Our Vision

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P.O. Box 620170, Kalomo, Zambia
Our vision is to bring the love of Jesus Christ to the children of Zambia through physical and spiritual means.Our hearts longing is to empower the local church and village community to meet the great need of the many orphans and widows through the development of an orphanage.(Psalm 68:5-6a)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Orphanage Happenings for November

Issac

Thank you for your continued prayers for baby Isaac.  Since our big scare with him a month or so ago being so sick (read previous posts for more info) he has been doing better, drinking well and going from 2.6kg to 4.2kg.  However, mid November he began having diarrhea, vomiting, and having a lot of pain, being unable to sleep.  Knowing how quickly a little baby Ennie Isaac Editedcan go from bad to worse, we decided to be cautious and take him to the hospital right away.  We went to the same place, 3 hours away and again they admitted Isaac.  Since it was his second time back, in such a short time, the doctors think that he  has been exposed to HIV and most likely is infected with the virus but despite testing him both times, due to lack of blood they will have to wait until he is 6 months old to test again.  There is a possibility that there is also another medical issue (an descended testicle) that is causing him to have these issues  but obviously still being so small, his health is still a matter of great prayer concern for us.  Ennie is doing a wonderful job caring for him and is making sure that he is kept warm and healthy as best as she can, but we know that ultimately God is the only one who can ensure his safety and well being.  Thank you for your prayers for him up to this point and as Isaac crosses your mind, please continue to lift him and Ennie up to the Lord – especially for wisdom in regards to his care while we are gone. 

Orphanage Preps complete

Rachel family Apart from all the physical work that needed to be done before we left for South Africa, another BIG task was to make sure that the orphanage was well provided for and prepared for our time away.  While being gone during the rainy season is a blessing because it is a slower time “work wise” it does pose difficulties with getting supplies for the orphanage (especially for the locals) due to the poor road conditions.  Local transport is not as available so with that in mind, we not only had to attempt to purchase all the orphanage consumables needed for 3 months (worse case scenario)  but also make sure that all the babies had the next size up in clothes.  Everything from medicine, to gretchen sorting toiletries (soap, toothpaste, toilet paper etc), to food supplies (rice, beans, kapentas etc), to formula had to be inventoried, budgeted for, and purchased in bulk.  For us that involved several trips to different stores and venders to get the right amount and be able to transport it all back to the orphanage.  Praise God for his provision not only of money in order to purchase so many things in advance but also in additional help of Gretchen (from Kalomo) and our friends from South Africa to help us in this big task.  

Help from South Africa

Approximately a week before we left, we were blessed with a visit from two dear ladies from South Africa – Mariann and Sannie.  Mariann came as a representative of the Dutch Reformed Church Marinaan and Sannie editedin Rooihuiskraal, South Africa, while Sannie was an older friend of  hers.  While neither of them were “spring chickens” in regards to their biological age – their spirit and youthfulness of heart showed  through in how quickly they jumped into helping with anything they could.  From painting,Mariaan clean to cleaning and organizing the library (we had some damage from some rats that decided to make their home in some of the preschool supplies), varnishing, to putting together furniture, cooking, cleaning, organizing school supplies, mending orphanage and personal clothing, spending time with the house mothers encouraging and doing Bible Study with them,  hemming curtains that were too long, and watching Jakob – there was almost nothing Sannie editedthat they weren’t willing to do with a smile and a great attitude.  We enjoyed getting to know these two dear ladies and hear all the ways that God has lead, directed, and provided for them over the years.  Thank you ladies for all your hard work and all that you taught us while here.  

Currently in south AfricaAmbers big belly

We are now currently in South Africa visiting friends, family and supporters, awaiting the arrival of our second son (due Dec  18th).  Our hope is to return to Zambia sometime mid/late January but the exact date is yet unknown because a lot depends on when Jakob’s brother decides to arrive and how long it will take for us to get his birth documents for South Africa and the States in order. 

