This time of year there is no makeup water to use in drilling. People guard their water with all their might, hoping it will last them until the first rains. The most blessed people have access to one of By Provision’s hand pumps with clean water.

The next level down of blessing is to have a hand dug well. These wells are extremely dangerous. Small young children are sent to climb down into these wells to fetch water. Many of them slip and drown. Pray this young girl will be careful and angles will guard her as she fetches water for the family on a daily basis.

The people with no access to a hand dug well must rely on water catchements. They build heavy fences around the water source to protect it from animals. Even when green scum forms on the top of the water they have no choice but to continue using it. Pray God will protect the lives of those consuming this water.

Then there are those who are homeless, because live outside towns instead of in the bush.  They walk to town and try to find some kind of free public water to wash down what they find at the local landfill after they fight off the baboons for first pickings.

God has used you to provide hundreds of fresh water wells for thousands of people to get them through the drought each year. Many thousands more are waiting and counting on you to provide for them also. Thank you for showing God’s love to the people of Angola, Namibia, and Botswana.

Discipling African Youth

Twelfth graders finished their exams (Loide, Leticia, Omdee, Rally, Katrina, Aina, Linea). Linea will be taking a job in the beauty industry. She did a summer internship doing makeup in August.

DAT teens did a Bible walk for the Namibian Bible society to help sponsor Bibles in nativde languages. The DAT teens, Loide and Cornelia, also step in and lead music for worship service filling in when musically gifted adults are not available. 

Health and Hygiene

Sunshine abounds here in southern Africa, even during the rainy season. The use of plastic bottles could ensure clean potable water at point of use (when the people actually drink it). Leaving water out in a clear bottle in the sun is a free (if you have a bottle) and easy way to kill pathogens (solar water disinfection).

We keep every plastic bottle we come by, wash them, give them to people, and try to convince them to fill them with water and put them on their roofs for a day before drinking. American volunteers think Elizabeth is crazy because she constantly collects clear plastic bottles.  Locals know she’s lost her mind: “The bottles can better be used to put up a fermented drink made with millet pearl and sold easily providing income for the family.”

Despite doing health and hygiene training at the well sites, most people who have not had access to clean water don't comprehend that transparent water isn't necessarily clean water. If they put clean water in a contaminated bucket, leave a clean bucket of clean water uncovered, dip into clean water with hands or other device the clean water is compromised between the pump and point of use.

The people are so happy to have water; they don't think it is a big deal if the water isn't what we foreign westerners call clean. The fact is they have water from the hand pump that is cleaner than anything they've ever seen before.

These kinds of issues are wearing emotionally. Sometimes we wonder if it is worth all the effort. We remember the verse that says "do not become weary in doing good" and keep plugging along. We remind ourselves that our highest goal is to share Christ, extending spiritual life above and beyond physical life.

Evangelism and Discipleship

Pray for Scott’s safety as he travels during this drought time.The animals dart out of the bush straight in front of cars and trucks. Swerving to not hit them endangers the lives of other drivers, since the best of roads are like American country roads with no shoulders, no medians, no lights, no where to go but to oncoming traffic or sand that sends the vehicle spinning. The animals constantly dart across the road causing accidents and killing people every day.

Scott continues with his 4 groups of disciples in Tsumeb, Rundu, Tsinstabis, and Groofonteint. Pray for Scott to overcome false believes, bad teaching, lack of thinking for themselves, and the pastors and church leaders ability to grow in testing their thoughts against the Scriptures. False teaching and thinking is deeply ingrained in the tribal cultures.

 

While we are in the US reporting, getting training, obtaining new work permits for Namibia and visas for Angola, the fresh water pumps are a witness of God’s provision for people during this time of drought.

2011 Celebration

Thursday October 20 By Provision celebrated God’s blessings during 2011 with a banquet enjoying a night with Gordon Mote, Music Row Magazine and Academy of Country Music’s, 2009 Piano/Keyboard Artist of the Year, at The Club. Gary and Elizabeth greatly enjoyed visiting with friends and supporters.

Pray

Pray for the people of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia as they continue to haul dirty water many kilometers each day in hopes that it will help them survive dehydration than the short time bacteria will take to kill them. Remember these preteens, including the pregnant one, as they search for clean water.

Thank you again for your prayers and generous financial support.

God bless you,

Elizabeth and Gary Wilkins

A volunteer posted a video on you tube is you would like to view it use the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHOpAh39OHE

Drilling 

The Santa Clara border Angolan border officials finally cleared the rig and released it. This only happened because of the intercessory prayer of many for the rig’s release.During this time of waiting God also showed Gary a new place in Angola, that doesn’t require crossing at the Santa Clara border.

