More Adoption News!

These past two week have been filled with great joy. This is Ibrahim and he is on his way to Spain with his new parents.




And, this is Rachel being introduced to her new parents and leaving for Italy.















Please pray for these new families as they begin their life journeys together.

June 6, 2009

Dear Family and Friends, 6 June 2009

Wow! There is so much to tell you. We seem to be in a whirlwind of activity right now and it is hard to keep up on everything. But, I will try to fill you in on some of the highlights.

The 2008-2009 school year in Burkina is almost over. Final exams are over but the standardized exams after 6th grade, 10th grade, and 13th grade will be occurring in the next 2 weeks. We have 17 6th graders in our school this year who will be taking the CEP, 8 children in the orphanage who are taking the BEPC, and 3 orphanage children who are taking the BAC, the final exam of high school. Please continue to pray for our children and all of the students taking exams this year.

A short-term team from California, MO is coming to visit the orphanage this week and will be staying with us for 3 weeks. Some of the team members were here last year and some of them are coming for the first time. We have all kinds of activities planned for the team from caring for babies (imagine that at an orphanage!) to prayer walks, to mini-VBSs, to possibly building a chicken coop. Please pray for the team as they travel this week and as they seek the Lord's will for their time here in Burkina.

Our baby, Rachel, will be meeting her adoptive parents this week and will be leaving soon to go to Italy. Rachel came into the orphanage when she was just 3 or 4 days old. Her mama was not well mentally and Social Action called us to see if we had the space for a new baby.

Rachel is now 14th months old. She is lively and engaging. And, we are so looking forward to introducing her to her parents.

Please pray for Rachel and for her parents in these next days and weeks of adapting and adjustment in their family.

We received a very special and unexpected visit from some friends from the US Embassy this past week. They came to visit the orphanage but also brought us new backpacks for each of the children in our primary school, and small hygiene kits for each of the children in the orphanage. The gifts were contributions that have come in through the Embassy and they thought to bring some of them to us. Very sweet! Very thoughtful!

We also received notice that we have been granted $2500 from the US Embassy. This money is going to be used to build a small 'Chicken Raising/ Hen Laying' project to help feed our children.

New school project--
Last but not least is the excitement and anticipation of building one or more new school buildings for the children of Yako. We have been looking for a large piece of land and thinking and dreaming about what our new school complex is going to look like.
This past week, Liz, Brittany, Miriah, and I made a trip to Boromo and then on to Dano to do some research on a company who is doing construction using mud bricks. We saw a church and a school made out of mud bricks and then visited some friends in Dano who has built their home using this construction method.

Using mud bricks, we can build a school building about the same size of our current school building for about ¼ the cost of our existing building. The work is guaranteed and the exterior of the building is covered with a stucco-like substance which will protect it from the wind and the rain.

One huge advantage of the mud brick construction is that the building stays much cooler in the hot season and is warmer in the cold season. Our friend's house that we visited in Dano stays from 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the outside temperatures. And in this climate, this is very appealing.

Well, I must close for now and I will try to write again real soon.

Love and blessings!
Ruth. . . . Mom. . . . Grandma

Moringa Trees!

Dear Family and Friends, 21 May, 2009

We received a wonderful visit this week from a missionary family, the Richters,who are preparing to live and work in Dano, a small village between Ouagadougou and Bobo. The Richters visited the orphanage last February and then called us offering to bring us some Moringa trees. The Moringa is being called the miracle tree in that its leaves are very high in vitamins and nutrients, oil can be pressed from the seeds, and the seeds can be used to purify water. It also thrives in a semi-arid climate such as ours.

In February the Richters offered to start some trees for us and would bring them to us in May. This past Monday, they arrived with their 4 children pulling a trailer with 350 Moringa trees in it!

Jean had organized our children and we had 350 holes dug all around the walls of the courtyard and holes for 3 small 'gardens' of trees.

Some of the tiny trees are still under a bit of stress from the transplanting but most of them seem to be doing very well. With all the excitement going on in the courtyard, our primary school children really couldn't study very well so we brought the older ones outside of the classroom for a practical course in tree planting. As you can see by the pictures, many hands make light work. Everyone worked hard and 350 trees were planted in about 3 hours time.

