Just a bit of info for you all! Everyone seems to assume that it is cheaper to live in an African country, at least I get emails and comments on the phone that seem to say that... so just for your info, this just gives a little idea as to one area of expense here in Angola!
Grocery Shopping in Angola:
80 kwz to the US dollar
These prices are average and fluctuate greatly with supply and demand. There is only market gardening and so there is no great supply of anything fresh. The quality leaves much to be desired. Always worms in the tomatoes… that type of thing!
Milk Powder (25kg)… 8000 kwz ($100 US)
Flour (50 kg)… 3000 kwz ($37.50 US)
Rice (50 kg)… 1700 kwz ($21.25 US)
Beans (per kilo)… 100 kwz ($1.25 US)
Cheese (out of the question TOO expensive to even look at!!!)
Pasta (500g)… 80 kwz ($1.00 US)
Oil (500 ml)… 150 kwz ($1.88 US)
Margarine (500 ml)… 380 kwz ($4.75 US)
Sliced Meat (100g)… 125 kwz ($1.57 US)
Beef (per kilo)… 500 kwz ($6.25 US) and it is tougher than a chuck steak and flavorless
Pork (per kilo)… 500 kwz ($6.25 US)
Chicken (1200g)… 330 kwz ($4.13 US)
Buns… 7.5 kwz per bun (10 cents US)
Bread… 100 kwz ($1.25 US)
Carrots (3 carrots)… 50 kwz (63 cents US)
Potatoes (10 kilo)… 1200 kwz ($15.00 US)
Onions (3 med size)… 50 kwz (63 cents US)
Bananas (5)... 200 kwz ($2.50 US)
Mangos (4)… 100 kwz ($1.25 US)
Oranges (4)... 200 kwz ($2.50 US)
Watermelon... 150 kwz per kg ($1.88 US per kg) (that’s $4.15 US a pound, roughly) (we grow our own… and sell for only 50 kwz per kg)
Juice (2litre)... 200 kwz ($2.50 US)
Eggs... 30 kwz per egg (38 cents US)
Soft serve ice cream cone… 150 kwz ($1.88 US), one flavour to choose from, but lucky to have even that… not that we indulge more than once every 3 months!
Laundry Soap (box that does 90 loads)... 7500 kwz ($93.75 US)
Gas (for the stove)… 480 kwz tank lasts almost 3 weeks ($6.00 US)
Diesel (per litre)… 30 kwz (38 cents US)
This is why we do a great deal of our shopping in Namibia… it makes it semi-reasonable. Although you still have to watch while purchasing there, as many times buying BULK is more expensive than buying things individually! Still more expensive than Canada but much better prices than here! Things like eggs are something you have to get used to… we have chickens but they are Angolan chickens, they lay eggs for a few weeks and then they roost for a month. So we buy them at the praca for 38 cents US an egg… these eggs have been shipped up from South Africa and they sit at the border in the hot hot sun for a day or two sometimes. Then they get to the praca and they probably do not rotate the new with the old, and well you crack them open into a separate dish (each egg) just to make sure there are no rotten half chicks or completely rotten yolk… things like that! Rice always has bugs, and you have to sift your flour. There are no ‘return policies’ or ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ here in this country.
This just gives you an idea of what we are faced with when shopping in Angola! We have been told that Angola is the most expensive country to live in, in Africa. Also that Luanda is the second most expensive city in the world (just behind Tokyo) to live in! People are paying outrageous sums for rent (e.g.: a two room apartment for $3000 US a month, and I don’t think they are nice places!). The biggest blessing is that fuel for the truck is inexpensive… if they have it… they regularly go through fuel shortages! There is only one fuel company and it is owned by the government!
Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about our country!
Charlene
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
In Namibia
We are in Oshakati... I am including the email that I would have sent out yesterday, but I didn't get to the internet. Today however there is a little more news to share. The lady at the Angolan consulate told me that there would be NO MORE VISITOR VISA renewals! So we have 3 months to decide what to do with our lives here in Africa. Apart from an absolute miracle... our work visa coming through we will not be going back into Angola until we have it! So we have many decisions to make... anyway, I will include the email I would have sent out (I can't connect to my microsoft outlook)! We truly are thankful for ALL of your prayers and we are very thankful to have received our present visa!
God Bless,
Charlene
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Praise the Lord!
We put in our visa application today and it was ready before the end of the day, we will pick them up in the morning! So we would like to thank all of your for your prayers! This is an amazing answer to prayer, considering that as of late everyone has had their visa renewals rejected! So we are very thankful to God for His provision to us.
Tonight we went for supper with the owner (and her family) of the lodge we are staying at. They are wonderful Christians and have blessed our family immensely, we are so thankful for God's family and how encouraging they have been!
Saturday morning we will head to Windhoek (an 8 hour drive on a GOOD road) to get Talitha to the plane. We have put our truck in the shop here in Oshakati and the fine Christian business man who owns the place gave us another vehicle to drive to Windhoek. What a blessing! We will stay with some friends from Namibe, who are going to university in Windhoek! The kids are all excited about seeing each other. Talitha flies out on the 25th and then we head back to Oshakati to do our 3 month grocery shopping, then pack up and head HOME! Thankfully this time we will have had a chance to recover from our bumpy bone crushing trip before we head back!
We will keep you posted on any other news. For now, if you are interested in calling us to see how things are going we have a Namibian cell number now 264 0813017320, you can use YAK to call here also, and I believe it is $0.29 a minute to Namibia!
Take care, and God bless!
Love,
The Knightly's
God Bless,
Charlene
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Praise the Lord!
We put in our visa application today and it was ready before the end of the day, we will pick them up in the morning! So we would like to thank all of your for your prayers! This is an amazing answer to prayer, considering that as of late everyone has had their visa renewals rejected! So we are very thankful to God for His provision to us.
Tonight we went for supper with the owner (and her family) of the lodge we are staying at. They are wonderful Christians and have blessed our family immensely, we are so thankful for God's family and how encouraging they have been!
Saturday morning we will head to Windhoek (an 8 hour drive on a GOOD road) to get Talitha to the plane. We have put our truck in the shop here in Oshakati and the fine Christian business man who owns the place gave us another vehicle to drive to Windhoek. What a blessing! We will stay with some friends from Namibe, who are going to university in Windhoek! The kids are all excited about seeing each other. Talitha flies out on the 25th and then we head back to Oshakati to do our 3 month grocery shopping, then pack up and head HOME! Thankfully this time we will have had a chance to recover from our bumpy bone crushing trip before we head back!
We will keep you posted on any other news. For now, if you are interested in calling us to see how things are going we have a Namibian cell number now 264 0813017320, you can use YAK to call here also, and I believe it is $0.29 a minute to Namibia!
Take care, and God bless!
Love,
The Knightly's
Sunday, April 02, 2006
God's Love Never Quits!
Pete took the boys fishing this evening and I tagged along. On the way out the door I grabbed “The Message” Bible, so I would have something to do while they fished. Here is some of what I read, and it really encouraged me, so I share it with you….
Charlene
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end--- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
Psalm 118
Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits.” And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.” Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid, who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion, I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts; hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!”
I didn’t die. I lived: And now I’m telling the world what God did. God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn’t hand me over to Death. Swing wide the city gates---the righteous gates! I’ll walk right through and thank God! This Temple Gate belongs to God, so the victors can enter and praise.
Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God’s work. We rub our eyes---we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted---let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God---a free and full life!
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name---from God’s house we bless you! God is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hand colored banners above the altar! You’re my God, and I thank you. O my God, I lift high your praise. Thank God---he’s so good. His love never quits!
I wrote this a few days ago... today was another one of those days where I needed to realize that God's love never quits! We were awakened by a family whose little one was in hospital. She needed blood and they figured they would have to pay someone around $100 US for some blood... however Pete has universal blood O- so he went to the lab... the hospital said NO because it was not B+. So we went on a hunt for people with B+ (even though Pete's blood would work... all they needed to do was a test for compatibility). We went to the church, made an announcement, no one... we went to the military, they found 2 names, we went and they were not around... finally after searching for 4 or 5 hours we found a guy at another church. We were on our way to the lab when we met up with one of the family members... the child had died just a few minutes before. We were heart broken. After the long week we just had I thought I would fall to peices... but God's love never quits, and sometimes we will never know his purpose for things... we just need to rest in his hands as he carries us along. Rest that is what I need.
Take care and God Bless.
Charlene
Charlene
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end--- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
Psalm 118
Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits.” And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.” Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid, who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion, I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts; hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!”
I didn’t die. I lived: And now I’m telling the world what God did. God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn’t hand me over to Death. Swing wide the city gates---the righteous gates! I’ll walk right through and thank God! This Temple Gate belongs to God, so the victors can enter and praise.
Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God’s work. We rub our eyes---we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted---let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God---a free and full life!
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name---from God’s house we bless you! God is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hand colored banners above the altar! You’re my God, and I thank you. O my God, I lift high your praise. Thank God---he’s so good. His love never quits!
