Originally the Venda Building Society, VBS Mutual Bank was a small, little-known lender in Limpopo before it rocketed from obscurity in 2016 by giving President Jacob Zuma a controversial home loan to repay the state for improvements to his Nkandla homestead. The bank was growing rapidly and sold itself as a fearless champion of black advancement. Its main shareholder, Vele Investments, was on a meteoric trajectory towards becoming a financial conglomerate worthy of national attention. When the bank abruptly went into curatorship in March 2018, no one had any reason to doubt that it was just another unfortunate corporate failure. Then the astonishing truth emerged: the collapse of VBS was due to an epic R2-billion fraud that had created Vele’s empire out of thin air and left the bank a hollow shell. VBS: A Dream Defrauded unravels the fraud, exploring how suspected mastermind Tshifhiwa Matodzi and his associates first took control of VBS, fed ANC patronage networks and operated under a nationalist mantle endorsed by Venda royalty. The book explains how the bank and its shareholder Vele were seemingly built into a multibillion-rand business, exposes the political machinations that guaranteed VBS up to R3.5 billion in unlawful funding from municipalities and other state institutions, and describes the free-for-all that ensued after the bank’s collapse, when all involved tried to cover their tracks. Written by one of the journalists who first broke the story, this book draws on interviews with VBS insiders and other role-players, as well as documents and detailed forensic evidence collected in the course of two years of investigations. This is a compelling account of a bank heist whose shockwaves continue to haunt the politicians, businessmen and traditional leaders who enabled it.

- Enables organizers to envision and implement a VBS program customized for the local church - Practical, comprehensive, from-the-ground-up approach to VBS Designing a Vacation Bible School program, as opposed to choosing one of the many off-the-shelf packages, is a labor of love. It considers the unique perspective of children and invests accordingly. It's a home-cooked meal compared to fast food. It sends a message to parents that a church values children enough to identify and meet their specific needs in their community at a particular moment in time. Well-designed VBS programs speak to children with respect, love, and patience, offering opportunity for authentic spiritual growth, not to mention an intentional theology that is reflective of the church. Finally, custom-designed VBS programs are a way to fully include children in the mission and ministry of the church rather than confine their unique gifts. This book provides Christian educators with the tools they need to assess the needs and resources in their congregation, and to craft a creative program in response to that assessment. The Best VBS Workbook Ever offers direction and suggestions on theme, structure, logistics, program, activities, staffing and promotion. Audience: Episcopal and other mainline churches looking for something more original and thoughtful than typical pre-packaged VBS programs, Directors of Christian Education, Directors of Children's Ministry, Camps and Retreat Centers, FORMA, Kanuga Christian Education conference, eFormation network

What do you get when you take two moms who love children's ministries and ask them to plan the Vacation Bible School program at their church? If you asked Gennifer Anderson and Sonja Toews that question, their answer would be--this book! With more than twenty years of combined experience coordinating the VBS program for their church each summer, these two moms decided to write their own VBS programs to meet the needs of their church and offer a different program to their community other than the mainstream VBS programs that every other church in their town was offering. The result of their efforts is Small Town VBS. This book offers you three programs for less than the price of one manual for most other programs! Buy one book and be set for three years! Each program contains detailed information about the opening program, crafts, games, food, and skit scripts, which provide humor and laughter for the closing program while tying the whole theme for the day together. The result of their efforts is Small Town VBS. This book offers you three programs for less than the price of one manual for most other programs! Buy one book and be set for three years! Each program contains detailed information about the opening program, crafts, games, food, and skit scripts, which provide humor and laughter for the closing program while tying the whole theme for the day together. The three programs focus on the following themes: Celebrations - Explores the ceremonies the Israelites celebrated and how each celebration pointed to the future and Christ's mission on earth. Short Stories - Looks at five of Jesus' parables and what those stories mean to us. God's Most Wanted - Studies the life of David and how God used him as a shepherd boy and king to do great things. Share God's love with the children in your church and community by putting together an unforgettable VBS program with the help of two experienced program directors who God has called to teach children about Jesus!

Get guidance from a well-known scripting expert—and teach yourself the fundamentals of Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript). This tutorial delivers hands-on, self-paced learning labs to help you get started automating Microsoft Windows administration—one step at a time. Discover how to: Manage folders and files with a single script Configure network components with Windows Management Instrumentation Administer users and groups using subroutines and Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) Design logon scripts to configure and maintain user environments Monitor and manage network printers Back up and edit the registry—avoiding common pitfalls Handle errors and troubleshoot scripts Simplify administration for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Internet Information Services 6.0 Includes a CD featuring: All practice exercises 100+ sample scripts to adapt for your own work For customers who purchase an ebook version of this title, instructions for downloading the CD files can be found in the ebook.

The author describes her family's life in a small town in Tennessee before World War II, where, as the first Jews in town, they owned a dry goods store and struggled to prosper in a place where Jews were treated as outsiders

Life is painful. Everyone's story comes with unique challenges, difficulties, bumps, and bruises that leave you lost and drowning in their wake. It could be a financial disaster, a health issue, a broken relationship, or the loss of a loved one. Dr. Tony Evans, bestselling author and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, understands life's hardships firsthand. In a span of less than two years, he lost his brother, sister, brother-in-law, two nieces, father, and wife. At the same time, both of his daughters received cancer diagnoses. In the wake of all this pain, Dr. Evans had to put into practice, at the deepest levels, the truths he has preached about God for more than forty years. God's Word doesn't promise us a life free from pain and trouble. It promises us something else—Someone else. Someone who will walk with us through all of life's trials and troubles. There is hope for the hurting: His name is Jesus.