Monica's Rehoboth Update

Hi,

I hope you are doing well and having a great summer. We had a great trip and George and Anne-Marie are still working on the garden and having success with it. Last year, people drove from Windhoek to buy their corn! One issue with the garden is that in the winter there is not much that will grow. In order to balance that out, they have expanded to include chickens, a few pigs, and orange trees. Also, they are starting a bakery at the same site as the garden. A huge praise is that George has made a contact with an organization that has agreed to buy all of the crops and bakery items they produce. In addition, the organization will help fund some of the raw materials they need upfront.

The Children at the Ark were doing Ok. They have about 23 there now as some like Anita, Chico and Dumpty (we saw them on Thursday)

have gone to live with their families and the others are with George and Anne Marie. CHI has struggled to get house parents at the Ark since October. You can tell this has had a huge impact on the children! The older kids especially were having a hard time. Please pray that CHI might find the right parents for the ARK. Also, it is George and Anne Maries dream to someday have the Children's Home . Please pray for that as well. We were able to visit with the kids after school for three days and do crafts and play games with them. They really enjoyed getting the love and attention. They asked how you all were doing and wished you could have come too!

Auntie Johanna and Selma are still at the Ark and the rest of the aunties are new. Auntie Suzzette is staying at the building in the garden and working for George and Anne Marie and doing care and compassion with Anne-Marie a few times a week. Auntie Jennifer got married and moved to Windhoek. Auntie Rachel is doing well and still lives right behind the Ark. She has such a huge heart and prays for us all daily.

At the schools, we were greeted with open arms. The principals gave us their classrooms for the day and the students yelled out our names in the hallways. They asked about many of you by name. The impact you made on the kids is tremendous! One of the highlights for me was having a girl come up to me at school with her " Choose to Wait" photo from November 2005. She carries it with her every day.

We spent time with the kids in block E. It was great because we took the afternoon to bring some crafts for the kids and just hung out with them for a few hours. One boy kept saying to us, " You must come every Saturday." They had such pride carrying their crafts to their homes.

Many of you had the opportunity to meet the young boy, Daniel, on the last trip. He is much stronger and has put on weight. Elly's Mom is taking care of him on a regular basis. It is inspiring to see Elly's Mom taking care of him since she lost her own.

For those of you who know Wisey, he is doing well. We met his fiancée from Holland who was visiting there are a few months. Wisey is working at the furniture store in town.

Also, we spent some time with Giovanni. He was helpful in many of our meetings and is a solid young guy. We sure surprised him when we tracked him down!

Have a great weekend! We miss you.
Monica Harter