6 August 2010

First Years now Official

As you should know by now, we have received three new fist year students this year.  We had received much criticism over the fact that we have only three new students, but we are convinced that these students have been sent here by the Lord, especially in light of the fact that we had asked the Lord to send those students who He wants to be here.  We are therefore content with who God has sent to us, and we have started on the journey with them as theLord is preparing them for His plans.  The three of them have started the year with much enthusiasm, and have gone through a three month probation period.  The probation period is used to evaluate their commitment to the task and to allow us more time to judge their character and abilities.  Well, these three students have been a pleasant surprise for us and have now become official students of the college!

Please pray regularly for Joseph James Phiri, Stanley Ganala and for Mloyiso Kumwenda.  They are all eager singers, and Stanley has entertained us with a number of drama sketches organised through the students.

Meet our Workers

We are particularly blessed with a wonderful team of workers who truly help us in our task here.  Many of them have been here since the starting days of the College, and are very familiar with everything that happens here, and they really know much more than us about the layout and structures of the College.

Firstly, we would like to introduce Lonney Mkandawire (pronounced Ronny) to you.  Lonney is responsible for the management of the food requirements for the students.  She also does the purchasing of food and fresh produce at the market, and then also distributes the food for preparation of meals.  She also helps in keeping the house clean and doing the ironing.  Lonney is married to Hastings, and she has three daughters and one son.  They also care for Hastings’ brother and sister as his parents have both died.

Our other female worker is Maria Kanyaso.  Maria is a grandmother and is married to Watson, who works for us over holiday times as a guard.  Maria is responsible for laundry, and prepares meals for the rest of the workers.  She also helps to keep the area around the house neat and tidy.  We love them very much, and have a wonderful relationship with them.  Both of them love the Lord and serve Him with conviction.

College Matters

Outreach from Louis Trichardt

We have received a wonderful visit from Stephan, Alta, Roelien and Barend Jansen during the June/July holidays.  Apart from the pleasure of receiving visitors from SA, Stephan also helped us with plans to improve ventilation in the house, so that the heat build-up will not be such a problem in the future.  He installed a Twister extraction system on our roof – might I say, a very high and steep roof!  Thank you very much Stephan!

While he was on the roof, he also assisted us to install a transparent roof panel so that we could have more light in the house.  He also assisted us with many other things that needed to be done in this time, and we are very thankful for this.

Students

Our first semester has been successfully completed, and the students were away for a well deserved holiday.  The second semester has started on 2 August.  The majority of the students have returned and are again hard at work.  From 16 August SAAWE will be at the College to present the “Mission Possible” course.  We are looking forward to a blessed time with them as well.

Gardens

Over the past few months there has been much development in the gardens.  We have been planting vegetables and as a whole the prospects are looking great with the good rainfall and sufficient water supply at the College this year.

Proposed visit to SA

5 – 25 September

During this time we are planning to visit South Africa.  The main purpose of our visit is to look for a suitable vehicle for family use.  Although the Landcruiser pickup that we are using is a wonderful work-horse, it is definitely not suited for family use.  The roads are very dangerous, and we do not like the idea of the children having to sit in the back of the pick-up.  We are looking for a vehicle that will be comfortable enough for the family to use over the long distances that we have to travel, have sufficient power to tow the trailer when needed, and have sufficient ground clearance and ability to face the rough (or sometimes non-existent) roads.

During this time there will also be a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the College. Please pray with us for this meeting.

We also hope to have a Missions-weekend at our home church (Antipas Reformed Baptist Church in Pretoria).  We are looking forward to wonderful visits with all who we are missing and longing for.  With the children who are so diligent in the schoolwork, we will also need to get a new supply of schoolbooks to keep them occupied!

Prayer

Thank you for...

• A blessed first semester
• The gifts that we received during the outreach of Stephan, Alta and their family

Pray for...

• Especially the first year students, but also the other students who have now started the second semester.  Pray for increased devotion and spiritual growth.
• All relationships at the College, that we may always seek to set the honour of the Lord above all else
• For the Fellowship groups that have been established during the outreaches, and that the students may continually look to the Lord to guide them in their tasks and contact with others.
• People who are prepared to assist the College financially and physically on an ongoing basis
• Our proposed visit to SA.  For the plane tickets that we need to buy and the vehicle that we need to find
• The Board of Trustees meeting on 11 September