Current prayer requests

-Please pray for the orphanage during our “time away”.  While it is good to put more responsibility into the hands of the locals there (our goal is to one day make it as self sustainable as possible) to help them be not as dependant upon us, it is a big adjustment for the house mothers, the staff, and the orphanage committee. 

Oct 2011 035-Please pray that the rains come at the appropriate time and that God provides the locals there with the wisdom and manpower to take care of the garden and orphanage crops that we hope will sustain us through the next year.

-Please pray for God’s hand of protection over the property and things on it while we are away.  Already, since we have left – the well, the tractor, and one it’s implements have already broken.  With no one there with the skill to fix it –they are now planting and doing the rest of the field care by hand until we get back.  Praise God that they were able to get the pump working again. 

- Please pray for the health of Ennie familyour children and staff while away (especially baby Isaac).  While they do have means to get to a clinic or hospital in emergency (or pre planned) purposes, travel during the rainy season (esp. with out us there) is definitely more difficult and out in the bush, anything can happen. 

- Lastly, please pray that God enables the children, staff, and locals to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and be able to celebrate and cherish in their hearts the greatest gift of all that was given to us.

Belita familyWhile it is a bit scary being away for such a time, it is a good reminder to us of whom we are relying on to meet the needs of the orphanage and provide for them – us or God – the one who started this project, loves these children and villagers more than we ever could, and who promised to complete the Good work that He started. 

Thank you for your continued partnership, prayers, and support of us and the ministry over these past years.  We and all the kids, staff, and villagers involved with the project thank you, and wish you a Merry Christmas, and a God blessed New Year in 2012. 

Projects completed!

After the past few weeks of long work hours, late nights, and little rest we are happy to report that most of the work that we had hoped to get done before the rains came is now complete!  God has been good to give us the strength, energy, wisdom, help, and grace needed for each day and although all of us are quite tired (both from the intense heat and the long work hours) it is so nice to look around and see all that God has allowed to be brought to completion recently.

The Preschool

preschool edited We are happy to report that the preschool is plastered, floor completed, windows and doors installed, door varnished, walls painted, shelves hung and stocked in the store room, and furniture complete.  Alyssa now has the preschool table editedclassroom and store room set up almost exactly as she wants it and now all that is missing is the children.    Did I mention that all the furniture that is there had to be built by Alyssa and Jako?  It took several weeks to get from the raw, uncut, rough pieces of wood called “planks” to finished, planed, cut, routed, screwed and nailed, varnished furniture but now all is ready and perfectly fitted for the children that will start coming at the opening early February after our return from South Africa.Oct 2011 002Oct Nov 2011 099

Alyssa’s Flat

Amber Painting Alyssa is also very happy to have officially moved into her newly completed flat.  Just like the preschool, lots of work went into installing doors and windows, painting, getting basic furniture, and making her place her own.  Now not only does she have her own “haven” to be able to do all her office work and rest at the end of a long day but now there is also additional accommodation available for any single ladies that may want to come and visit/help. DSC_0155_edited-1

Visit Alyssa’s website at www.alyssabolles.blogspot.com in order to see more pictures of the completed flat and preschool and to hear more about it from her perspective.    

A new warehouse roof

Jako building roof And if those first two building projects were not enough to focus on these past several months, we recently decided that there was now a urgent need to put up a big outdoor carport/open warehouse roof in order to protect our vehicles, tractor, and various tractor implements and other things from the rain and mud this rainy season.  No small project considering the size of the roof that was needed was 8m x 15m (approx 24x45ft) and it was now the hottest time of the whole year – not the best time to be working in the full heat of the shade on top of shiny tin.  Needless to say there were lots of days where Jako was up early to work on it and then late into the night in order to make use of all the cool weather he could.  With time getting short before we had to leave there were days when we wondered if this would be completed in time but now we are happy to report that the roof is now up and complete.roof complete  Eventually we hope to close up at least some of the sides a bit and install a few shelves along the one wall but for now the vehicles, tractor, quad, and various big power tools (like the planer) and building materials are stored safely underneath.

