Phase One Nearly Completed

Hello everyone

I returned home from Uganda 3 weeks ago and since then, mountains have been moved in the construction. Even though I couldn't be there to watch it, Edwin makes sure we all get pictures.  I need to be here on this side of the world to hopefully keep it going, bake the banana bread and speak wherever people will invite me to come.  Thanks to the many that have already invited me.  We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives that care enough to make this home happen.  We know now that this dream is really for the kids.  They come over every day to watch and imagine what it will be like to live in a real home, a wall to protect them and never worry about water.  Thanks to all of you...their dream will come true.  

      

     

The wall is plastered on the inside and the top has also been been prepared for the razor wire.
This razor wire has been purchased and is ready to install as soon as the men complete the entire perimeter.

The property on the other side of the completed wall is our sustainability land where we plan to house 500 broiler and layer chickens.  Also, there will be an acre of gardens planted.  I know that many of these avocado and banana trees have to come down but it has to be done to provide food for the kids. That will be Phase II.

We love the colour of our windows...

After the painting of the rod iron, all windows were installed...

When I was in Uganda this Christmas, I watched our crew put in this stone slate.  They worked so hard to make it precisely balanced and I think they did a great job.  The paving stones will go everywhere else in the compound but because of costs, we decided to use stone slate in front of the main house.
It is much cheaper and I think much more beautiful.

What would we do without Sula and James?...These two men that have been with us since the beginning have worked so hard for so little.  Sula is planting grass again...One tuft every few inches and before you know it... a lush green area again.

We need to make approximately 3,000 more paving stones to complete.  Each one is hand made.

James is washing our new stone slate patio

This is where I really get excited.  Meet Hope and Hadeja, two girls moving into our home.  These kids have bonded so well and even now, before the time comes to move in, they are the best of friends.  I am so happy they care about each other and I think these two girls will be the role models for all the little ones to come.  They have been given hope and their attitudes have completely changed.
If your wondering what is on their faces....they are stickers that were supposed to be used for the many thank you cards they wrote to all of you that helped them...

And then we have their two little sisters, Maryanne and Desire.  They seem to have bonded also.
Sure do love these kids....and miss them terribly.

My last day before I came back to Canada, Edwin and I went to the project early in the morning and noticed these kids outside our wall.  They were just sitting patiently while their mother and father were digging across the street.   When we came home late afternoon, we noticed again they still were in the same spot so Edwin and I went to our well and filled water bottles for them.   They probably had no water all day and we felt in our hearts we had to do something.  Water....so valuable in these parts.



We will be returning July 24th to open the home for the 12 original children.

This will not be the time for the Grand Opening as there is still Phase II to complete.  This new phase
is for a home we are building for approximately 40 more children and the sustainability program.  We are not sure who those children will be but we have the room to accommodate approximately 50-60 more and we are going to utilize it.  When you see homeless kids and the need for just food, how can we not do this?  Edwin and I have come to an agreement that we will try very hard to make this happen.  God has always been with us and we know He will not abandon us now.  We just ask that all you pray for a way to keep them fed and in school.  We have the original 12 all sponsored.  If anyone would like to sponsor one of the new kids we will be taking in, just let me know and I will put you on the list.  God bless you all.

More Angels to Arrive

Yes, we are growing by the day...not just in the compound but in children.  I tried to send another blog out in Uganda but because of the power continually going off, I couldn't complete it.  So....here I am in
COLD Canada, telling our story of the past month.  When I arrived at the compound early December, I just stared and could not believe what had been done by all of you.  The wall is up and plastered on the inside, the home is almost painted and the lawns and flowers are thriving.  The stone slate is almost finished in front of the main house and the paving stones are almost all made.  The stone slate has been put here for water control because the rains are heavy.  We have directed it out of the compound with pipes flowing to the back of the property and the slate in front of the house will protect the house from any damage.

So many people have donated particular items.  We are slowly purchasing them and even though we cannot show them all at once, we want you to see what you requested done with your money.  We also had a real Canadian birthday party for Edwin.  I found a friend from the USA to make a cake and with the candles lit and balloons everywhere, Edwin was in 7th heaven.  Everyone, including some of the kids coming to our Home of Angels and his very large family participated in singing Happy Birthday.

Thanks to Barry, we were invited to visit Watoto in Kampala.  We feel very blessed to have been given  such wonderful advice to go home with.  Watoto was started by two Canadians in Toronto and now have become world known.  They planted many seeds with Edwin and I and now it's our responsibility to go back to Jinja to water them well.

