Greetings dear friends and fellow servants of the most high God, the Creator of heaven and earth and our soon returning KING – Jesus, the CHRIST.
We are doing well, both in body and soul by His grace and favour. It’s hard to believe that Sylvia turned 65 a few days ago and when I look at her work performance, she surprises me time and time again at what she achieves on a daily basis.
We have the additional responsibility to take care of the Headquarters Training Facility. Our trusted housekeeper who did all the cleaning and cooking for 7 years suddenly resigned for personal reasons. We were praying for weeks to find a suitable replacement. By His grace, while Sylvia was cleaning outside the compound, a young man approached her and introduced himself.
There was something about his demeanour that made her continue a conversation with him. He needed a job. Lazarus has proved to be trustworthy, hardworking and really takes good care of the compound and plants. Now he is living on the premises and takes responsibility for locking up at night, checking the security lights and arming the alarm. It has saved us a lot of trips up and down the stairs. Apart from this, he has also learned a lot of new skills from me while helping with the building project.
PERSONAL
Recently, we both had our eyes tested for new glasses and found out that I have cataracts and need lens implants. We were shocked at the cost of having it done. But, of course, our Lord knew about it before it happened. A very good and kind friend who is an ophthalmologist in Germany, has offered to do the procedure in Germany, free of charge. This has set another opportunity in motion. I have been enduring much pain because of a long-needed, second hip replacement. After consulting with close friends and acquaintances, we have taken a step of faith to have the operation done while in Germany. To date we’ve received quotes between €9,000 and €12,000 from three different hospitals. Please pray with us about which hospital to choose and for our visas to be approved, so that we can fly to Germany, January 16th. Our appointments at the German Embassy are on December 22nd. We are planning to stay until March 2nd. Would you consider helping with the costs? We do not have health insurance and therefore, trust the Lord that He will supply all our needs in this regard as He has faithfully done on three other occasions.
LESSON DEVELOPMENT Ministry is going well. BOOK 2 for the 4&5-year-olds will be going to the printers after the Christmas shutdown. This is a major achievement! We believe that the Lord will again supply all the funds for the printing.
We have just received encouraging feedback from the principal of a Christian school in South Africa about Book 1. “Our staff really like what they have seen and say it’s amazing. They feel that the material scheduled for a term could be stretched over a year.”
The first 6 lessons for the 9 to 11-year-olds are back from the proofreaders and the final edits are being done before they go to the layout artist. As I write this update, the team are meeting for hours, online, getting lesson 7-12 ready to go to the proofreaders by the end of the week.
We believe that it is very important and urgent to give the 9-11 age group a good, strong foundation of truth to carry them through their vulnerable teenage years, especially in the light of the confusing and contrary messages they receive from the world around them. The average Christian parents are not necessarily equipped with solid and convincing Biblical truths and are finding it really difficult to raise their children. One of our young adult Genesis Design graduates recently asked Sylvia if we could teach their church elders what he has learnt!
DEVELOPMENTS AT THE HEADQUARTERS TRAINING CENTRE FACILITY (HQTF)
The training centre facilities are undergoing some major upgrades. Renovations include painting some rooms; maintenance and building work; laying additional paving; tree planting; deep cleaning; organising the storerooms and renovating all the curtaining.
The very large room by our apartment has been divided into two rooms. One room gives Sylvia and I a larger living area. We plan to move the offices to the other room to make space for the future kindergarten on the ground floor. Much planning, which includes the search for operational staff, is being done. Writing it all down makes me realise just how much is happening! We are so thankful that we have mostly been able to use whatever materials we have which keeps the costs down. As we prepare to receive people, we are very excited at the prospect of the Centre buzzing with ministry activity next year.
Please pray with us that the Lord continue to supply the needs of the ministry. We are trusting Him to avail us of at least US$100,000 for 2023, to print the lesson material and make it available to the public.
The Genesis Design website is ready to make it possible for people to download the material directly from the internet. We await board approval to use the bank accounts in the USA and Germany for this purpose.
Blessings in His most holy name and thank you for serving Him, with us.
Jos and Sylvia
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