the Prayer & Praise reports fell into my hands. I had a wedding shower/Braai at my house for the bride-to-be! There were many other things, but I don’t have space.
I was able to have a restful week when Kelly and Dakotah came from Zimbabwe on their way back to Canada. We traveled around giving them a little taste of Namibia. We saw the Cheetahs north of here and the coast to the west! It was a lot of driving, but we had a great time with the kids!
Also during this month I was very sick. I have had a terrible pain in my chest since the middle of the month and now a cough. You can pray that it is nothing more than pleurisy or a cold, however one day I will go in for a TB test... when I have some time!
The Funeral
I attended my first African funeral. You will have to check out the website to hear the full story as it had more twists and turns than the Leba in Angola (the switchback up the side of a mountain). At the beginning of the month our yard worker, Josef came and shared with us that his wife had died, they have 3 children (one was six weeks old at the time). The Irish team left money for formula for the baby and whatever might be needed for the funeral arrangements. One day I took Josef out to a farm to buy a goat for the day of the funeral, he managed to tie the front leg to the back and throw it in the back of my ‘car’! It cried and pooped all the way back to town… in my ‘car’! The day of the funeral as I was standing at the gravesite through a round about conversation Josef’s sister informed me who the woman was who died… we had a connection even though we didn’t know it. If you remember newsletters from August and September we talked about Rosaria (she died from TB… and had been beaten and sexual abused by her step-father). Well long story short, Josef seems to be the guy, although when I sat and talked with him he claims innocence. All I could do is share the gospel with him and hope and pray that things change in his life. The baby has now fallen ill and they are not sure the cause.
The Knightly Kids
Meagan turned 16 on May 7! We had cakes at the Ark after the prayer and fasting day was over. She used her birthday money from her grandparents to buy a new cell phone (it takes pictures… teenagers). She has been struggling with motivation for school, Pete has her reading encyclopedias now and doing Math. She loves to read! She has gotten some great books from our visitors.
Trevor is still enjoying wrestling, and especially liked learning new moves from Joe (a champion wrestler in his youth). Joe even went to club with them and taught his trademark winning move! He enjoyed spending time with Dakotah, both boys went on a hike up the mountain with her; they brought home a snake skin! I think Trevor is getting taller; he will be 13 in September (almost a teenager)
Tavis goes to wrestling but he has a hard time getting motivated to get out the door, but enjoys it when he gets there. He keeps busy and especially enjoys walking to the grocery store to purchase things for me. He is making plans for entrepreneur day at the school, and seems quite excited about it. It is common to hear Tavis say “do you want me to make you something for lunch”? He loves cooking!
Prayer and Praise
Praise
For safety in all the traveling we have done this month and for the finances to put fuel in our tank.
For special visits with friends from North America, this has been such a huge blessing and encouragement!
For the strength to complete all of the tasks that needed doing this month!
For the boys going back to school! Five weeks was a long time… for Mom!
For all of the ways to minister here in Namibia.
Prayer
Health… a common theme for Charlene! This month has been difficult health-wise. Pray for healing of this pain in the chest.
Still no word on going north, please pray that God will guide and direct not only us but the National Director in his decision making.
Still no sign of our things from Angola, we have tried to get in touch with the man arranging the transport down, but to no avail. As the weather gets colder we could use our beds, bedding, warm clothing and warm PJ’s that are still waiting in Lubango.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in dealing with the ‘many’ difficult situations that we encounter. There are many people with obvious need here in Namibia and we can only financially and physically do so much. There are ‘many’ children who pick through the garbage to find food, how do you drive or walk by without feeling compassion?
Pete, Joe and I drove to the dump this month and gave bread that had been donated by Pic n Pay to 40 children who were picking through a fresh arrival of garbage. It’s heartbreaking!
I taught some kids to play hop scotch at 5 Rand while Joe was here, and afterward both Joe and I were wondering how one boys legs didn’t break from jumping, they were just skin and bones!
