Special Child Needing a Special Family--

David was born on October 19, 2002. His mother was married but David is the child of a relationship outside of the marriage.

When David was born, his mother could not give him the name of his father. Shortly after his birth, in fear of her husband's reaction to the baby, and her own fears of caring for him, she threw him down a well. Soon after wards, she was sorry for doing this and also feared her husband's reaction and went back to get the child.

After a family counsel meeting, the family recommended that the mother take him and leave him in the care of an orphanage. David has grown up in this orphanage.

David sees a little but he has suffered permanent damage to the optic nerve. With the limited diagnostics and expertise available here, the specialist was not able to determine just how much David can see. The specialist felt like the damage was not reparable. Otherwise, David is normal physically and mentally.

Because of his visual handicap, David has not been sent to school.

If you are interested in learning more about David or about adopting from Burkina, please send me a note.

Little Dresses for Africa

Today we held the Kid's Bible Club in Doure and as a special treat for the children, we brought 'Little Dresses for Africa' for each of the little girls. There were about 120 children gathered around the church this afternoon and 62 of these children were little girls.

The children listened to the story of salvation. They sang songs and clapped their hands. They memorized a scripture . . . and each of the little girls went home wearing a new dress. What a fun day!

I cannot begin to name the wonderful friends and groups of friends who have sent us these little dresses. But, I pray God's richest blessings on each one of you who have given of your time and talent and I know, have prayed over these dresses.

They have been a huge blessing and have given many little girls a reason to smile.

Baby Rakistaba

Because so many of you know and love Pastor Valentin, I wanted to let you know that he and Monique are the proud new parents of a beautiful little boy named Tegawende Esdra.

Baby Rakistaba was born on Thursday, Oct 20th, 2011 and he weighed 2,60 kg.

Mother and baby are both home and are doing very well.

A Fun Day with our Sponsored Children

This afternoon we hosted about 35 of our sponsored children for an afternoon of creative activity.

Each child made a bookmark and a bracelet to give away and they received a bracelet for themselves.

We are going to use the bookmarks in a fund-raiser and the bracelets are for a Christmas gift for their sponsors.

After taking each child's picture they returned home wearing a bracelet just like the one that they made for their sponsors.

Tomorrow we will meet with the sponsored children in Doure and in the next few weeks meet with all of the other groups of children so that each sponsor will receive a gift from their child.

Another Milestone for Pauline and Yolande

This past week-end there was a graduation ceremony for the first class to complete the three year sewing program at the school ACFOR in Yako. Two of our girls, Pauline and Yolande, were students in this first class and they have successfully completed the three years of training.

The ceremony was held in a public place in Yako and all of the community officials were invited. There was entertainment by a traditional dance group and several speeches were made by the director of the school and some of our community officials.

Each graduating student received a diploma and the top 5 students in the class received gifts of sewing supplies.

Afterwards, everyone in attendance was served a very nice meal of riz gras (literally fat rice) and grilled chicken.

I am very proud of the girls and their accomplishment. It was not easy for either of them because the course was given in French and particularly Yolande is rather weak in French. But, they worked hard and persevered and now they are looking forward to opening their own tailoring shop.

Congratulations Pauline and Yolande! May God get all of the glory for what He is doing in your lives.

Dr. Christelle Ilboudo

We have had a very special visitor from St. Louis these past few weeks. Her name is Dr Christelle Ilboudo. Dr. Ilboudo is doing her residency at Cardinal Glennon Hospital where she has specialized in pediatrics.

Dr. Ilboudo has worked side by side our local nurses, Josie and Bea, in treating our children here at the orphanage and the children in our schools. She has also worked with our nurses in a mobile clinic in a neighboring village.

Dr Ilboudo has been a tremendous blessing to us and to our children. She has come with a heart to serve and with her expertise she has offered helpful and practical suggestions to our nurses and our baby caretakers.

Thank you Christelle for coming to Yako and may the Lord richly bless you as you return and finish your studies.

Awa and Monica

We have received 2 more babies into the orphanage this past week-- Awa and Monica.

Awa is a little 6-month old whose parents are both not well mentally. Her parents were having a disagreement and extended family members feared that they might hurt the baby so they took her to social action. Social action called us and we will care for Awa for at least 6 months while the extended family finds a long-term solution for Awa.

Awa is tiny for her age. She has not had adequate nutrition and is not yet able to sit up on her own. But, we trust that with good food and good care, Awa will soon catch up with the other babies.

Monica is about 2 ½ years old. Her mother also is not well mentally and she and Monica were living on the streets in a small village in Burkina. Social Action has been watching this mother and out of concern for the well-being of the child, they took her and sent her to our orphanage.

Pending a home study, Monica may be available for adoption.

Goodby to Becky--

We said 'goodby' to Becky Schroeder this past week. Sigh! Becky was with us for one year and it was a great joy to have had this time with her.

Becky worked day in and day out in our baby rooms, with our primary and secondary children, and team taught English with a local English teacher in our 7^th grade class.

Everyone loves Becky and her presence and sweet spirit is greatly missed here in Yako.

We have many very special children here in the orphanage. One little one, 7-year old Jonas, said to me this morning in very broken French, 'Becky is no longer here. She is now in her 'other' home.

Jonas loves Becky. . . just like we all do!

We miss you Beck! Come back soon!

Back to School Time

Each year with 'back to school time' new children come into the orphanage. And, this year has been no exception.

In the past 10 days we have taken 4 new children into the orphanage. Two of these children are babies and two of them are school age children.

Awa is a little 6 month old whose parents are both not well mentatlly. The parents and Awa were essentially living on the streets. Social Action has placed Awa in our orphanage while they try to find extended family of the parents both to care for the parents and for Awa. For 6 months of age, Awa is very small. She is not yet sitting up by herself but we trust that with love and care, she will catch up developmentally.

Monica is a little two year old who also has a mother who is not well mentally. Recently, Monica's mother tried to kill her but a neighbor intervened and took Monica to Social Action. Monica's mother is not even able to give her name or where her home village is located. Pending an in depth home study, Monica may be available for adoption.

Waogba is 11 years old and comes from a village about 10 kilometers outside of Yako. He is one of our sponsored children and we have been watching him very closely for over a year now. Waogba is very small for his age and was not getting the care that he needed at home. When he was sick, it was hard for the family to get medicine for him and he missed a lot of school.

This summer, we started talking with Waogba's family about the possibility of him coming to live at the orphanage during the school and then returning home to the village for the summer vacation. And, his family was in agreement for this.

Waogba is behind in school and small for his age. . . . but, in a smaller class size and with good food we trust that he will catch up real quick. He is in the 3^rd grade of our primary school.

Ouedraogo, Leontine is also one of our sponsored children. She comes from a small village called Doure about 14 kilometers outside of Yako. Leotine's mother has died and the family has not heard from her father in many years. It is thought that he is living in the Ivory Coast. She was living in the courtyard of an aunt and was mostly being cared for by an aging grandmother. Often Leontine was sick. She often missed school either because of an illness or in order to help her grandmother in the courtyard. She is 12 years old.

We have invited Leontine to come and live at the orphanage. She will attend our primary school where she is in the 5^th grade and she will return to the village for the summer vacation.