Field and Crop Preparations

The last big “work” project that we felt we had to tackle before we left was to prepare the orphanage crop field for planting this Charles year.  With everything else needing to be done we didn’t how we  were going to have time to get everything ready but God was good and provided Sakumbilla (one of our local part time general workers) with the ability and desire to be able to work the tractor for us.   With the help of Charles (our local foreman), this enabled Jako to keep working on the other projects (mainly the warehouse roof) while they tended to clearing and plowing the land, preparing it for the planting of the corn.  Jakob raincoatAt the time of our leaving, there hadn’t yet been enough rain for us to plant the 1 1/2 hectares that had been prepared but plans are in place for Sakumbilla and Charles to do that at the appropriate time in our absence.  The local orphanage committee has pledged their help as well.  Please pray with us that God would provide the right amount of rain at the right time and both wisdom and discretion for the locals to know how to tend to this important task while we are gone.

Bugging Out!

Just on a fun note – as much as rainy season is often the favorite time of year for us as everything is new, fresh and breathes of “new life” it is often the time that the bugs seem to take over as well.  So, if bugs are not your favorite thing – you might want to consider another time of year to visit and help us.  However, if you like to see things beautiful and green – now is the time to come – and if you do – you might even be offered a tasty treat of the big flying termites (shown on our outside kitchen sink) nicely fried by the locals.  They are a true delicacy here.  Here are a few pictures of our recent bug invasion – both inside our house and in our outside kitchen.

bugs inside bugs kitchen

Saturday, October 29, 2011

The God who “truly” looks after the least of these

Rarely have I been as excited as I am today to write an update about recent happenings here at the orphanage.  For those that know me (Amber), you know that writing is not my gift and that I often struggle with it but God has done so many wonderful things here lately that this time, I just can’t wait to share it all with you

Baby Isaac

Oct 2011 052 Before I go any further, let me say a big THANK YOU to all of you who prayed for Baby Isaac.  He returned back to the orphanage last week and is doing amazingly well, gaining weight and looking like a whole new baby.  In fact, the housemother’s even joke that he is drinking too much now : ) We were overwhelmed with messages of support and prayers from all over the world for him and I have no doubt that that played a role in the miracle that God provided to save his life.  Only God knows the plans that He has for this little one but we do know that at such a young age, God has already used him to display his love, grace, and healing power to many in this community.  To God, the true author and finisher of life, be the glory forever and ever AMEN. 

Baby Esther’s Graduation and Sylvia

Now if the miracle of Isaac’s healing wasn’t enough to give God praise this month, God also showed us his love and watch care over the “least of these” in the life of little Esther as well.  Please allow me to tell her story.

For those of you that might remember, little Esther came to us in October of last year (2010).  Her mom was very sick and died shortly after her birth and although Esther was probably born only a few weeks early, she was very small at only 2kgs (4.4lbs).  Even preemie clothes were big on her.  Her situation was different than most however because unlike all of our other children, her father was still alive. IMG_2438 Here we were stuck with a dilemma.  We had decided from the beginning, that since we wanted this to be a community orphanage we would only take double orphans to live at the orphanage.  Unfortunately we had seen too many times parents wanting to give away their responsibility as parents to let other people raise their kids and we didn’t want to encourage that or ask the community to take on a bigger burden than they could handle.  However, tiny Esther had no milk and the father had no money to buy formula for her.  Not wanting to start the trend of giving out formula (for many reasons) we told the family to bring the child to us to care for her until we could decided what to do. 

After a few hours of intense prayer we decided that since we had 2 housemothers and only 8 kids and 1 baby at the orphanage at the time, we would agree to make an exception to care for Esther but only if the father was able to agree to three important requirements-  1) that IMGP2058 she would only stay at the orphanage until 1 year of age when she no longer needed formula 2) that the father would have to volunteer one day a week to visit and help at the orphanage in exchange for her formula and care 3) that the father would have to attend all of her medical check ups with the housemother.   We then left the choice with him as to whether he wanted us to agree to care for her (with those conditions) or if he wanted to take her to another orphanage 2 hours away from us.  We were surprised when he agreed and then even more surprised when he actually did what he promised to do (with a little prompting) and showed up almost every Sunday for a year to visit her and help with manual labor at the orphanage. 

