21st Birthday

Michael turned 21 and they threw a big party (a Braai, of course!) for him at the Ark Keetmanshoop.
http://christiaanenrita.blogspot.com/2010/11/er-was-er-een-jarig-hoera-hoera.html

Ministry CarePoint in Rehoboth

Praise the Lord!

Today we got the news that the work permit for Christiaan & Rita was finally approved -this after waiting for more than a year for word from Home Affairs.

Rita & Christiaan are from Belgium and moved to Namibia in 2005 to serve the Lord in Keetmanshoop. They are houseparents at the Ark and are doing an amazing job. God has used them in a marvelous way to make the Ark a stable home and loving environment for the children.

They longed to visit their family back home but could not leave the country for a very long time because there was no reply from Home Affairs.
We are so thankful that they have now finally the documentation to stay in Namibia until October 2011, at least. And the best is, that they can go to Belgium in December and return to Namibia without problems.
Praise the Lord for this outstanding miracle!

Newsletters

We are glad to announce that two new newsletters are available!
Berdian and Juliet have finalized their support letter this week and if you have not received it yet, please contact us.

The latest Christ's Hope International newsletter is available as well and focuses on 'Our Valuable Children'.

Braai at the National Office

Yesterday we had our first braai (barbecue) at the National Office and we not only enjoyed great food (of course meat...but also roosterbrood, salads, cous-cous, butternut and brownies) but had lots of fun, too.

We played memory and pictionary. And as you can see in the pictures we competed in drawings and had a big laugh.

Sunday outfits

The three boys in the picture got new Sunday outfits and in church they look now like real gentlemen...

Update from Rehoboth

In May we transferred the children in our Residential facility to the Ark Keetmanshoop. At the beginning of July we appointed Ms. Beverly van Wyk as the Ministry Coordinator. Following is a short report since she started in July 2010:

We have twenty seven registered children in our Ministry CarePoint. Sadly not all the children attended the program on a regular basis. I did house visitations and made some interesting discoveries. We will definitely adapt our current program to accommodate the challenges that hampers the effectiveness of our program.

Looking at the report cards of the children, we realized that the subjects Accounting and Mathematics are a challenge to our children. We are in the process to recruit a local volunteer to assist in this regard. Our staff is doing well and is motivated to increase the effectiveness of our program.

During this past holiday, we had a three day holiday club that was attended by twenty one children. The children learned a great deal, but they also had a lot of fun. We had various activities; but as you can guess the children enjoyed the outdoor activities the most.
We have some very exciting plans for the next trimester. We are looking into getting sponsorships to have rewards for the children who perform the best at school as well as those who make significant progress. We are also planning a ten day Holiday club during December holidays. Our plans includes a day outing and a Nativity Play where we hope to invite the parents and caregivers of our children.

Update from Oshikuku

Danny Musonda, Ministry Coordinator writes for our newsletter...

The Oshikuku Ministry Centre is situated in the northern part of Namibia. Oshikuku is about 800 km from Windhoek the capital city of Namibia and 30 km from Oshakati the main town in the north.The population of Oshikuku is about 18 000 inhabitants. Many of them live in the village setup and depend on agriculture for their survival. This village town has not been spared from the effects of the HIV/AIDS in our Country; hence the presence of our ministry centre in this community is very relevant.

We teach the Choose to wait program in a Secondary school. This has had a great positive influence on the children.We also have a Choose to Wait program at our centre for those learners who are interested during the week. In total we minister to seventy students on a weekly basis. One of the parents came to us to express her gratitude; she has seen a significant change in her daughter’s behavior since she joined the program.


Care and Compassion has been going on since the beginning of this year, there have been a decrease in numbers since we stopped to help them with food parcels. When we do receive large donations we share with them. We have a weekly Bible study, about fourteen of the original group attends and we have seen them growing spiritually. One client commented that she feels that the word of God is very vital to her just as food is!

