Well this week has been a great success! I did a lot of work, but had a lot of fun!
Monday we started work in the garage. I started arranging the top of two containers... wow. It has been a long time since I have seen such disorganization... but then again, it has been a while since I have had to clean my room. :) It was litterally 2 feet after you got up the ladder before you had to start climbing over things to get somewhere. It is now arranged that you can reach any one thing without climbing over another to get to it. That followed in to some of Tuesday too...
Tuesday afternoon Doug taught me how to weld. That actually came in very handy because Wednesday I welded together some soccer posts. They are a little small, but I ran out of pipe. I will extend it if I can find some more somewhere. I also spent yesterday and today fixing a gate that the dogs have completely destroyed. Not in a way you would think though. They have literally rusted out the posts of this gate by peeing on it. Bleagh. Anyway, that is fixed now. The next project is the Pyote that need the same thing. We are going to put PVC pipe over it so they can't do it again.
Thank the Lord the container came in yesterday and the two generators are leaving tomorrow for Buali and Bangui. We had one of the garage guys get a finger smashed between some sheet metal. Prayer for a quick recover would be appreciated. It is not too bad, just needs time to heal.
Dad is coming tonight with a team. They are a couple hours away and will get here around 10pm. Which is late for me since I normally hit the hay around 8pm. That is ok though because we don't work tomorrow. So it works out ok. :)

Prayer for this week would be appreciated for the work being done in the garage to get cars ready for trips, drill teams ready to go again, and well repair teams as well.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. If you have any specific questions or just want to say hey don't feel shy to write back! I miss you all and hope that all is well. Also if you have any prayer requests send them to me. I'm not just on mission here, I want to be supporting you as well.
God bless

John

The first two days of work have been very successful! I have arranged the top of a container area. Before I started working on it I literally had to climb over things to get anywhere. You could move about 2 feet, then hit junk. Now everything is organized and moved to the proper place. It was very exhausting, but it looks great. I suppose I should get used to it, because there is lots more to be done. :) Anyway, the top of containers is not very clean. Lots of dust and dirt. As you can see from my picture...

I am still very excited to be working here, so the hard work doesn't hinder that any.
Please continue to pray for safety for me and the workers in the garage.
God bless
John Hocking

The first day...

Dear Friends and Family,

I have been getting a good idea of what I am going to be doing here for the next few months. I am kind of the odd job man. There are things here and there that need to be done that people just don’t have time to do. So I am going to be working on small projects to get them done. As well as anything Doug would like me to do. I am his helper, so anytime he wants me to do something, that’s what I do.
Last week we got some more stuff from the Dubai container. Inside was a huge crate of Soda! Pepsi, Sprite, Mt. Dew, Tonic water, and a couple others. It was really funny, but they were only like 15 cents a can. So, I am officially stocked for drinks for a long time. ☺


Nothing too exciting this past week, just getting settled in and seeing what needs to be done. This coming week will be exciting to start working on things and finding out what else needs to be done. Organizing is going to be one of the big projects. There is a lot to organize.
Bob Belo and my dad are leaving today. Bob was supposed to leave this morning, but a little ways down the road was having car problems, so he is back while they are working that out. Please pray for safe travel for both of them. Dad is coming back up here in a week with a team traveling to different villages. Other than that, pray for safety while working!
Thank you all for being such great supporters of my ministry. The encouragement is very much appreciated. Thank you.
John

One of the orphans in Bangui.



Another orphan in Bangui


















Me at "The End of the World"

Africa February 20th

Well, I have been here in Africa for a month now. Things have been going wonderfully! I have made my rounds around different villages, taken my 12 hour car rides, and short bush plane rides. I am now settling into my new home for the next 6 months. Berberati. It is nice here. I will be working doing odd jobs and helping out wherever I can. Doug Murtoft and his wife will be here. He is a mechanic and will be working in the garage. I will be learning from him and helping out where he needs me.
This week I could use some prayer to get over a cold. I have had it for a few days and need to get rid of it. I have been resting a lot, but after the weekend work really starts, so I need to get over it by then.
The Lord has been gracious and has granted us safe travel everywhere. I know that He will provide for me and keep me safe. I have been blessed so much to have this opportunity to come and will be looking for what He is showing me here.