As the year time frame began to near however, Gift (the father) began to beg us to keep Esther longer because of difficulties at home.  He feared that his other wife would not care or look after Esther 1 the needs of Esther since she was not her own. While Ennie (the housemother) and us all shared his concern, knowing that that often happens in this culture, we felt we would be setting a bad example to keep her longer when she did have a father who had the responsibility to care for her.  We discussed other options that the father could look into (having another family member care for her until she was older, etc) and basically said that we would pray along with him for God to help him find a solution.  The year date was fast approaching though and it looked like she was just going to have to be returned home, to a family that she barely knew, and that we were just going to have to pray that God would look after her there. That is…. until something amazing happened …. : )

Somewhat out of the blue, one of our part time housemothers, Sylvia, who had been with us since the start of the orphanage, came to us, relaying her desire to resign her post at the IMGP2137 orphanage.  It seems that she was struggling with traveling the long distances between her house and the orphanage and it was starting to effect her health.  We told her that we would miss her but understood her situation and she gave her two week notice.  Then, the next weekend we heard rumor that she, somehow being distantly related to Esther (which we didn’t know) had offered to take her to her home to care for her.  Being a widow herself with only one 8 year old son, she felt she had the means and now the time and since Esther was already familiar and attached with her, it was evident that this was GOD’s perfect provision.  The father agreed and even now, I can’t help but smile at the way that God works.

While we will miss both Sylvia and Esther and their presence at the orphanage, our hearts are now at peace knowing that God has brought the two of them together, and that HE will continue to provide for all of their needs, just as He has from the beginning. 

All of this blows our roofs off (literally!)

I will leave this blogOct 2011 026 entry with pictures of the preschool  roof  which took a hit when a big wind came through a few weeks ago.  While not the kind of news we wanted to hear (or see), especially when it seems we just finished putting that roof up, it is pretty hysterical how it flipped the whole side over, just like the page of a book – all one piece ALyssa Oct 2011 211completely attached.  Please pray that God will give us wisdom how to try to fix or reattach it without too much difficulty.  After trying to flip it today with a whole “crew” of men from the local villages, we confirmed that it was too heavy to flip back in one piece like we had hoped.  The men however agreed to all return on Monday and Tuesday to help reconstruct the roof piece by piece.  Maybe this community involvement is what God intended from the whole thing : )

with much appreciation for your prayers and continued support of us and the ministry,

Amber, Jako and Jakob John Joubert

Donations can be made out to Mission of Love with Jako and Amber in the memo line and send to:

21457 Lake Sharon Drive

Land O Lakes

Florida

34638

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Baby Isaac Update

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many prayers that have gone out on behalf of precious baby Isaac and Praise be to God for His grace and healing hand that has sustained Isaac this far.  ALyssa Oct 2011 214 We are happy to report that he is doing MUCH better now and looked like a completely different baby when we saw him on Sunday.  He had noticeably filled out with his skin more elastic and supple and was even awake and quite active when we were there.  The word we got then was that he would most likely be released to go home on Monday but today we heard that they are wanting to hold him just a bit longer.  We don't mind as all that we want is for him to be well and healthy by the time he is released so the longer they are able to monitor and help him at the hospital the better. ALyssa Oct 2011 222 We are full of joy because he is doing so much better, full of gratitude for all of your prayers, and stand in awe and wonder once again of God's goodness, love and power to save, protect, and heal.  Thank you for your continued prayers as Isaac is still very small and fragile.  We will let you know when he is home at the orphanage and how he does after his arrival.  We are sending with a picture so you can see how much better little Isaac is looking.  We hope it does your heart as good as it did ours

Urgent Prayer Request for Baby Isaac

This Sunday we received our newest addition Oct 2011 010into the orphanage- a one month old baby that was born to a 19 year old mother who  got pregnant while going to school.  While she was pregnant she ended up getting an infection and gave birth a month early, only to die a few weeks later.  When we received the baby the mother had passed away 3 days earlier and the baby had survived until then on a bit of goats milk.  While he was obviously small and very thin (2.5kgs/5.7 lbs) we didn't think he looked too bad and figured that his health should improve pretty quickly with access to formula and good care from the mothers. 

