Wednesday, December 05, 2007

At last an update!

Greetings to everyone! First of all, I know this update is way overdue. I had great plans of updating you all even while I was in the US, but it just didn’t happen.

I had a great trip, starting with a visit to some friends and family in Philadelphia, then a conference in New Jersey, spoke at a church for the HOH and spent some time of rest and of course shopping at my sister’s in Texas. In all it was a very productive and restful time for me, but as usual, I was more than ready to get back and see everyone at the HOH.

At least two little girls really missed me too, and I received a great welcome home reception when I got back last week. Lala spent about an hour telling me she loved me every 5 minutes! And Ciliana (Nani) wouldn’t let me put her down for the rest of the day, nor would she allow anyone to take her out of my arms. They are both growing and doing very well as you can see in their picture.

There were quite a few children who had left the HOH when I got back, and about 9 others who had come during my absence. Most of them are small children with malnutrition, some are here with their mothers. Two in particular, Brianna and Alexandro are extremely ill, and the doctor feels she has done everything she can for them. Please keep these two little ones in your prayers.

When I arrived back at the HOH I found quite a few changes. The kids had painted the house, and it looks very nice, they also had put up all the Christmas decorations, so it looks very festive as well. Another change had to do with our animal population… While I was gone, some friends gave our kids 2 rabbits to keep. Those of you who know rabbits know 2 rabbits (a male and female) don’t remain 2 for very long, and last night they multiplied as Pom Pom gave birth to 7 little rabbits. This is a new experience for almost everyone here, so it’s very exciting!

Owen is doing much better, he seems to have come through his difficult time of depression, and he is once again smiling and happy. I bought a toy guitar for him while I was in the US. It was something he had said at one time that he really wanted, so we thought it might make him happy to have it, and sure enough, as you can see here in the picture, he was overjoyed, and has spent many hours playing it! Thank you for your prayers on his behalf.

Tomorrow we are receiving a work group from Fellowship of Frisco in Frisco, TX. They will be with us for 5 days, and will be helping us work on the ongoing building project. It is almost finished, and we hope to finish most of what is left of the construction part of that building. It will be nice to have it finished. Please pray for safety in travel, and that all the logistics we’ve planned will work out ok.

The new nurse we hired in October is doing incredibly well, and we are so thankful to God for bringing her here. She has a real servant spirit, and really cares about the kids here and about the ministry in general.

Our students are almost at exam writing time again. Ronel and Phania will be re-writing their Grade 12 exams that they didn’t pass at the end of the school year last year. They could really use your prayers that they would succeed.

We appreciate your support in holding us up in prayer, and ask that you continue to pray for our monthly financial needs, as well as for growth in the lives of our kids and young people.

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