10/10/09
Prayer Request
This is just a quick post to ask for prayer as we are going to have to move. We don’t know where, but we must be out of our current house by November 15. The notice just came a few days ago. Please pray that God will provide the perfect house for us so that we can still continue ministering to the Village of Hope and Green Farm.
Hope Club
Romans 10:15
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
Hope - hope in Jesus Christ. This is what the people of Green Farm village need. The Lord has provided an opportunity for us to share the gospel with the people at Green Farm. We have begun a Bible club called Hope Club that meets on Saturday mornings at 10:00am for anyone who wants to come.
Mother first got the inspiration and idea from Mrs. Kamau, who also lives at the Villages of Hope. She started one for the Hope Village children to reinforce what they are being taught about Christ and the Bible. Mrs. Kamau was actually trained in child evangelism, so this is one thing that she feels the Lord calling her to do.
So, what is Hope Club? Well, for our Green Farm Hope club, Mother has started to teach through the Bible beginning with creation, She wants to let the children grasp who God is before she introduces His Son. Each meeting she teaches them an easy Bible verse and a song. None of us can as yet speak the local language, so we asked one of the teachers at the Hope school to translate for us. Precious is a strong Christian, and loves doing child evangelism. She knows what it is like to live in a village like Green Farm and she understands what the children need. Each meeting she picks a topic to teach on - like hygiene - and explains how to do it. The last week we handed out washrags and soap to every family and she showed the children how to use them. Se also shared with them the importance of keeping clean. She told them that our bodies are temples for the Lord, and if we do not take care of them, we are destroying His creation. If you go around all week covered in dust from head to toe it is now healthy. Also, she explained how they should be an example to the surrounding villages. Even the parents got involved. The next week, all the children came to the meeting clean.
Our Hope Club is not to just teach the Word of God, but to teach children how to be missionaries. Every week, four children come from the Village of Hope and help teach the Bible verse and song. It is an honor to come and do it, so only the ones who have behaved the best are chosen. Each week they go home and it is wonderful to see how excited they are to tell their friends about it. OUr kids at the Village of Hope sometimes are very spoiled, so it is good for them to go away and realize how much they have and be grateful for it. Once every three weeks the Hamelrycks come over and do the Hope Club for us. The children love it when they do because the Hamelrycks always bring a craft or a game with them. It is a great time for them to have fun and learn the work of Jesus.
The greatest reward from doing this is to see how eager the children are to come. They always ask when the Bible Club is going to be and usually start singing the songs they have learned. Each week more attend and we have reached up to over seventy. Hope Club is a time for them to dress up and get clean, and is their special occasion every day. many of the older children have asked for a Bible, and some want extra English lessons so that they can understand even better. Please pray for these children as we plant the seeds of faith. Once a week is just not enough, so we are praying about doing it twice a week. If anyone feels led to help, buy your plane tickets and come on over!
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
Hope - hope in Jesus Christ. This is what the people of Green Farm village need. The Lord has provided an opportunity for us to share the gospel with the people at Green Farm. We have begun a Bible club called Hope Club that meets on Saturday mornings at 10:00am for anyone who wants to come.
Mother first got the inspiration and idea from Mrs. Kamau, who also lives at the Villages of Hope. She started one for the Hope Village children to reinforce what they are being taught about Christ and the Bible. Mrs. Kamau was actually trained in child evangelism, so this is one thing that she feels the Lord calling her to do.
So, what is Hope Club? Well, for our Green Farm Hope club, Mother has started to teach through the Bible beginning with creation, She wants to let the children grasp who God is before she introduces His Son. Each meeting she teaches them an easy Bible verse and a song. None of us can as yet speak the local language, so we asked one of the teachers at the Hope school to translate for us. Precious is a strong Christian, and loves doing child evangelism. She knows what it is like to live in a village like Green Farm and she understands what the children need. Each meeting she picks a topic to teach on - like hygiene - and explains how to do it. The last week we handed out washrags and soap to every family and she showed the children how to use them. Se also shared with them the importance of keeping clean. She told them that our bodies are temples for the Lord, and if we do not take care of them, we are destroying His creation. If you go around all week covered in dust from head to toe it is now healthy. Also, she explained how they should be an example to the surrounding villages. Even the parents got involved. The next week, all the children came to the meeting clean.
