It is December.

In the last week the school closed, the Christmas play was performed, we had a leadership retreat at the coast, and now we are preparing classes for the new year. Phew!
 The last week of school was a mad rush, teachers worked on grades and finishing up grades, and the students were getting antsy. David had, and still has, loads to do in the admin department. The last day of school was a celebration complete with gifts for each child, and a hearty delicious lunch.
The Christmas play was a great success! The kids completely enjoyed themselves, the audience was enthralled. It was great to see people completely enjoy themselves. The play ended with the kids declaring to their community that more than anything else on earth they need Jesus Christ. This is why we are here.
There were tears too as some kids were forgotten by their caregivers, one mother showed up so drunk she spent the evening walking up and down the aisle making a fool of herself. Thanks for the prayers, and I hope that next year some of you will be here to see the play first hand!
This past weekend David and I went to Swakopmund with the Hunters, Marye, and Archie and Rome. It was a much needed retreat. We prayed for the next school year, spent some time on the beach, and got to know each other better. The highlight of the weekend was a Thanksgiving feast on Sunday night. I made the turkey, it was a hit. I used lemons and oranges this year, and I think I found my new favorite turkey recipe!
We have been sitting in class for two days now, and will be until the end of the week, preparing for next year. I will be teaching health, science, geography, grammar, and art. David will be teaching discipleship, and P.E.
If you made it this far thanks for reading this boring update 🙂

Please continue to pray for us, and especially for each and every student at CHS.

A little taste of our Thanksgiving…

Thanksgiving.

On Thursday night our school will have it’s annual Christmas play, I can’t think of a better way to spend thanksgiving. The kids are so excited, the costumes are ready, the lines are memorized, and the dance steps are ready to dazzle! For one night the residents of Katutura will forget the heartache outside.

Have a blessed thanksgiving this year, remember that Christ has come, and say a prayer for each and every student at Community Hope School

A Christmas cast of Characters…

Last night we put up our Christmas tree! We decided when we moved here in May that we would buy these little beaded creatures to decorate the tree with. It was kind of sad to not have any of our ornaments here, they are still at the Echols’ in Colorado. These animals are made by local Namibians, and they are sold at a craft market in town. Here they are:

 I know it might be strange to call an animal that will eat your face off “sympathetic,” but doesn’t the lion just look like he gets it? Barney the Hippo is named after the Simpsons characther, there seems to be a resemblance. My personal favorite is the penguin, some of you out there will know why more than others, don’t you just love his beady little eyes?
Merry Christmas season everyone!!

The view…

It’s like climbing Everest barefoot.

In a recent sermon the preacher said that sometimes faith does not move mountains, and it is then that we get on our boots and climb them. Another preached from James, it was one of the best sermons I have heard recently. He spoke about trials, about how faith is grown and stretched during times of pain and difficulty.
I think sometimes we as humans forget that God has a plan, that He is in control, and that all things will work out for the good of those who love Him.
Today I want to let you know that if you are in the middle of a trial, and if you feel like you are climbing Mt. Everest barefoot, you are not alone.
Keep going, you will reach the summit!

Glo–OoO-oOo-OoOreeeea!!

We are two weeks away from the Community Hope School Christmas extravaganza! That also means that we are two weeks away from this school year being over!! This past weekend we had the sixth grade dance group over to our house to put the finishing touches on their dance. It was a blast! The dance is coming together beautifully, we added the running man, a slow motion section, some Kwaito (like African break dancing), and the robot. It is pretty hilarious to watch. Did I mention that we are dancing to Relient K’s rendition of “Angels we have heard on high?”

We also had some lunch and the kids decided they wanted to watch “The lion, the with, and the wardrobe,” but after a few moments they decided to watch “Home alone.” It was great, the kids kept laughing and laughing and laughing, I think we could have cut out the rest of the movie and only watched the “action parts,” as the kids called it, over and over again. We had a blast.
That morning when we picked them up one of the little boy’s looked at me and said “I wish you were my mom, and I was your son.”

These kids really need someone to love them, and to show them the love of Christ. Please take some time in the next two weeks and pray for CHS, the Christmas extravaganza, the end of the year, and every one of the students that we work with.

Remember Christ has come!

Julia.

One of the hardest things about missions is being so far away from family. It is especially difficult during the holidays or on their birthdays. Today is such a day.
Our beautiful niece Julia is celebrating her eleventh birthday today.

Dear Julia
We love you so very much. We are sorry that we only get to see you every now and then, and that we live so very far away. We are very proud of the smart and pretty cool girl you are growing up to be. Have a great birthday this year, say hi to you mom, dad, grandma, grandma Shirley, and of course to Andi and Daisy. We hope you get to come visit us out here some day, you can meet some crazy African eleven year olds that we are working with.
Love you so much!
David and Sandy

Tuesday.

Tuesdays are known as prayer meeting day here at CHS. Every Tuesday night we all pile into the Hunter’s living room and we pray. We pray in small groups, we pray in a large group, we pray quietly and earnestly, we walk around the room praying out loud at the same time, sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh, occasionally we eat cookies. The purpose of these meetings is for all of us to come together and cry out to God as a team.

Last night we focused on things that we are thankful for. David thanked God for His grace. I thanked God for the opportunity to teach. (Right now I am working on the syllabuses I will be using next year. So far I will be teaching Art, Geography, Science, and Grammar, more to come on this later.)
What is one thing that you are thankful for??

An anthem of sorts.