I wrote this a few days ago... today was another one of those days where I needed to realize that God's love never quits! We were awakened by a family whose little one was in hospital. She needed blood and they figured they would have to pay someone around $100 US for some blood... however Pete has universal blood O- so he went to the lab... the hospital said NO because it was not B+. So we went on a hunt for people with B+ (even though Pete's blood would work... all they needed to do was a test for compatibility). We went to the church, made an announcement, no one... we went to the military, they found 2 names, we went and they were not around... finally after searching for 4 or 5 hours we found a guy at another church. We were on our way to the lab when we met up with one of the family members... the child had died just a few minutes before. We were heart broken. After the long week we just had I thought I would fall to peices... but God's love never quits, and sometimes we will never know his purpose for things... we just need to rest in his hands as he carries us along. Rest that is what I need.
Take care and God Bless.
Charlene
Pete took the boys fishing this evening and I tagged along. On the way out the door I grabbed “The Message” Bible, so I would have something to do while they fished. Here is some of what I read, and it really encouraged me, so I share it with you….
Charlene
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end--- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
Psalm 118
Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits.” And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.” Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid, who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion, I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts; hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!”
I didn’t die. I lived: And now I’m telling the world what God did. God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn’t hand me over to Death. Swing wide the city gates---the righteous gates! I’ll walk right through and thank God! This Temple Gate belongs to God, so the victors can enter and praise.
Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God’s work. We rub our eyes---we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted---let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God---a free and full life!
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name---from God’s house we bless you! God is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hand colored banners above the altar! You’re my God, and I thank you. O my God, I lift high your praise. Thank God---he’s so good. His love never quits!
I wrote this a few days ago... today was another one of those days where I needed to realize that God's love never quits! We were awakened by a family whose little one was in hospital. She needed blood and they figured they would have to pay someone around $100 US for some blood... however Pete has universal blood O- so he went to the lab... the hospital said NO because it was not B+. So we went on a hunt for people with B+ (even though Pete's blood would work... all they needed to do was a test for compatibility). We went to the church, made an announcement, no one... we went to the military, they found 2 names, we went and they were not around... finally after searching for 4 or 5 hours we found a guy at another church. We were on our way to the lab when we met up with one of the family members... the child had died just a few minutes before. We were heart broken. After the long week we just had I thought I would fall to peices... but God's love never quits, and sometimes we will never know his purpose for things... we just need to rest in his hands as he carries us along. Rest that is what I need.
Take care and God Bless.
Charlene
Charlene
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end--- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
Psalm 118
Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits.” And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.” Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid, who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion, I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts; hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!”
I didn’t die. I lived: And now I’m telling the world what God did. God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn’t hand me over to Death. Swing wide the city gates---the righteous gates! I’ll walk right through and thank God! This Temple Gate belongs to God, so the victors can enter and praise.
Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God’s work. We rub our eyes---we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted---let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God---a free and full life!
Blessed are you who enter in God’s name---from God’s house we bless you! God is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hand colored banners above the altar! You’re my God, and I thank you. O my God, I lift high your praise. Thank God---he’s so good. His love never quits!
I wrote this a few days ago... today was another one of those days where I needed to realize that God's love never quits! We were awakened by a family whose little one was in hospital. She needed blood and they figured they would have to pay someone around $100 US for some blood... however Pete has universal blood O- so he went to the lab... the hospital said NO because it was not B+. So we went on a hunt for people with B+ (even though Pete's blood would work... all they needed to do was a test for compatibility). We went to the church, made an announcement, no one... we went to the military, they found 2 names, we went and they were not around... finally after searching for 4 or 5 hours we found a guy at another church. We were on our way to the lab when we met up with one of the family members... the child had died just a few minutes before. We were heart broken. After the long week we just had I thought I would fall to peices... but God's love never quits, and sometimes we will never know his purpose for things... we just need to rest in his hands as he carries us along. Rest that is what I need.
Take care and God Bless.
Charlene
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Quick update
It is guilty until proven innocent here in Angola, along with, even if you are not-guilty you have to pay for something!!! Strauss was released today at 2pm, after much paper-pushing! It was a long night for him, it was very hot and humid last night, and he was shut up in a room with no window...! He looked very tired when he dropped into our house. The family will take it easy this week, although Strauss must come in tomorrow and do some more paper pushing to get his truck back from the police. This has been a very stressful week, so please continue to pray for all of us as we recover! We will probably head out to the beach on Saturday and meet up with some other missionaries who are coming from inland. I cannot express how much we have appreciated all of your prayers! Please continue!
God Bless,
Charlene
God Bless,
Charlene
Monday, March 27, 2006
This has been a VERY busy week!
This has been a very busy week.
Monday I went to DEFA, because we had some hope that they could deal with our visa process! Well, they could not!
Tuesday, Pete went to Lubango for the farm, and I called on a couple of guys from the church to help with our visa renewal (another $300 US down the drain).
Wednesday, Strauss and Sanette came into town and Sanette took me out to a restaurant for a pop and a talk… she wanted to encourage me… what an encouragement she was. On the way out of the restaurant we happened upon a man from E. Germany, he was setting up tent next to the restaurant in a campground. We introduced ourselves as did he, and we told him a bit about the farm and told him that Pete would be going out on Thursday if he would like to go, he was interested!
Thursday, Pete picked up Andreas and took him out to work on a fence that they are building around the lake at the farm (to keep the local cattle from tramping all over the place, and hopefully to keep them out of the gardens). On the way home, Strauss followed them into to town to do some errands of his own, and before he could head home he had to go to Mwambo. While there; a girl ran out at the truck and hit the side, flew back and broke her neck and died instantly. She was an 11 year old girl who lived way out in the desert and apparently was not familiar with cars. Strauss then came into town and sat at the police station wanting to get in touch with us, but they would not bring him to our house, or allow him to drive up and let us know what was going on. Finally they went and contacted the pastor’s wife who lives just a few houses away from the station. We were then notified and Pete ran down right away. Pete came back home and we got ready and picked up a letter from Strauss for Sanette and we ran out to the farm. When we arrived Sanette was standing in front of the vehicle with it running and the headlights were not working! All the workers were standing there with her, and the boys! We let her read the letter and then we went in while she got some stuff ready for Strauss to stay at the police station for the night. Then we headed back into to town with 2 of the boys, so they could see their dad and spend the night at our house.
Friday, they moved him from the police station to a jail and the process began. What a process it is. Nothing moves quickly. The girls family had already buried her and so they were given some money to help with expenses and whatever else. Then they went back to Virei. Strauss waited all day for his process to get on with… finally at 3:30 (after the bank closed) they said he was not guilty but would have to pay a $1000 fine (which they call bail…). So he had to stay in the jail over the weekend!!! If you don’t bring the prisoners food they only get one meal a day and it is made by other prisoners! Mmmm! So we took meals to him, and Sanette came into town with meals for him. OH, during the day I took the boys to the beach to get their minds off of things, and I was hoping to catch Andreas (as they were supposed to go on a camping trip on Friday afternoon). He already had his stuff packed up when I arrived so I explained the situation and told him he could feel free to camp in our yard, which he did.
Saturday, first we went out to the farm and took out our generator because on Friday the farm generator had burst into flames and burned one of the workers. Then between visits to Strauss, we took Andreas to the beach, got stuck (oh I mean “delayed”) and just as we got out a fellow from a lodge down the beach that Andreas had met on the plane into Angola, came roaring around the corner. We talked for a bit and perhaps Andreas can get a ride from Benguela to Luanda with him on Friday.
Sunday, we took breakfast to Strauss and then went to the early service, both of the girls sang in the choir. After church Sanette informed us that our generator toasted also! Theirs is working now, but ours is fried! Afterward we took a group of young men to the jail to sing to Strauss but they would not let them sing, but they could go and visit. Sanette and the boys had a picnic lunch with him, and then we took supper to him. Andreas made us two wonderful meals while at our house (so we took Strauss leftovers on Sunday night). Took Andreas out to the airport and he flew to Benguela.
Monday, the process started for Strauss’ release, and what a process. WAITING… more WAITING… and more WAITING… and guess what they didn’t get the papers finished until just before the bank closed. So now he has been moved to a prison, and there he waits until the process is finished. We are praying that it will be tomorrow. We’ll try to keep you posted! We have been without power for 4 or 5 days now, so we had to take our meat out to the farm.
Needless to say some days and some weeks are more frustrating then others… this has been a very difficult week… not only for us, but for the Joubert family!!! We are still very unsure as to what will happen when we go out to renew our visas in Oshikati. If they say no we could be there for a month trying to work things out!
WE appreciate your prayers… both us and the Jouberts!
I must run, my battery is almost dead and I must get to the café!
God Bless,
Charlene for the gang!!!
Monday I went to DEFA, because we had some hope that they could deal with our visa process! Well, they could not!
Tuesday, Pete went to Lubango for the farm, and I called on a couple of guys from the church to help with our visa renewal (another $300 US down the drain).