Our Hope Club is not to just teach the Word of God, but to teach children how to be missionaries. Every week, four children come from the Village of Hope and help teach the Bible verse and song. It is an honor to come and do it, so only the ones who have behaved the best are chosen. Each week they go home and it is wonderful to see how excited they are to tell their friends about it. OUr kids at the Village of Hope sometimes are very spoiled, so it is good for them to go away and realize how much they have and be grateful for it. Once every three weeks the Hamelrycks come over and do the Hope Club for us. The children love it when they do because the Hamelrycks always bring a craft or a game with them. It is a great time for them to have fun and learn the work of Jesus.
The greatest reward from doing this is to see how eager the children are to come. They always ask when the Bible Club is going to be and usually start singing the songs they have learned. Each week more attend and we have reached up to over seventy. Hope Club is a time for them to dress up and get clean, and is their special occasion every day. many of the older children have asked for a Bible, and some want extra English lessons so that they can understand even better. Please pray for these children as we plant the seeds of faith. Once a week is just not enough, so we are praying about doing it twice a week. If anyone feels led to help, buy your plane tickets and come on over!
Our Address!!!
We are excited to announce that we have an address! If anyone would like to send notes of encouragement to us or would like to send letters to the children, maybe even a care package, you can contact us at:
Villages of Hope or Patty Family
p.o. box 4
Fringilla, Zambia
It is not very expensive to do that, and we never have received any mail. Please, please let us know that you are thinking of us that way.
Another way to contact us if it is more urgent is to email. Our email is horns72@aol.com. You can call us at 260975172970. We appreciate all of your kind and thoughtful comments on this blog and all the emails we have received. Please keep them coming!
Villages of Hope or Patty Family
p.o. box 4
Fringilla, Zambia
It is not very expensive to do that, and we never have received any mail. Please, please let us know that you are thinking of us that way.
Another way to contact us if it is more urgent is to email. Our email is horns72@aol.com. You can call us at 260975172970. We appreciate all of your kind and thoughtful comments on this blog and all the emails we have received. Please keep them coming!
Yvonne
Yvonne is a single other of three who works and lives in Green Farm. Lloyd, her eldest, is six, Priscilla is three, and Suzie – my little baby – is fifteen months. I first met her one day when I went to take pictures for the village. She had quickly put on her best Sunday clothes – a neon green t-shirt and a shitaengae – and gathered all her children. None of them were clean and Lloyd was covered from head to toe with dust. At the time, I had not gotten to know anybody really – only their faces
About a month ago, as I was walking into the village, I noticed that her hut was unoccupied and there was no roof. There were ashes in her hut, and every piece of wood in there was charred. I talked to her and asked what happened. From the little English that she spoke I gathered that someone had purposely burned it down and most of her food and clothing had been destroyed. I found out from Kate – the young woman who helps clean the house, and who speaks excellent English – that a jealous woman had come in the middle of the night and set fire to the hut. Yvonne has had all of her children by different men (which is very typical here by the way) and the wife of one of them took revenge into her own hands.
Despite what she had done, we felt burdened for Yvonne and wanted to help. One evening the Hamelrycks brought their dinner to her. We bought clothes for her and her children, and we gave her 25 kgs of mealy meal. We took Suzie every day for over two weeks, and gave Yvonne a ride to the doctor twice. As of last Thursday we were unable to continue helping Yvonne and Suzie. The jealousy had intensified and it was causing strife between Yvonne and the other village women. The women considered themselves in just as much need and more deserving of our help than Yvonne, and it got to the point where they resented her and kept their children from visiting with us. In the fields they would get so mad at Yvonne that she nearly quit her job. It was extremely hard for us to give up helping her, but for now it is the best for everyone. We are praying about how we can help her in the future, but it may be a week or two before it is possible. It hurts to see what jealousy can do, and how selfish people can sometimes be. Please pray that the situation will be healed quickly, and that we can find a way to help everyone without causing jealousy.
During the time the Lord provided we loved helping and were so pleased to see the good results. Suzie was improving and Yvonne and her children were eating well. We took her to church every Saturday morning. The rewards of giving of ourselves to help her were great and still are. We will continue to pray for Yvonne and her children and trust in the Lord to direct their lives.
About a month ago, as I was walking into the village, I noticed that her hut was unoccupied and there was no roof. There were ashes in her hut, and every piece of wood in there was charred. I talked to her and asked what happened. From the little English that she spoke I gathered that someone had purposely burned it down and most of her food and clothing had been destroyed. I found out from Kate – the young woman who helps clean the house, and who speaks excellent English – that a jealous woman had come in the middle of the night and set fire to the hut. Yvonne has had all of her children by different men (which is very typical here by the way) and the wife of one of them took revenge into her own hands.
