Dear All

Since I last wrote we have had a lot of exciting things happening and also a few disappointments. Firstly with regard to the school it is no longer being sold. Mrs Mbewe, who is the owner and former head, has decided to come back and run the school for herself. She came back for a visit and it appears saw the state the business and school were in and decided she wasn't ready to give it up like that. Obviously this was very disappointing for us as we had started dreaming of all the opportunities a school would bring but it obviously wasn't what God wanted just now so we have accepted that and hope Mrs Mbewe can make the drastic changes needed to bring it back to the good school it use to be.

In other school news the pre-school class I run continues to grow. I now have 12 children regularly come and have just started talking to other children who live on our road and may start coming in January. Some of these children have been to school before but stopped due to financial problems and others have never had the chance. If these children come in it will take the class up to 22 pupils with an age range of 2-12 years and a wide variety of abilities. (Some of the younger ones being a long way ahead of the older ones.)

Some of the pre-school children playing with chalk powder after the lesson.

Friday was the last day of term for many of the boys so I took the older ones to a nice cafe/lodge on the edge of Lusaka for milkshakes and chips. They had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend some time with the boys just chatting and having fun after teaching them all year. With the little ones we had a pool party. We have got a small pool which we filled and although it was a cooler day, had great fun splashing each other and generally making lots of noise.

Our grade 7s, 9s and 12 have all finished writing exams now so are all anxiously awaiting results. Some have gone to visit family and one has been to the village to find his father who abandoned the family when they were very young and he hasn't seen since. He was able to find the father and they spent some time together. One of our other boys has made contact with an 'auntie' that he stayed with some years ago but hasn't seen since. She thought Sam had gone back tot he streets and was dead so you can only imagine her surprise and happiness when he went with Mr Banda and found her a couple of weeks ago.

Samson at his graduation

Last weekend we were able to celebrate the marriage of one of the older boys. 'Uncle' Brian stayed with Don and Christine for about 6 months when they first moved to the farm. He had finished university and was looking for a job. While he was at University he had someone sponsoring him but when he finished he had no one to stay with as he is an orphan. He now has a good job in one of the insurance companies and has married the daughter of one of the elders at church. It was an exciting day as some of the boys were involved in the celebrations. We were making the cakes and with over 250 guests it took a lot of work! Everyone was pleased with the results though and lots of the boys enjoyed helping with the baking and decorating.

With some of the boys. Our boys in the bridal procession.

Brian and Esnart

Since the wedding we have realised that there is less than a month until Christmas and we haven't started preparing. Between now and then we have a lot to do. Next week we will start putting lists and plans together and then start all of the shopping and other preparations. Also during this school holiday is the Kabwata church camp. So far 17 of our boys have said they are coming back from visiting family to go.

Abi

Please pray for:

• Church camp, that many of the boys will be influenced by what they learn.
• School, as it continues to grow and wisdom dealing with the big age range and ability. Especially the older children who have never had school before.
• Brian and Esnart as the start their life together.
• All of the boys as they go away to visit family and especially the boys who are waiting for results.
• Don, Christine and myself as we begin to plan and organise things for christmas.