Wednesday, Strauss and Sanette came into town and Sanette took me out to a restaurant for a pop and a talk… she wanted to encourage me… what an encouragement she was. On the way out of the restaurant we happened upon a man from E. Germany, he was setting up tent next to the restaurant in a campground. We introduced ourselves as did he, and we told him a bit about the farm and told him that Pete would be going out on Thursday if he would like to go, he was interested!
Thursday, Pete picked up Andreas and took him out to work on a fence that they are building around the lake at the farm (to keep the local cattle from tramping all over the place, and hopefully to keep them out of the gardens). On the way home, Strauss followed them into to town to do some errands of his own, and before he could head home he had to go to Mwambo. While there; a girl ran out at the truck and hit the side, flew back and broke her neck and died instantly. She was an 11 year old girl who lived way out in the desert and apparently was not familiar with cars. Strauss then came into town and sat at the police station wanting to get in touch with us, but they would not bring him to our house, or allow him to drive up and let us know what was going on. Finally they went and contacted the pastor’s wife who lives just a few houses away from the station. We were then notified and Pete ran down right away. Pete came back home and we got ready and picked up a letter from Strauss for Sanette and we ran out to the farm. When we arrived Sanette was standing in front of the vehicle with it running and the headlights were not working! All the workers were standing there with her, and the boys! We let her read the letter and then we went in while she got some stuff ready for Strauss to stay at the police station for the night. Then we headed back into to town with 2 of the boys, so they could see their dad and spend the night at our house.
Friday, they moved him from the police station to a jail and the process began. What a process it is. Nothing moves quickly. The girls family had already buried her and so they were given some money to help with expenses and whatever else. Then they went back to Virei. Strauss waited all day for his process to get on with… finally at 3:30 (after the bank closed) they said he was not guilty but would have to pay a $1000 fine (which they call bail…). So he had to stay in the jail over the weekend!!! If you don’t bring the prisoners food they only get one meal a day and it is made by other prisoners! Mmmm! So we took meals to him, and Sanette came into town with meals for him. OH, during the day I took the boys to the beach to get their minds off of things, and I was hoping to catch Andreas (as they were supposed to go on a camping trip on Friday afternoon). He already had his stuff packed up when I arrived so I explained the situation and told him he could feel free to camp in our yard, which he did.
Saturday, first we went out to the farm and took out our generator because on Friday the farm generator had burst into flames and burned one of the workers. Then between visits to Strauss, we took Andreas to the beach, got stuck (oh I mean “delayed”) and just as we got out a fellow from a lodge down the beach that Andreas had met on the plane into Angola, came roaring around the corner. We talked for a bit and perhaps Andreas can get a ride from Benguela to Luanda with him on Friday.
Sunday, we took breakfast to Strauss and then went to the early service, both of the girls sang in the choir. After church Sanette informed us that our generator toasted also! Theirs is working now, but ours is fried! Afterward we took a group of young men to the jail to sing to Strauss but they would not let them sing, but they could go and visit. Sanette and the boys had a picnic lunch with him, and then we took supper to him. Andreas made us two wonderful meals while at our house (so we took Strauss leftovers on Sunday night). Took Andreas out to the airport and he flew to Benguela.
Monday, the process started for Strauss’ release, and what a process. WAITING… more WAITING… and more WAITING… and guess what they didn’t get the papers finished until just before the bank closed. So now he has been moved to a prison, and there he waits until the process is finished. We are praying that it will be tomorrow. We’ll try to keep you posted! We have been without power for 4 or 5 days now, so we had to take our meat out to the farm.
Needless to say some days and some weeks are more frustrating then others… this has been a very difficult week… not only for us, but for the Joubert family!!! We are still very unsure as to what will happen when we go out to renew our visas in Oshikati. If they say no we could be there for a month trying to work things out!
WE appreciate your prayers… both us and the Jouberts!
I must run, my battery is almost dead and I must get to the café!
God Bless,
Charlene for the gang!!!
Friday, March 17, 2006
Container coming our way...
SHIPPING CONTAINER
There is a container being shipped over here to Angola shortly (for another missionary) and my brother is going to pick some things up for us to have included. Just a couple of the things we are in need of over here are tires and batteries for the truck. If you would like to help out financially you can mail a check to:
Ron and Marge Knightly
19-14th Ave S
Cranbrook, BC
V1C 2W9
Also Talitha is flying home on April 25, she will be flying on her own but her connections are decent with little time spent in airports. So we are very thankful for that! Please pray for her (and us as we will be experiencing the first of our empty nest syndrome!) as she travels. If you are interested in helping financially with her ticket home you can send to the same address above.
We have not figured out what is happening yet in regards to our visas, but we are looking into some alternatives… however if things do not work out and we cannot get our visas renewed in Namibia in April we may end up staying there for a longer period of time and make an application through Canada using DHL! Much more of a hassle and much more expensive… but God knows what is going on and we are trusting him for what is about to happen in our lives! However, in saying that, we do appreciate your prayers on the matter, and the encouragement through emails and phone calls! We’ll keep you posted on the process as soon as we know anything!!!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Blessings!
Charlene
There is a container being shipped over here to Angola shortly (for another missionary) and my brother is going to pick some things up for us to have included. Just a couple of the things we are in need of over here are tires and batteries for the truck. If you would like to help out financially you can mail a check to:
Ron and Marge Knightly
19-14th Ave S
Cranbrook, BC
V1C 2W9
Also Talitha is flying home on April 25, she will be flying on her own but her connections are decent with little time spent in airports. So we are very thankful for that! Please pray for her (and us as we will be experiencing the first of our empty nest syndrome!) as she travels. If you are interested in helping financially with her ticket home you can send to the same address above.
We have not figured out what is happening yet in regards to our visas, but we are looking into some alternatives… however if things do not work out and we cannot get our visas renewed in Namibia in April we may end up staying there for a longer period of time and make an application through Canada using DHL! Much more of a hassle and much more expensive… but God knows what is going on and we are trusting him for what is about to happen in our lives! However, in saying that, we do appreciate your prayers on the matter, and the encouragement through emails and phone calls! We’ll keep you posted on the process as soon as we know anything!!!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Blessings!
Charlene
Monday, March 06, 2006
We've hit a pothole
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Well, we will have to see how God is going to work all of this out for good... as you know we must have our visas renewed each month, in the process of renewing visas 'many' pages are used up in our passports (especially when they are carelessly stamped right in the middle of the page and leave no room for another visa renewal or two to be put on the same page!!!).
So we need to get new passports and we need them to be back to us within 30 days maximum... in order that we can make our next renewal! Now that is just part of the problem... ordinarily it wouldn't take too long as it is sent to Zimbabwe and printed right there at the embassy BUT as of the middle of THIS month they will no longer print them there, they will send the process to Canada where it will be printed and then sent back, as they are beginning to issue machine readable passports!
Oh that's not all... the last group of people to get their visas renewed in Oshikati were told that they would no longer be able to renew visas in Namibia. What does this mean? Well it means that God will have to do a miracle for us... either in getting us the work visa (the application has been in Luanda since December 2004) before our April renewal, or work some other process out that we can renew from IN country. Otherwise, the renewals will need to be done in the country of origin (for us CANADA, for others Germany, others the US, etc!).
I must say that I have spent a good deal of the day shedding tears and thinking about packing our bags... it has been a very discouraging day! However, we KNOW that God is faithful; we KNOW he has called us here, and we KNOW that he loves us and cares for us, and we KNOW that he will work all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose... so we MUST trust him that he will sustain us through yet another trial and difficulty!
We are thankful to those of you have been diligently praying for us, supporting us financially, phoning us, emailing, and sending out care packages! It is truly uplifting and encouraging knowing that there is someone thinking of us! For those of you who would like to phone us our number is 244 924 028 396 if you do not have an overseas plan: dial 10 10 925 011 before our number and you will pay only "39 CENTS a minute" for the call! That's less than a cup of coffee at Starbuck for a 5 minute call! :0) However do not become discouraged if your call doesn't get through the first time, we have had terrible cell service in the last couple of weeks, but it was much better yesterday and today! If at first you don't succeed try... try... again!
I must get to bed as I have a lot to accomplish tomorrow. Although it is difficult to get through we will trust that there will be sunshine on the other side of this dark cloud. Speaking of dark clouds, there has been some rain in Angola... thank to those of you who have been praying!
God Bless,
Charlene
Well, we will have to see how God is going to work all of this out for good... as you know we must have our visas renewed each month, in the process of renewing visas 'many' pages are used up in our passports (especially when they are carelessly stamped right in the middle of the page and leave no room for another visa renewal or two to be put on the same page!!!).
So we need to get new passports and we need them to be back to us within 30 days maximum... in order that we can make our next renewal! Now that is just part of the problem... ordinarily it wouldn't take too long as it is sent to Zimbabwe and printed right there at the embassy BUT as of the middle of THIS month they will no longer print them there, they will send the process to Canada where it will be printed and then sent back, as they are beginning to issue machine readable passports!
