October 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Jabulani,

Greetings from Zimbabwe, we have entered our wonderful summer season again and the birds are singing, with temps around 30c (90+) the children are running around the garden singing also Praise God! We thank God for His help for our children at school this term, all is going well and they are enjoying swimming at school, the gala is in November and our kids are very eager to win races and come first! Thank you for your love and concern for our dear children it means the world to us and them.

It is with sadness we must inform you that little Ruth has left us and gone to a foster home. We are trusting God she is happy and settled, they took her in early August and we haven’t seen or heard anything since, the children and staff at Jabulani, and ourselves, have not been given the chance to even say goodbye to Ruth, we are all devastated, this certainly wasn’t what we expected when we brought her into Jabulani having been found abandoned in a basket in the rural areas 4 years ago, BUT GOD has has allowed this to happen and we must trust Him. Please continue to pray for Ruth that she will be in a loving home, that she will know peace and that at a young age might find Christ as her Savior and God. Pray also for the couple who have taken her, that they might be a godly influence on Ruth and help her in every area of life and of course love her to bits. This has been very difficult for us and the staff at Jabulani, please continue to pray for everyone in this situation. Thank you in Jesus Name.

Kuda and Joshua are having good days and seem to be very relaxed and happy, they are much loved and our staff look after these two special children with tenderness and compassion which is a joy to behold. May God bless them as we seek to give them a stress free atmosphere and meet their needs which are many.

 

Grace has enjoyed playing hockey for the school team, she was also the narrator at the school play, she is very articulate and speaks very clearly, we are very proud of Grace, she is very popular in class and looks out for her friends. Grace is very loyal and likes things done perfectly in class. Pray she will do well in her swimming this year, she doesn’t like to lose (I wonder who she takes after).

Blessing and Hope are very happy and doing well at school, their teacher loves them and speaks very highly of their dedication and fun in all aspects of class, Hope is very determined and Blessing is laid back, Hope likes to win and Blessing really doesn’t get too excited about anything! Blessing is the best swimmer of all the kids and if she wants tote can win all the races…..we will let you know what happens!

Daniel and Joseph like all boys have their moments, at school they need to concentrate more though their work is good, they are always seeing how much they can get away with (not much!) and keep testing everyone at Jabulani…but there is only going to be one winner there and its not the boys! They also are very keen swimmers and are practising every day, they both are wonderful and keen readers of books.

Faith has done well this term at play school and is working well with her teacher to catch up to theater small girls, she likes to color pages and knows her shapes, numbers and some letters now. Please pray Faith will manage her work as she sometimes gets confused. Faith is a very loving and gentle child, she enjoys playing at the swing park.

Sarah continues to amaze us with her amazing memory, learning Bible stories and memory verses is easy for Sarah, she loves to sing loudly and is the joker of Jabulani, always playing tricks on staff and children she also likes to mimic peoples accents and voice. Sarah is a fun filled girl who loves affirmation and keeps everyone smiling.

Esther is a very sharp and clever young lady, she wants to learn everything she can, she can’t wait to start school and knows shapes, colors, numbers and letters, she can also read a few 3 letter words. Esther loves running races and is very fast as well as riding her bike whenever she can.

Hannah has had a good term in school, she is speaking much better and we can all understand her now! She does well with her sisters and is not fighting all the time! Hannah loves to eat food and is always finished her meals first, she is not keen on physical exercise but enjoys the swing park and trampoline.

Abigail is growing very tall even though she is our youngest girl, she also is very clever and able to do everything teacher asks of her, Abi likes to bake in class and play in water, she is desperate to learn to swim and unfortunately is not very co ordinated so it may take a while….

We thank God for all you dear friends, please pray for us that God will help us make right and good decisions in every aspect of our lives, we look to God the Captain of our salvation to guide and direct us! We are praying for YOU…thank you for your prayers, financial support and love, you mean everything to us.

In Christ Jesus, 
Alan and Dorothy and everyone at Jabulani