The biggest news is....we have decided to build another home for children.  32 kids was the original number but when there are so many suffering, we decided we are going to house 50- 60 kids.  Why wouldn't we!  We have the land to live on,  we have the sustainability land and even though we cannot help them all, we definitely can help more than 32.  Please pray for us to find a way to feed them because that will be the main problem.  We have been blessed to find good sponsors so far and the kids chosen can already go to school, but if anyone knows someone that would like to help a child get the bare basics including school, would you let us know?  It will take $40.00/month and because we have a doctor on the property, that would cover it all.  We would be so grateful to you.

Here are some pictures of what is happening at the present time.

This area is in front of the main house.  Because the rains are so heavy, we have had to run the water away from this area with pipes underground.  On the top we decided to put stone state but for it to 

be effective, there has been a special soil put down and the roller is packing it before the stone is laid.

Not your typical roller but they work with what they have.  We are so blessed in our country to have

a much easier way of doing things.

The men have started to lay the stone slate.  I will have a completed picture in the next blog, but 

for now you can get the idea of what it will look like.

You know, I never said anything before, but I always wondered what this was on the ceiling of the sitting rooms.  Each apartment has one of these and they are flowers.  Now that it is painted, it looks quite beautiful and ties in with the colours of each room.

The wall at the back of the house has been completed and you can get an idea how long it is.  They are

now going to plaster the outside and it will be finished.  The rolled razor wire will then be placed on the top, at which time we are then close to moving in.  At a later date we will be bringing a team of kids in from Canada to paint the entire wall.

Edwin is planting a palm tree in honor of a mother and father of one of our biggest donors.  They have since passed but these two people taught their children to always help the less privileged and give when needed.  We want to honour them and for the children to watch it grow as the years pass, remembering the lessons they were taught throughout life.  Thanks Doug and your family for caring about the kids.

This is our Hope and Desire...two children coming to live with us.  The Pin Cushion Collective women

donated 32 quilts to the kids coming into our Home of Angels.  They were all inside a back pack so that they also would have something to carry their books to school in.  I could only take 5 back with me because of the weight issue but with others coming this next trip, we will be able to bring a lot more.  Thanks Michelle and all the women who spend 100's of hours sewing these beautiful quilts.  We love you all for this and the kids say thanks also.  They made you a special thank you card that I will bring to you later.

This is my favourite village where Jaaja is taking care of our baby Alan.  By the way, Jaaja means Grandma in our language.  This little one will also be coming to our Home of Angels.  His mom died giving birth to him in the swamp and Jaaja is watching him until we can open.  Alan smiles when he sees me now instead of screaming at the colour of my skin.  He is our youngest.  Thank you Marlaina and Ron for sending enough money for her and her grandchildren to eat for 3 weeks.  Jaaja danced around the whole village doing a tribal dance she was so excited.

This is Alex and he also will be coming to live with us.  His little brother Nathan was the boy who recently passed of HIV/AIDS and cancer.  He was only 8 years old and Alex's mom, Mutesi has the same disease.  When she leaves to go with Jesus, this special boy will come with us.  His sponsor
sent him cards, letters and pictures and Alex just stared at them for hours.  He finds it difficult to believe that a total stranger would care for him.  Thank you Amanda and family for loving this little boy, he
truly loved everything you did for him and especially the school enrolment.

 

Two churches donated 50 chairs for the grass hut.  St Mary's in Vancouver and the Clearbrook Mennonite Church in Abbotsford.  Thank you so much for your contribution as we have used them

every day including Christmas, New Years and teaching classes both for the community and the children.  Thanks to Nina also for the tables where we could sit everyone at. 

This is our first refrigerator donated by Sandra.  What a difference it made to keep the food
cold.  Thanks Sandra so much from all of us, you are a special "angel" for doing this.  The local
people are not normally fortunate enough to have one of these.

Edwin had his first birthday party.  My friend at Ozzie's Restaurant made a giant chocolate cake.  We invited everyone including the kids living close by.  His family came and many local residents.  Of course there wasn't enough cake, but everyone got a taste.  The fun part were the candles as this is not a tradition used there.  Most people don't know the exact day of their birthday so you can bet they will be trying to find out if this is what happens.  Edwin really felt special this day and after all the work he does for everyone, he should feel special.....he is and we all love him.

Here is 91 year old Jaaja sitting beside Edwin wondering what in the world was happening.  This was a first for all of them.  Maybe we can start a trend to make each person feel special when we start into operation.




