Atlehang

Atlehang came under the care of Restoring Hope Village as she was being admitted to the hospital.  She is 9 years old and weighed 27#.  Our staff dressed her in size 3T clothes.  She is seriously ill, malnourished and very happy for the care she is receiving from the loving staff and volunteers at Restoring Hope Village.   What you can be assured of is that Atlehang is being loved and cared for like she has never experienced in her childhood.  Her outlook is very positive yet her prognosis is very uncertain and precarious.  Here is an email from Lois received this morning:

Atlehang, a 9 year old girl, very ill and small for her age, has been in our care since March 28, but most of that time she has been in the hospital. She has only been discharged for 10 days from the hospital and yesterday she had to be admitted again. We ask that you keep her in your prayers and that the doctors caring for her will be able to give her the right medication and find the proper diagnosis. Our housemother was with her all day (7am-10:30pm) yesterday at 2 clinics and waiting in the ER to get her admitted. 

Last night the doctor was concerned about her abdomen being distended and the possibility of her having TB in her stomach area. This will take a while to diagnose properly. 

With her in the hospital this also means a lot more work for us to organize in assuring she is visited daily and getting people to the hospital to be able to visit her. We are only allowed an hr in the morning and an hr in the afternoon for visiting. 

Thank you for your prayers,

Lois & everyone at The Village

Four Weeks Already--Construction 1

Restoring Hope Village is a growing place and growing means construction which is a huge part of the ministry here now.  Here are some photos of what has happened here in the last 4 weeks.  We are somehow involved in every construction project sometimes to a greater extent on some than others.  There are 3 teams coming between the 1st of February and the end of March giving the village lots of extra hands to accomplish the enormous task of building places to house people and meet the spiritual, physical and mental needs of the children that God has provided to live here.

Setting the grade for the foundation of the new staff house.

New staff house foundation being poured...earthquakes and the code here require the foundation be poured in one day...this day ended at 11 PM!  All concrete is mixed on site.

August and his crew of bricklayers are putting the walls up quickly. 

Sundays are special!

This was written on Sunday...and finally posted today!!  Gota spend more time on the computer!

Sunday is always a special day of the week.  Our work during the week is to see children come to know our Lord and it often involves the tedious and most often difficult tasks.  Everything we do should be for His glory and to reach people.  That was the message this morning and it is what we strive for daily.  Sunday’s are special because we gather as a group of believers to worship Christ.  What a thrill to sing those songs of praise to God!

I had a couple of conversations after the service.

First was with Anne.  She is a provider of child care for the disadvantaged and a Christ-follower.  It was thrilling to rejoice with her and celebrate the healing of her son of TB.  She praised God that in 4 months he was free of the disease.  TB is a huge, huge problem here and the strains that thrive are the vaccine-resistant ones. 
Anne also related how God provided a church with a wonderful pastor in Welkom Baptist.  She had been having “Sunday School” in her “cresh” (daycare) for several months after a local church had “dumped” them.  You see, a church was holding services at her cresh and seeing people come to God when they just decided that they, for whatever reason, could no longer continue.  Anne kept the little “church” alive and taught the 40-50 children God’s Word and there were up to 10 adults who would attend as well.  The adults wanted to give their tithe to Anne but she could not accept as she was not a pastor and the “church” was not really a church...in her words at least.  This observer saw that there were more than 2 or 3 gathered in God’s name and they were indeed a branch of His church!  God did open the doors at Welkom Baptist and now the 40-50 people she has influenced all attend every Sunday!  Praise the Lord for His provision and praise Him for faithful people like Anne.  I am humbled and honored to be able to rub shoulders with people like Anne.  She makes our efforts look so easy and makes our life look very cushy.  Yes, we live in a cottage but Anne lives in a small apartment and has never known a lost child that she could not find a way to feed, clothe or house.  God bless Anne!