Oh that's not all... the last group of people to get their visas renewed in Oshikati were told that they would no longer be able to renew visas in Namibia. What does this mean? Well it means that God will have to do a miracle for us... either in getting us the work visa (the application has been in Luanda since December 2004) before our April renewal, or work some other process out that we can renew from IN country. Otherwise, the renewals will need to be done in the country of origin (for us CANADA, for others Germany, others the US, etc!).
I must say that I have spent a good deal of the day shedding tears and thinking about packing our bags... it has been a very discouraging day! However, we KNOW that God is faithful; we KNOW he has called us here, and we KNOW that he loves us and cares for us, and we KNOW that he will work all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose... so we MUST trust him that he will sustain us through yet another trial and difficulty!
We are thankful to those of you have been diligently praying for us, supporting us financially, phoning us, emailing, and sending out care packages! It is truly uplifting and encouraging knowing that there is someone thinking of us! For those of you who would like to phone us our number is 244 924 028 396 if you do not have an overseas plan: dial 10 10 925 011 before our number and you will pay only "39 CENTS a minute" for the call! That's less than a cup of coffee at Starbuck for a 5 minute call! :0) However do not become discouraged if your call doesn't get through the first time, we have had terrible cell service in the last couple of weeks, but it was much better yesterday and today! If at first you don't succeed try... try... again!
I must get to bed as I have a lot to accomplish tomorrow. Although it is difficult to get through we will trust that there will be sunshine on the other side of this dark cloud. Speaking of dark clouds, there has been some rain in Angola... thank to those of you who have been praying!
God Bless,
Charlene
Thursday, February 09, 2006
How to send a care package...
Some people have been asking about how to send packages, where, and whatnot… so I am going to do a blog on it, so that it reaches everyone who surfs our sight.
First of all, here is the address:
Knightly Family
Igreja Evangelica de Cristo
CP 307
Namibe
Angola
Via Portugal
Now it is important when sending a letter or package to include “via Portugal” as any letters that were sent not including that have not arrived. So that is the first suggestion.
Secondly:
How do you pack it up? Well, so far we have received everything from letters and bubble envelopes to a McDonald fry box. My suggestion is that if you are sending a ‘large’ box that you send it ground, it does take 2 months, but it costs a lot less. The church sent a box that was 38kg’s (if I remember rightly) and it cost $100 to send it ground and would have cost over $200 to send it air. We don’t mind waiting (as we are getting used to waiting!! J). I would suggest that you take every bit of weight into consideration, even how much tape you package it up with. Some suggestions for packing the package tight without wasting space are… marshmallows (keep them in the package though, it could get messy!!! OR put them into smaller Ziploc bags to fit in around things), zip loc bags, cheese packets from Kraft Dinner (we don’t need the noodles and it saves weight to not include it), sunflower seeds in Ziplocs, toilet paper, Kleenex… you get the idea! Don’t worry about taking things out of their original packing, and slipping them into Ziploc bags, packaging is not only bulky but weighs something. Remember paper weighs a lot. We love pictures, but you can send a disc and we can print them out here (when we have power!!!). It is a good idea to insure the package. Perhaps send an email to let us know you are sending it, so if it ‘doesn’t’ come we can let you know so you can collect on your insurance J.
Lastly:
Here are the suggestions of what we need or would enjoy having sent.
1. Kool-aid, the kind without sugar (you can add your own sugar, as all powdered juices here contain aspartame).
2. Seeds (just a variety, including herbs)
3. Sugarless gum
4. Patterns (Easy, Simple patterns that don’t require a lot of notions, for Women and children)
5. Rayon material
6. Sewing notions (zippers, hook and eyes, snaps, buttons, thread, elastic, sewing machine needles for ‘old’ Singers and a White machine, good scissors for cutting material, etc!).
7. Fishing line (15lb to 30lb test)
8. Fish hooks
9. Floss
10. DVD’s (please only G or PG rated movies, especially cartoons, as our Portuguese speaking friends just LOVE watching them… and if you can find anything in Portuguese that would be awesome… and the boys love Sponge Bob)
11. Tim Horton or Starbucks coffee (for a treat!)
12. Yogurt Starter (Yogourmet… freeze dried and does not need to be refrigerated, it is our main source of calcium as we are not yet used to powdered milk, but home made yogurt is GREAT).
13. Batteries (AA Energizer Rechargeable for the one hour charger 1850 mAh, at least this is the kind of charger that we have, unless someone wants to send a faster charger, as the faster the better here with the lack of electricity on such a regular basis… also batteries and a charger for C and D cell batteries [along with the batteries] would be awesome as the batteries from the praca are expensive and ‘do not last’. We cannot even find C cells here.
14. Books on Astronomy (Tavis is really keen on space, and stuff), books on Botany or Palaeontology or Animals and stuff (Trevor loves to explore nature, here on ‘earth’), Meagan also really enjoys reading but she has lots of books to get through, she would probably like a movie (like Lord of the Rings Trilogy or the soundtrack to it), she also enjoys worship music CD’s (and so do her friends, they can’t seem to get enough).
15. CD writables
16. Puzzles for Pete (don’t send the box just the puzzle in a bag, and maybe a picture if you want to be gracious to him!!!).
17. Iced Tea crystals (YUM… oh I miss that!).
18. Denture cleaner (no we don’t have false teeth, but a couple of us have mouth guards that need a good cleaning).
19. Vitamins
20.Tea Tree facial cleaner from Body Shop (foaming wash, mask, moisturizer).
These are some of things that we could use, we also enjoy chocolate chips (or chocolate of any kind J), sunflower seeds, spices (especially East Indian spices, that are not available here) and things like that! We’ll leave the rest to your imagination, or if you would like to send an email and find out ‘what do you need today’, as those days come and go.
We are very thankful for the generosity and love that has been shown to our family. Those who are interested in helping out with Talitha’s flight home for her final year of school, please send me an email and I will give you the mailing address for either Pete’s or my parents who can directly deposit funds into our account. The flight will cost around $2000 CND and we are trying to coordinate it with another missionary heading to Canada on furlough in April so that she has someone to hang out with her during those ‘long’ waits in airports. Our travel agent in Vancouver is doing a fantastic job in that area (they may not fly on the same plane but they will be able to wait together for the bulk of it). That is a relief to me (the mommy who is losing her first little chick from the nest!!! L)
Well, keep in touch knightvision6@gmail.com is our email address and we love to hear from you!
God Bless,
Charlene for the gang!
First of all, here is the address:
Knightly Family
Igreja Evangelica de Cristo
CP 307
Namibe
Angola
Via Portugal
Now it is important when sending a letter or package to include “via Portugal” as any letters that were sent not including that have not arrived. So that is the first suggestion.
Secondly:
How do you pack it up? Well, so far we have received everything from letters and bubble envelopes to a McDonald fry box. My suggestion is that if you are sending a ‘large’ box that you send it ground, it does take 2 months, but it costs a lot less. The church sent a box that was 38kg’s (if I remember rightly) and it cost $100 to send it ground and would have cost over $200 to send it air. We don’t mind waiting (as we are getting used to waiting!! J). I would suggest that you take every bit of weight into consideration, even how much tape you package it up with. Some suggestions for packing the package tight without wasting space are… marshmallows (keep them in the package though, it could get messy!!! OR put them into smaller Ziploc bags to fit in around things), zip loc bags, cheese packets from Kraft Dinner (we don’t need the noodles and it saves weight to not include it), sunflower seeds in Ziplocs, toilet paper, Kleenex… you get the idea! Don’t worry about taking things out of their original packing, and slipping them into Ziploc bags, packaging is not only bulky but weighs something. Remember paper weighs a lot. We love pictures, but you can send a disc and we can print them out here (when we have power!!!). It is a good idea to insure the package. Perhaps send an email to let us know you are sending it, so if it ‘doesn’t’ come we can let you know so you can collect on your insurance J.
Lastly:
Here are the suggestions of what we need or would enjoy having sent.
1. Kool-aid, the kind without sugar (you can add your own sugar, as all powdered juices here contain aspartame).
2. Seeds (just a variety, including herbs)
3. Sugarless gum
4. Patterns (Easy, Simple patterns that don’t require a lot of notions, for Women and children)
5. Rayon material
6. Sewing notions (zippers, hook and eyes, snaps, buttons, thread, elastic, sewing machine needles for ‘old’ Singers and a White machine, good scissors for cutting material, etc!).
7. Fishing line (15lb to 30lb test)
8. Fish hooks
9. Floss
10. DVD’s (please only G or PG rated movies, especially cartoons, as our Portuguese speaking friends just LOVE watching them… and if you can find anything in Portuguese that would be awesome… and the boys love Sponge Bob)
11. Tim Horton or Starbucks coffee (for a treat!)
12. Yogurt Starter (Yogourmet… freeze dried and does not need to be refrigerated, it is our main source of calcium as we are not yet used to powdered milk, but home made yogurt is GREAT).
13. Batteries (AA Energizer Rechargeable for the one hour charger 1850 mAh, at least this is the kind of charger that we have, unless someone wants to send a faster charger, as the faster the better here with the lack of electricity on such a regular basis… also batteries and a charger for C and D cell batteries [along with the batteries] would be awesome as the batteries from the praca are expensive and ‘do not last’. We cannot even find C cells here.
