Potluck!!!

Goodbye/Send-off Potluck

What: Potluck, so bring whatever you would like to eat!

Where: 1824 New Bedford Dr., Greensboro, NC 27410

When: Anytime after 6pm. Feel free to stop by anytime for whatever length of time!

I hope that you can come! Sara and Daniel will be there too so you can catch up with them too...

11 days...

May 20, 2010

Hello Everyone,

11 DAYS…and counting…

I thought that it was about time for a quick update about how the last minute things are coming together. I am just going to give quick highlights. If you would like more details please let me know and I will be happy to oblige.

I sold my car this week which is a huge relief. It has been giving me some problems this Spring but it seems to be all fixed and running well. A friend of the family has bought it and has given it to Daniel. This is a wonderful answer to prayer for the whole family!

My room is slightly more packed. I am planning to try and pack my suitcases early next week just to see how much all my stuff weighs.

Kuatiko(my dog) has his vet appointments to get his various health certificates and paper work done. He has to have a European Union Health certificate because he is going through Frankfurt and he also has to have an import certificate and a veterinary health certificate for Namibia. They all have to be done within a certain number of days of traveling so it means that it is cutting it close on getting things back and forth to different offices on different continents. Please pray that all the paper work goes through quickly and with no hassles. I called the Namibian Veterinary Service last week to ask if it was okay if I faxed them his Namibian paper work for them to approve and they said that was no problem. Vamos ver! (We will see!)

It has been a very encouraging week as I have received gifts from a couple of churches and individuals. Thank you all so much! I can’t believe the incredible team that the Lord is drawing up around me. It is going to be truly wondrous to watch Him put all this together. I am however still lacking in my monthly support. I need more support for the first 6 months or so, until the school is opened and then tuition from the school should help cover my living expenses, which in Angola are pretty high. I know that God has this all in Hand that He will provide what I need but being human it is hard to keep from worrying about these sorts of things. Please pray for God’s provision and my resting and waiting in His provision.

This Sunday (May 23^rd) I am going to be sharing briefly with the High School youth group at church and then again at the Singles meeting in the evening. The High School meet at 5pm and the Singles at 7pm. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for both of these times. My prayer is that people would see the passion that the Lord has given me for doing His will wherever and however that might be!

One last thing, we are hosting a Goodbye/Sendoff pot-luck party at my house on Thursday May 27^th around 6:30pm. If you can make it that would be great! I would love to see you before I leave!

Please call me if you have any questions or would like to just chat! 336-508-7856.

In Christ Our King,

Helena Foster Fabiano

Donation Information:

AGA Inc.

25 Maple Street

Addison, NY 14801

Please make checks payable to AGA Inc. and put “01019” in the memo line.

The End of the Month

It is official now, I am leaving at the end of the month. Just 30 days from now I will be on my way to Angola!

I am excited but also a little nervous...there is still so much to do and get ready in the next few weeks, not to mention the huge job that awaits me on the other end. I have figured that the only way I will make it is to just take one step at a time and hold onto His hand the entire time. He has it all figured out and I can trust in Him to take care of the details.

At this point I have mostly packed up my books and a lot of miscellaneous stuff that I have collected over the last few years. I have some things that I am hoping to ship in a container when there is one heading over there.

Another thing I have to figure out is what to do with my car. It is an old car with lots and lots of miles on it and to top it off it hasn't been running all that well recently. (by "all that well", I mean not at all.) I am having a mechanic look at in the next couple of days so please pray for wisdom as I try to figure out what I should do with it.

The BIGGEST prayer request at the moment is finances(of course). I still have a lot of my monthly support to raise as well as my one-time out-going expenses. I have raised about 30% of my monthly and 35% of my one time. So please pray with me about this. I know that the Lord has this all in hand. I am learning to trust Him more and more.

*If you feel God calling you to partner with me through prayer and/or financially you can email me at hffabiano@gmail.com, call me (336-508-7856) or you can send donations to 25 Maple St., Addison NY 14801, just put my name in the memo line. You can also donate online at www.hopeforangola.org.*

I have had several encouraging "happenings" this week. I was contacted by the mission committee of a church in High Point to come and share about my ministry in the next couple of weeks. I was also contacted by a church that a friend of the family attends in the Chicago area and they also asked me to share, via letter, a few more details about my ministry. Both these things were a huge encouragement for me.

I also heard from the Indian family in Lubango that have a little girl that they want to put in the school. They are anxious for me to come and they said that they have told several different families about me coming and that I will "not want for admissions to the school". It was so nice to hear that they are still looking forward to me coming.

My small group leader from when I was in High School also had my mom and I over for dinner last Thursday night to share with her and her family about what I will be doing. It was really fun and a huge blessing for both Mom and I. We have known this family for awhile and haven't had a chance to catch up like that for a long time.

