CAM events: CAM Picnic, Musical and Graduation 2011

18 June, 2011

It has been so busy these last few weeks we haven’t gotten our blog updated. I wrote some news right after the CAM picnic, but we just didn’t have enough time to get the photos attached and up. So we will add to the update that we already have.




CAM Graduates 2011

 May 30th was the graduation ceremony for our seven grads. It was lovely to celebrate with the seniors and hear them share about their time at CAM and what they were hoping for the future. Each grad had a special part in the program and some of the parents and teachers had a part. It is hard to believe that we won’t see them at school next year.

 

CAM Graduation Dinner



The graduation dinner was held on Wednesday, June 1st, Larry’s birthday. We celebrated with the grads and their families. It was a time to reminisce and rejoice.



Bathroom block under construction

A big praise is that we got our building permit! Construction is well on the way now for the bathroom block. It looks great. The play field has been leveled and now we are waiting for the electrical to be put in before the drop ceilings can be installed. The biggest concern is to find affordable and safe busses to transport the students from town to the new school site.

At CAM we have chapel every Friday. It is a time to sing, pray and hear how the Lord is working in the lives of different people. Sometimes the different classes take charge of the chapel programs. This past Friday the 4th – 6th grade choir presented a musical called “Camp Wallaballa.” It is about a group of kids on their way to a camp and their bus breaks down and they have to wait for someone to come and fix the bus. In the meantime, they sing all these great songs about not being afraid because God is with them and they share all these great promises from the Bible and sing about standing on God’s promises. It was beautiful. I invited the parents to come and see their performance and there were tears in their eyes as well as in mine. The kids did such a great job.

 

BBQs smelled so good



CAM Picnic...lots of food



The annual CAM picnic was May 21st. We have always had it at the Boa Nova property. This year is was at the same place, but now it is more significant because it is our new school site. We set up six BBQs and several tables for the extra food to share. We ended up with almost 140 people – a record crowd. After lunch the kids played games for prizes and we gave tours to the parents of the new site. It is so great to see all the new families. We sense their support and encouragement as we are in the middle of this incredible project.



CAM Kids playing games at the picnic



Much to pray for

15 May 2011

CAM 2011 Seniors with us at the park taking their grad pictures

It has been awhile since we updated our blog.  We have been so busy since Easter time and have not had the opportunity to write.  On May 4^th we took all seven seniors to a beautiful park in town and took their grad photos.  I had ironed all the grad gowns so they could have a photo wearing their gown and cap.  While I ironed I spent time praying over each of the seniors and asked the Lord to lead and guide them in the next chapter of life. Each senior had several changes of clothes and we had a great time taking the photos.  We asked some friends to come and help with the photos.  It would have taken us hours otherwise.  Here is a photo with us and the grads.  Aren’t they a great looking bunch?!

Dynamic Women Team with Aimee Howarth in Kruger Park

OMS has a fairly new ministry called Dynamic Women.  They encourage women to sign up for trips to the various countries where OMS has work so they can see the work and spend time with the people involved in the various ministries.  Our Mozambique team was able to host a group of six women from the U.S.  We actually knew four of the six and one of them was one of our supporters from Sequim, WA.  It was a blessing to have Gail Watson come and visit us and see the different things we are involved in here.  Our colleague, Aimee was in charge of the team, but Larry was able to help drive the ladies through Kruger Park.  They saw lots of animals and actually saw the “Big Five” all in one day.  (Lion, leopard, rhino, cape buffalo, and elephant) 

We only have 13 days left of school.  Graduation is on Monday, May 30^th.  The last day of classes is June 1^st and we have our clean up day and awards assembly on June 2^nd.  The days are flying by and we can hardly keep up with all the activities. 

Next Saturday is our school picnic which is traditionally held where we are building the new school.  We wanted to get more of the classrooms ready so the parents can get a good view of what the school is going to be like when they are there for the picnic.  We scheduled another work day on the 14^th and this time we had six students and six staff from school come and help.  We were able to prime and paint three large rooms and prime two other rooms.  The work goes quickly when there are many hands to help.  We are very tired and sore, but happy to see all the progress. 



