Alair and Lydia having fun doing dishes
Family Pic at the Source of the Nile
Frog on Alair's hand
Dan with Caleb harvesting maze.
Sarah with Kayesu (Pacific Family)
Family and Friends,
What a joy it has been this month working for New Hope. We are both engaging the children that we work with in Pacific family. Caleb is leading Tuesday night devotions and Alair is leading Thursday night devotions. We are also planning game night every other Friday and Alair is baking with the girls on Friday afternoons. Caleb has been teaching computer to several Ugandan students and has been able to build some significant relationships as he teaches the vital skill of typing. It seems like we are busier than bees these days, and as each week passes new responsibilities come our way and new relationships are being formed. We are thankful to see God growing and deepening our relationships as we plan our involvement with our family group. Now we have to maintain a balance with ministering inside and outside our own family.
Poor Nico got malaria as many of you know but he is doing better and is back to himself. Caleb’s cousin Lydia Smith has now joined us here at New Hope and we are excited that she is now part of the family. We picked her up from Kampala last Saturday. She was with a team from Anderson University working with the Stevenson’s who are part of the Church of God. Lydia has been such a blessing to us during the past couple of weeks helping with Nico, and jumping in right away with Pacific Family, and what timing as we have been “in transit…”
MOVING! MOVING! MOVING! Or as they say in Uganda we “shifted” out of the one bedroom we were stating in into a two-bedroom house that is empty right now because the our friends the Zimmerman’s are on furlough back in the U.S. We shifted because Desire, a new missionary from the states who has come to run the guest house is staying in the one bedroom apt. The hope was to shift into a three-bedroom house however that move is contingent on a new house being completed so that the family that is in the three-bedroom house can shift into their new house and we can move into their old one. Well you may have guessed it, the house is not finished, hence this second temporary shift. (We’re not counting all the temporary moves back in the states over the past couple years=). Pray with us and everyone involved in the “wait and shift game.” What a blessing to see New Hope growing, and with it the growing pains; the opportunity to grow in patience and flexibility… needed, but not always our favorite blessing in disguise is it?
Caleb has been excited about some of the new ventures New Hope is getting into. As I’m sure you all know Caleb is very passionate about coffee and all that it entails. He had the opportunity a few weeks ago to go on a “coffee safari.” Joel, a student accompanied Caleb on the day’s journey. While on the safari they learned a great deal about Ugandan coffee and made many valuable contacts. The trip include a trip to the Ugandan Coffee Authority, a major coffee processing plant, a coffee roasting plant, the Ugandan Coffee Research Center, and last stop was a beautiful farm in Mukono where he learned how to wet process the coffee bean. Caleb also planted his first coffee tree. While we were in the Institute last summer, Caleb helped Joel start a small business roasting coffee to sell at New Hope. Since then Joel has shown great interested in learning the process in more depth and doing it for a full time job. After their safari Joel announced, “Wow, what an exciting day, I am ready to start growing coffee.”
Caleb has been helping promote New Hopes book The Long Road to Hope by going to the many different Kampala book stores to follow up on sales and make new sales. Have you read it yet? Information on purchasing a copy can be found on New Hope’s website at http://www.newhopeuganda.org/ 100% of the sales go to fund the IY (Investment Year) program.
Caleb is also excited about his temporary job with New Hope starting next month. He will be working with the short term teams that come to visit New Hope. Nancy Kirsh who is the team’s coordinator will be attending the New Hope Institute of Child Care and Family in July and will need help with teams. Caleb is excited about the relationships he will get to build and he is also looking forward to learning a different aspect of what happens here at New Hope. During these several months he will continue working on special projects and fundraising.
In the midst of all the busyness May 6th-9th was New Hope's 3rd annual foreign staff retreat, but our first. It was held in beautiful Jinja on Lake Victoria at the source of the Nile River. It was a joy for us to better get to know and fellowship with the whole team of foreign staff both old and new, which includes Christ followers from the U.S. and the U.K. who all have hearts to see the fatherless come to know our Father and experience His fatherhood. The retreat was a refreshing time of rest and of hearing Gods word from facilitators George and Donna, former missionaries in Venezuela for many years who now have a ministry of encouraging other missionaries around the world. We praise God for the time we had together!
Love to each of you,
Caleb, Alair & Nicolas