Jenny helped a woman the other day with some of the things that I had given her for the baby. This lady was cutting old clothes to use as nappies (diapers) and they were wearing rags. She shared nappies I had bought for her, and baby clothes that Joy had left for me to give away. This lady is taking 2 of her children north to live with family as they are starving, she will keep the baby with her and try to get work at a farm where her husband is working.
This is just a small portion of the needs we meet each day… so please pray! We truly need wisdom for who to help, when and how much!
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 (but we are working on it!).
For those who desire to support our ministry financially you can do so by
sending cheques to Ron and Marge (Pete’s parents).
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 PO Box 52038, Longwood FL, 32752-0328, 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!
May began with a continuation of the kid’s holidays, and after the second week of holidays the schools of Namibia decided that 4 weeks wasn’t enough, so they added an extra week, making it a 5 week holiday! Most of the children went on holiday with extended family; some were able to go to a camp and some on a school choir trip during the 5 weeks. The girls who didn’t get to family during the holiday came to visit Auntie Charlene for a week! It was a busy but fun week with Francina, Tuuliki, Selma and Emily. Trevor went and spent a few days at the Ark with the boys. School went back on the 28th of May.
The staff at the Ark is doing well. Auntie Leila is back from her maternity leave (she was always around, just not responsible to do anything but bond with the new babe). Uncle Lazarus felt a little lost without Pete, but Charlene filled in where she could during the time Pete was in Oshikuku. Pelgrina who teaches the Choose to Wait program has not been doing well physically. She has AIDS and struggles from time to time with different health issues.
We welcomed 2 new volunteers this month. Joanne from the USA and Mari from Japan have joined us for short term. Joanne for 8 weeks and Mari for 6 months, Joanne has been helping with Care & Compassion and Mari with the children and will try each of the ministries to see which one fits for her. We also had a large team from Ireland come and spend some time here in Okahandja. They blessed the people beyond measure, with their time, talents and finances! A 7 member team from the USA arrived the end of the month and will spend a week joining in with each of the 3 ministries of the Ark. This team comes from Table Rock Church which almost fully funds the Ark Okahandja each month!
Walter, the National Director spent the month in Kenya at a Directors training.
Winter has come to Namibia!
I thought I would explain why the SNOWFLAKES in the newsletter this month. The cold weather has arrived EARLY this year! I have been thinking about how to explain how cold I mean… it is like camping in the late fall in Canada… bone chilling comes to mind! I wear a toque to bed! No… really… I do. We sleep on the floor (since our beds are still in Angola) and so it gets very cold on the cement floors, although thankfully we have a thin layer of carpet to keep the ice from forming! HA!
There’s no central heating in the houses so the cement houses feel chilly all day and really cold at night… the people in community who live in tin shacks are either freezing at night or roasting in the daytime!
I am writing this at 10 AM and it is 15 Celsius in the house… I would guess in the night we are getting down below 10 degrees! It usually doesn’t get this cold until July/August, so we are feeling the chill early this year.
Pete’s Ministry
This month Pete spent a great deal of his time with Joe up in Oshikuku or on the road (to and from). They managed to get a lot of work done tiling the Ark. Of course, Joe was able to see first hand some of the “GREAT” frustrations we encounter on an almost daily basis here in Africa, and I think he left with a better understanding of things and will probably read between the lines in our newsletters from now on! Pete sure enjoyed having Joe around this month; we wished he could stay longer!
The beginning of the month began with CHI prayer and fasting which Pete was responsible to plan and run. He chose the theme, The Glory of God. The CHI staff and volunteers were very positive in their reviews of the 2 day program.
Pete also helped the Irish team get involved in Care & Compassion and Kids Club during their stay. This team left a lot of money behind for different people and ministries and since WINTER has come we were able to purchase some blankets and jackets for the ladies at 5 Rand in the C&C program! They were overjoyed and are now much warmer at night.
Pete lost his Bible the last week of May… he feels like someone who has lost an arm or leg. It has been a very difficult thing for him to handle, not only because it is marked and well read, but also because we cannot get this version here in Africa, and it is the version he has memorized from.