14. Books on Astronomy (Tavis is really keen on space, and stuff), books on Botany or Palaeontology or Animals and stuff (Trevor loves to explore nature, here on ‘earth’), Meagan also really enjoys reading but she has lots of books to get through, she would probably like a movie (like Lord of the Rings Trilogy or the soundtrack to it), she also enjoys worship music CD’s (and so do her friends, they can’t seem to get enough).
15. CD writables
16. Puzzles for Pete (don’t send the box just the puzzle in a bag, and maybe a picture if you want to be gracious to him!!!).
17. Iced Tea crystals (YUM… oh I miss that!).
18. Denture cleaner (no we don’t have false teeth, but a couple of us have mouth guards that need a good cleaning).
19. Vitamins
20.Tea Tree facial cleaner from Body Shop (foaming wash, mask, moisturizer).
These are some of things that we could use, we also enjoy chocolate chips (or chocolate of any kind J), sunflower seeds, spices (especially East Indian spices, that are not available here) and things like that! We’ll leave the rest to your imagination, or if you would like to send an email and find out ‘what do you need today’, as those days come and go.
We are very thankful for the generosity and love that has been shown to our family. Those who are interested in helping out with Talitha’s flight home for her final year of school, please send me an email and I will give you the mailing address for either Pete’s or my parents who can directly deposit funds into our account. The flight will cost around $2000 CND and we are trying to coordinate it with another missionary heading to Canada on furlough in April so that she has someone to hang out with her during those ‘long’ waits in airports. Our travel agent in Vancouver is doing a fantastic job in that area (they may not fly on the same plane but they will be able to wait together for the bulk of it). That is a relief to me (the mommy who is losing her first little chick from the nest!!! L)
Well, keep in touch knightvision6@gmail.com is our email address and we love to hear from you!
God Bless,
Charlene for the gang!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
A day to day glimpse
Day to Day in Angola:
Every day is different here in Angola, but I have had some people asking me for a run down on what our life is like here on any given day! So I will start with giving a few days from my journal.
January 22, 2006
8AM… Andre (Rosa’s (our house help) son) knocks on the door, he has driven his friends bike to our house from his (about 3KM+). Pete gives him the parts for his bike that he bought for him in Namibia, he is very happy! Meagan has already unloaded most of the truck. Pete gets the rest out while I unpack and put away!
9AM… we get ourselves ready to go to church.
11AM… church at Igreja Evangelica de Christo, this is the name of the UIEA church that we attend. We go to the youth service, in which the youth choir sings. There is no power, so we have a hard time hearing the speaker. The choir sings beautifully as always. At the end of service the usher, starting with the front row, gives the signal for each row to get up and leave the church. One row at time people are ushered out of the church, while the choir sings.
12:30… girls go to friends house (they all missed each other as we were in Namibia all week), after they visit they go back to the church for choir practice, which lasts until late!
12:30 AM… church is over, so we take Andre to his house and pick up him mom and his bike. Pete and Andre work on fixing his bike; while I give each of the family the gifts we bought for them in Namibia… they are all very excited. They each have a bath, and put on their hair conditioner, body lotion, and new clothes!
6PM… we take Rosa and family back home.
9PM… missionary midnight, so we GO to bed!
January 23, 2006
Morning… More unpacking, start the laundry, Rosa comes to work with Minda. I go out to run some errands, I buy flour and rice at a warehouse called Angolisar! Then I go to the internet café (thankfully there is a connection). I catch up on emails from the previous week while we were in Namibia.
Afternoon… Girls go to choir practice, for the festival that starts on Thursday. Pete heads out to the farm and loads up the truck with tomatoes to take to Lubango (2 hour drive) to sell for the farm.
Evening… we have a family from the church over for PIZZA! Some of them like it and some don’t! New taste for all of them! There are 9 extras, so including our family there are 15 for supper. We showed them video of the road to Namibia, they couldn’t believe it! The girl’s friend, Maezinha slept over for the second night! Went to bed around 9:30 (way past missionary midnight)!
January 24, 2006
Early Morning… 3 AM!!!! Augusto calls to see if his wife can get a ride into Lubango with Pete!!!! Not happy about that!
Morning… Pete gets up at 5:30 to get ready for his trip to Lubango, he goes and picks up Augusto’s wife, Kem (a fellow who arranged a ride the day before in the AFTERNOON), and Joao (one of the managers from the farm). I start laundry, but the power goes out half way through! Kids do school work.
Afternoon… Augusto pops in for Portuguese lesson, we work on verbs!! The girls go to choir practice after going to Edul’s house for math tutoring.
Evening… made spaghetti for supper; Pete came home just in time. Girls sleep over at Maezinha’s, Meagan will get her hair braided tomorrow.
January 25, 2006
Early Morning… power came back on at 3 AM… how did I know that, well because at 3 PM I didn’t go around turning all the lights off, plus some of the lights in the house up mean on, and some up means off, and since I am not sure… I take the chance!
Morning… power is off already! Must do laundry, so I turn on the generator! Finish up laundry from our trip. Rosa is working for Jacinto today. School with boys almost drives me crazy; they have a hard time concentrating after a week off, with traveling.
Afternoon…Once they finish, Pete takes them to the beach to go fishing, I go for a nap!!!
Evening… girls come home, LATE! I have a hard time sleeping, as I am coming down with a bladder infection!
January 26, 2006
Morning… up at 5:30, been up most of the night, with infection! Girls start getting ready to go to the festival at 6:30 AM… they must be at Impala (the theatre… or what used to be!!!) at 8 AM. Pete leaves for the farm at 7 AM, he does the fuel run today. NO water and NO power today! I suffer with the infection, take painkillers and muscle relaxants to ease the pain, and SMS (text message) the doctor in Lubango with what kind of drug I will need! Lucas, a nurse from our church, pops by to see how I am, he sends Augusto for the drug I need.
Afternoon… Augusto comes with the antibiotic. I slept most of the morning and all of the afternoon. Boys had a fun day off… because I was too sick to keep them focused!
Evening… girls came home to get their bedding and clothing for the weekend, Pete gave them a ride to the campground where over a 150 youth choir members from 13 provinces in Angola (all from UIEA churches) will be spending the weekend together! Pete made roast beef for supper, I ate and went back to bed!
January 27, 2006
Morning… still NO water! However we do have power, YAH, it came on this morning! I am still weak but the pills are now kicking in. The boys work hard today at their school work. Pete goes and picks up refills of gasosa (POP) for the fazenda lojas (farm stores). The boys and Rosa haul water from a neighbour who has a large holding tank! Bom Dia!!!
Afternoon… Pete bakes cookies. Boys took a break from school work and went out in the backyard and killed 2 mice (ratos), stoned them to death! Jacinto will be happy, as they get into his room and eat his food. Pete took Minda for a ride to the bread store, where depending on the line-up he could wait for almost an hour, however if it is a good day it will only take 5 or 10 minutes. Well it only took ½ an hour! Not bad. We were just about to sit down and eat but Pete had to go to check on the farm truck, as they were in some kind of accident. I think we may have a trickle of water now! That’s nice after 2 days without. I was hoping to get to the internet café this afternoon, but I guess it will have to be tonight. Sure hope they have a connection. Boa Tarde!!!
Evening…Well I didn’t make it to the internet café. We needed to pick up 3 of the guys that were in the accident and also things for the stores and drive them out to the farm. We left at 5:30 PM and now it is 8 PM and we are home… still NO water and now NO electricity! Good thing we brought some water back from the farm! Must get to bed early, we are going to get up early and go north to Bantiaba, which is close to Lucira. There are big tortoises up there that I am looking forward to seeing! Guess I will write more about that tomorrow! I must take my medication and get to bed! Boa Noite!!! Ate amanha!! (see you tomorrow)
January 28, 2006-01-28
Morning…We have water this morning, but no power. We wake early and head out to Bentiaba. After an hour and a half drive on a nice road (except for the last few miles), we arrive in a beautiful little river valley. The village is tucked between cliffs on either side. The boys are in seventh heaven, they have their new fishing rods that they purchased in Namibia with money from Gramma and Grampa Knightly. Pete likes to explore, so we get settled in one place and he decides it is time to move on… oh well, we wouldn’t experience half of what we do if it wasn’t for his HUGE sense of adventure. The only time I don’t like it is when he is heading into a sandy spot where we may get stuck! We are now parked at on the side of the village where there is a sandy beach, Pete has gone into the water with his mask, snorkel and fins to see if he can catch a BIG lobster (when I say BIG I mean BIG… that is the only size they come in). They are nothing like our lobster back in Canada, they do not have the big pincher claws, but they have a massive tail. A man just ‘ran’ up the beach to tell us he has 2 to sell. They don’t see foreigners often here, and naturally they figured we were from South Africa. Now he has gone out to the edge of the water calling Pete in, so he can tell him to “come now” and buy his lobster!!! We’ll see! We cut open one of our watermelon that we picked at the farm yesterday, mmm mmm good. I just shared some with 3 of the locals, they ate it right to the rind.
