Edwin decided to have a party for all the kids coming into our Home of Angels. They live in different areas but he managed to get them all into one place to meet each other for the first time. The only kids
that were not there were the youngest ones...Olivia (3) and little Allen (2).
The party alone was a strange event as none of these kids ever had the opportunity to attend a real "party". Oh, what we take for granted. They arrived throughout the morning, very timid and not sure
exactly how to behave, but after time they became friends, played together and had so much fun.
Edwin said it was difficult to separate them to go home. They wanted to stay but he told them soon they would have their home to come back to. Trusting him, they left carrying special memories in their hearts and knowing that they soon would have a family and home to return to. Even though most of them are very sick, they know they are blessed to have been chosen.
Just to give you an idea of what is happening on our side of the world, I am very grateful to my church, Northview for making the "Pulse". This is a video telling our story. After each service, I was there selling banana bread. The 1st service sold out on Saturday night in 5 minutes. The 9:00am service on Sunday morning again sold out in 10 minutes but thanks to a wonderful friend who had baked 32, we got through the 6pm service, selling out immediately once again. Thank you Northview for exposing our story to so many and to Sam and Adam for their expertise in developing it.
Regarding the compound...BC Holstein News has written another wonderful article in their newspaper about us. Thanks to Karen and Gary Booy and the dairy community for their support in helping us. You built the wall and now all we have left to do is plaster it and put the rolled wire on the top for protection.
Thanks to all of you for supporting us. So many people in so many different ways. I have to say that we owe so much to Save on Foods. They continue to be our contributor for all banana bread ingredients and without them, we would not be where we are today...Thanks to all of you at Sumas and Whatcom Stores for allowing me to call you weekly for ingredients and you still keep the smile.
Edwin has sent pictures of the compound where changes are evident. We are moving along into completion and I am sure we will be opening in 2013.
The "Angels" meet each other for the first time and really enjoyed their time together.
The three in the white are brothers and sisters, all sponsored by two people outside Vancouver. Little Sammy (shortest) has been missing for over a year so when he showed up for this picture, I was very shocked and happy. His Grandma is blind and afraid. She kept him in a place of seclusion because she was frightened to be alone and used him to do all the work. Sammy is only 7 years old. I cannot imagine her pain, but now, when it came time for this picture to be taken, she let him come with the other kids and he had so much fun. He played like every little boy should. We now have come up with a plan to keep him and thanks to a wonderful woman who donated money to help a Grandma, Edwin suggested we might use this money to hire someone to watch over her for a year. We will let you know if our plan works.
I have always used the phrase "Kids helping Kids" and I want you to meet Shanelle and Kailie. They thought the children should have a Christmas present so they purchased a "Ty" Beanie Babies for each child and personalized it by making them a friendship bracelet and tying it around the neck. They even took it a step further and purchased all the special thread, taught me how to do it so that I could teach the kids to make them. Thanks also to a third sister Mackenna who wasn't in the picture. This will probably be their 1st Christmas present and I know they will treasure them.
My doctor is the best.......I go in to get my shots for Uganda and I walk out with bags of medicine.
All this and more expires in 2014 so I know that Dr. Isaac will be able to help a lot of kids. And then,
to top it off, last night a special person donated the money to ship it over there. How blessed are we
with people like this in our lives. Thanks to both of you for making a difference.
The gate is finished and I could hardly wait to show you. Jenson worked very hard to make it
his own design and we really are proud of it. Once the paving stones are down, the wall is plastered and the wire on top, we will be opening soon after. The dairy community of British Columbia took it
upon themselves to accomplish this task and we all thank you so much. Please keep us in your prayers that we can finish this by May 2013.
The undercoat is on and the painting has started. I can see where I left off in my painting job last trip, so I know I will be part of the painting crew in the next weeks to come. I love the part of being able to contribute physically. The home will be completed by the time I leave and if all goes well, Edwin, Dr. Isaac and David will have been moved in. I'm excited to witness them do this.
Grandmas are helping Grandmas also over there in a big way and this is just one result.
We have 3 very devoted brothers who come every day and help Edwin. Never have they asked
for anything, but one day they took me to their hut and I met their blind grandma who had raised them from little guys. They had nothing and she is always on the bed and I knew we had to do something for the boys to say thanks for helping us in such a big way. A wonderful lady who has been a part of this project since the beginning wanted to be the Canadian grandma to help this blind grandma. She bought a pig for them. This pig had "9" babies just recently and they will now be able to survive in a more humane way. I find out tonight that we may have more in the coming months. All it takes is just one of something....and it multiplies. Baby Alan's grandma used her donation to buy rabbits and oh my goodness... we certainly have rabbits now. It's survival. So thanks to all the big hearts who have helped the elderly and the widows.
Christmas time is almost here and I hope that you are all preparing your hearts for the amazing gift of Christ's birth and all that it means. Whether we celebrate in a country blessed with everything
or in an impoverished nation, we must never forget that we have received a priceless gift and to remember all that He has done for us. When you give, give from your hearts with gratitude.
You all have done that and we thank you so much.
Merry Christmas
Barb and Edwin and most of all....the Angels
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