Progress on the school construction!

Just wanted to send you a couple more photos of the progress on our school. The foundation has been dug. After just 4 or 6 inches of soil, they workers hit solid rock and it was a lot of work but everyone is saying that we have excellent ground on which to build. The foundation is not dug very deep here, but our building will be sitting on a foundation of solid rock both in the natural and in Jesus.

The concrete bricks are made on site as well as the iron for the reinforced cement. The wind blew down the temporary shelter that had been built to protect the bricks from the sun. But, we have had a couple of days of reprieve from the sun and the temporary shelter will be re-built in just a couple of days.

Groud Breaking Ceremony for our School!

This past Thursday was the first weekly progress meeting for the construction of our new school. All of the main players were in attendance, the contractor and his son, the head mason, the controller, the director of our school and myself.

The meeting was short but in important in that the controller read through the quality requirements of the contract including the specifics for the amount of bricks made from each bag of cement, the diameter of iron used for the reinforced foundation and support poles, the dimensions for the building, the walls, the terrace, etc. Everyone present signed the first meeting report.

After the signing of the meeting notes, the controller reviewed the orientation of the building and re-measured the foundation that had been staked out.

Please pray for our contractor and his son. Our contractor, Issa, is a Muslim man and at the end of our meeting, he asked me to pray for the project and for the work that was to be done. Of course, we are praying daily that God will direct the progress of the building and protect the workers as they do their work. But, even more importantly, please pray with us that the Holy Spirit of God will give Issa revelation of the Father's heart of love and of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus.

We are so excited! God is doing wondrous things for us!

Donkey Races!

Yesterday was an exciting and unusual day in Yako. In the morning was an opening celebration of the 'Tomato Market'. The region of Yako is one of the largest producers of tomatoes in all of Burkina and the market is being setup as a place where producers and buyers can come together in one place to do business.

Then in the afternoon there was another ceremony to open a soccer tournament here in the region. And, part of the ceremony included a donkey race. Ten little boys sat on the back of their donkeys while beating them and urging them on to win the race.

Celine Has a New Family

7 April, 2010

We had the most wonderful privilege last month of meeting Celine's adoptive parents and introducing Celine to them. Mama and Papa and 6-year old sister came to Yako and stayed with us for 4 days. We laughed and played together, ate together, and were privileged to share almost moment by moment the integration of a child into her new family. They are each doing very well as they are learning how to give and receive love from each other.

Celine is 2 ½ and this is a picture of her and her family as they arrived home.

Every adoption that we have the privilege of participating in puts me in touch once again with God's great plan for our adoption into the family of God. We are chosen by Him, loved by Him, and grafted into His family just as Celine was chosen, is now loved, and part of a new family!