Dear all
September has gone very quickly in a blur of activity, visitors and changes.
We had a couple of sad weeks at the start of the month with the death of the father of one of our boys. The father is someone who had been an alcoholic for many years and although we don't know the actual cause of his death it was likely to have been linked to that. At the same time it was very sudden and obviously very sad for the family. All of our guys were affected with the suddenness of his death and it made a lot of them seriously think about their own lives and how quickly they could end. The week after this we heard that Loveness, the sister-in-law to Auntie Yvonne, had also passed away. Although she was very sick with heart failure the doctors at hospital had expected her to live for another couple of years. The relatives had decided to take her home and didn't take her back to the hospital when her health deteriorated. This was very very sad for Auntie Yvonne who had spent so much time and effort trying to help Loveness only to be undermined by the relatives then almost blamed for the death because she hadn't been there. As a result of this Auntie Yvonne has still got a large family and it looks like it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. The family of Loveness have said the father should look after the children as he is still alive but Auntie Yvonne knows her brother doesn't have a house or a job so wont manage and it will end up with the children suffering. I think they children are settling in well now but it does mean Auntie Yvonne has 13 people staying in her 4 bedroom house.
September has gone very quickly in a blur of activity, visitors and changes.
We had a couple of sad weeks at the start of the month with the death of the father of one of our boys. The father is someone who had been an alcoholic for many years and although we don't know the actual cause of his death it was likely to have been linked to that. At the same time it was very sudden and obviously very sad for the family. All of our guys were affected with the suddenness of his death and it made a lot of them seriously think about their own lives and how quickly they could end. The week after this we heard that Loveness, the sister-in-law to Auntie Yvonne, had also passed away. Although she was very sick with heart failure the doctors at hospital had expected her to live for another couple of years. The relatives had decided to take her home and didn't take her back to the hospital when her health deteriorated. This was very very sad for Auntie Yvonne who had spent so much time and effort trying to help Loveness only to be undermined by the relatives then almost blamed for the death because she hadn't been there. As a result of this Auntie Yvonne has still got a large family and it looks like it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. The family of Loveness have said the father should look after the children as he is still alive but Auntie Yvonne knows her brother doesn't have a house or a job so wont manage and it will end up with the children suffering. I think they children are settling in well now but it does mean Auntie Yvonne has 13 people staying in her 4 bedroom house.
Here are some of the children staying at Auntie Yvonnes house. Missing from the picture are baby Anna, Auntie Yvonne and Uncle Charles.
There have also been a couple of big developments in other areas. Some of you will have received an email from Don telling of a local school that is up for sale. The owner approached Christine to see if they would be interested in buying it. Initially we got very excited with the prospect of continuing the school and using it as a premises for all manner of different things, including a church and community school, then we had news that maybe the weren't going to sell after all. However last week they have come back to us to ask us to go ahead with a valuation and they are selling so we wait an see what happens next. Also in that newsletter Don mentioned about three boys who have come to know Jesus as their saviour. Lucky, Ackim and Owen have all come to know Jesus for themselves and have been a great encouragement recently. Other boys are also showing a greater interest in spiritual things which is very exciting.
At the end of September I had a visit from my brothers and Agi. It was really good to see them and we managed a trip to Livingstone to see the Victoria falls (although there wasn't too much water) and go across to Botswana for a safari. At the falls we walked across the top and stood very very close to the edge which was quite exciting. Agi decided it was a bit high up for her liking!
The three of us at the top of Victoria Falls
Other than that things seem to be continuing well. The grade 7s are 2 weeks away from starting their exams so tension and pressure is mounting. The grade 9s start their mocks in 2 weeks and the real things next month and Samson (grade 12) has started already and finishes in November. School at home is continuing well with the extra pupils although we are all suffering as it has really got hotter in the last few weeks!
Abigail
Please Pray for:
- Auntie Yvonne and all of her children!
- Lucky, Ackim and Owen and all of the other boys.
- The sale/prospective purchase of the school and all of the plan surrounding that.
- All of the boys in exam classes and that the tension and pressure wont get too much.