However, that never happened and despite frequent feedings where he drank well, his little body did not seem to improve and the slight cough turned a bit worse.  He even looked like he was loosing weight but we took him to the clinic on Thursday where he was prescribed some medicine and we hoped that that would do the trick.

This morning however we were woken up very early by the mothers saying that Isaac was  Sep 2011 176very sick and that he had been up the whole night vomiting, with diarrhea, and was too weak to drink.  As soon as we heard this we made quick plans for Alyssa and Gretchen to get him to the nearest "good" hospital, a 3 hour drive away, all the while praying that he would at least make it there.  Upon arrival he was admitted almost immediately, given an IV, and they say that he will be there until at least Monday. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS LITTLE BOY WHO IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE.  When we received him and before the family left, we publicly dedicated the child to God and broke any bonds or dedications that might have been made for him at birth and so we are asking for immediate prayers for healing for Isaac in a way that would bring God glory and honor and show those around, in this community, and further - once again, the power, love and grace of God our Father. 

Thank you for taking a moment to life this little life up in prayer, to the care of the best Father there is, and for asking for wisdom for us, the mothers, and the doctors in how best to provide for his needs. 

The pictures below are one of Isaac taken Wednesday afternoon and the other as he was admitted into the hospital around noon today (Friday).

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”

Jeremiah 29:12

Friday, October 7, 2011

September 2011

South Africa Breakdowns
We enjoyed the rest of our time in South Africa connecting with friends and supporters but were also very busy running errands and getting various supplies for the orphanage.  Our trip back to Zambia however proved more eventful than we had hoped as we were plagued with multiple vehicle breakdowns.  Thankfully P9070006 God allowed us to get to a big town (Ellisrus) and then provided a wonderful family with a guesthouse who allowed Jako to park the Hilux out front and turn their drive into a temporary workshop.  This family (who we had never met before) was more than hospitable not only offering us a good price on their lodging but good home cooked food and friendship as well.  After 1 1/2 days of Jako getting dirty and replacing and checking many things (bearings, brake discs, fuel pump and prop shaft) we were back on the road and happy to be moving again. 
Amber’s Surprise
The rest of the drive thankfully proved uneventful but Amber was quite surprised when we arrived Sep 2011 122back in Zambia and stopped to visit a friend but found a whole houseful of people yelling “surprise” instead!  Unbeknownst to her, Alyssa and Gretchen had been planning this surprise baby shower for some time and it was such a blessing – great food, fellowship, and fun.  Needless to say that the thoughts and effort behind this touched Amber’s heart more than words can say (by the way if you didn’t get the news Jakob will be getting a baby brother)
Baby # 6 She… no He
Upon our arrival back home we were happy to find things in good working order.  We were surprised to find that this 12 day old little girl we had heard about and admitted while we were gone Sep 2011 052 was actually a boy named Emmanuel.  Zambians often confuse the pronouns “he” with “she” as the Tonga language is gender neutral so that is probably where the confusion came in.  With his mother very sick (she passed away a few weeks later) and an unknown father he was referred to us by the local village clinic (see below) and is a very lovable little boy.  We found out later that the grandparents (who were caring for the mother) are busy caring for 10 other kids, (6 under the age of 10) three of which are his half siblings, so resources and their ability to care for another child are very stretched.
Stella doing stellar : )
We were happy to see that our temporary house help, Stella, was proving to be a benefit when the mom’s Sep 2011 086took their turn being gone on their annual holiday.  It is so good to see the way that God  provide for all the needs of the orphanage. In fact it even seems as though Stella will eventually be hired to work at the orphanage preschool when it opens in February.  This will be perfect as her understanding of English is very good and she will still be available to fill in at the orphanage on an as need basis when one of the mom’s is sick or in special circumstances.
Home Improvements
God, in his great wisdom, knowing the amount and size of the tasks needing to be completed here before the rains come and we return to South Africa the end of November for the birth, blessed us with two American friends from Kalomo to help us for a while.  Tara was able to stay a week and Gretchen will be staying with us for a month.  Both have proved to be big blessing and helped.
