Ian and I are on the last week of our 6-week “tour” from the US to Scotland to England, back to the US and finally flying home on Friday, arriving Sunday. We had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend with Spencer, Jane and baby Beck, and I already miss him as we head out to California for a few days of fun with friends. I do miss the kids, I miss our staff, I miss my cats and I miss my bed on the mountainside in a tiny kingdom in Africa.
This week the Project Canaan (PC) team is hosting a wonderful group of students, teachers and parents from Oaks Christian School in Westlake, CA. I have been friends with the CEO, Garett Freeman, since his days as Principal at the Morrison Academy in Taipei many years ago. The team is from the Institute of Arts and Innovation and they have spent the week giving our older kids an introduction to cameras and storytelling through the mediums of film and photography. They also brought 15 digital cameras and 18 Chromebook tablets to donate to our school. We were blessed to have some people from The Oaks Collective (Pretoria, SA), who have done a lot of filming on PC and joined the team to help think about a future film/editing class. Yes, it is just a coincidence that they both have the name OAKS, but I don’t believe in coincidences.
In a few weeks from now, Ian and I will need to get back on a plane to fly back to Canada and the US. Yes, lots of travel points this year. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come and join us on Sunday, June 1st at the Vancouver Yacht Club, BC. Come join us and get caught up on all things “Project Canaan” and bring friends or family to come along too! You can buy tickets by clicking this link.
After this event we will be in Dallas at the Ripples of Hope Women’s Luncheon hosted by Feed My Starving Children at the Richardson Women’s Club on Tuesday, June 3th. You can purchase tickets by clicking the link below. Ian and I would love to see you there. While it says it is a women’s luncheon, I do know there will be many men in attendance.
In really BIG news, we have an engagement to announce…our very own Walter Nkambule proposed to Fufu Dlamini last week and she said “YES”! Walter has been worked on PC for 13 years and Fufu has been at the Project Canaan Academy for five years. We are thrilled for them both and we LOVE when our children can see people they know and love, go through the process of getting engaged, making wedding plans and then getting married. Anthony and Celestine were our first, then Spencer and Jane (from afar), then Chloe and Asad, so we celebrate this big milestone of love with them both.
As we wind down the month of April, and look forward to all that is planned for the month of May, I want to take a moment and just give thanks for all of the support that is given by people all over the world. Whether you are contributing financially, volunteering in our Georgia office or in Africa, sending words of encouragement to any of our team or praying for us, we are thankful for YOU.
Blessings to you today,
Janine Maxwell, Co-Founder and COO Heart for Africa