I arrived home yesterday and so much has happened already.  The Abbotsford Christian School is hosting a large event on January 24th and requested enough banana bread for 300-500 people.  If any of you are in the area that evening, please stop by and have a piece of banana bread and join in the fun.

Edwin and I are now concentrating on building this second home as it is our wish to house these
children.  Edwin and his brothers will do as they did before and go out into the community and find the most needy.  If anyone would like to help us accomplish this task, we would be so grateful for your
help.  We are going to need more sponsors and funds to build so if you find it in your heart to either
purchase a banana bread or send a contribution, you will receive a tax receipt.

God bless all of you who read this blog each month.  We couldn't do it without you and people such as Global TV and Save on Foods.  You all inspire us to keep going.  God is always in full control and I witness that on both sides of the world.  If you trust and have faith, He never lets you down.  We are proof of that by what has happened out of a simple loaf of banana bread.

Thanks everyone...the next blog will have many new things to share with you.

Merry Christmas from Uganda

I can't seem to wrap my head around 30°C  at Christmas time but here I am, burnt and all and loving every minute of it.  I arrived two days later from Vancouver due to the Nairobi airport being closed for a National celebration but after one good night's sleep, I was excited to go to the project and see all the changes.  It had grown so much since I left in March.  The grass was thick, flowers blooming, the trees flourishing and the wall partly plastered.  The house had the first coat of paint on it and Edwin chose the best colour to hide the red dirt everywhere. It really looks lovely.


We decided to invite the children for a Christmas party.  We hired a woman to cook rice, meat, cabbage salad and Irish potatoes.  This was a real treat for them as it was the first time they had such a meal.  Oh, and I can't forget the pop.   But the surprise was a cake for desert that Edwin and Dr. Isaac had made for them.  This was the real treat.  We blew up balloons and let them go up into the air and the kids showed me their Ugandan singing games. Lets just say this was the best day they ever had and even 91 year old Jaaja came and enjoyed himself colouring children's doodle art.

There has been no water for more than a week and we could see the people walking further and further away to fetch their jerry cans for cooking and washing.  Edwin and I decided to open our boar hole to our community to share the wealth of water that we have.  We are still pumping 5000 litres a day and to share it won't make any difference to us.  The levels are very high and all our tanks are full.  We needed to help these people make their lives a little easier.

Huge changes are happening now and we are so grateful to all of you who have sent donations to help us provide this home for the kids.  You have changed lives and it is really evident in the expressions the kids have now. Thanks from all of us for caring.

It's so nice to see these kids so happy.  The only two that are missing are Alan, age 2 and Olivia, age 3 but they wouldn't have understood what this was all about.  These kids know that Jesus was born on Christmas day and families get together to celebrate His birth.  Their joy is what it is all about and it is only the beginning.  We have 20 more kids to find but Edwin and his brothers are being very specific as to who will come to live with us.  They must be a real orphan, no family and more than likely have HIV/AIDS.  For me to see little Joseph (green shirt with white stripe) is a miracle.  In February we almost lost him twice but he is hanging on for his new home and family.  I would bake another 7000 loaves of banana bread just to see this happen again.  If it wasn't for Lorna, we would not have been able to provide this party so thanks from all of us for your huge heart.

We want to say a special thanks to Catarina for the toques.  It may have been 30 Celsius but they never came off the whole day.  Also, to Trudy for the pillow case dresses.  They all fit perfectly and the kids felt so special in them.  Thanks to both of you for your Christmas gifts.

This is real happiness....a whole bowl of food and a pop to go with it.  

We had a few other children that showed up for the party unexpectedly.  Maybe there wasn't a dress for them but we allowed them to join in as we had enough food to eat.  How can you ever say no to a child like this?  They blew their balloons up and watched them sail up into the sky over and over.  It's amazing how they can play together for hours and only laugh.

And then there was the cake.  Everyone wanted to cut it so Edwin let them all put their hand on the knife and slice. I would say each child averaged three pieces of cake if you can imagine.  This was their first Christmas party cake and they didn't want to ever forget.

Because there had been no water for more than a week, we noticed the children walking further than

normal to fetch water.  When this happens we know it's time for us to step in and help.  We are pumping so much water an hour, why wouldn't we help the people in our own community.  Our electrician told us that after 4 hours of filling the jerry cans, that we hadn't made any change to the water level.

Maryanne is taking water to her 91year old Jaaja.  She can't lift the jerry can so Hadeja helps to put it on her head so that she can walk a 1/4 of a kilometre to deliver it.  These two girls will be living with us along with their little sister, Olivia.

