Reason to Smile

I'll be leaving for Uganda tomorrow and wanted to post a blog before I go.  It's always been our intention to keep you updated monthly and I must apologize that this blog is the shortest I've written in nine years.   It doesn't mean that little has happened.  It only means that Edwin has been so busy that he hasn't had the time to concentrate on taking pictures.  There have been some recent changes in Uganda concerning homes for children and the government has been trying to clean up the damages. Many homes have been closed due to corruption and child trafficking.  Home of Angels is safe of course, but this has caused a lot of extra work for Edwin, and until it's completed, we will have to be patient.  I am arriving with two cameras, so be prepared.

I'm leaving a little early to help Edwin setup for a team of young adults from Northview church that will be coming to stay with us.  We'll be bringing in the last of the 20 abandoned children that Richard, a donor in Canada has fed and housed since November 2017.  What better way than to have our team from Canada handle this task? We will be baptizing the older children and going out into the community to hand out solar lights. The Gleaners have also donated 50lbs of soup for the hungry.  Perfect timing because we will also have the opportunity to spend a day with my friend Renee and her team, who are breaking the cycle of malnutrition just a few hours north of us.  It will be a very exciting time for everyone and I already know there will be many reasons to smile as we take all these memories back home to Canada.

Check out the old chicken houses.  You are now looking at "Morning Star" nursery school, a school for our 31 new little people (donated by Tsawwassen Rotary Club).  The grass has been planted, the latrine is ready and most of the painting completed.  When we originally built our Home of Angels, 3 young boys and their father painted our entire compound.  Ben, one of the sons, age 17 came to help us paint the nursery school, but tragedy happened as he left for home one evening.  He was on a boda-boda, the main mode of transportation when they were hit head-on by a car.  Both Ben and the driver died instantly.

The building on the left of "Morning Star" school will be called "Rachel's House" and will be opened next year for classes.  This has been donated by two amazing "Rachel's" that made banana bread at UBC last Christmas and sold enough to finish the building.  I will update you upon completion.

As you can see, Ben was a wonderful artist.  The rooms are beautifully painted with animals and the alphabet along with many other teaching tools.  R.I.P. Ben.

Ben is on the left in the jeans.  Since the accident, both brothers have stepped up to help finish the other building also.  They wanted to honor their brother, bless their hearts.  We have a very loving community and so many want to help us make this home a warm and happy place for orphans.

We recently received many solar lights from Thomas in Hong Kong.  These lights are not for sale but rather for the children to distribute to the poor.  When the team arrives, they will also witness the reactions of the people to such a simple thing as light.  Children will now be able to do homework at night and there will be fewer accidents just trying to get around in the dark.

Meet the team from Northview church.  Pastor Ezra Okoti will be bringing them to Uganda where they will be visiting both Word of Life and Home of Angels.  Ezra, originally from Kenya, will then return home via Nairobi giving them a chance to go on a short Safari before boarding their plane.




Thanks once again everyone for following our story.  We just know that God is at work in a very big way with all the exciting things currently happening.  I promise to keep you all updated by sending pictures and stories.