Love Beyond Boundaries

It was 16 years ago that Edwin took me to my first garbage dump full of children looking for food.  I had never seen anything like that before and it broke my heart.  When they saw my white skin, one little girl asked me "Are we called orphans?"  Edwin and I  answered no and explained they were all beautiful "Angels".  That thought never left us and that's how we began.  I was recently reminded that as soon as the children arrived to Home of Angels in 2011, they were learning that Jesus promised them He would not leave them as orphans and they never forgot.

We cleared a coffee plantation to construct one small building to house a few children. The first eleven  arrived, saw their first real bed, a mosquito net, a trunk for their few personal items and on the bed was a new hand-made quilt made by the hands of the elderly in Canada.  We certainly couldn't have made it without so many of you for your help and love.  We also want to thank you for not giving up on us  because of the all the struggles we've faced both in Canada and in Uganda.  You always believed our dream could be accomplished and for that we are truly grateful.   Because of the new hostel, there will be 200 new students arriving from Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya to begin their first semester in 2025.  This will make a total of 500 students in both Ptarmigan Nursery and Primary schools.  There will be 26 teachers, some local and some from afar that will be housed with us also.

 

                                                                               I'm really going to have to be honest with you all ..... I feel like I'm going down memory lane right now.  This is Barbra with her two brothers Paul and Silas.  The boys were moving in with us, so Barbra, being a good sister, decided to come with them for encouragement. 

A few months later the Pastor who had been taking care of the kids couldn't afford to feed Barbra any longer, so we agreed to bring her in to live with her brothers.

This is probably one of the first letters they haven't had to ask for help writing.  That meant they had to write two to show everyone what they had learned.  When I last visited everyone in 2019, only Junior could help them print these signs.  They have come so far over these past few years and I know from what I'm seeing and hearing on the phone, they have advanced so much in their English studies.  We're SO proud!!

The hostel has been completed.  It will house 200 students from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda in 2025. What you see on the top are the leftover materials put up with a vision of building a third floor one day.  All that remains is to complete attaching the razor wire on the walls, painting the exterior of the building and finish putting the windows in.  By the first semester of 2025 everything will be finished including hiring the guards.  

Because we had to hire more teachers coming in from quit a distance, we've decided to use our empty homes in order to house them.  This home is equipped with a wall and razor wire also.  If they should have one or two children, they will also have enough room to bring them along.

Our first children, Hope and Desire who came every day to pick our weeds to feed their two blind grandmas in 2013.

 

Hope and Desire have now graduated from YWAM with excellent grades.  Thanks to a wonderful sponsor, they were able to attend Industrial Training after graduation.  Hope decided to take Catering and Desire went in for Art and Design.  

  

Seeing how Hope and Desire loved YWAM and learned so much, Zakia and Eva also asked if they could attend.  They are both very grateful to have a donor who helped them to attend the two-year program. There is also the possibility for the girls to come back to Home of Angels and work if they graduate and want to.  Time will tell all.

 

Joanne had already chosen her future.  She's always wanted to learn to sew like her sponsor Lottie sews.  She has been learning in our sewing room at the Trade Center but when she leaves next year, there has been a good machine hidden to be given to her as a going-away present.  Wish I could be there to see those tears!

Pastor Sam had been requested to visit a village of 2,500 people deep in the north.  He brought along a story from Jesus called the "Water of Life".  They started talking about the water in their district and how it was a 7km walk away.  The long and the short of this story is a donor came forward to install a bore hole for them.  Instead of paying for a drilling truck, ten very strong men asked if they could dig by hand.  They would have to dig 150' down through thick mud.  Permission was given and they made it,  The pipes were set and covered and the pump was installed on top.  The money to be spent on the drilling truck was used to feed the hungry in their village.

                                                                             

This is where we witness the first water out of the ground.  No more walking for hours to fetch water.

The villagers are now begging us to help build a church because they want to understand who this Jesus is who helped them survive.  Our Pastor Sam and his friends are going to help them build a cover from the rain in the near future and assist them on Sunday services.  This is what it's all about everyone.  Helping the helpless and teaching them who Jesus is.

This is our "Hope for Children" village.  There are currently 121 families learning how to survive with the help of Precious teaching them different skills.  I can't help but use this picture because it depicts exactly what these children live with daily.  This little child had been given a new shirt and by the look on his face I think Precious is telling him to show it off to all of us.  Our children at Home of Angels still have their "God's Little Angels Ministry" and are still helping the elderly here also.

There is only one man out of all these families and he has three disabled children.  His wife left him because of the children but he loved his kids and decided he would stay with them and help the village survive.  Because he had no money, a donor sent him $1,000 to purchase 2nd hand shoes to sell.  He's doing well at it and is able to make a difference.  They are all banking about $30.00 per month in their own accounts in town that Precious had set up for them.  

Thank you all for your prayers of encouragement and your help to continue us on this journey.