The men have been working on plastering the wall for the past 3 days and it is looking so nice.  It's amazing how they are all taking such a personal pride in this compound now.  The hedges are growing and all trimmed, the grass is thick and the flower gardens are all blooming.

On the outskirts of our kale garden you will find the guardhouse.  We still need to plaster it, install a door and window and put in the floor.  We will also be building a kitchen in this area where the children's food will be prepared.   Edwin has finally given me a job.....I get to paint the gate black with gold trimming.   

The main house is almost painted both inside and out.  We purchased the rest of the paint today so I think in another week it should be done.   These boys brag about being the Canadian boys now because they don't work in the Ugandan time anymore.  Days and weeks for one little job is long gone.....they have learned to move much faster with a good quality of work being done.  Our crew even comes in on days off to work because they are taking great pride in their work.

The ground in the front of this picture will be covered in stone slate.  It is much cheaper than the paving stones and will work well with the water run off.  We have underground pipes taking the water to the end of the property and outside.  The kids house is finished except for a good cleaning.

Global Television has done another story on our Home of Angels and it was recently aired while I was in Uganda. They just sent me the clip so I could put it on the blog to show all of you.  We are very grateful to have the updates done and we thank you Global for caring so much to show the world that a simple thing such as a banana bread can make a difference.


http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/banana+bread+update/video.html?v=2320392601&p=1&s=dd#video


Edwin, myself, Dr. Isaac, David and the children would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Thank you for your prayers and help to make this home a place for children to grow and feel safe.

Introducing the Angels

I wanted to send out one last blog before I depart for Uganda and this one is really special.

Edwin decided to have a party for all the kids coming into our Home of Angels.  They live in different areas but he managed to get them all into one place to meet each other for the first time.  The only kids
that were not there were the youngest ones...Olivia  (3) and little Allen (2).

The party alone was a strange event as none of these kids ever had the opportunity to attend a real "party".   Oh, what we take for granted.  They arrived throughout the morning, very timid and not sure
exactly how to behave, but after time they became friends, played together and had so much fun.
Edwin said it was difficult to separate them to go home.  They wanted to stay but he told them soon they would have their home to come back to.  Trusting him, they left carrying special memories in their hearts and knowing that they soon would have a family and home to return to.  Even though most of them are very sick,  they know they are blessed to have been chosen.

Just to give you an idea of what is happening on our side of the world, I am very grateful to my church, Northview for making the "Pulse".  This is a video telling our story.  After each service, I was there selling banana bread.  The 1st service sold out on Saturday night in 5 minutes.  The 9:00am service on Sunday morning again sold out in 10 minutes but thanks to a wonderful friend who had baked 32, we got through the 6pm service, selling out immediately once again.  Thank you Northview for exposing our story to so many and to Sam and Adam for their expertise in developing it.

Regarding the compound...BC Holstein News has written another wonderful article in their newspaper about us.  Thanks to Karen and Gary Booy and the dairy community for their support in helping us.  You built the wall and now all we have left to do is plaster it and put the rolled wire on the top for protection.

Thanks to all of you for supporting us.  So many people in so many different ways.  I have to say that we owe so much to Save on Foods.  They continue to be our contributor for all banana bread ingredients and without them, we would not be where we are today...Thanks to all of you at Sumas and Whatcom Stores for allowing me to call you weekly for ingredients and you still keep the smile.

Edwin has sent pictures of the compound where changes are evident.  We are moving along into completion and I am sure we will be opening in 2013.

The "Angels" meet each other for the first time and really enjoyed their time together.

The three in the white are brothers and sisters, all sponsored by two people outside Vancouver. Little Sammy (shortest) has been missing for over a year so when he showed up for this picture, I was very shocked and happy.  His Grandma is blind and afraid.  She kept him in a place of seclusion because she was frightened to be alone and used him to do all the work.  Sammy is only 7 years old.   I cannot imagine her pain, but now, when it came time for this picture to be taken, she let him come with the other kids and he had so much fun.  He played like every little boy should.  We now have come up with a plan to keep him and thanks to a wonderful woman who donated money to help a Grandma,  Edwin suggested we might use this money to hire someone to watch over her for a year.  We will let you know if our plan works.

I have always used the phrase "Kids helping Kids" and I want you to meet Shanelle and Kailie.  They thought the children should have a Christmas present so they purchased a "Ty" Beanie Babies for each child and personalized it by making them a friendship bracelet and tying it around the neck.  They even took it a step further and purchased all the special thread, taught me how to do it so that I could teach the kids to make them.  Thanks also to a third sister Mackenna who wasn't in the picture.  This will probably be their 1st Christmas present and I know they will treasure them.

My doctor is the best.......I go in to get my shots for Uganda and I walk out with bags of medicine.
All this and more expires in 2014 so I know that Dr. Isaac will be able to help a lot of kids.  And then,
to top it off, last night a special person donated the money to ship it over there.  How blessed are we
with people like this in our lives.  Thanks to both of you for making a difference.

The gate is finished and I could hardly wait to show you.  Jenson worked very hard to make it

his own design and we really are proud of it.  Once the paving stones are down, the wall is plastered and the wire on top, we will be opening soon after.  The dairy community of British Columbia took it

upon themselves to accomplish this task and we all thank you so much.  Please keep us in your prayers that we can finish this by May 2013.  

The undercoat is on and the painting has started.  I can see where I left off in my painting job last trip, so I know I will be part of the painting crew in the next weeks to come.  I love the part of being able to contribute physically. The home will be completed by the time I leave and if all goes well, Edwin, Dr. Isaac and David will have been moved in.  I'm excited to witness them do this.

Grandmas are helping Grandmas also over there in a big way and this is just one result.
We have 3 very devoted brothers who come every day and help Edwin.  Never have they asked
for anything, but one day they took me to their hut and I met their blind grandma who had raised them from little guys.  They had nothing and she is always on the bed and I knew we had to do something for the boys to say thanks for helping us in such a big way.  A wonderful lady who has been a part of this project since the beginning wanted to be the Canadian grandma to help this blind grandma.  She bought a pig for them.  This pig had "9" babies just recently and they will now be able to survive in a more humane way.  I find out tonight that we may have more in the coming months.  All it takes is just one of something....and it multiplies.  Baby Alan's grandma used her donation to buy rabbits and oh my goodness... we certainly have rabbits now.  It's survival.  So thanks to all the big hearts who have helped the elderly and the widows.


Christmas time is almost here and I hope that you are all preparing your hearts for the amazing gift of Christ's birth and all that it means.  Whether we celebrate in a country blessed with everything
or in an impoverished nation, we must never forget that we have received a priceless gift and to remember all that He has done for us.  When you give, give from your hearts with gratitude.

You all have done that and we thank you so much.

Merry Christmas

Barb and Edwin and most of all....the Angels

Hope...A powerful emotion

The kids you see in this blog have “HOPE".  They often come to watch the construction and each time they feel a little closer to the day they will live in their new home.  It feels so good to see the happiness on their faces.  I promise to make that day available to all you by creating a blog with lots of pictures.  I want to show what you have done for these kids over the past 3 three years and to feel like you are all participating as they move in.  So many of you have helped to fund us and donated many of the things it takes to run these homes.  I haven't acknowledged some of you yet because it hasn't happened, but I know who donated for each thing and when we buy the item, I will.  Just know that 100% of your money arrived to Uganda.

I wasn’t going to put the gate on the blog until it was finished but I have to show you the progress.   Once the wall is plastered and the gatehouse completed, the children will be able to move in soon after.  In the meantime, we have decided to finish the main house so that Edwin, Dr. Isaac and David can make this their home.  The next step will be the plastering of the wall and the furnishings to follow.

We started this project in June 2010 and even though it feels like a long time baking 1000's of loaves of banana bread, it has relatively been a very short time.   I also want to thank everyone for buying my banana bread and also to the people who have helped me bake.   The biggest thanks must go to Save on Foods.  They supply all the ingredients to make this project grow and we are very grateful to them.  Results of last months fundraiser was 90 lbs sold at Whatcom and 1,400 lbs at the Sumas store.  You helped make a simple thing like a banana bread create a miracle.  Nothing is impossible.

Because of our wonderful friend, Natasha, who took it upon herself to find an online fundraiser to raise money for our Home of Angels, we raised almost $8,000.  We have received the money and I would like to acknowledge all of you that donated.  Thank you to my daughter and her many friends who came on board to make a difference in our project in both Canada and United States...you all made a huge difference to so many little lives. We want you to know that you are welcome to come and visit us at any time.

Thanks also to Janita, who made and provided all the brochures for handouts.  Thanks to Joyce for donating the labels that go on each banana bread loaf.  What would we do without you both?   It made such a huge difference for promotion and enabled many people to contact me.  

