Simply Trusting

Fifteen years ago, Edwin and his friends cleared a coffee plantation in order to build a home for orphans from the streets.  Not sure what I was getting into, I decided to help him by baking banana bread and I was hooked from that day on.  Our dream became alive and has never stopped since.

By putting our faith into action and loving these kids, God has planted the seed that starts the process of miracles.  We've certainly been blessed with all that has happened.  Today, compounds are joined together with 8' razor wired walls housing our Center of Grace church, a Bible school, a Trade school where the children can learn their choice of a trade before they must phase our at 18-years old.  Both Ptarmigan schools are flourishing and with an excellent staff, we decided to fill it to the maximum.  A decision was made to build a hostel for 200 new students that have been enrolling from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The final construction of our hostel will be completed soon. 

Recently two more of our girls phased out of Home of Angels.  A donor has come forward to send them to YWAM and because they passed their entrance exams, they were able to start the following week.  Because this YWAM is only 30 minutes from our home, they will be able to keep in touch with their brothers and sisters at Home of Angels.

Certainly, in these days "our journey" describes life in this broken world we live in.  We encounter joys and sorrows, conflicts and loss, and we must take it as it comes, not as we wish it to be.  Personally, I have to say that today, I never face this journey alone anymore.  There is nowhere we can go that He isn't there helping us. 

Pastor Richard was such a blessing to us and to the poor.  Whatever they needed, he tried his best to help them locate it, but all that changed on the day he was attacked with a sledgehammer and his skull was cracked open.  We were told he would be OK after a couple of months in the hospital but that wasn't the case at all.  When he returned to the Home of Angels, it wasn't long before he succumbed to his wounds and passed on to join the Lord.  Pastor Richard was a great loss to us and our community. It was at his funeral where 3,000 people attended to say their goodbyes that we understood how much he was so loved and will be sorely missed.

                  

 

There are eight villages north of us that have no way to come to our Center of Grace Church. They have requested for Edwin to bring Pastor Sam to their village for an introduction and discuss what they can do.  We have several Pastors to take care of the villages so the issue is how to keep dry in case of rain.

Because Edwin is the Minister of Trade and Investments in the Busoga Kingdom, the village leaders quite often call him to speak about important issues.  This time, it was for the same reason.  To find a solution for a village church.   Edwin gently explains the situation to them and makes them realize it's a plan that we won't forget about.  If we can figure out how to get tents, there will come the time we will be able to help them.

My daughter Kim and her Ugandan doctor friend each established organizations that have worked together over the past ten years.  The Grow Hope Foundation is a North American non-profit that has walked beside Dr. Isaac Lufafa and his non-profit Tusubira Village, an educational compound on five  acres just north of Home of Angels.  Tusubira Village has recently added cottages and a pool to create an income source in support of the educational programs run on the compound.  Thanks Kim and Dr. Isaac for inviting our children to have their first swimming experience.

Africa

Meet our newest little girl into the Home of Angels named "Africa".  It's difficult to tell, but Africa has a large head and most children born this way are named "Africa".  There are many children in our area the same, especially in our LOVE project.  If anyone would like to sponsor this little girl, please contact me.  She's starting a whole new life at Home of Angels and she is going to need lots of love.    

When the chickens died, we had the chance to plant 30,000 conifer seedlings on that land to donate to the country of Uganda.  There were many little hands pushing seeds in these pots and before we knew it, they were ready to be transported.  At a certain height, these trees were then all taken to the eastern side of Lake Victoria where they are today.  

Deforestation is a national issue in Uganda where most people use firewood for cooking.  Also, with the 28 refugee camps, the largest now being 270,000 people, the forests have been depleted due to charcoal production and poverty.  These trees will grow to 9 meters high with a width of 25 centimetres. 

For those of you who remember when we built our second compound, we used these two buildings to raise 1,000 chickens.  When the Avian flu hit they all died.  We then decided to utilize the buildings for our Morning Star Nursery school and the grounds for planting food.  Over time the students outgrew this school and moved to the Ptarmigan Nursery school being build behind it.  This building has now been converted to the Trade Center to be used for HOA children when they must phase out at 18-years old.  Currently, there is an interest from the families of students housing with us, to also have the opportunity to learn a trade. This will also be another source of income to help us to become self-sufficient in the future.

The first two floors of the hostel are almost completed.  Inside walls, floors and windows are also finished but due to weather issues, we couldn't finish it before school started.  It will definitely be completed before the next semester.  We will then be able to have sleeping quarters for the 100 girls on the ground floor with 100 boys on the second floor. 

  

The roof will give you an idea how large this building is.

And truck after truck of beds start rolling in.......

Because of the current situation in Uganda with child-trafficking and also the heavy rains, Edwin and Precious decided they would cut a walkway between the walls separating the home and school compounds.  Everyone would be safer and drier. 

Meet Alice!  Alice is a young girl from the streets.  She's never had an education and both parents have died of HIV.  Her Aunty took her in to live with her and asked  Edwin and Precious if she could learn how to use our "Overlock sewing machine" in our Trade Center.  It's the same as a serger but the stitch is more like a knitting stitch.  With this training, she'll be able to survive on the streets with her Aunties machine.  

Since 2010, all we've ever wanted to do is make a difference in the lives of children, the elderly, the poor and the sick.  Even if we helped one child to have a better life and come to know the love of Jesus, we've accomplished our dream. But I have to tell you, that without so many of you helping us, we couldn't have accomplished this alone.  You've done everything from raising a child at HOA, feeding the hungry, drilling bore-holes for water, supplying mosquito nets to prevent malaria and so much more.  And most of all, helped us towards another dream of becoming self-sustainable.  We might not be quite finished but Edwin and Precious believe that not too long from now, this dream will be fulfilled.  Thanks everyone!! You should all be proud of yourselves for contributing to help the helpless.