Season's Greetings

Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a most wonderful and prosperous New Year.

I want to say a very big thank you to all those who have prayed for us and supported us this past year and also to those who have pledged to continue supporting us in the coming year.

May God bless each and every one of you.

Camping

Here are some pictures of our time on the farm. This is real bush camping!

This was our 'bathing room'

Behind this anthill was the 'toilet'

Some times I felt like Pigpen from the peanuts comics because these tiny flies would swarm all over us. 

Road

On our trip to Mpika we also managed to start clearing a road. It is quite a bit of work cutting trees and clearing the land but we were able to clear a good distance. The land is very sandy and it will take driving up and down the road a few times in order to compact it.

Trees

I apologize for the previous post "october" being posted late. It was supposed to have been posted two weeks ago.... Not sure what happened.... Sorry about that.

We travelled to Mpika. It took two trips to take all the trees. We managed to plant them all and we pray that they grow well.

October

October was a very hot but quiet month.

Mercy was writing her exams. Thank you so much to all those who prayed for her.

I did not travel in October because Mercy was writing exams. I did however spend some time helping one of the boys from Grace with his reading.

I hope to go to Mpika this month to plant the trees. It is the beginning of the rain season and the best time.

 Akayla is also doing well.

Akayla my PBG

This week I received one of the best birthday presents ever. My parents are so wonderful and supportive and they have given me a new puppy for my birthday.

She is a four month old Cane Corso Italiano.  This breed is known to be great protectors of both their people and their property. This is the reason I call her my 'PBG' (personal body guard). She will be a great asset when we move to the farm and even now as I am traveling back and forth.

She looks like a panther but she is a big lovable teddy bear.

Now, meet Akayla.

Where things are at.

Wanted to update briefly where we are at. I was informed this morning that the map and the diagrams are now done. Unfortunately the one who promised to bring them to Ndola has not managed to do so.
It is quite far to drive to Mpika just to pick them up but if other arrangements can not be made it may be our only option..... We will see what can be arranged.

It seems my blogs are very sparotic these days due to the time it takes to get this paperwork moving so I was thinking of including other things instead of just Sonshine happenings.

We had a visitor with us for two weeks in August.... One of my little buddies from Grace Academy came for a stay during school holidays. He was very well behaved and Mercy really enjoyed having him around. They went on long walks often.

Also wanted to let people know Mercy and I have been invited to join a team from Grace going on a mission trip to Thailand next year. It is quite exciting and will be an excellent opportunity to learn and maybe even make some contacts for future trips with Sonshine.

Thank you to all those who continue to pray for us and support us even as we are struggling to get Sonshine going. May God bless all of you.

Please pray for continued guidance and that God would help us find the right people to work with.

An Interesting Find

As we were walking on the farm we came across something I found quite interesting.
It was a shelter made of grass where someone used to live. Certain farmers cut down trees and line them up and burn them because they believe it fertilizes the soil. They plant in this soil only for one season and then move to another location. This site is what is left of one of those farmers that has now moved on.

This is the inside. You can see a bed on the left and the fire pit for cooking in the middle. 

Beacons and Demarcation

We have made some progress. Praise God for that!!!
We were able to do the demarcation of the land and put the beacons showing the boundary.
The details of how much we have been given will be known once the maps are done.

Nothing is ever staightforward

We traveled to Mpika again last week. This time the information we were given concerning the cost of the land and the procedure for the paperwork was different from what we were told last time.
I don't know why nothing is ever straightforward.
But we praise God anyway and keep moving forward step by step.
We are hoping the paperwork will be able to be done in good time but please pray for us in that area.

We did go to the land and although we didn't have time to do much we did clear a small area so at least we could park off the road and turn around.........

Trade Fair

Yesterday there was an international trade fair here in Zambia.
It is a fun time for kids to go and have their faces painted, buy small toys, hats and clothes and for adults to find out about the different companies and businesses.
We attended and I asked around about hammer mills, and solar paneling. Also I was asking questions about submersible pumps.
It was good to get an idea of the various costs.
It was very crowded though!!!!!

Mpika

We traveled to Mpika to look at land last week. It is a beautiful place.
It looks like this is the direction God is leading us.

We will work on the paperwork first.

Here are some pictures of the new land.

Wanted to just update people on where things are at. Very little has been done since the last blog but much prayer has taken place.

I received a phone call from the chiefs office this week requesting another meeting with us concerning the land. We plan to go there in a couple weeks after we return from our trip north. We thank God for fighting on our behalf for the land and continue to pray for direction.

We have a trip scheduled to Northern province to investigate some land there.

Thank you so much to all those who continue to stand with us in prayer as we seek God for His direction and wisdom.

God bless you

Prayer

It is difficult to even know what to write. But to briefly update everyone on the things that are happening let me just share a few things.

We have dug up all the trees and I have brought them home to look after until we find another piece of land. We did not break the building structure. We have paid off people and have wrapped things up.

Currently we are looking at different places where we could get land. I need to travel and investigate.

We are still very possitive and looking forward to where God will lead us.  We do ask that you would continue to remember us in your prayers as we seek God for wisdom and direction.

God bless you all

James chapter 1

Well, it looks like we will be making changes and moving locations. The chief has informed us there are some issues with the land.

Due to this it seems best that we begin to look for a new location. It is very unfortunate.  But we are trusting God to work all things out for our good and His glory.

I was just reading James chapter 1 today about counting all the trials as joy knowing that they build perseverance and patience in us. And I am claiming verse 5 and asking God for wisdom.

Please continue to pray for us for direction and wisdom.

Thank you so much.

Prayer requests

The work at the farm has come to a standstill at the moment due to some challenges we are facing. We are asking for your prayer. We need God to supernaturally intervene on our behalf.
Please pray:
That we are able to secure the title deed for the land.
That we are able to keep working without interference from the chief.
That we can find honest, trustworthy people to work with.
For wisdom and direction.

Thank you so very much to everyone who has been supporting us both financially and with prayer. We value your partnership.

May God bless you and protect you, may He make His face to shine upon you and grant you peace.

Beacons

The work has slowed for a bit as we wait for funding but the guys have been busy slashing grass.
We found all the beacons that mark the corners of the farm.

Pine trees

The pine tress are doing very well.

Garden beds

The garden beds are almost ready for planting.

Visitors

We had our neighbors come to visit today.

The Builder is back

Praise God the builder has started working again.