Again due to a serious lack of funds, we were not able to introduce the new approach to Nurturing of Our Valuable Children. We just registered twenty- seven children and we hope to start our program in this term. Please pray for funds. Between the two families we foster seven children. It is a huge blessing to see how happy the children are in our care. One of the boys who struggled in the past with severe behavioral problems is now calm and is helping out a lot in and around the house.
All in all, our gratitude goes to God for sustaining us and the ministry thus far.

Update from Okahandja

Calvyn Isaacs, OVC Coordinator writes for our newsletter...

The introduction of a Ministry CarePoint at the Ark has changed the way people in the Okahandja viewed the ministry. Prior to the program, we experienced some ignorance towards the work and ministry in the community. Now people phone and ask about the program. We had a friend who spend one week of her annual leave at the Ministry Centre to assist us. The business community approaches us wanting to know how they can become involved in the program. Teachers stop us on the streets asking for assistance with some of the challenges they face at school with children. Parents and caregivers thank us for investing in the lives of their children.



Apart from providing in the most basic needs of the children, we create a loving and caring environment for the children to work and play in. Initially they joined the program as strangers and now we have become a family, a place where they can meet after school, have lunch, do school work, play, have fun, hearing God’s word and returning home to share their lives with their family. Looking at how their faces lit up when they arrive after school means a lot to us. Their growth and happiness warms our hearts, knowing that we are making a difference in their lives. We feel blessed and honored to have the privileged to share our lives with these precious ones.

From the onset of the program, we experienced the hand of the Lord on everything. We registered a boy who had to repeat Grade 1. The principal of the school informed us that he is very weak academically and were not able to master the most basic skills and knowledge one would expect from a Pre-school child. The principal considered placing him in the Special Class. We took on the challenge and asked the principal to postpone the decision for one trimester. The trimester was not even over, when the principal informed us how much this timid boy has changed. He used to be shy and withdrawn; he has grown into a confident child. We praise God for the change in this child’s life through our program.

One of the boys on arrival did not look well physically. He was very skinny with a chronic cough and very little energy. His health was a great concern to us, we prayed for him constantly. We saw a tremendous change after a few weeks. We teach the children to pray and trust God to provide and care for us. His faith has grown tremendously. He is one of the forerunners when it comes to prayer time and making very good progress at school, especially in Mathematics.

We had very good reports from the Principals at the schools, mentioning that even the children’s general behavior improved. We are very thankful to God for His provision; we receive a substantial amount of food donations weekly. We stand in awe of what God has done through the program and in the lives of the children.

Update from Keetmanshoop

Christina, the supervisor at the Ark writes for our newsletter...

The Lord is so good to us; our hearts are full of happiness as we rejoice in His goodness! During the May holidays the children of the Ark Rehoboth were transferred to us. Initially it was quite a challenge for the new group to adapt as well as for the children that have been in the house for years. By the grace of God, the group has adapted well and they have even made good progress at school! We are so proud of them!





At the beginning of July, we received training on how to run a Ministry CarePoint with the vulnerable and orphaned children in the community, whom we call Our Valuable Children. This time of training was very valuable; we even had two ladies from the community attending. This initiative also encouraged a local pastor with three of her church members to sign up as volunteers.

We had a team from the Mount of Olive Church in California that visited the Ark for three weeks. We enjoyed having them with us; the children had a great time with the team. Most of them were young people with two wonderful older men. They assisted with the caring for the children at the Ark and the Kids Club; as well as doing some much needed renovation in and around the Ark. We value and appreciate the partnership with the church.

We appointed two new Parent Assistants. This is such a relief for the current staff. Christiaan and Rita also enjoyed a much deserved time off in Windhoek in the month of August.
Christiaan befriended a farmer and he gave permission to the children to visit the farm over weekends. It is a grand outing for the children; they get to see donkeys, goats, chicken and other farm animals. One of the activities the children enjoy most at the farm is mountain climbing.
It is amazing how God provides for the ministry. We have been blessed with funds for purchasing shoes, school clothes and the paying of school fees. During winter we received winter sleep gear, toiletries, books and Bibles. The community also contribute with in-kind donations. We are really thankful for our Father God for His grace, provision and protection.