Visiting
The last two months have been full of visits. First of all I did a last minute trip
back to the UK then Mum and Dad came to see me and the school. As usual the
visits were full of fitting in seeing people and getting jobs done. While Mum and
Dad were here Mum heard lots of children recite their bible verses and we
organised books and uniforms, Dad oversaw the building of some garden beds
and a soak away. We also went to look at a new house for me….
A new house
For the last 8 1/2 years I have been living with Don and Christine and their
family as we work with the boys and the school. When I first moved here there
was a core family of 9. Gradually through the last 9 years most people have
moved and just Don, Christine and I have been left. As lots of you know Christine
is very unwell and is needing a liver transplant. This will mean that for most of
is very unwell and is needing a liver transplant. This will mean that for most of
the next year she will be in the UK. That leaves just Don and I living in the family
house. It is a big house and some times we don’t see each other for days but as
Christine will be away for an extended period it is not appropriate, especially in
the culture, for us to continue living in the same house. We have been talking
about this for some time but just before Mum and Dad came I messaged some
friends from church who rent out small flats about 15 minutes away asking if they
had anything available. Initially they said they didn’t, but within a week they did
and we were able to go and see the flat which looks ideal. Mum and Dad also
had a chance to meet Harold and Mary so they have a better idea of where I will
be staying. I hope to move in mid July. There are a few challenges to moving
out but the main one is finances. Rental properties here are fairly expensive and
I have not had to factor in rent to my living costs up till now. I have around £300
to make up per month.
School
School has continued to go well. We have had the usual turn over of staff as it is quite difficult finding people
who live locally and are willing to work in a different way to how they were trained. We have a new teacher
starting next week and another in around 3 weeks time.
I am still working on the registration process for school. It is long and complicated. There is no list of what
needs to be done and every separate piece of registration involves multiple trips to offices with documents and
payments. Normally they start by telling you what documents to prepare,
you do it and go back full of hope only to be told you are missing things
and need to go away to changes bits of it or that previous things you have
done are wrong. So, I needed to re-register the school and wasn’t able to
use the name Taonga School. Taonga means we are thankful and is a
name chosen by the parents. It has been hard accepting the change but
we are now calling school Tembenukani Christian School. Tembenukani
means change or turn (I’m told!) It was really hard to find another name
for the school as you can not have a name that already exists in the
country. I am sure we will continue to be known locally as Taonga for a very long time!
THANK YOU ALL!!
Thank you all for your support through the last 8 1/2 years staying at Old
MacDonalds Farm. As I look to move the work here will still continue and I
will still be here every day I will just be staying in a different place.
Please Pray for:
Christine and Don and the family as they face the next few months which
will hopefully involve major surgery and recovery.
Changes as I move for me and for everyone left at home as they adjust.
School to continue to develop and for the teachers and children to put their trust in the Lord.
Between February and June the children learnt a bible verse for every letter of the alphabet.
To watch them recite it click here ---> Bible Verse Challenge