July 16, 2007

Dear Family and Friends, July 16, 2007
Finally, the rains have started and everyone is happily working in their fields. The orphanage is planting two fields this year. One is a field of peanuts and the other is corn and beans. Our children are also working in one corner of our courtyard. Each child has a small portion of land where they can plant whatever they want. Some have planted corn and millet. Some have planted tomatoes, green peppers, and onions. One boy planted watermelon. . . how fun is that! Some have planted okra. Some have planted peanuts.
In addition to working in our fields, our children have been diligently studying French and math this summer. We have two classes of two different levels for each subject. We have hired two local high school teachers, one for French and one for math, for the more advanced students. Valentin and Ernest are teaching the children in the lower level. The children’s attitude towards all of this work is really positive and we are thankful for these children that God has given to us.
We received another new baby last week named Jeannette. Jeannette came to us through Social Action with the story that she was 9 months old and that her mother had abandoned her. After just a short time with Jeannette we discovered that physically she is much smaller than 9 months but developmentally, she is much advanced for 9 months. As it turns out, Jeannette is actually about 22 months old. She is severely malnourished. Social Action has attempted to contact her father but according to the extended family, he has left the area and they do not know where he has gone. Only time will tell the real story for this child but for now we are giving her a vitamin substitute called Ambrotose, and as much food as she will take.
Please continue to pray for Thérèse, our little one with the enlarged heart. We took her back to see the heart specialist and she changed most of Thérèse’s medications. She explained that for some of them it was only safe to be on them for a certain amount of time. Please pray that the Lord will heal Thérèse. The medical expertise that she needs is just not available here in Burkina but our God is the Great Physician who can heal her.
I went back to Ouahighuia this past week to see Nemata who is HIV positive and suffering with Noma. She is still a very sick little girl. Please pray that our merciful God will heal her or else take her to be with Him. She is suffering terribly and so is the grandmother who is caring for her.
While in Ouahighuia (OHG), my truck broke down. It started making a terrible noise and lost all power. Dr. Zala recommended a mechanic who is currently working on it. It is really hard to find a good mechanic here. We have a good mechanic in Ouagadougou but OHG is 180 kilometers from Ouaga. Please pray that this mechanic will ‘really’ be able to fix our truck and not just a patch which would continue to give us trouble.
We applied for and have been assigned a Peace Corps volunteer to work with our soap and weaving projects. There is a new program in the Peace Corps here in Burkina which allows volunteers to work in small enterprise projects and our soap and weaving projects qualified. Sarah arrived this week and is currently learning how to make soap and how to weave. She will be responsible for managing these projects and will be marketing the sales of our products.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma