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.
Africa |
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.
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.