Charlene 的个人资料Knight Vision照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
|
Knight VisionThe KNIGHTLY FAMILY Journey to Angola and then Namibia Africa... Now Canada! Where next??? 6月14日 Can't believe it is JUNE!Wow has the time ever flown by. Here we are several months since my last post and so much has happened. First of all Ndemufayo came and settled in like she had always been Canadian. She is here for 3 more months. The time has literally shot on by. Anyway, Ndemufayo managed to make it here before winter was over, she skiied, snowmobiled, sledded, walked on ice, played in the snow and watched as Spring Sprung. Pete came home a couple of weeks after Ndemufayo arrived. He has been without work UNTIL the week I had to have surgery (June 8). The kids have done well in school this year (readjusting to life back in Canada as well as the way things have changed from BC to NB). I am still adjusting! As I mentioned I had surgery on June 8. It was to hopefully cure some of my womanhood issues. We'll see if it works. This has been a tough week... trying hard to relax and stay still is not something I am good at. I feel so much guilt and responsibility for getting things done. I am so thankful to have Ndemufayo here though, she has been a huge help. As I say, I am still adjusting to life back here in Canada. It has not been easy... to come back here, have Pete away for 7 months, Talitha came back home, 7 people living in a house with 1 bathroom, visitors in and out, and whatever else. I have become overwhelmed and very discouraged. I did not want to come back to Canada, and part of me can't understand (even though I believe in a Sovereign God) why he brought me back here. I am still in the valley and it is foggy, rainy and miserable. At the end of the 7 months of having Pete away I had grown to LIKE it and enjoyed my independance even though it is not easy to be responsible for everyone and everything! Our marriage is suffering and I can't see hope in sight. He lives in a state of oblivion and I live with the reality and it is painful. I do not know how other missionaries have coped returning from the field, but I do know that many have had their lives fall apart... I believe it is due to a lack of support on the home front... we returned, tired and confused and had our lives turned upside down with Pete moving west and us coping to adjust alone in the east... no more financial support (even though Pete only worked about 30 days out of 90 his first term out west), very little communication from those who communicated with us on the field, we were wounded by people within the organization that we were with in Namibia and no one seemed to care. That is just how life is... and so we try to cope on our own... thankfully I found a good church here on the Miramichi but I live so far away from everyone that I rarely see them outside of the 4 walls of church, being limited financially means few trips into town. Anyway... this is how the chips have fallen... I'm tired, lonely, discouraged and frustrated! I barely have the strength let alone the desire to get out of bed in the morning. I am hoping that summer will change some of that... but quite frankly I don't think much will change until our marriage begins to get a repair job. Well, GOD knows our struggle... and now you have a little clearer look at our struggle... it will be interesting to look BACK in a few years and see how God worked everything out for our good. Right now, it's heavy and tiring... but I am sure there is something we are learning in all of it. There is a look into my honest and open window of LIFE after 3 years on the mission field! Don't ever think that it will never happen to you! I would rather live without modern conveniences and be at peace than this. Needing your prayers! Charlene 2月21日 It's been a whileHere we are in New Brunswick... moved into a house and settled into Canadian life. Well not really settled! We still have a deep longing and desire to return to Africa! However for now we are going to stick it out here until Meagan is at least finished school! Talitha is back with us, she returned from Yellowknife on December 31st, she is working on a certificate to be able to teach English as a second language. Meagan is in grade 11 and has a desire to go to the Philippines when she graduates and take a midwifery course there! Trevor has joined Cadets and would really like to become a pilot some day, he's in grade 8! Tavis is young, in grade 7... and hasn't decided what he is looking forward to in the future. Pete is still working out west and will hopefully have his Class One Divers License this next week! We are praying this will become a reality! I have some health issues that need to be looked after and I am waiting to get into the specialist, my appointment is for March 19.
I think around 12 feet of snow has fallen so far this winter and there is MORE to come! Hard to imagine... after living in a desert! Trying to keep up with the shoveling and plowing, and clearing... is overwhelming! Thankfully we have some pretty awesome neighbours who have helped us a great deal this winter!
In 12 days our friend Ndemufayo comes from Namibia to Canada to spend 6 months with us. It is very exciting and scary at the same time. Please pray for Ndemufayo as she travels for the first time outside of Namibia! She changes airports in England and we have a friend who is going to meet her there and show her around a bit before taking her to Heathrow Airport! Pray for an easy walk through customs and immigration in Montreal!
Well, it is after midnight and I should really be in bed, just thought I would give a quick update!