Visitors
Joe arrived April 28 and went home May 26. He showered our family with lots of goodies… the kids were especially excited (from the sugar high), and Pete was thrilled with his new watch and Leatherman! Joe spent most of his time in Oshikuku working on the Ark. He also went to C&C at 5 Rand a few times. He helped cut some branches off of one of the trees at the Ark… with his Leatherman, and he also fixed a door there. He fixed our door too, now we keep slamming it, as we were used to having to ‘drag’ it closed!
Kelly and Dakotah arrived on the bus at 4 AM on May 7. Kelly attended the prayer and fasting day with us, she shared what was going on with CHI Zimbabwe. During the week we traveled to the Cheetah reserve north of Otjiwarongo (where they have the ‘best’ pizza). We had a flat tire on the way, which Kelly and Trevor replaced with the donut tire. As the tire was being replaced we ate pizza! The next day we traveled to Walvis Bay and stayed a wonderful guest house run by a generous Christian couple! We took the kids to the Dunes and after climbing to the top and rolling down Trevor negotiated with the Quad guy for an awesome rate… so the kids went Quading on the Dunes. The next day we spent at the ocean and the smaller dunes where the kids went dune boarding with their greased up boards. We had a great time visiting together and getting to know each other!
Joy from Florida arrived May 24 to be Matron of Honour at Buddy and Julia’s wedding. I personally enjoyed spending time with Joy and I wish they were still living here; I realized in her time here how much I missed having her around!
Jonathan arrived on May 30. He came on the bus from South Africa and arrived late at 6:30 AM in Windhoek (he was supposed to arrive at 5:45AM). He will be staying with us for 2 months and has already been getting involved with helping. The boys think he’s great!!
New House Help
Meagan gave up her job as our house help as Jenny needs the money to ‘survive’. Jenny is an excited newer believer with 2 children. Her little boy lives in Rundu with her mother, and Queen her 7 month old baby lives with her. Her husband died from TB before Queen was born (on the floor of her house here in Okahandja). Her son was also very sick with TB but was diagnosed correctly in time and was treated properly. I hired her for 3 hours a day but she stays for 6 to 8 and she loves to iron. With tears in her eyes she thanked me for hiring her… she said that now she can send money to help her son, her mother and her siblings. She has experienced many blessings in her life as she has remained faithful to God, and prayed to him for the things that she needs to live. You will hear more about Jenny in the days ahead, I will try to put something on the website soon sharing ‘her story’ and photos!
Charlene’s Ministry
This month has been extremely busy. With Pete gone for part of the month and people coming and going I have been kept going non-stop. I was trying to think of a job title for myself, I wanted something creative, but I haven’t had time to think… so here it goes… I am a HOLE FILLER! I have realized that there are those who dig the holes, those who supervise the work and those who fill them in again… I am the filler!
There were a lot of ‘holes’ this month! Barbara (the volunteer coordinator) was away and so when the volunteers who were going home it was me picking them up from the bus or dropping them off at the airport (1 1/2 hours from Okahandja)! There were about 6 trips to the airport, 1 trip to the bus stop in Windhoek and some were two trips in one day.
I helped with filling in holes during the planning for prayer and fasting. One of the missionaries here got married and there were several trips in and out of Windhoek, I think I made 5 trips to Windhoek in one week (twice one day). The bi-monthly reports were due this month, and since Walter was away the Prayer & Praise reports fell into my hands. I had a wedding shower/Braai at my house for the bride-to-be! There were many other things, but I don’t have space.
I was able to have a restful week when Kelly and Dakotah came from Zimbabwe on their way back to Canada. We traveled around giving them a little taste of Namibia. We saw the Cheetahs north of here and the coast to the west! It was a lot of driving, but we had a great time with the kids!
Also during this month I was very sick. I have had a terrible pain in my chest since the middle of the month and now a cough. You can pray that it is nothing more than pleurisy or a cold, however one day I will go in for a TB test... when I have some time!