Yea!  We are graduating in just 15 days

 We appreciate your continued prayers for our seniors as they make plans for their futures, and for the progress of the new school.  There is so much to accomplish and we trust the Lord to make it all possible to start the new school year by August.

rat, rest, CAM construction, and summit

April 17, 2011

Since our last blog we have had a week break from school, been to South Africa to see the dentist and the doctor and to buy supplies, and we have had another work day at the new school site.  Each day continues to bring new adventures and challenges.

During the school break we took a few days to travel to South Africa for some R & R.  We usually stay at Mercy Air which is a large beautiful compound with many guest rooms and cottages that are rented at reasonable rates to missionaries needing some rest.  Each place has a kitchen or access to a kitchen and it is a beautiful place. 

Our room at Mercy Air in South Africa

I guess missionaries aren’t the only ones that enjoy the beauty of Mercy Air.  The first night we were there we had a little furry visitor.  This little creature was different than his relatives, because in the morning after his visit, Larry discovered a hole gnawed in his toothpaste tube.  When Susan needed the hand soap, she looked high and low for this huge bar of soap that had been there the night before.  Larry discovered it behind the laundry basket with big gnaw marks as well as little claw marks where he tried to haul it away.  Goodness!  This little guy was concerned about his hygiene.  We even had food in plain sight and the rat didn’t even bother with that.  By the 4^th night we had finally rounded up a rat trap and put an enticing piece of pizza as a lure.  About 3 a.m. Monday morning we heard a big snap and we got it!

School is back in session and there are 31 school days before graduation.  Everyone is ready for the summer break, and we still have several weeks to go. 

Dinah painting...more on herself than the wall?

Marie painting the trim in a High School classroom

building the new entrance to the offices and reception area

The new school building continues to progress.  Several students came out during the break and finished painting four classrooms.  It will be a bit of time before the next classrooms are ready to paint.  The walls are getting higher and it is exciting to see all the work that is going on.  We were able to submit the plans to build the bathroom block.  Pray that we will get construction license quickly to build it in time for August.

During the break three CAM students and one teacher were able to attend a special summit to encourage high school students to get involved in their communities and help make things better.  There were about 16 American International schools from all over Africa represented.  The students had to present projects they had been a part of and ones there were planning to accomplish.  Our students presented the plan that we have to offer a sports program to the community kids in the neighborhood of our new school.  It is wonderful to hear the ideas the kids have and see their enthusiasm for what they can do.  The highlight for the students was meeting one of the key note speakers, Graca Machel.  She is the former wife of the first president of Mozambique and is now the wife of Nelson Mandela.  They were so impressed with her. 

Mr. Ben, Joash, Ude and Caris meeting Mrs. Graca Machel at the Summit

Thanks so much for your prayers.  We pray that this Easter season will be a time to reflect on the great sacrifice of love that was made for us.  The Lord is risen!  He is risen indeed!!

Larry & Susan

just a general update on things...



Beka Mech From One Mission Society sharing in Chapel

 30 March 2011

So much has happened lately, that we just don’t have the time to sit down and write about it. First of all, we had Beka Mech from OMS headquarters come and visit and spend time with our field. She spent the day at CAM and shared in chapel.

New CAM student transport?  



A new addition to the CAM vehicles is a work truck to help haul all the workers and supplies that are needed for the building site. I thought of another way it could be used. One of the greatest concerns of the parents for new school is transportation to the new school site. I had a great idea. How about the new truck? I had all the students stand in the back to try it out for size. Do you think the parents will go for the new CAM transport?

CAM students competing at the Swim Meet

The elementary students were involved in an Inter-school Swim meet. We had 12 students participate and it was good to see them compete against children from other schools in the area.





