A New Van

Today was a day of celebration as Pastor Michael drove into the shipyard to show us the new van that he had bought with the remainder of the offering money.  He was like a kid with a new toy and I lost count of the number of times that he told me "look, it starts first time".  He gave us a tour of the engine space and seats are going to be put in the back to transport everyone around.  The kids were additionally pleased as they gave thanks for not having to push the van anymore.

But it doesn't just stop at the orphanage, Pastor Michael and his wife, Michaela, do so much for those in their church and the surrounding area.  His servant heart brings many people knocking on his door for help and his compassion for them never gets put aside, so this van not only helps the orphanage but the church and the community around  them.

Thank you all for making this dream possible.

Our Little Swimmer

One of our aims this year was to get Nathanael swimming which is kind of difficult when his Mother can't swim and his Father is a busy man.  He had some lessons when we were in the USA but the 5 kids to a class didn't quite work for him and we came to realise that he really needed a one on one teacher. So we were really grateful when Michelle offered to teach him and we, in turn, paid her a little pocket money to go towards her college "accessories" when she graduates from the ship school this month.  She is hoping to go onto to become a Radiologist.

So every Wednesday and Thursday after school we would head up to the pool deck and gradually over time he built enough courage to swim with just the noodle.  Michelle took it very slowly so he would gain her trust as swimming just a few feet was out of the question for him.

 and soon he was swimming the whole length of the ship swimming pool

Then working on swimming underwater

 and finally jumping in (we're still working on that) 

 and when it get's tough he just lies back.

Well done Nathanael for doing so well.  

The Rent is Paid in Full!

You may remember a couple of months ago we were trying to raise some money for the God is Love Orphanage so they could pay their yearly rent of $3500 that was due at the end of April. (see March blog post).

(Picture taken during a recent visit to the ship)

Thank you to all that gave to help this come to fruition, and it did.  We also had the opportunity to have our cause included as one of the ships offerings that are done in the our weekly community meeting.  We are constantly amazed how those who already give so much to be here continue on giving in such an amazing way.  

Through that offering and the donations through yourselves we were able to raise enough money to pay off the rent of another year and also hopefully replace their VERY broken down van.  If you can imagine having to push your car every time you need to go anywhere, or even having to stop every few miles to fill it up with water that continues to gush out the bottom, you will understand that this is something that is needed.  Maybe some of you have been there with your car but it was probably only a temporary solution to get it home after a break down.  This is normal life here in Africa and it's amazing how creative they can be to get another journey out of their car or van.  So as we have enough money, we thought it would be good to replace it.  So please pray that they find the right one soon.  Transporting 22 kids is not an easy task by foot!

(22 crammed in a van!)

 So just over a week ago we had the privilege to be witnesses to the signing of the rent from 2013 - 2014.

Yes that is 24 million Guinea Francs ($3500) sitting in a plastic bag!  That's how it's done and has actually become quite a normal thing to do!

Continue to check out their website news at: www.godisloveorphanagenews.blogspot.com - you can see some of the things we have been doing with them during our time here.