The Funeral
I attended my first African funeral. You will have to check out the website to hear the full story as it had more twists and turns than the Leba in Angola (the switchback up the side of a mountain). At the beginning of the month our yard worker, Josef came and shared with us that his wife had died, they have 3 children (one was six weeks old at the time). The Irish team left money for formula for the baby and whatever might be needed for the funeral arrangements. One day I took Josef out to a farm to buy a goat for the day of the funeral, he managed to tie the front leg to the back and throw it in the back of my ‘car’! It cried and pooped all the way back to town… in my ‘car’! The day of the funeral as I was standing at the gravesite through a round about conversation Josef’s sister informed me who the woman was who died… we had a connection even though we didn’t know it. If you remember newsletters from August and September we talked about Rosaria (she died from TB… and had been beaten and sexual abused by her step-father). Well long story short, Josef seems to be the guy, although when I sat and talked with him he claims innocence. All I could do is share the gospel with him and hope and pray that things change in his life. The baby has now fallen ill and they are not sure the cause.
The Knightly Kids
Meagan turned 16 on May 7! We had cakes at the Ark after the prayer and fasting day was over. She used her birthday money from her grandparents to buy a new cell phone (it takes pictures… teenagers). She has been struggling with motivation for school, Pete has her reading encyclopedias now and doing Math. She loves to read! She has gotten some great books from our visitors.
Trevor is still enjoying wrestling, and especially liked learning new moves from Joe (a champion wrestler in his youth). Joe even went to club with them and taught his trademark winning move! He enjoyed spending time with Dakotah, both boys went on a hike up the mountain with her; they brought home a snake skin! I think Trevor is getting taller; he will be 13 in September (almost a teenager)
Tavis goes to wrestling but he has a hard time getting motivated to get out the door, but enjoys it when he gets there. He keeps busy and especially enjoys walking to the grocery store to purchase things for me. He is making plans for entrepreneur day at the school, and seems quite excited about it. It is common to hear Tavis say “do you want me to make you something for lunch”? He loves cooking!
Prayer and Praise
Praise
For safety in all the traveling we have done this month and for the finances to put fuel in our tank.
For special visits with friends from North America, this has been such a huge blessing and encouragement!
For the strength to complete all of the tasks that needed doing this month!
For the boys going back to school! Five weeks was a long time… for Mom!
For all of the ways to minister here in Namibia.
Prayer
Health… a common theme for Charlene! This month has been difficult health-wise. Pray for healing of this pain in the chest.
Still no word on going north, please pray that God will guide and direct not only us but the National Director in his decision making.
Still no sign of our things from Angola, we have tried to get in touch with the man arranging the transport down, but to no avail. As the weather gets colder we could use our beds, bedding, warm clothing and warm PJ’s that are still waiting in Lubango.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in dealing with the ‘many’ difficult situations that we encounter. There are many people with obvious need here in Namibia and we can only financially and physically do so much. There are ‘many’ children who pick through the garbage to find food, how do you drive or walk by without feeling compassion?
Pete, Joe and I drove to the dump this month and gave bread that had been donated by Pic n Pay to 40 children who were picking through a fresh arrival of garbage. It’s heartbreaking!
I taught some kids to play hop scotch at 5 Rand while Joe was here, and afterward both Joe and I were wondering how one boys legs didn’t break from jumping, they were just skin and bones!
Jenny helped a woman the other day with some of the things that I had given her for the baby. This lady was cutting old clothes to use as nappies (diapers) and they were wearing rags. She shared nappies I had bought for her, and baby clothes that Joy had left for me to give away. This lady is taking 2 of her children north to live with family as they are starving, she will keep the baby with her and try to get work at a farm where her husband is working.
This is just a small portion of the needs we meet each day… so please pray! We truly need wisdom for who to help, when and how much!
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 (but we are working on it!).
For those who desire to support our ministry financially you can do so by
sending cheques to Ron and Marge (Pete’s parents).
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 PO Box 52038, Longwood FL, 32752-0328, 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!
Care & Compassion
Blankets and Jackets that were given to the ladies at 5 Rand were very well received!
Nicholas cozy in bed with his new blanket, given by Care & Compassion Okahandja with donations from a team from the UK. Thank you Ireland for your thoughtfulness, love, care and compassion to the needy in Namibia.
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