It was most unusual that Gary felt led to stop and ask directions from a lady selling her wares outside a liquor store. When he asked her if she knew how to get to Angola using a road that isn’t on the map, she said: “Yes, and I need a ride there. I’ll show you.” As they traveled, Gary told her about our desire to drill fresh water wells for people that don’t have water.” She answered: “We’ve been praying for a long time for fresh water. We have friends a couple hours away in Omandanguila that a Christian drilled for but we don’t know how to contact them, so we’ve been praying they would find us.” When we told her we were the people that drilled there and mentioned pastor Tumenge’s name she started crying for joy and asked: “What must we do to get clean water like they did?” We told her she just needed to get permission from the headman and she answered: “That will be easy. He’s my husband.”

This last week of drilling was in southern Angola. Gary used a path that didn't require going through the official border. The drilling went well and they didn’t get stuck on the path. They drilled 6 new wells. It is always thrilling to see the astonishment of the faces of preschoolers when they see clean water for the first time coming out of a pump. They don’t understand it and look at with reverence, shyly putting their hands in, and then tasting, before they start smiling, laughing, and running around in joy.

One of the pastors in that area, Tumengue, is a young man, just married last year. He is joyful that we've come back to his area. He ditched his Lutheran priest collar and robe, put on his old rags, and put his muscles to work helping us do the rehabs of the wells. Young boys that had to help go fetch the dirty water waiting for to come rehab the wells were particularly grateful. One particular one drank quite a bit, straight from the pump, before filling his bucket to head home.

Discipling African Youth

Since the youth have been back in Tsumeb, after their school break, DAT has been in a constant buzz. Tori used Gary’s laptop to teach Rachel, one of the teens, keyboarding once a week for six weeks. Rachel and Rally, DAT teens, led signing in a 5K march for orphans in town. They practiced for two weeks every day after school with the orphans at Hope Center. DAT celebrated the baptism of Rally and Linea into a life of service to our Lord Jesus! Would you please commit to pray for these two young women. They will leave us at the end of October when they take their High School exit exams. Pray that God will send someone into their lives to continue discipling them as they enter the adult world.

Linea's baptism

Rally's baptism

The DAT teens don’t count the weekly vegetable distribution as part of their mandatory two hours of weekly community service, because they count it all joy. Getrude and Elizabeth choose Good News Clubs, preschools, and believers that use the vegetables as a way to extend the gospel to their communities. It is a true act of worship and service that the DAT teens greatly enjoy. Pray for the family in the picture below. At least once a month, there is another child with another ailment or accident. The mother is at work all day and there is little supervision for the children. A few months ago a toddler fell into the cooking fire badly burning her scalp and neck. This week we found one of the preschoolers had broken his arm.

All the DAT teens attended a youth weekend in Groofontein the first weekend in September where they learned about casting their cares on God, praising Him when things aren’t going as planned, and comforting others in face of loss. These lessons will come in handy over the next few months. The 10^th and 12^th graders will have exams until the end of October. The other grades will have class and exams until the end of November.

We celebrated the beginning of the new and last term this year by hosting the 16 Sunday School youth leaders at our house for a power point presentation of Germany and Portugal. It was a good time of fellowship and discipleship as the youth thought how other people live and considered travel as a part of their future. A few decided they might want to learn how to drive, so they can more easily travel. We talked about how to go to the ends of the earth to share the Good News requires travel.

The community children are only coming to swim on weekends now that school is back in session. It's hot again now with most days hoover in the 100's and getting down to 80's at night. The neighbors still don’t like it, even though we are adhering to the strict Africaner schedule of  2-5pm weekdays and 3-5pm weekends, as to not disturb the neighbor’s nap time.

Micro Enterprise

Tilapia projects have not gone as well as other years. There were several nights below freezing at various times in the year that killed a lot of the fish. The leaders of our newest project, TOV, decided they wanted such large fish ponds that they’ve had trouble completing the digging. In fact, they gave up and are trying to get the road crew to use their back hoe to finish the digging.

Robert Scott has learned now to fish the tilapia. He is a great promoter of tilapia. Gary taught him how to scale, gut, and clean the tilapia at Gary and Elizabeth's house.

Maria’s wellness salon is doing well. She did have to let her only worker go to be able to make a profit. Mrs. Johnson made a flyer for Maria that Elizabeth had blown up to poster size and placed it at key business areas around town. In order to help Maria’s clientele grow, we are in the process of getting the salon approved as a provider under health insurance programs. We are very proud of Maria.

The solar cooking project has been slow this year, as Nailoke had no table saw to build the cookers until June. We did get a new table saw donated to her. She found a place to store and use it. After months of  waiting for the needed saw blades, Nailoke is now busy cutting her wood to build new solar cookers.

Pray for those in Angola, Namibia, and Botswana during this drought. Thank God for those you've given a clean water well to that they will share the gospel with those seeking physical water. They will be waiting until the rain comes again and for Gary and Elizabeth to come back to drill.