Afternoon…went looking for lobster, managed to find some. Drove around looking at some more sights, and then it was back home. Stopped to take some pictures of some interesting sights, Trevor found a black scorpion at the one place.
Evening… back home, ate our lobster and now it is time for bed, it is an hour past missionary midnight and I am EXHAUSTED. My infection is not getting any better and I have been on antibiotics for 2 full days how. We’ll have to see how that pans out.
Well, this gives a small idea of what each day is like… everyday comes with its different trials, and joys and we are thankful that God is in control!
God Bless,
Charlene
PS... I had to go on another round of Antibiotics. The Joubert family is back from South Africa and we are glad to have them back. No power for 5 days now, but we have water. We'll keep you posted, but this is just a small glimpse into everyday life, some weeks are more FUN than others!!!
Every day is different here in Angola, but I have had some people asking me for a run down on what our life is like here on any given day! So I will start with giving a few days from my journal.
January 22, 2006
8AM… Andre (Rosa’s (our house help) son) knocks on the door, he has driven his friends bike to our house from his (about 3KM+). Pete gives him the parts for his bike that he bought for him in Namibia, he is very happy! Meagan has already unloaded most of the truck. Pete gets the rest out while I unpack and put away!
9AM… we get ourselves ready to go to church.
11AM… church at Igreja Evangelica de Christo, this is the name of the UIEA church that we attend. We go to the youth service, in which the youth choir sings. There is no power, so we have a hard time hearing the speaker. The choir sings beautifully as always. At the end of service the usher, starting with the front row, gives the signal for each row to get up and leave the church. One row at time people are ushered out of the church, while the choir sings.
12:30… girls go to friends house (they all missed each other as we were in Namibia all week), after they visit they go back to the church for choir practice, which lasts until late!
12:30 AM… church is over, so we take Andre to his house and pick up him mom and his bike. Pete and Andre work on fixing his bike; while I give each of the family the gifts we bought for them in Namibia… they are all very excited. They each have a bath, and put on their hair conditioner, body lotion, and new clothes!
6PM… we take Rosa and family back home.
9PM… missionary midnight, so we GO to bed!
January 23, 2006
Morning… More unpacking, start the laundry, Rosa comes to work with Minda. I go out to run some errands, I buy flour and rice at a warehouse called Angolisar! Then I go to the internet café (thankfully there is a connection). I catch up on emails from the previous week while we were in Namibia.
Afternoon… Girls go to choir practice, for the festival that starts on Thursday. Pete heads out to the farm and loads up the truck with tomatoes to take to Lubango (2 hour drive) to sell for the farm.
Evening… we have a family from the church over for PIZZA! Some of them like it and some don’t! New taste for all of them! There are 9 extras, so including our family there are 15 for supper. We showed them video of the road to Namibia, they couldn’t believe it! The girl’s friend, Maezinha slept over for the second night! Went to bed around 9:30 (way past missionary midnight)!
January 24, 2006
Early Morning… 3 AM!!!! Augusto calls to see if his wife can get a ride into Lubango with Pete!!!! Not happy about that!
Morning… Pete gets up at 5:30 to get ready for his trip to Lubango, he goes and picks up Augusto’s wife, Kem (a fellow who arranged a ride the day before in the AFTERNOON), and Joao (one of the managers from the farm). I start laundry, but the power goes out half way through! Kids do school work.
Afternoon… Augusto pops in for Portuguese lesson, we work on verbs!! The girls go to choir practice after going to Edul’s house for math tutoring.
Evening… made spaghetti for supper; Pete came home just in time. Girls sleep over at Maezinha’s, Meagan will get her hair braided tomorrow.
January 25, 2006
Early Morning… power came back on at 3 AM… how did I know that, well because at 3 PM I didn’t go around turning all the lights off, plus some of the lights in the house up mean on, and some up means off, and since I am not sure… I take the chance!
Morning… power is off already! Must do laundry, so I turn on the generator! Finish up laundry from our trip. Rosa is working for Jacinto today. School with boys almost drives me crazy; they have a hard time concentrating after a week off, with traveling.
Afternoon…Once they finish, Pete takes them to the beach to go fishing, I go for a nap!!!
Evening… girls come home, LATE! I have a hard time sleeping, as I am coming down with a bladder infection!
January 26, 2006
Morning… up at 5:30, been up most of the night, with infection! Girls start getting ready to go to the festival at 6:30 AM… they must be at Impala (the theatre… or what used to be!!!) at 8 AM. Pete leaves for the farm at 7 AM, he does the fuel run today. NO water and NO power today! I suffer with the infection, take painkillers and muscle relaxants to ease the pain, and SMS (text message) the doctor in Lubango with what kind of drug I will need! Lucas, a nurse from our church, pops by to see how I am, he sends Augusto for the drug I need.
Afternoon… Augusto comes with the antibiotic. I slept most of the morning and all of the afternoon. Boys had a fun day off… because I was too sick to keep them focused!
Evening… girls came home to get their bedding and clothing for the weekend, Pete gave them a ride to the campground where over a 150 youth choir members from 13 provinces in Angola (all from UIEA churches) will be spending the weekend together! Pete made roast beef for supper, I ate and went back to bed!
January 27, 2006
Morning… still NO water! However we do have power, YAH, it came on this morning! I am still weak but the pills are now kicking in. The boys work hard today at their school work. Pete goes and picks up refills of gasosa (POP) for the fazenda lojas (farm stores). The boys and Rosa haul water from a neighbour who has a large holding tank! Bom Dia!!!
Afternoon… Pete bakes cookies. Boys took a break from school work and went out in the backyard and killed 2 mice (ratos), stoned them to death! Jacinto will be happy, as they get into his room and eat his food. Pete took Minda for a ride to the bread store, where depending on the line-up he could wait for almost an hour, however if it is a good day it will only take 5 or 10 minutes. Well it only took ½ an hour! Not bad. We were just about to sit down and eat but Pete had to go to check on the farm truck, as they were in some kind of accident. I think we may have a trickle of water now! That’s nice after 2 days without. I was hoping to get to the internet café this afternoon, but I guess it will have to be tonight. Sure hope they have a connection. Boa Tarde!!!
Evening…Well I didn’t make it to the internet café. We needed to pick up 3 of the guys that were in the accident and also things for the stores and drive them out to the farm. We left at 5:30 PM and now it is 8 PM and we are home… still NO water and now NO electricity! Good thing we brought some water back from the farm! Must get to bed early, we are going to get up early and go north to Bantiaba, which is close to Lucira. There are big tortoises up there that I am looking forward to seeing! Guess I will write more about that tomorrow! I must take my medication and get to bed! Boa Noite!!! Ate amanha!! (see you tomorrow)
January 28, 2006-01-28
Morning…We have water this morning, but no power. We wake early and head out to Bentiaba. After an hour and a half drive on a nice road (except for the last few miles), we arrive in a beautiful little river valley. The village is tucked between cliffs on either side. The boys are in seventh heaven, they have their new fishing rods that they purchased in Namibia with money from Gramma and Grampa Knightly. Pete likes to explore, so we get settled in one place and he decides it is time to move on… oh well, we wouldn’t experience half of what we do if it wasn’t for his HUGE sense of adventure. The only time I don’t like it is when he is heading into a sandy spot where we may get stuck! We are now parked at on the side of the village where there is a sandy beach, Pete has gone into the water with his mask, snorkel and fins to see if he can catch a BIG lobster (when I say BIG I mean BIG… that is the only size they come in). They are nothing like our lobster back in Canada, they do not have the big pincher claws, but they have a massive tail. A man just ‘ran’ up the beach to tell us he has 2 to sell. They don’t see foreigners often here, and naturally they figured we were from South Africa. Now he has gone out to the edge of the water calling Pete in, so he can tell him to “come now” and buy his lobster!!! We’ll see! We cut open one of our watermelon that we picked at the farm yesterday, mmm mmm good. I just shared some with 3 of the locals, they ate it right to the rind.
Afternoon…went looking for lobster, managed to find some. Drove around looking at some more sights, and then it was back home. Stopped to take some pictures of some interesting sights, Trevor found a black scorpion at the one place.
Evening… back home, ate our lobster and now it is time for bed, it is an hour past missionary midnight and I am EXHAUSTED. My infection is not getting any better and I have been on antibiotics for 2 full days how. We’ll have to see how that pans out.
Well, this gives a small idea of what each day is like… everyday comes with its different trials, and joys and we are thankful that God is in control!
God Bless,
Charlene
PS... I had to go on another round of Antibiotics. The Joubert family is back from South Africa and we are glad to have them back. No power for 5 days now, but we have water. We'll keep you posted, but this is just a small glimpse into everyday life, some weeks are more FUN than others!!!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
December Update
Greetings!