Larry & Susan leading worship at SNF



One of our ministries is the Sunday Night Fellowship. We help lead worship and set up about once a month. Other missionary families are involved too. This is a fellowship that is for those people who want to attend a service in English. There are missionaries as well as other Christian ex-pats who attend. The attendance hasn’t been that consistent and it seems as though only the missionaries who are busy anyway, are taking the time to keep it going. After a meeting with the group, it was decided to continue on until the holiday time in June and July and determine then if it will continue.  Here we are leading the worship.

Our first night at Boa Nova

17 March 2011

Enjoying lunch in the guest house


We had another work day at the new school campus, but this time it was over Friday afternoon and Saturday. We had seven students that helped out and we actually had a “sleep over” at the new property. The four boys, Larry and I stayed in the guest house and the two girls stayed with Aimee, our team member. We ate our meals together as a group and accomplished lots of work. We were painting again. The primer coat is on the “quad” rooms and now we have to choose colors for the final coat. 

Caris painting more of himself than the walls?



The little guest house is a part of a duplex and has been used for housing various guests and visiting teams. We have been fixing it up little by little, making it a really cute place for guests. It has three bedrooms (beds for seven singles), one bathroom, a small kitchen and a dining/living area. The kitchen has been remodeled and the bathroom and kitchen have been tiled. It looks very cozy. 



Canan painting the High School area

In the next few months it will be in use with teams from the U.K. and the U.S. The work crew has started work on the other duplex. We need additional housing on the campus for missionaries in the near future. We hope to move on the compound as well to be closer to the school.

The tedious job of painting trusses

We have been praying for the “Topographical Drawings” for the property for the last few weeks. Without these, we cannot apply for a permit for any new buildings. Praise the Lord, Melvin was able to get them yesterday. The next step is to finalize the plans we have and to apply for a building permit. We have already been building, but everything is inside existing buildings. We need to build a bathroom block and for this we need a building permit. Pray that this next step will go smoothly and we will get the necessary permit.

 

Pouring the footers for the classroom walls inside the old auditorium

 











CAM Secondary Field Trip Feb 24-26, 2011

2 March 2011

Thursday, the 24th was here before we knew it and we were packing our “soft-sided bag, as small as possible” to take on the secondary school trip. There is not that much room inside the bus and the luggage either has to be inside the bus or packed into the back of Larry’s vehicle. We got everything in and we were on the road by 6 a.m.

This trip was totally different from the elementary trip. The secondary kids went to Eagle Adventures in South Africa. It is a camp that challenges the kids with all kinds of physical activities. It is run by an amazing Christian couple, Roelf (Trompie) and Susan, who physically challenge the kids and spiritually nurture them as well. They have a beautiful mansion-type house that can house 60 people that is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery.

The kids were divided into three teams and completed for points by physical games, archery, javelin, ninja-type weapon throws, canoeing, zip lining, repelling and lots of hiking. They also had to come up with a cheer and team song as well as an advertisement and Bible skit.

All in all, we had an amazing time and delicious food in a beautiful place that was so fresh and cool.

Trompie and Susan have such a great ministry with students and adults as they challenge them to go beyond what they think they can do. Trompie speaks deep words of Truth and the kids listen. We are so blessed when we leave.

We did have an interesting event on our way there. We were just a few miles from the border when we came upon a terrible accident that had just occurred probably a minute or so before we got there. A car was completely crushed on one side and there were people still inside the smoking car. Don, our bus driver hopped out of the bus with the fire extinguisher in hand and Larry soon followed. They were able to pull out two survivors and get them to a safe place on the side of the road. The other two in the car did not make it.

I stayed in the bus with the students and we said a prayer for the people involved and thanked the Lord that we had not been at the site earlier. God is good.

We are glad to be back and have an incredibly busy week ahead of us. I believe we will be busy now until the end of the school year. We appreciate your prayers and emails of encouragement.

in Him,

Susan and Larry

The recipe for a successful elementary school trip.