Love, Charlene 9月6日 In SussexYesterday the boys came home on the bus, and then we picked Meagan up on our way out of town. We stopped in Cumberland Bay at my brother Roger's house and Janeice had cooked up a fantastic meal.. yum! Tyler is heading off to Bible School today so it was nice to see him. After supper it was off to Sussex. We missed the Balloons... and the weather is looking like we won't see them again this weekend... but it's ok... we got to visit family. That is something we didn't have the opportunity to do for about 21 years... just hop in the car and 2 hours later be with grand parents. The kids are enjoying this 'new thing'. I enjoy spending time with Roger and Janeice and I am glad that they are only 1 1/2 hours from my house! I hope to spend even more time with them in the years to come. It is good to be with my mom and dad as well!
Well, Pete is scheduled to come back to NB on Sept 16... for 'one' week! This will be his first time in the house since briefly looking through it when we were thinking of purchasing it. SO this will be fun for him! We are looking forward to the visit, even though I think it is WAY too short!
I better get going... I need to get to town and get school shoes for the kids (for gym)... I will be glad when we don't have to buy anything else for school... lots of $$ out the window! This last 3 months has seen too much of that happening... I do wish money grew on trees... oh well, God is good and supplies all of our needs... we just need to keep trusting!
Charlene
7月22日 We are in Kamloops BCHello everyone… We just wanted to let you know that we are now in Kamloops. We are staying at friends EMAIL FOR PHONE AND ADDRESS!!! So here’s the plan… we will hang at the house most of the time because we are a bit sick of the vehicle, so if you would like to connect with us we would be more than happy if you would come and see us. If you call first you can know for sure that we are here… because if we get in the van to go anywhere I think it will be the lake… and you are welcome to join us… just call and let us know! We are just thinking that after driving over 5000km’s across Canada most of you won’t mind travelling a few km’s to see us! We’ll keep you posted on how long we are staying but it will be 2 weeks for sure! We love you all and hope to see you soon! For those of you who aren’t in the Loops… you can call us here if you would like to chat. We look forward to connecting with you all over the next year and a half! Blessings! Charlene and the gang!!! 7月15日 Tentative ItineraryHi there everyone. We have made it safe and sound to Ft. Steele (near Cranbrook) where Pete's parents are living. We had a safe and fairly uneventful trip across Canada (and a little of the USA)... of course traveling with 6 people in a van for hours on end is not the MOST enjoyable time, but we all survived! As I sit here and look over my calendar I have decided that we must make some sort of decision as to when and where we will be places. We are having a difficult time focusing (still tired and adjusting from Africa)... but here is our tentative schedule for our travels out here in BC and then as we head back to the east coast to reside for the year (and maybe a bit) that we are home. July 13 to 19... Ron and Marge Knightly's... Ft. Steele (near Cranbrook) BC. July 20... Vernon, BC July 21... Kamloops (25 to 27 Pete's brother and family from the Island will join us) BC August 3... Ft. St. John, BC August 4... Spirit River, Alberta August 6... Three Hills, Alberta August 8... Calgary, Alberta August 10... Caronport, SK August 11... Regina, SK August 12... Winnipeg, MN August 13... Ontario (somewhere....) August 14... Ontario (somewhere...) August 15... Quebec (somewhere...) August 16... Sussex (back with my parents) August 22... Proposed possession date of the house we are in the process of buying. Talitha will probably remain west (perhaps Kamloops or NWT). Pete is also hoping to stay in the west for a period of time for some work! I will travel back to NB with the 3 kids. It's a long drive... so I am not driving at all now! :) We appreciate your prayers as we travel, and if we are coming through or close to where you live and would like to meet up with us just send an email. We look forward to connecting with our family, friends, and supporters. Our next trip west will be longer and we will have an itinerary prior to coming, we would like to be able to speak in churches and small groups as much as possible before we head back to Africa, as we have some pretty exciting ideas of what we would like to do when we return!!! That is another reason Pete would like to work as much as possible out here in the west... the more finances we can take back with us, the more projects and things can be accomplished! After traveling through Calgary and Lethbridge we are convinced that having a container or two shipped to Namibia with things that people are just throwing outside the dumpster's would be an awesome idea. It was frustrating and downright saddened us to see what people throw away! There are so many people (even in Canada) who would appreciate a mattress to sleep on... a couch to cuddle up on... a coffee table to rest their feet on... all of these things we saw tossed along side the dumpster's. Please continue to pray for us during this year of furlough, especially for the kids as they will try to settle into another "new" environment and hopefully construct a better foundation of knowledge before heading back to Africa, January 2010 (if the Lord is willing). We will keep you posted on our vision for the return to Namibia. Looking forward to the weeks ahead! Blessings, Charlene for the Knightly gang! 7月7日 Long DriveHere we are on our LONG drive across to British Columbia. Saturday night we stayed with one of Talitha's friends (Brenda Geneau) in Northwestern NB... we hit the road at 7AM and drove through Quebec to North Bay Ontario... LONG drive! We spent the night with long time friends Bill and Lorna Powell. We had a good visit and a great breakfast this morning before we headed on our way. In Sault St. Marie we dipped in the USA... we are now in Newberry Michigan at a hotel with wireless Internet and a pool. The boys are swimming and we are having some down time in the room. We appreciate your prayers as we travel... for safety and some level of 'enjoyment' as well as the finances to cover the costs along the way. Thank you to those of you who have helped so far, and for those of you who have been praying! We are so thankful for the friends and family who have partnered with us in our ministry.