Jako (and Alyssa) have been working furiously on our big “to-do” list around camp and Amber has been extra happy that their DSC_0082 house is finally getting some upgrades.  While we have been living in the house for over a year and a half now, often other needs such as orphanage needs, crops, community needs etc. end up having to take priority (which is understandable) but now “finishes” such as sliding curtain rods in all the rooms (instead of pushing the curtains through the burglar bars), doors on all the inside rooms (instead of the temporary fabric hangings), light and an electrical outlet in all the rooms and having the guest toilet,Sep 2011 062 guest shower and master bath all fully completed with plumbing, fixtures and painted is extra nice!  With all of that done, it definitely feels more like “home” here and the house won’t be a construction zone when we bring home a newborn.  Thanks Tara for varnishing all of our and the orphanage’s wooden doors and Gretchen for all your help painting those tedious bathrooms : )
Bed Bugs Bugging Us
Our home was not the only home to get attention though.  For longer than a year now, the orphanage house has been plagued with nasty little insects called bed bugs.  These things hide during the day, come out at night to bite the kids, and are extremely difficult to get rid of.  Despite buying different chemicals to spray on them several times and even having the local village clinic come out to spray for them more than once, these little bugs were still bugging us…. that is until now.
Sep 2011 038Recently we decided that it was time for drastic measures.  Wednesday we gave all of the kids plastic bags and asked them  to place all of their belongings in one bag each.  We then asked the moms to do the same with all of their things and then literally carried everything that was moveable outside of the orphanage.  Thursday Charles sprayed the entire house, top to bottom, making sure to get up in the ceiling, get all the corners, and thoroughly coat all the furniture that was stripped bare inside and out.  Due to health reasons from the fumes, the moms and kids “camped” out in the kitchen for two nights.  During the day the moms and the ladies here (Amber, Alyssa, Gretchen and Tara) helped to clean every thing that was washable before it went back inside.  Sep 2011 128 The mom’s tackled all of their personal items as well as all of the baby things while we took back to our house ALL of the kids clothing, blankets, bedding, curtains, and mosquito nets to be washed.  What a job that was!  As soon as a load was finished and thoroughly dried each item had to be ironed to be sure that every bug and every egg was killed.  We were going to make certain this time that no bug made it back inside.
Saturday was our big move in day and everyone (including all the Sep 2011 045 kids) worked hard to wipe and clean the house before starting the work of moving back in.  Everything that the kids brought back in had to be “approved” and we, as management, used the big “spring” (really summer) clean as a chance to rearrange rooms and give the moms a more space with our ever growing population of babies.  I think every one was excited to get to start off again with fresh clean everything (as well as new rules to keep things that way) and so far PRAISE GOD – no bed bugs!!!!!  The house moms and kids say they are sleeping lovely now and the babies and house mothers seem to be enjoying the baby play corner that each of the bigger bedrooms now have.
Other Work being done (Spiritual and Physical)
September month provided little rest for the weary out here.  While Charles has been busy cutting poles to redo the orchard fence (cattle have already eaten some of our banana trees once again), Jako and Alyssa have been busy finishing both the roof on the preschool and Sep 2011 083Alyssa’s flat, putting a roof on the orphanage kitchen pantries, fixing lighting and electrical issues at the orphanage, fixing broken doors, handles, and furniture at the orphanage, accepting preschool applications (due to start early Feb 2012), planning for field clearing and planting and hiring locals to fill some of these jobs.  Amber has been hard at work on getting caught up with much needed Administrative stuff and of course the daily/weekly programs of community welding, Children’s sunday school, and Sunday Bible Study still continue and are growing strong.  Jako has been able to have some good discussions with locals that He has been discipling lately and Alyssa was even able to start a weekly Bible study with the house mothers.
Transportation Provision