21 February 2011

Take 21 excited children
Add one bus driver and three chaperones
Mix together in a bus and a vehicle
Add candy, chips, cookies and soft drinks
Take away hours of sleep
See wild animals and reptiles

And there you have it – a successful school trip.

learning about the Chetah Reserve

We had amazing time on the elementary school trip this past Friday and Saturday. Larry and I along with Don, the bus driver, and Monique, one of the parents braved the trip with 21 fourth through sixth grade students. We left early Friday morning and got to the border in good time. While the agent was processing our passports, he was especially careful with the ones from Mozambique. Fortunately, we always have the parents sign permission slips and I bring them with me on the trip. They wanted to make sure that the Mozambican children had permission to be on the trip. It happened to be Child Trafficking Awareness Week and the customs guys were making sure that we were not kidnapping the kids. That was an interesting start to our trip.



Our first stop was to the Cheetah Rehabilitation Center. They served us delicious hamburgers and showed us a DVD about the center. Then we got our own personal tour and met many different cheetahs, a lioness and beautiful lion. The lion’s mane was so perfect it reminded me of the lion in the movie Madagascar. He also gave us quite a show when he started growling making us aware that we were close to his “woman” and his territory.

The next stop was to the reptile park. We were introduced to many different reptiles by a DVD and then we got to experience them first hand. The brave ones were able to hold a python (just a young one) and have their photo taken for a key chain. The rest of the group observed at a safe distance. There were cages and glass display cases that held a nice variety of snakes and lizards.

We were able to see the demonstration of some of the behaviors of snakes and why we should not be afraid of them. Right!!! We were able to touch a spitting cobra, on the back part of the tail, of course. Our guide was entertaining and very informative. The gift store at this place benefitted from quite a bit of the kids’ spending money.

From there we drove to a resort that had two huge swimming pools. What a treat to swim in a huge heated pool surrounded by gigantic mountains. It was just breath-taking. We all enjoyed our time there.

The final stop for the day was to a game reserve that has lodging and meals for groups like ours. After rice and delicious stew, we dressed warmly for our night drive in an open-air safari vehicle. We were able to see several types of antelope, quite a few giraffe and a baby giraffe, only four weeks old. We saw several wild hares hopping through the grass and a spotted eagle owl. We saw wildebeest and zebra. This game reserve does not have any of the big cats. We were hoping to see the rhinos, but they weren’t around that night.

After the night drive we went back to our rooms, but not to sleep. I guess that’s part of a school trip. I think the kids did get some sleep, but not very much.

We were up and ready for breakfast before 7:30 a.m. and after packing and inspection to see if everything was put in the bus, we were off to the Maholoholo Rehabilitation Center. This is another center where injured animals are taken in and cared for. They have quite a few birds which have damaged wings or have been caught in snares. We were able to get in the giant cage with three varieties of vultures. Several people had the opportunity to put on a leather glove and hold a piece of meat and let the vultures land on their arm and grab the meat. That sounds simple enough, but it was quite exciting to say the least. The birds had not had meat in awhile and they were all trying to get a bite, not only of the meat, but anything that looked like meat. One vulture started eating one of the student’s fleecy, another actually took a couple of pecks of Larry’s leg. It was too much for us and the birds and so we had to exit the cage quickly. We didn’t want to be part of the next meal for these birds. It was exhilarating!

At this center we saw two more lions and a beautiful leopard and two honey badgers. There have some other animals, but they were not a part of our tour.

After a group photo, we boarded the bus and the other vehicle to make our way back down the hill. We stopped off for a delicious pizza lunch. Normally this place has a two for one deal, but that day it was buy two, get two free and an extra one on top of that. It was like the fish and loaves. After all of us had our fill of the pizza, we discovered that we still had over four full pizzas left. We saved them for a snack at the end of the trip.

We really had a wonderful time and the kids were sad to return back to Maputo. They so enjoyed the beautiful clean air in the mountains of South Africa and the great adventures.

Larry and I were thankful that the Lord had given us a safe trip with good traveling, no bus troubles and no injuries. We now look forward to the 7th – 12th grade student’s trip this Thursday. Pray that it will be as successful and fun.