We are in the dark here in Angola! Just meaning that we have been without electricity for 12 days and counting! It is actually just our neighbourhood that has the problem, but apparently it is a major one! The first 2 days of our power outage was also a city wide water problem, unfortunately we are not in the loop language-wise so we missed out on the warning, no water for 2 days! The generators that we brought from Canada had a faulty part so we were waiting for them to come, and as I mentioned in my last email we had just purchased a side of beef that we were hoping to keep cool!!! We drove to Lubango for a prayer meeting with the SIM missionaries (thanks for the invite, very encouraging!) and to pick up our parts for the generators. Praise the Lord they were in! On Wednesday we came home and Pete installed the part and the generator fired up... it then proceeded to run for about 4 hours that day, and 2 the next and it went dead! Pete checked it over, couldn't figure out the problem. The man living in our annex offered to take it to a mechanic friend and today it is back, working like a charm! It is amazing how much you count on electricity, you only "REALLY" realize it when it is absent from your life! So I am sure you are asking what happened to our meat... well thankfully (yet sadly) the Joubert's are going home to South Africa for Christmas and their deep freeze was almost empty... it is TOTALLY full now! THANK YOU!
Is that all, you say? Well actually there is a fuel shortage now... we do have fuel in Namibe, but when we were in Lubango we drove around from one end of the city to the other looking for diesel and there was NONE to be had! In fact the line ups for gas were incredible! So we bought some off one of the missionaries at Mitcha and headed out on our way, praying there would be fuel in Namibe. I only had to wait behind 5 vehicles for my fuel this time! There is fuel today but that is no guarantee for tomorrow! This is Angola!
Other than that, well one of our batteries on the truck is no longer any good, Pete let them use it on the water pump when they were trying to figure out the problem and it sucked the life out of it. So hopefully we will be able to make due until we reach Namibia as everything is twice as expensive here as it is there. Which brings me to another point, we will have to travel to Namibia to renew our visas again in the middle of January... no one is looking forward to the trip... although in a way I find it bitter-sweet. Groceries are a lot less expensive and you can find things that you cannot find here! Other than that the bone wrenching roads leave your back a mess for weeks, so it is give and take!
On a much more positive and upbeat note... (not that we are down and depressed over the events of the last couple of weeks... it is just life here and the sooner you get used to that idea the easier it is to handle...) the girls have been going to choir practice several times a week, I am hoping they get brave enough soon to join them on a Sunday morning, but so far they are too shy and unsure of themselves to do it. The sun is shining every day, not easy to get into the Christmas spirit, but we'll survive. The kids were able to get some used books last week, enough to keep them busy for quite some time... even Trevor and Tavis are getting into the swing of reading! It is very exciting! Pete and I are plodding along with our language training, with our new teacher Augusto. He is hard on us, but it is good!
Just a couple of prayer requests:
1. For continued perseverance in every area of our lives (life, language, school, etc) 2. For Rosa's daughter Minda (our house-help, she comes 4 days a week and brings her smallest child with her) she has malaria... she was very weak on Monday and her mom took her to the hospital while we were away, she got medicine and Thursday when she came Minda looked much better, but today again she is not looking great so Rosa was going to take her back to the hospital. Rosa has 4 other children and her husband left her 9 months ago and hasn't returned, she says he is in Lubango.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouraging letters you've sent. Thanks for keeping in touch.
Hope you have a Joyous Christmas Season!
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly Family in Angola!
We are in the dark here in Angola! Just meaning that we have been without electricity for 12 days and counting! It is actually just our neighbourhood that has the problem, but apparently it is a major one! The first 2 days of our power outage was also a city wide water problem, unfortunately we are not in the loop language-wise so we missed out on the warning, no water for 2 days! The generators that we brought from Canada had a faulty part so we were waiting for them to come, and as I mentioned in my last email we had just purchased a side of beef that we were hoping to keep cool!!! We drove to Lubango for a prayer meeting with the SIM missionaries (thanks for the invite, very encouraging!) and to pick up our parts for the generators. Praise the Lord they were in! On Wednesday we came home and Pete installed the part and the generator fired up... it then proceeded to run for about 4 hours that day, and 2 the next and it went dead! Pete checked it over, couldn't figure out the problem. The man living in our annex offered to take it to a mechanic friend and today it is back, working like a charm! It is amazing how much you count on electricity, you only "REALLY" realize it when it is absent from your life! So I am sure you are asking what happened to our meat... well thankfully (yet sadly) the Joubert's are going home to South Africa for Christmas and their deep freeze was almost empty... it is TOTALLY full now! THANK YOU!
Is that all, you say? Well actually there is a fuel shortage now... we do have fuel in Namibe, but when we were in Lubango we drove around from one end of the city to the other looking for diesel and there was NONE to be had! In fact the line ups for gas were incredible! So we bought some off one of the missionaries at Mitcha and headed out on our way, praying there would be fuel in Namibe. I only had to wait behind 5 vehicles for my fuel this time! There is fuel today but that is no guarantee for tomorrow! This is Angola!
Other than that, well one of our batteries on the truck is no longer any good, Pete let them use it on the water pump when they were trying to figure out the problem and it sucked the life out of it. So hopefully we will be able to make due until we reach Namibia as everything is twice as expensive here as it is there. Which brings me to another point, we will have to travel to Namibia to renew our visas again in the middle of January... no one is looking forward to the trip... although in a way I find it bitter-sweet. Groceries are a lot less expensive and you can find things that you cannot find here! Other than that the bone wrenching roads leave your back a mess for weeks, so it is give and take!
On a much more positive and upbeat note... (not that we are down and depressed over the events of the last couple of weeks... it is just life here and the sooner you get used to that idea the easier it is to handle...) the girls have been going to choir practice several times a week, I am hoping they get brave enough soon to join them on a Sunday morning, but so far they are too shy and unsure of themselves to do it. The sun is shining every day, not easy to get into the Christmas spirit, but we'll survive. The kids were able to get some used books last week, enough to keep them busy for quite some time... even Trevor and Tavis are getting into the swing of reading! It is very exciting! Pete and I are plodding along with our language training, with our new teacher Augusto. He is hard on us, but it is good!
Just a couple of prayer requests:
1. For continued perseverance in every area of our lives (life, language, school, etc) 2. For Rosa's daughter Minda (our house-help, she comes 4 days a week and brings her smallest child with her) she has malaria... she was very weak on Monday and her mom took her to the hospital while we were away, she got medicine and Thursday when she came Minda looked much better, but today again she is not looking great so Rosa was going to take her back to the hospital. Rosa has 4 other children and her husband left her 9 months ago and hasn't returned, she says he is in Lubango.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouraging letters you've sent. Thanks for keeping in touch.
Hope you have a Joyous Christmas Season!
Love,
Charlene for the Knightly Family in Angola!
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!
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!
Monday, November 07, 2005
October 24
This has been quite an experience the last couple of weeks. This is the first chance I have had to sit down and write about it all! Among some of the things going on are the regular every day things such as home schooling, language learning, cleaning the house, repairing things, running out to the farm, different forms of sickness attacking each of us, and continuing to fix the house up… these things in themselves have worn us out. Sunday last week we were feeling very discouraged, tired, stressed and overwhelmed.
Monday we had to make our trip out of country to Namibia to renew our visas. Even photos cannot show the full effect of the road, most of the driving was in the ditch just to give you an idea of how bad the “paved” roads are! It took us from 4:30 AM until 8 PM to drive around 700 km and 300 km of that was nice road! The border crossing went quick as we had a local friend come with us (unfortunately he could not come back with us)! By the time we reached our destination, Oshindera Lodge in Oshikati Namibia, we were completely exhausted! We are very thankful for the family who owns the lodge, as they were very kind and generous toward our family. We enjoyed our time spent there and in their home.
Tuesday was spent shopping until we dropped, thankfully the first day Meagan stayed with the boys back at the lodge while Pete, Talitha and I went out to get groceries. The groceries in Namibia (although more pricey than home) are MUCH cheaper than here in Angola, so we stocked up on some things that we cannot get here, and things that are much less expensive. We also purchased our washing machine (that will save about 1 ½ hours a load). Our other more important order of business was renewing our visas; thankfully we were put in contact with a gal from Angola who works in Namibia. She was able to help us with filling out the paperwork and taking it in.
Wednesday, more shopping, and in the afternoon we were able to retrieve our visas and pay out the whopping $650 Namibian dollars (to give you an idea it is 5 Namibian dollars to a Canadian dollar)!!! This is per person and for a 30 day visa! We are praying that the work visa comes through ASAP! So at present we are paying $316 American per month for our visa renewals. Anyway, after shopping we went to the lodge owner’s home (Audrey and Adrianne) for supper and care group. Then it was off to bed to get well rested for the LONG trip home.