If you have a group that you would like me come speak to or share with about my ministry I would love to do that. One of my favorite things to do is share what the Lord is doing and what He has asked me to do with my life.

Well, I think that I have babbled long enough and I have to run and try and get my car across town to the mechanic.

Thank you all so much for your love and support throughout this entire process. It means a lot to me.

6 Weeks!

Dear Friends,

Happy Spring!!!!

I hope that you are all doing well. I was talking to a friend the other day and we got around to talking about my leaving and I realized that I leave in 6 weeks! It is hard to believe, time has flown right on by. So I figured that it is about time to give you guys a little bit of an update about how my preparations are coming along.

I spent yesterday afternoon and this morning packing up what I can in my room. It has been mostly a sorting and throwing out party but I have managed to pack up most of my teaching and children’s books to send to Angola. I rediscovered/remembered/found that I have some amazing resources and I cannot wait to get to Angola and use them. J At the moment, I think that I have packed and thrown away what I can.

It has been very encouraging to see how God is putting a support team, prayer and otherwise. I have raised about 25% of my monthly support and about 20% of my one-time outgoing expenses. I am trusting God to continue to build my team and provide what I need. Please continue to pray for His provision of the rest. If you feel God calling you to join my team please feel free to contact me or send donations to AGA Inc., 25 Maple St., Addison, NY 14801.

The next few weeks are going to be very busy as I go through the last minute preparations. I have to get vaccinations, vet appointments and paperwork for Tiko(my dog) to travel and of course more packing and sorting.

Several friends are planning a little get-together for me towards the end of April or the beginning of May. If you would like to come please let me know and I will get you more information. I would love to see you there. If you would like me to come speak to a small group or gathering of people please let me know. I am happy and excited to share about the work in Angola that God has called me to do.

Thank you once again for all your encouragement and support. It means so much to me.

In Him,

Helena

PS: I have put some pictures on my blog. Check them out http://helenashappenings.blogspot.com/

Contact Information: email: hffabiano@gmail.com, cell phone: 336-508-7856, skype name: Angola86 and of course through Facebook. Looking forward to hearing from you. J

Pictures of Mitcha School(what it used to be)

This is what the school looked like before I left in 2004. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Mitcha School

Mitcha School was the one-room school house that I attended from 1st grade until I graduated from High School. It was a school primarily for missionary kids but the church and the mission opened it up to children whose parents were working with NGO's and some local children too whose parents wanted them to study in English so as to have more opportunities later on in life
. The first day of school there were five us, my two siblings and I, Seregi, a Ukrainian boy whose parents were working in town at the local hospital and Natasha, whose parents were business people in town. Our teacher was Welsh and she used an American curriculum and supplemented in extra activities and class projects that we worked on together. Seregi had his own Ukrainian program to work on as well as learning English with us. Natasha, who was the same age as my younger brother,  had never been to school before and knew no English but by the end of the year she was speaking almost fluently and doing very well in her school studies as well.
The school grew as the years went by and at one point we had 15 students, a mix of missionary kids, local children and children of expates in town. We always had a great mix of students from all around the world and it was an easy way to learn about other cultures and how to adapt and relate to each other. The biggest benefit was the wonderful witness of Christ's love and acceptance it was to the students as well as their parents. We also had class devotions and a worship/prayer time at the beginning of each day and it was a great way for the students to ask questions and learn about Him. Our class put on a Christmas play that told the Gospel story for the parents and the local community.The school was a great way to build relationships with the people that might never have had the opportunity to really see and understand His love. Over the years several parents and students have come to Christ as a result of the relationships that they built through the school and the example of Christ's love and family that the school was to everyone.

After I graduated from High School in 2004, I worked as the teacher/supervisor of the school. I had two new kindergarten students that did not know any English so I was teaching them English as well as a kindergarten curriculum. I also had 8 other students from 1st grade to 11th. It was not easy all the time but it was very rewarding. That was when God really laid the vision of the school on my heart and it has been my dream to be able to go back reopen it. It is a huge undertaking, and I have to admit that I feel slightly overwhelmed but I know that He has it all in His hands.  I can't begin to tell you how exciting it is to see how the Lord is moving and bringing this together. 

If you have any questions about the school, what I will be doing, or any suggestions or if you feel that this is a project that God is calling you to participate in, please feel free to contact me. (336-508-7856 or hffabiano@gmail.com) I am looking forward to seeing the team that God is putting around me.

These are some pictures of when I  was in Angola during the Summer of 2008.

a picture of the classroom from when I was in Lubango in 2008. My cousin and I did school here for a couple of weeks.

Our library. We have a container full of books that missionaries have brought out. It is a wonderful resource.

Our classroom when my cousin, Meghan, and I were at the ranch that her parents run for the church.

Meghan working on a project.

Prayer Card