Our noisy gatherings...

Written by Sia

Dear friends,

It has been several months since we have done an update and, like many of you, day to day life has changed dramatically since then, and along with it, our ministry activities.

We have been in partial lockdown for the past three months, only allowed out for a limited amount of time every day, keeping one and a half meters away from anyone not in our own family etc and schools and churches have been closed.

Our noisy gatherings of hundreds of excited children waiting to hear a Bible story and enjoy having lunch together outside our house have stopped and instead food parcels are being handed out to the families in our community most in need. What we are spending on feeding the families needing food in our community is more than it costs us to feed 1000 children a month during normal times, but we trust God to supply the extra finance we need

All our Hope Academy schools are closed and some of the little ones who did so well last year have not even been to school this year as political unrest followed by the Covid 19 lockdown has kept them at home. We do not yet have our own transport and they are too far away from us to reach by taxi, so we pray that they are doing well and that when they get back to school we will be able to not only teach them again but feed them fresh home-cooked meals to strengthen their little bodies and keep them healthy,

Some of them sit on the floor during classes and have never had a desk to sit at, so we are praying for sufficient desks for all of them next time they go to school.

Our own children have been at home for months now but are following carefully laid out learning and study schedules so that they are up to date with schoolwork when they are allowed to return to school after the lockdown.

At home, we have seen God's awesome provision for things we needed after we moved into our new house.

For months after moving into our house our access to water was restricted to what we could buy from a truck that regularly visited our area carrying bottles of water. Last Christmas our long-awaited borehole was drilled and a few months ago storage tanks for water were installed. This meant we had access to fresh water even when there was no electricity to drive the pump which brings water to the surface, and we are now able to share our water with the local community. Something they greatly appreciate.

God has also enabled us to build a substantial security wall around our property. This wall will not only stop people from roaming around our property at night but also give us the security we need to build a prayer house and establish vegetable gardens, keep chickens etc so that we can start supplying some of our own food.

Another thing God has supplied that we have really needed is a generator to make sure our refrigerators and borehole pump can work even during periods when we do not have a government supply of electricity for days. It will also be good to be able to turn on lights, security lights etc at night if we need to.

As far as our churches go, because they can no longer meet together, every day I do two Whatsapp messages. 15 to 20 minutes long each, to help and encourage anyone who wants to listen, They are done in two different languages and the response has been, at times, overwhelming. Many are seeking the Lord and needing encouragement in this season. Fortunately, I have several pastors who work for Iris churches working with me and they take online as well as telephonic requests for prayer and counseling.

So my dear friends, when you think of us, know that we are busy, praising the Lord, praying, fasting, and doing what He has called us to do despite the difficult times we are living in.

Thank you, as always, for your love and prayers and, of course, your contributions which allows us to do what we do for the Glory of God.

With love from us all

Sia and family