BushbuckRidge

Happy Canada Day

Homemade Toys

Cobra Killers like G.I Joe

My 6 hour power Soccer Team

Hey just a little update, things are going really well and it seems I'm getting more and more busy as the days go by. These pictures are from a community called bushbuck ridge, it's quite a bit more rural then masoyi but the people are awesome and it's great to visit them, I been there with a team from australia helping out and it's been great.

still thank you for your prayers.

love dave.

I love this Picture, these are the two boys I did my community stay with when I first arrived in Africa, They're great and I am so glad I got the chance to get to know them.

This last week I've had the opportunity to go out again into some new areas. I've been doing home based care visits in a few of the surrounding communities where we check in on different Child headed households and sick. Its been really hard but also good for me at the same time to see people in such desperation and need is always heartbreaking, but to see the heart and caring nature of these volunteers is really encouraging. They don't need to help and they don't get anything for it but three times a week they walk from house to house for hours on end in order to be Jesus to these people, caring for them, washing them, cleaning the houses and spending some time praying and encouraging them. It's wonderful and a real blessing to see.

talk to you soon.

Love Dave

SWAZILAND

Hey everybody! Thanks so much for checking in on me and praying for me its really appreciated.

So this last week I've had the opportunity to visit the country of Swaziland and to see and help with the various things that are going on there. It really is pretty amazing place and a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to work with A small group of ladies with an amazing heart to serve and help, I felt so incredibly honoured to be in the company of these amazing women for a week. they have decided to help in a time of great need. For those of you who don't know Swaziland is known as the mountain kingdom and everyday this group of women grab a walking stick and head out up and down the mountains I could barely climb to care for the sick, widows and orphans. In fact they care for over a thousand of them. please pray for them and remember them.

Love Dave.

Smile and Wave

This little boy was at Lisbon falls when we went on the weekend. His parents were there selling little trinkets to the tourists. He kept saying 'shoot, shoot!' Which is what they say when they want you to take their picture. I tried to get him to smile and wave at the camera, but he couldn't seem to do both at the same time.

Here a couple kids are chasing monkeys away from their food. The monkeys are in parks here the way squirrels are back home.

They were pretty funny... they would try and sneak up to the food. Wandering, rather non- chalantly toward the persons food. Looking at the sky, playing with the grass, but as soon as you turned your back they would scamper over to the food. If you turned back to look at them, they would stop right away, and look back up to the sky... kinda like "what?? I'm not doing anything, just enjoying the scenery..."

These are the Bourke's luck potholes, a strange formation of huge cylindrical holes that have been carved by decelerating river water with sand particles. A really beautiful area... and below, Lisbon Falls. A few of us took a trip there on Saturday, it was amazing.

Then it was back to work. Like I said before, there is no shortage of work.

In the mornings this week we have had team meetings this and in the afternoons I go to the orphan care home. At the care home I work with a few others with the school aged children. We do a little devotional with them, and have a prayer time, then help them with homework and do a little lesson in English.

Additionally in the mornings I have been working on putting together packages with clothes etc... as gifts for the village.

The gifts are so needed and appreciated. It amazes me how well they care for their clothes. Many of which have been donated.

This week I have also been working on building some webpages, facebook fansites, etc... so feel free to join our fansite on facebook!

I went to the AIDs clinic it was really interesting. A government doctor was telling us how it all got started, she had it on her heart, knew only too well the need but had no idea how she could ever be able to do it herself. One day she met a guy that took an interest in the idea. He told her to write up a business plan to see how much money would be needed... before she got that done, she heard from another person offer her land... at a very cheap price, she called the other guy up and said she had wanted to buy the land but didn’t know how to get the money and hadn't even got started on the business plan... He told her the check is in the mail! And the rest, as they say, is history... It services many thousands of people(more than double the population of the Cold Lake area) although the clinic is no larger than one you might see in in Cold Lake. It is a great ministry.

a few more pictures to tell the story.

Lula Care Certre

The Taxi Rank

K2 garden project

more pick'chuz!

the laws of nature are not invited
masoyi

ebony and ivory

a few more pictures from the other day...

locomotion

This is Grace again on Dave's behalf... it's easier for us to call him on a pay phone than for him to get the same information across on minimal internet access.

It has been a very different week from the last. Sunday I went to an Alliance Church... not necessarily associated with C & MA, but called "Alliance church". Afterward the Pastor invited me to his home in the village, it was really nice. We had lunch together, the church sevice was very different then I'm used to, everyone danced. Yep, EVERYONE - locomotion style through the entire building !

The week has been a little less interesting, because I have been sat in meetings most of the time. I am in a bit of an awkward position, I'm here longer than short termers who they normally send on work projects to various villages. But here a shorter time than long termers, so is it worthwhile to have me lead a project I would only be here 2 months for?

You could pray that God shows me clearly a defined role... just the right fit... God's fit.
Right now, it's a time of transition for most of the workers here. My roommate, an English guy who is very much like my cousin Dave, will be leaving for Mozambique. I'll miss him, he's been a great roommate and friend. A lot of the people I have gotten to know so far will be leaving within the next week or two, it feels like I'll be starting fresh trying to get to know people.

Tomorrow morning I will be going on some Home care visits, and there is a possibility that in the afternoon I will be visiting a large AIDS clinic nearby. So I may have a lot more to report in the next little while. Much more interesting than reporting about meetings anyway.
Until then...