We trust you all had a great Christmas holiday and pray a God filled and successful 2019 for you and your loved ones, everyone at Jabulani is praying for you and thanking God for your love, interest and support in us!
As we relayed in our last update, little Ruth has returned home to Jabulani, we can’t go into too many details but she will need lots of love and care in the months ahead so she can return to feeling like the very precious child she was when she left over 2 years ago. We are watching the Lord doing a great work in her heart and life and she is enjoying being home with her sisters and family who love and cherish Ruth.
Please pray for a full restoration of health and vitality, Ruth has started school and is in the same class as her sisters, she is very bright and smart and is coping well with the work praise God!
We postponed Christmas at Jabulani until we returned to Zimbabwe after spending our first Christmas in Ireland in 10 years with our family there. It was a great time and God blessed us as we spent lots of time with our children and grandchildren, the Lord was very gracious to us after a very tiring, but very fruitful time in USA fundraising. We praise God for all the memories made and support raised.
It was also our first Christmas without my (Alan) Dad who would have celebrated his 90th birthday on Christmas Day. We had great times with Mum who continues living alone at 87 years old, she is something else! Please pray for dear Mum who is in good health these days, Praise God.
We thank God for the wonderful work that our Jabulani manager Mel and the other staff accomplished while we were gone. We have returned to a happy healthy family, everything was done to the Glory of God and the best welfare of our precious children. It is wonderful for Dorothy and I to know our children are in such good hands when we are out of the country. Truly we are blessed with a wonderful staff at Jabulani and thank God for them all.
Grace has entered her 6th class at Hope Academy as a Prefect with great responsibility, but God has equipped this young lady in so many areas and she will be a blessing to the school and children there for sure.
Blessing has her 10th birthday this month and Hope is also 10 in February and little Esther who turns 7 years old, where have the years gone? The big girls are giants! Very sweet, kind and affectionate, and are such a blessing to us. They are learning to bake and cook with Mummy and love to dress up for Church and look their best at all times, real fashionistas with huge appetites!
Esther has moved in with the big girls and has settled well. She is smart and has a great sense of humour and loves being with her big sisters. Auntie Kuda is in charge of the big girls house and they are nearly the same height as Kuda, she does such a fantastic job with the girls who all love her dearly.
Aunt Eliza takes care of our precious little Kuda (who has great peace these days,) Faith, Sarah, Ruth, Hannah and Abigail. She has huge energy and keeps everyone in line! As you can imagine these small girls are full of nonsense, noise and fun. They are doing so well at school passing all their tests and coming top of the class. Each child is so different with talents and abilities and it is wonderful to see them blossoming in the garden where God has placed them. Pray they will continue enjoying school and learning.
Aunt Mel is the main carer for the boys at Jabulani as well as being our Manager, she loves the boys especially Joshua our special needs child. The boys have their own challenges and Mel is very strong and helps direct them on the right paths to take. The boys love and respect Mel and also Aunt Debbie who is our carer that steps in for the weeks when the other ladies are on leave. We have known Debbie for many years after caring for her since she was a very young girl. She is a very sweet and loving young lady. We thank God for all our ladies who help take care of the wonderful children God has given us.
We have been back in Zimbabwe for just one week but already we have seen so many changes. There is no cash anywhere, no fuel, we have been up at 3am trying to get fuel without success. There are fuel queues that are miles long for days on end, fuel has tripled in price up to $3:31 per litre. Goods in shops are spiralling in price and many people are suffering. The situation is not good, we have all been staying at home these past days and missing school due to unrest. Please pray for our safety and protection in these difficult days...our eyes are onto our God!
We thank God for ALL you dear friends who love, pray and financially support all the endeavors at Jabulani. We could not do it without YOU! Please be assured we do not take your partnership for granted. We are praying and thank our Lord for you everyday. Thank you to those who purchased over 2000 Jabulani calendars.
Keep praying for our children, and for those who donated money for our new bus also. It’s on its way! How we praise God upon every remembrance of you all, stay in touch.
Love in Jesus Name,
Alan and Dorothy