Joel and Lucia are missionaries from Brazil to the Portuguese speaking people in South Africa.  They were able to attend church today since their ministry schedule allowed.  Joel shared how he and Lucia work all year long and often are discouraged because they don’t see much fruit BUT then they take a spiritual inventory at the end of the year and find out what God was doing through their faithfulness all year long!  They are excited to share God’s reaching people from Mozanbek.  Joel also related how the South African people are steeped in witchcraft more than the people in Brazil and even Mozanbek.  The families make it an integral part of family life to the point that a person who accepts Christ as savior must often give up their family.  Joel shared that there is a lady at Church this morning who is struggling with this very thing.  She says she has placed her trust in Christ but will not turn from the witchcraft that has such a strong hold on her.  Joel relates that she never really has accepted Christ.  Again, what a privilege to know people like Joel and Lucia.  

This is a long post and I must relate that God grabbed me today and I just had to write down these experiences.  There is plenty to pray for and plenty to work toward.

Activity at the village is pretty much routine.  I relish the opportunities to share God with the children here.  They happen frequently--as frequently as we have time with them.  Time in the garden and times just visiting or playing.

Anne in center

Anne with some of her crew

Last week was a week of hot, hot, hot and jet lag!  The jet lag is over and now we only deal with the scorching hot sun in the middle of the day.  Staying out of the sun is about the only solution!  

Sunday was a normal day of church with the fabulous benefit of a bus load of Restoring Hope Village children and neighbors who sing worship music on the way to and from church!  Wow, what a blessing to us!  "My God's not dead He's surely alive he living on the inside, roaring like a lion..." 

It is wonderful to see the way God has transformed the lives of the children here!

Here are some photos of the village I took this morning.

 The 2 children's homes, playground on left

 The garden this morning

Playground new since last year!

Headed to Africa Again!

Off we go again for a 3 month trip to Restoring Hope Village (RHV) in Welkom, South Africa.  We are excited to be involved in the lives of the children at the village.  Would you join our team by praying for us, the staff at RHV and the children who live there?  God is doing great work in the lives of these children who have been forgotten by their culture.  Yes, God loves them very much and it is our privilege to be involved where He is at work!

 Next Wednesday, January 16, we head to Chicago to catch a our flight to South Africa.  We arrive on the 18 and soon will be put to work!

The RHI website now works on your phone!!!

Restoring Hope's website: RestoringHopeInt.org

Fun Priviledges

The most fun is had when the missionaries can take the children and have fun with them.  The local mall has a concrete Rhino and water fountains that shoot out of the brick sidewalk.  Here some of the kids pose by the Rhino...notice the wet footprints on the bricks from the fountains.

 Komohalo is always a ham...is there any doubt?  God has turned this boy's life around since he came to Restoring Hope Village.  Living with his gang-member brother before coming to RHV did not aide in his development as a child.  God has given him some super role models in Brian and Louis.  These guys and the Word of God/Holy Spirit have made this guy into a real gem!

Will Work for Food

One of the challenges we were handed when we arrived here was, as a housemother put it, "these children are just too lazy."  The missionaries here echoed the same feelings.  The term "Orphan Syndrome" was coined.  We thought there would be an easy fix to that with the gardening season opening up and all!  Let's just say it was a challenge for all of us and also for the children.  The last week or so finally we are seeing the proper attitudes when it comes to doing a few chores.  Gratitude and an understanding of the help these kids get from their supporters is finally getting through to them.  I would be afraid to count the number of conversations Brian, Bob and Louis have had with these kids individually as well as in a group, but it was many.  A prayer request is that these children would see the value in working hard and reaping a harvest or reward!  That one principle is very sadly lacking in the culture they came from.  Today they weeded and pick some produce from the garden:

 Lerato anticipating the joy of eating the first cucumber of the garden!  

 Paulina with the Okra plants...almost ready to produce.  Fried Okra will be a new treat for these people!

Komohalo wanting to eat these freshly picked potatoes...raw with salt!    Yes, he is a ham, always a ham and he loves to help Uncle Brian, Uncle Louis and Grampa Bob!  Really!

At 3 PM today Monica (6 and perhaps the laziest of all) came to me and asked me for a job (no photo to protect the guilty).  Sorry, I about fell over and then decided to ignore her due to past experience.  Then she asked again with earnestness.  So, I wondered what she wanted...and gave her a job sanding the rust on the steel that I had just finished welding.  She stayed with the job until the end without complaining and did not ask for anything!  Folks, God has worked in this girl's life...I am absolutely convinced of that!  Now I don't suppose I owe her an apology but probably a big hug!