Hello from all of us!
Happy New Year friends! In Zambia the school year starts mid January, so it’s been back-to-school time around here for us. You can imagine the school supplies list with 27 kids. Let’s just say it’s a big job; but I enjoy organizing so it’s lots of fun! Nothing here happens real quickly - for example, shoe shopping meant Alivia and I hanging out in the store for literally three hours while they attempted to find the sizes on my list for all our kids. Life happens at a different pace in Zambia and I’m continuing to learn to focus on relationships not time.
Our kids are all back at school now, with freshly pressed new uniforms, shoes, backpacks, books, pens and pencils, and lots of hope and expectation! This year we have fourteen high-schoolers, eleven elementary students and two of the housemother’s kids in prep. We can’t thank the Pearmain family from North Vancouver enough, for all their efforts and wonderful success in raising education money to support the ongoing learning of our kids. Thank you to so many of you who gave and got connected through their advocacy! It’s our pleasure to welcome you into the journey of our crazy, wonderful Project Samuel family!
We are committed to raising these wonderful children we have been entrusted with, up in body, mind and spirit. Our kids have been through a lot in life, or they wouldn’t be here with us. But, having the chance to receive an education is something we are so glad to be able to support them in! Many locals aren’t able to finish high school because of the costs. Thank you for providing our kids with this truly life-changing opportunity.
Sustainability
The Project continues to grow and develop and Brenden and the guys work hard to make that happen. These last few months have seen development of our gardens, a new fence around our goat pasture and chicken houses, a new water tank, ten acres of maize planted and growing and a new outdoor latrine for our workers. Along with that the chicken house and children’s home that had the roofs blown off in a bad storm in December have now been fixed. Work is continuing to deal with the water damage in the children’s home and we hope that sometime in February the children will be able to move back in.
Family
It’s a fun time for our family with little Alivia now about eight months old. She is growing every day, smiling and giggling and most certainly keeping us on our toes! We are continuing to just love this new adventure of parenting our own little one.
In April we plan to make a trip to North America to connect with many of you, join the Destiny Conference in Arkansas and speak at numerous events and churches. We also plan to dedicate Alivia with our Canadian church family, attend a close friend’s wedding, and fit in some time with family and friends.
If you would like to connect while we are home or invite us share with your church or community group – we would love to! Please get in touch ASAP and we’ll confirm a date. Our calendar is already filling up!
How can you help?
- Do you have extra Airline Miles? We are looking to book flights in the next few weeks. If you have airline miles you would be open to gifting us that would be fantastic! Please get in touch at kdvowell@rfcministries.org to sort out the details.
- Last time we were home I sold my car, so we will be looking for transport while we are in Vancouver. If you have a vehicle you might be open to loaning us between April 11th and May 2nd (or part thereof) please let us know!
- The Vowell Family and Project Samuel are both continuing to build their sponsorship base. If you would be interested in becoming a monthly partner - you can do so online, tax deductibly at www.icmsgo.com
Select Project Samuel - Foundation, as the agency, and specify: Kim & Brenden or Children & Project needs.
Thank you for your love and belief in us, and the magnificent Children of Project Samuel. It's a crazy wild ride and we are so glad to be on the journey!
Sending all our love,
Kim, Brenden and Alivia