Thursday morning we got up, finished packing the truck and headed on the road, we arrived at the Namibian border at 9:30 AM and spent the next 4 hours waiting for paperwork to be filled out by a clearing agent, for which they wanted to charge us $1350 Namibian (remember 5 to 1) for 5 pieces of paper!!! When we said that was outrageous they said it would then cost $1000 Namibian to cancel it! We asked for a price list which they could not produce (as we knew others had never paid that kind of sum) and finally negotiated a $700 Namibian charge for the paper work (which took them 3 hours to fill out… it took me about half an hour the last time we went through the border to fill the same paper work out myself… at a different border)! Then it was time to cross over to the Angolan side and we began to wonder if we would ever get through. It is difficult coming through the border at the best of times, but on your own not knowing the language is a bit daunting. There were several people who came along to give us a hand, as each official would like to give some kind of grieve or look for a hand-out, this is probably the hardest thing to handle when dealing with officials, they almost all seem to be looking for a bribe. The one who took our passports to stamp them with an entrance stamp wanted to refuse us entry saying that we needed to have a letter from the church in Angola (we did have letters that we gave at the Angolan consulate in Namibia so that we could get our visa… just another game), after waiting on the Namibian side in the scorching heat and then waiting for an hour or more on the Angolan side Talitha and I just burst into tears (apparently this is a good thing as the Angolans don’t know what to do with a woman crying)… they stamped our visas and gave them to us and we were on our way to the next stop at the border (customs), of course we had plenty of groceries and a washing machine so were wondering if we would ever get through customs without being charged an outrageous sum if we wouldn’t give a bribe… one guy who had been helping us since 9:30 in the morning said that if we were taken into the gated area we could expect to have the truck impounded and we would be there for at least 7 days! So when they pointed to the gate and had us drive in we were almost ready to drive over to the Namibian side buy our tickets home and say enough! BUT God was gracious, they had a quick look, asked us what was in the big box, we told them a washer and gave them the receipt and they said have a nice day and sent us on our way. So in total at the two borders we spent just over 6 hours (don’t want to hear any complaints about that Canadian to American border!!!). As it was beginning to get dark we made a wise decision to travel as far as a Finish mission station near Chebia that Stirling had taken Pete and his dad to on the way out of Angola last year. Thankfully we were able to find it (as it is kind of in the middle of no where… like most things in Angola) and they very graciously took us in and even fed us… what a huge blessing!
Friday morning we were on our way again over the worst part of the road, stopping just long enough to let the Ritchie’s in Rio de Huila know that we were still alive (as I could not contact anyone to let them know where we were as our cell phone battery was dead)! We stopped for a moment in Lubango to speak with the leadership of the UIEA to request a meeting with them soon concerning the vision and purpose of our call here. Then it was on to Namibe. When we arrived home after our LONG trip we discovered that our power had been out for 4 days, and everything in our fridge and freezer was rotten! What a smell! Generally the power goes off for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time here in Namibe, so we were not prepared for this! However after cleaning everything up we were quite happy to climb into bed and get a good rest after another long day!
Saturday morning we went out to the farm to put all of the things that needed to be frozen or refrigerated into Strauss and Sanette’s fridge and freezer, Strauss was away in Menongue and Sanette had gone into to town to check on us (we had left the girls home so they told her we had gone to the farm), thankfully she had left the boys with their friends at the farm so we were able to get into the house and begin putting things into her appliances.
Sunday morning we went to the early service and then packed up our stuff and went to the beach with Sanette and the boys, a much needed rest after a long week!
Monday about 10 minutes before the power came back on (7 days after it went out) the water pipes broke (they were totally rusted) and now we have no water, but we have light. We feel as though we are being stretched to our full capacity but there always seems to be a little more ability to stretch a little further! Please keep us in your prayers as the adjustments are now becoming more apparent and constant. Well, the power just went back out… so I must save my battery power for who knows how long before it will come back on! Our phone is working again so for those of you who were trying to get in touch you can try again!
Take care and God Bless,
Love,
The Knightly family
Monday we had to make our trip out of country to Namibia to renew our visas. Even photos cannot show the full effect of the road, most of the driving was in the ditch just to give you an idea of how bad the “paved” roads are! It took us from 4:30 AM until 8 PM to drive around 700 km and 300 km of that was nice road! The border crossing went quick as we had a local friend come with us (unfortunately he could not come back with us)! By the time we reached our destination, Oshindera Lodge in Oshikati Namibia, we were completely exhausted! We are very thankful for the family who owns the lodge, as they were very kind and generous toward our family. We enjoyed our time spent there and in their home.
Tuesday was spent shopping until we dropped, thankfully the first day Meagan stayed with the boys back at the lodge while Pete, Talitha and I went out to get groceries. The groceries in Namibia (although more pricey than home) are MUCH cheaper than here in Angola, so we stocked up on some things that we cannot get here, and things that are much less expensive. We also purchased our washing machine (that will save about 1 ½ hours a load). Our other more important order of business was renewing our visas; thankfully we were put in contact with a gal from Angola who works in Namibia. She was able to help us with filling out the paperwork and taking it in.
Wednesday, more shopping, and in the afternoon we were able to retrieve our visas and pay out the whopping $650 Namibian dollars (to give you an idea it is 5 Namibian dollars to a Canadian dollar)!!! This is per person and for a 30 day visa! We are praying that the work visa comes through ASAP! So at present we are paying $316 American per month for our visa renewals. Anyway, after shopping we went to the lodge owner’s home (Audrey and Adrianne) for supper and care group. Then it was off to bed to get well rested for the LONG trip home.
Thursday morning we got up, finished packing the truck and headed on the road, we arrived at the Namibian border at 9:30 AM and spent the next 4 hours waiting for paperwork to be filled out by a clearing agent, for which they wanted to charge us $1350 Namibian (remember 5 to 1) for 5 pieces of paper!!! When we said that was outrageous they said it would then cost $1000 Namibian to cancel it! We asked for a price list which they could not produce (as we knew others had never paid that kind of sum) and finally negotiated a $700 Namibian charge for the paper work (which took them 3 hours to fill out… it took me about half an hour the last time we went through the border to fill the same paper work out myself… at a different border)! Then it was time to cross over to the Angolan side and we began to wonder if we would ever get through. It is difficult coming through the border at the best of times, but on your own not knowing the language is a bit daunting. There were several people who came along to give us a hand, as each official would like to give some kind of grieve or look for a hand-out, this is probably the hardest thing to handle when dealing with officials, they almost all seem to be looking for a bribe. The one who took our passports to stamp them with an entrance stamp wanted to refuse us entry saying that we needed to have a letter from the church in Angola (we did have letters that we gave at the Angolan consulate in Namibia so that we could get our visa… just another game), after waiting on the Namibian side in the scorching heat and then waiting for an hour or more on the Angolan side Talitha and I just burst into tears (apparently this is a good thing as the Angolans don’t know what to do with a woman crying)… they stamped our visas and gave them to us and we were on our way to the next stop at the border (customs), of course we had plenty of groceries and a washing machine so were wondering if we would ever get through customs without being charged an outrageous sum if we wouldn’t give a bribe… one guy who had been helping us since 9:30 in the morning said that if we were taken into the gated area we could expect to have the truck impounded and we would be there for at least 7 days! So when they pointed to the gate and had us drive in we were almost ready to drive over to the Namibian side buy our tickets home and say enough! BUT God was gracious, they had a quick look, asked us what was in the big box, we told them a washer and gave them the receipt and they said have a nice day and sent us on our way. So in total at the two borders we spent just over 6 hours (don’t want to hear any complaints about that Canadian to American border!!!). As it was beginning to get dark we made a wise decision to travel as far as a Finish mission station near Chebia that Stirling had taken Pete and his dad to on the way out of Angola last year. Thankfully we were able to find it (as it is kind of in the middle of no where… like most things in Angola) and they very graciously took us in and even fed us… what a huge blessing!
Friday morning we were on our way again over the worst part of the road, stopping just long enough to let the Ritchie’s in Rio de Huila know that we were still alive (as I could not contact anyone to let them know where we were as our cell phone battery was dead)! We stopped for a moment in Lubango to speak with the leadership of the UIEA to request a meeting with them soon concerning the vision and purpose of our call here. Then it was on to Namibe. When we arrived home after our LONG trip we discovered that our power had been out for 4 days, and everything in our fridge and freezer was rotten! What a smell! Generally the power goes off for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time here in Namibe, so we were not prepared for this! However after cleaning everything up we were quite happy to climb into bed and get a good rest after another long day!
Saturday morning we went out to the farm to put all of the things that needed to be frozen or refrigerated into Strauss and Sanette’s fridge and freezer, Strauss was away in Menongue and Sanette had gone into to town to check on us (we had left the girls home so they told her we had gone to the farm), thankfully she had left the boys with their friends at the farm so we were able to get into the house and begin putting things into her appliances.
Sunday morning we went to the early service and then packed up our stuff and went to the beach with Sanette and the boys, a much needed rest after a long week!
Monday about 10 minutes before the power came back on (7 days after it went out) the water pipes broke (they were totally rusted) and now we have no water, but we have light. We feel as though we are being stretched to our full capacity but there always seems to be a little more ability to stretch a little further! Please keep us in your prayers as the adjustments are now becoming more apparent and constant. Well, the power just went back out… so I must save my battery power for who knows how long before it will come back on! Our phone is working again so for those of you who were trying to get in touch you can try again!
Take care and God Bless,
Love,
The Knightly family
Thursday, September 08, 2005
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