Despite what she had done, we felt burdened for Yvonne and wanted to help. One evening the Hamelrycks brought their dinner to her. We bought clothes for her and her children, and we gave her 25 kgs of mealy meal. We took Suzie every day for over two weeks, and gave Yvonne a ride to the doctor twice. As of last Thursday we were unable to continue helping Yvonne and Suzie. The jealousy had intensified and it was causing strife between Yvonne and the other village women. The women considered themselves in just as much need and more deserving of our help than Yvonne, and it got to the point where they resented her and kept their children from visiting with us. In the fields they would get so mad at Yvonne that she nearly quit her job. It was extremely hard for us to give up helping her, but for now it is the best for everyone. We are praying about how we can help her in the future, but it may be a week or two before it is possible. It hurts to see what jealousy can do, and how selfish people can sometimes be. Please pray that the situation will be healed quickly, and that we can find a way to help everyone without causing jealousy.
During the time the Lord provided we loved helping and were so pleased to see the good results. Suzie was improving and Yvonne and her children were eating well. We took her to church every Saturday morning. The rewards of giving of ourselves to help her were great and still are. We will continue to pray for Yvonne and her children and trust in the Lord to direct their lives.
10/1/09
Suzie
Picture a screaming, dirty, smelly child who barely knows how to walk. The only two words she can say are Momma and Stella (my name in the village). She is surrounded by fifty other children who are equally as dirty as she is. Her mother is gone from dawn till dusk. The two caretakers in her life are Lloyd, her six year old brother and Pricilla, her three year old sister. Her clothes are ragged with only one change of clothes; no diapers, no panties and no pants. She and her siblings rarely eat, because their mother has very little money. They have no father, and the people in the village look down on them because of something their mother did. Her mother is very poor, and they only eat one to two scanty meals a day. She has sores all over her body, she is bloated from hunger, and her hair is a sandy brown from malnourishment. She is only fifteen months, and has to fend for herself. Life is a struggle for this little fifteen month old girl, named Suzie.
Suzie, her mother, and I
Suzie's dirty face
a bit cleaner
the first time I saw her
Now picture this same little girl – Suzie – but in totally different circumstances. Now, she is a clean, laughing and smiling child who has progressed very rapidly in walking. She still can only say Momma and Stella, but we are working on Mulungu (God). Surrounding her are kind and loving people, who want to take care of her. Her clothes are new and clean, and she takes a bath twice a day (with the dust over here, it could easily be four times a day). She still has no father, but mine has kindly taken his place. She has seven “mothers” ready and willing to take care of her. What a number! Only one is the real one. There is plenty of food for her at our house, a comfortable bed, and fun toys. Her sores are quickly healing, her stomach is slowly looking more normal, and her hair is a little bit better.
sleeping beauty
i guess we can be pretty weird sometimes
her favorite toy
how much can I get in there?
her "look"
what's so funny?
bwelakuno
We love taking care of Suzie. She is the sweetest and quietest baby ever. Her mother realizes now that people care about her and her family. She now tries to take care of herself and her children, and we always find Suzie very clean. I thank God that we have this opportunity to invest in someone’s life.
my baby and I
Suzie, her mother, and I
Suzie's dirty face
a bit cleaner
the first time I saw her
Now picture this same little girl – Suzie – but in totally different circumstances. Now, she is a clean, laughing and smiling child who has progressed very rapidly in walking. She still can only say Momma and Stella, but we are working on Mulungu (God). Surrounding her are kind and loving people, who want to take care of her. Her clothes are new and clean, and she takes a bath twice a day (with the dust over here, it could easily be four times a day). She still has no father, but mine has kindly taken his place. She has seven “mothers” ready and willing to take care of her. What a number! Only one is the real one. There is plenty of food for her at our house, a comfortable bed, and fun toys. Her sores are quickly healing, her stomach is slowly looking more normal, and her hair is a little bit better.
sleeping beauty
i guess we can be pretty weird sometimes
her favorite toy
how much can I get in there?
her "look"
what's so funny?
bwelakuno
We love taking care of Suzie. She is the sweetest and quietest baby ever. Her mother realizes now that people care about her and her family. She now tries to take care of herself and her children, and we always find Suzie very clean. I thank God that we have this opportunity to invest in someone’s life.
my baby and I
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)