One bit of encouragement that we did get this month was a “new” (actually a redone) LandRover.  After finding out that Amber was pregnant again we realized that the needs of our family and ministry were fast outgrowing the provisions that we currently had.  Just in doing the numbers- our family of four and Alyssa would fill up our Hilux (leaving no space for locals going to the hospital or clinic or no space to pick up any volunteers) and even though Jako fixed the broken chasis of it as best as he could, it is still greatly limited in the amount of weight it can now carry in the back for building supplies or orphanage provisions.  Our other original vehicle, an old 1964 Landrover, while a great work donkey in the bush, is simply not suitable or reliable enough for lots of open road driving.
Earlier this year we started praying and looking at different vehicles, pricing them and weighing the short term and long term benefits that each would offer not only for our family but for the ministry as a whole.  We knew that no matter what we got the vehicle would have to do “double duty” – being able to handle the daily demands of off road conditions, hauling in building supplies, and heavy orphanage provisions while also being able to serve as a basic family vehicle for traveling back to South Africa and for business in Lusaka and Livingstone.  After much prayer and looking around we realized, once again, how limited (and expensive) good second hand vehicles are in Zambia.  Almost by accident, God happened to lead Jako to a business in Livingstone that fixes LandRovers where he learned that the owner was in the process of redoing an older LandRover and trying to decide if he was going to rent it out for hire or sell it.  God began to make it clear that this was the vehicle that he intended for us.
While it technically is an older model (1989) it has been 90% Sep 2011 080redone which makes Jako happy (as he is always having to fix one of our vehicles- the joys of off road conditions), and it’s design is just perfect to meet our growing family and ministry needs.  Not only can it fit up to 10 people in it with it’s bench seats in the back, it also has a luggage cage allowing it to piled to the top with building supplies or orphanage provisions.  It was built to carry a heavy load and has strong roof rack on the top providing it the ability to carry big or awkward size building materials/ supplies and was amazingly in a price range which was “reasonable” (very rare for Zambia).  We received the vehicle in the middle of the month and are just so thankful to God for ALL His continuing provision – that He lead us to the right place at just the right time to get the right vehicle.  Please pray for God’s hand of watch care over the vehicle so that it can continue to meet all the needs of our family and the ministry for many years to come. 
What’s in Store for October/ November ?
Work, work and more work…..Please pray for an added dose of strength, energy, motivation, grace,Sep 2011 001 mercy, and blessing on all of us as we continue to work long hours every day to try to get all the tasks completed that we hope to have completed before the rains begin and we leave end of November for the birth in South Africa.  Some of the big things on the list is the finishing of both Alyssa’s flat and the education center/preschool (we had some difficulty with the previous builder which caused some BIG delays and since have hired someone else to finish and correct his mistakes).  There are also small maintenance projects that need to be completed at the orphanage as well as clearing and preparing land for plowing and planting all before the end of November. Please pray for us during this busy time – that God will provide energy and strength to work, sweet periods of rest and refreshment in between, provisions for every need, and wisdom to know what projects to tackle when. 
Kauwe Clinic Prayer Need
One last things that we wanted to mention and ask for prayer for.  During the past few months there has been rumor of the government closing down the local village medical clinic at Kauwe.  At only an hours drive away it is the closest medical facility to us.  The nearest hospital is about a 2 hour drive away one way.  The reason for this is increased instances of witch-crafting and spells being put on nurses and doctors.   It has already been closed for a few days and then reopened and we have been told that it is most likely to permanently close on October 14th.  Please keep this situation in your prayers because not only does it affect the medical care that us and the children at the orphanage receive (vaccinations, ARV treatments, general medicine) it also affects the quality of life of all of the villagers out here.  We fear that many people will die because of lack of care if this clinic is shut done and it will be a great hardship to us and the children here as well but we also know that God can use this situation to show more of His Power.  Please pray that God’s love and power will be made known in this area and that everyone around will see that Perfect Love (God) casts out  all fear and that nothing in this world is greater than He. 
Sep 2011 060To God be the glory, great things He has done and Great things He will continue to do!
With much appreciation and  gratitude to God for making all of this possible and for all our wonderful prayer and financial supporters,
Jako, Amber and Jakob John Joubert