6月12日 Our Trip to Canada...Here I am sitting at the computer (true high speed internet) and with the sun shining in the window and everyone is sitting in the living room behind me chatting about all kinds of things! It sounds nice… comforting. June 9, 2008 we were up early in the morning tying up loose ends! Finished moving our mattresses and blankets, signed our papers for the selling our vehicle, piled in the Bakkie (truck) and Condor and headed to the airport with… Lazarus, Leila, Ndemufayo, Anna, Larnelle, and our family (and all of our luggage). We stopped on the way to pick up Fenguito and Vivas (a couple of Angolans who wanted to say goodbye at the airport). At the airport we weighed our bags (and were given grace on our weight!), had our bags plastic wrapped and checked in! Then we spent the time spending our bucket of change on drinks for everyone, and sitting at the restaurant visiting. Then it was time to say goodbye...! We then went through immigration (with our properly stamped passports… Praise the Lord) boarded the plane for Johannesburg and were on our way. In the Jo’burg airport we wandered around and waited for our connecting flight and after a 3 hour wait we boarded the flight for Frankfurt Germany. We flew Luftansa (not a very nice plane at all… cramped and no personal TV sets to entertain people, and in Pete’s row of seats none of the controls worked so they couldn’t even listen to the movies or music!). Behind the boys was an extremely drunk man (who managed to drink more alcohol on the Luftansa flight) and he began to sexually harass the stewardess and said some very nasty things to Tavis and punched Trevor’s seat when he tried to lean back to sleep. Finally the stewardess came to me and asked about whether or not the man was bothering us… and so when we told her what he had been up to they took him to the back of the plane somewhere and had the police waiting for him when we arrived. I didn’t get any sleep through the night, so I felt pretty yucky when we arrived in Germany! June 10, 2008… 5 AM we arrived in Germany, it took a while to find our gate and we waited in a long line up to clear the inspection counter (xray and all)… once we were settled the kids laid on the seats and got some sleep (well except for Tavis)… I happened to have 10 Euros in my purse so I went to McDonalds and bought 5 cheeseburgers and 5 small soft drinks. We were a bit worried about what our Air Canada flight was going to be (especially after expecting that the Luftansa flight would be better than the Air Canada)… however we were pleasantly surprised with a beautiful brand new plane… lots of leg room, individual TV’s, and excellent service! Very impressed! After a long and pleasant flight to Toronto we collected our luggage (ALL of it arrived safely and still plastic wrapped) and without any issues cleared customs (they didn’t even look at anything or ask any questions)… we then exited the secure area and found my brother Roger ready and waiting to spend the 7 hours of waiting time with us in Toronto… what a great blessing! He took us out to a Greek restaurant and got us out of the airport for a few hours! Then we visited at Starbucks in the airport until we needed to go through security again. While waiting to board the plane to Moncton, Meagan’s Science teacher showed up… we were wondering if he didn’t make it, but he was flying in from Saskatchewan and managed to be in on time to visit with us for about 10 minutes before we had to board our plane! He is a money collector and Meagan had gotten him Namibian and Angolan money… which was very exciting and I made placemats for his wife! It was nice to meet him… Meagan and him spend a great deal of time online laughing and carrying on, so it was good for her to meet him face to face!!! After a couple of hours we touched down in NB… tired and dizzy from all the flying we headed out to the baggage claim area and around the corner I could hear all these people yelling and carrying on… rounded the corner and there was Talitha JUMPING… UP and DOWN…. UP and DOWN!! My mom and dad, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Randy and Talitha came to greet us!!! Again all of our bags arrived safe and sound… we packed into the two vans they brought to pick us up in, and headed for home (in Sussex)… I drove one of the vans, on the right side of the road and under 140km/hr!!!!! We arrived sometime around midnight; I had a shower and then crashed until 11AM the next morning!!! So here we are… tired, burnt out, and taking the time to relax (sort of). I am going to get my hair done today by a REAL hairdresser… that’s exciting! I better go and get ready… just wanted to let you know how our trip went! Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and greetings!! We appreciate you all! Love, Charlene (for the Knightly’s) |
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
