Advent

With the start of Advent we begin to celebrate the coming of Jesus and his birth at Bethlehem. It is a time of hope.

This has been made especially real for Ida and me as we have experienced over the past year God’s faithfulness to us and our reliance on him. No matter what the prevailing circumstances have been and the restlessness caused by the delays we have felt while waiting for him to answer, we have learned time and time again that, in fullness, he will keep his word.

The Incarnation reminds us that God keeps his word and it is a glorious fulfillment of his promises. As a visiting friend said while waiting for the last container containing much needed medical supplies and artificial limbs to arrive, in every respect God is faithful and he’s never late. We have received two containers this year one from CART in Huddersfield and one from North Carolina. We want to thank you all for your hard work, contributions and effort with the containers. The contents will continue to bless many people now and in the near future. For example in the CART container we received made-up relief boxes containing lots of useful household articles. These we have given to flood victims and those who have suffered houses fire and lost their belongings.

Ida chaired the Mwandi Committee for World AIDS Day and is trying to encourage more community participation and make it a less hospital-driven event. The milk formula programme still continues with 40 babies at present. A Grandmother regularly comes for formula for the triplets who were born in October.

At school it is exam time so I’m trying to keep up with the marking of the Grade 8 Maths and Science papers. The pupils are tired and looking forward to their Christmas Holidays. As regards the construction work of the classroom block, after I pay the contractor for the ringbeam there will be no funds left for the roof, plastering, glazing, wiring and painting. So work will come to a standstill now until we get further clarification from Synod and the Ministry.

We as a family appreciate the furniture that was sent for us. It has made our sitting room much more comfortable and homely. We actually sit there now, before that it was just a room we used to see people in. Mubita's room too is looking wonderful. Mubita loves his bunk-bed, we have a trunk for his toys to be stored in and the chest of drawers for his clothes. It is good too that we now have enough bedding now to change the linen and not have to do the washing, drying and ironing all in one day.

We are feeling at home, even although the house is small and we will only be in it temporarily. Nick is beginning work again on our new house. We are looking forward to having Gregor and Catriona to our home and celebrating a Danish family Christmas Eve with them and Fiona and Ruairidh. Something we have not been able to do for many years.

We close by wishing you all a very happy Christmas with all good wishes for the New Year.

Keith, Ida, Gregor, Catriona & Mubita