Friday, September 2, 2011

August 2011

Alyssa Work Permit Granted: )
After the departure of the church  team our travels led us to Lusaka where we happily discovered that Alyssa’s work permit has been granted!  Thank you for all of your prayers.  Unfortunately they were out of the work permit books so for the time being all she has is a stamped receipt saying “granted” but at least they say we can check up on them (when they arrive) in Livingstone instead of traveling all the way to Lusaka again.  We hope that is the case but for right now we just say Thank you Lord!
Meanwhile back at home
When we returned back to Mukamba the main task at hand was the roof for Alyssa’s flat.  Jako, Alyssa and several of the locals worked hard and made pretty good progress but unfortunately were not able to complete it before it was time to leave to South Africa. June 2011 050 Visits from local missionary friends, inventorying the orphanage food and toiletries supplies and then buying additional supplies for the time that we were gone also occupied some of our time.
“Sew” many blessings
One special visit that we had was from a dear friend of ours Corrie who although she had many difficulties on her journey from South Africa, still persevered to pay us a visit and deliver to us the gift of 3 hand sewing machines for the mom’s to use and to teach the children with.  We are so excited about the possibilities that this allows, not only in allowing the mothers to make many of the things that we need for the orphanage (ie. school uniforms, and then cushion covers for the benches in the house) but also in teaching the children a practical trade skill.  Needless to say mothers and children alike were both very happy!Corrie 2
Praise God for his continued abundant provision for us all.
Sanford – age 3
Just a few days before we left for South Africa we took our 15th child into the orphanage house, a precious 3 year old boy named Sanford.  He was staying with his grandfather, step grandmother, June 2011 063 and many other kids  but in very impoverished conditions.  From what we were told, his mother got pregnant in high school and passed away from a heart condition a few years later.  As is common in these situations his father is unknown.  Due to lack of family resources (they stay in just a stick hut without even mud between) Sanford developed stomach TB from malnutrition (note the orange hair) but has been in treatment for it for a few months and is beginning to improve.  To aide in the transition to the orphanage home, his sister (technically aunt) stayed the day and night with him and he was feeling a lot more comfortable with hisJune 2011 060 new surroundings when she left.  It was really sweet to see the other orphanage kids gather around him and give him extra love and support in his first few days there – I am sure they all remember how hard it was for them. Please pray for this sweet young boy as he has to adjust to new surroundings and for his health to continue improving.  It will take at least another 4 months of treatment to cure his TB if not longer but I am sure that we will begin to see improvement in him sooner just from the better nutrition and food that he will have access to now.
South Africa Visit
August 18th, with orphanage supplies fully stocked we left for a   short visit to South Africa.  While there our plan is to get a good prenatal check up for Amber (now 24 weeks pregnant), make arrangements for the delivery in December, visit supporting churches, and pick up necessary goods and items for the orphanage and ministry.  We are enjoying our time here and especially visiting with friends, family, and supporters since the last time that we saw many of them was almost a year ago.  Please pray for the rest of our time here, safe traveling mercies for the way back, and for safe, wise, running of the orphanage and the children while we are gone.
Orphanage Update
Thanks for your prayers for Otervia. IMG_6228 She is doing much better now and seems to get stronger every day.  Since our time here in South Africa, Charles called to let us know that the clinic just referred to them a 12 day old baby girl.  From what we understand the mother is very sick in the clinic and the father is unwilling to take responsibility for any of them.  For right now we have agreed to take care of her temporarily until we get back and further assess the situation .  At the time being the orphanage now has 16 kids 6 of which are under 2.  Charles also informed us that Social Welfare came by to visit today and that they were very happy to see how smoothly things were running there, especially with us being gone.  Praise God for his continued favor and grace on us.  We’ll update the blog again upon our return. 
Until then thank you for all your prayers, love, support, and encouragement.
Jako, Amber and Jakob John Joubert