So many "Thank you's" to such an amazing team.  God bless you all.

This is the entrance to our compound.  The guardhouse has to be finished and more concrete to be put
on but when I get there in a few weeks, it will be fully completed.  The outside of this gate has some
special designs thanks to John our contractor, so I have a surprise waiting.  This Jaaja is getting very excited to see and counting the sleeps.

The inside of the house is painted and now comes the base coat on the outside.  This will be also
completed when I get there....pictures to come.

The concrete road curbs have been placed around the gardens to separate the grass from the paving stones soon to be put in.

The crew are building a retaining wall with stone slate along the front of the main house.  Steps are being built along the entire wall leading to the road and pathways to the children's home.   We have a problem when the rains come and with the work done in this area, it will be controlled for the future.
Sometimes these things have to be done for the longevity of the compound but at the same time, gives a beautiful appearance.

I would like you to meet Catarina and her friends, Lourdes and Julie.  Catarina volunteers with Days for Girls in Coquitlam making sanitary kits for young girls.  She has made us 50 kits to take back to Uganda so the girls won't have to hide one week out of each month.  These young women living in the remote villages do not really understand what is happening to their bodies.  I have learned to teach the women how to make these by hand and will have clinics in our community to show them.  In the meantime, we are very grateful to Catarina for all her hard work and Lourdes and Julie for helping to assemble the kits.

Here is a sample of what is in each kit.  It has a washcloth, pair of underwear and a shield that holds the pads.  The shield snaps under the panty.  To wash them, there is a small bar of soap with a giant ziplock bag to use a their mini washing machine.  A pretty drawstring bag holds everything inside.

We will be having a fundraiser when I get back in January and there will be a silent auction.  A very devoted couple who have supported Dr. Isaac with all his medicine to help the children, decided they
were going to take it a step further and donate something to this auction.  Carolyn has made a beautiful Fairy quilt and it is lovely.  Thank you Carolyn for all the work put into this.

Hadeja, Maryanne, Olivia and Jaaja

Grandma and Grandpa in the Lusoga language means “Jaaja”.

Jaaja and his three grandchildren really tug at my heartstrings.  Jaaja lost his daughter and also his wife a brief time later and was left to raise his 3 grandchildren at 91 years old.   We promised we would help him by taking the three girls when we opened.  Jaaja has been a Muslim for 91 years but because of all the gifts given to him by a wonderful lady, he is now a Christian.  He couldn’t understand how so many people were so kind to him and who was this Jesus that gave him food occasionally?  Wow, this is what it is all about.  Thanks to Melody and her family for sponsoring Maryanne and another thanks to Barbara for sponsoring Hadeja.  They are so happy you care about them and they promise to make you proud.

Alex and his Mom Mutesi

Alex has been through so much.  We have seen him lose his father, his brother Nathan and now Mutesi his mom is very sick with HIV/AIDS.   Nathan was our first little angel and he was taken last year by cancer.  We thought he would pass with AIDS, but the cancer was the cause.  This little boy will always be with us and never forgotten.  My daughter and her family sent money for a bed for him to be comfortable on at the end.  His brother Alex will come with us when it is time.  Thanks to Amanda and her family for sponsoring him and making him feel loved.  He treasures your pictures and letters you send him.

This is Jowan.  She has been separated from her brother Dennis and sister Jowell for some time now as she lives at Agape Children's Home in Mpumudde and her siblings are living with people further north.  We made the decision last year to reunite all 3 children and have them live with us.  Jowan is a gentle little girl who has been through so much but she still continues to put that beautiful smile on her face.

The word "Hope"....this is where that word is really felt.  This is Joseph and he has been very ill.  When Marian and Laury came with me earlier this year, we almost lost Joseph twice.  He was in rough shape due to loss of blood but now he is looking forward to moving into his new home and feeling like he really belongs somewhere.  It's that word "Hope" that is keeping him going. He is not able to go to school yet, but I believe in time, he will.  His neighbour looks after him for now and what a wonderful caring woman she is.  Edwin brings him to the compound so that he can watch the construction and he lights up every time.


Well, the time is coming soon when I will board that plane and head on a long journey across the world.  I am excited to spend Christmas in a part of the world where there is little but where the
people celebrate the birth of Jesus in such a simple and wonderful way.  To bring all the children together and spend time with them and give them one present each.  Probably the first they have ever received but they will be very excited no matter what it is.  Another new experience to humble me.

Thanks to all of you for continuing to follow this journey with us.

God bless all of you.