Free from Fear

Fear sneaks into our hearts without permission.  It paints a picture of helplessness and hopelessness, so you can imagine what it's been like for the children that we are bringing into our Home of Angels.  With the fear and trauma they have experienced in the past, they bring it all with them as they walk through our gate for the first time.  Usually they come with jiggers buried in their feet due to living in the dirt with no shoes.  The pain of removing those jiggers and having a child say thank-you because you cared enough to help them is something we cannot imagine.  Most of them come hungry and malnourished so not worrying where the next meal will come from is a blessing in itself.

I recently returned home from Uganda with a surprise letter from every child.  As I read each one, I was humbled by how they genuinely felt.  They've learned to trust Uncle Edwin and I with their inner most thoughts and I now understand the pain they dealt with before their arrival.  Every child has a different story to tell, but when they learn how much God loves them, they eventually learn to relax in His peace and take refuge from that pain.  How wonderful it would be for them to teach others in the community what they have learned about God's love living at Home of Angels.

We currently have 21 children but our goal is to house a total of 50 in the future.  It's our prayer that we will be able to find 10 more homeless little ones soon.  Edwin spends many hours making sure it's done properly by involving community leaders and social workers.  We want to thank all the sponsors for giving these children a home full of love and hope.  It truly brings a smile when we see the incredible changes in all of them.

Every day chores are done and because of their dedication, we have a beautiful compound.  These kids take great pride in their new home and it shows in the smiles on their faces.  We also want to thank our guards,  Frank and Sam for helping them to appreciate what they now have.

Since our schoolroom was originally in the boys home and it's presently filling up with little bodies, we are now moving it into the end unit of our main home.  Thanks to Nina throughout the years for equipping it with the necessary items to teach with.  We have a whiteboard, chairs, table and supplies.  Edwin and I are now thinking we can help some of the community kids too so I'm really looking forward to this when I return.

Meet the wonderful students of the Tri-Cities Rotaract Club in Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.  They recently held a concert called the "West Coast Story" on our behalf and it was a HUGE success.  Not only that, they also gave each child a new backpack filled with surprises and school supplies.  I can't say enough about these fantastic young adults and how hard they've worked to help our Home of Angels over the years.  We all thank you!!!

Judy made a huge impact on our children as did the entire team from Northview, and to this day they feel sad about their departure.  Kevin and Kristen also taught them a new game that will never be forgotten.  I don't think we have ever seen them have so much fun.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ap6lh074jzwoszp/Duck%20Duck%20game.m4v?dl=0

We are raising our goats in Malindi village in the north.  Thanks Thomas for purchasing the fencing for 30 acres and for also purchasing the goats.  Goats seem to multiply almost as quickly as rabbits it seems....we are at 175 already.  George is one amazing man to be doing this for us and he seems to have his entire village helping him.  Thanks Thomas and George for making this project successful.

Thomas in Hong Kong has always had it in his heart to help us in a medical way.  Edwin and the children decided to purchase a Neem tree, when in time, it would produce leaves to help our chickens and the children's 14 goats in our compound.  The Neem leaf acts as a antibiotic for these animals and has been proven very successful in India.  This tree has been planted in Thomas's honour.

3 year old Precious.  She has recently been taught how to shine her school shoes by her older brothers and sisters.  If anyone deserves the name "Precious" this little one does.

The gardens are thriving and the maize is on it's 2nd crop

I couldn't resist this....Yasin before

                                                Yasin today

This is what I meant when I said "they originally came through our gate for the first time with fear". This little one had rarely ever been outside this mud hut, in fact, we didn't know there were 2 other children living in there with their 98 year old grandpa.  Look at him now.




Hopelessness may be the way these children entered their new home but positive self-image and self-confidence is how they will depart when they are older.