Francois – Broken leg
We went to visit Francois last week and he seems to be doing very well. Francois is the little 5th grader from our school who fell from a tree and broke his leg. The mother preferred that we not take him to the hospital so Francois has remained at home and is receiving traditional treatment for his leg.

We thank the Lord though that the break was not a compound fracture and that it does seem to be healing. Francois is still not putting any weight on his leg and the pain has subsided. Also the swelling that was in his right wrist has gone down and he is now able to eat with his right hand.

Mariam – the mother of Estelle
Mariam's blood work came back with normal results and the sonagram indicates that the baby also is doing well. She is carrying a little boy and he should make his entrance into our world in just a few more weeks.

Mariam is living in the courtyard of the father of the baby but the situation is very tense. The father does not have the means to provide for Mariam and the soon to be born babe. And since Mariam, just 17 years old, still a girl herself, and rather immature even for 17 years of age, is not ready to be a wife and mother.

Please pray for Mariam and the soon coming birth as well as the father trying to take responsibility for his actions.

Standardized tests--
The month of June is the time for standardized tests given after 6th grade, after 10th grade, and then after 13th grade to finish high school. This year we have 17 children in the 6th grade at our school, 7 children from the orphanage in the 10th grade, and 3 from the orphanage in their last year of high school.

Please pray for these children as well as all the children in the community who will be taking exams this year. The exams are very hard and in general, the students are not well prepared for them. They are pass/fail tests which allow the student to continue to the next grade or force him to repeat the same year again.

Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . . Mom. . . . Grandma

Back in Burkina - May 2009

Dear Family and Friends, 9 May, 2009

Must try to report on a whirlwind trip home for two months. What a wonderful trip it was! I know that I say this each time but really, this was the best trip home ever! It was wonderful to connect with family and friends again and with the Body of Christ in St Louis. We had special times of laughing, crying, and praying together that will hold me through the rough times that will come during these next months that I am again far away. The physical distance between us is far but my heart is there with you.

The Lord did miraculous things this time of putting his children together in the right time and at the right place. His ways and His timing are completely perfect. Through new friends and then the introduction of more new friends, the Lord gave us a matching funds offer of $30,000 and an outstanding fund raiser evening in St Louis where almost all of the matching offer was given. Truly, God is so good! He has blessed us beyond even what we could imagine.

I have returned to Burkina, rested and refreshed, and ready to return to the work with all my heart. Only our God can work in our hearts like this.

This year, I left the projects here completely in the hands of four local workers who have been working with us for several years now. Liz and Brittany were here and they are both great helps, but since they are still new, I left all of the decision making responsibility in the hands of Adiara, Jean, Ernest, and Innocent for the orphanage, the school, the sponsorship program, and the clinic.

I want to report to you that on my return I found everything completely in order! In the orphanage, the children have been well cared for and well fed. In our school, the teachers, and the children have continued to thrive. The sponsored children have been cared for and looked after. And, the clinic project has continued to move forward. The money that I left for the two months of operating expenses completely balanced. And, the grounds had been properly cared for and maintained.

I am thankful to the Lord for the progress that He has helped us to make in training up these young leaders who carry much responsibility now in our projects. Please continue to pray for them and for me as we move into this next phase of working together and moving the work forward.

Just yesterday we received the news that one of the little boys in our fifth grade class fell from a tree and broke his leg. His mother refused to send him to the hospital because she knew that she did not have the money for any treatment that he might need. Instead, she sent him to her home village about 10 kilometers away for 'traditional treatment'.

In the past we have had several severely handicapped children come to our gate asking for help. In talking with the parents we learn that many years ago, their broken bone was treated by traditional methods and it had left the child unable to walk or to only walk with much difficulty.

So, tomorrow we will go out to the village of Francois to see if the family will allow us to at least bring him to Ouayaghuia for an x-ray. With that, we can determine what can and should be done so that the bone has the best chance of healing properly.

Also this week, the mother of one of our little ones, Estelle, age 20 months, appeared at our gate, about 8 months pregnant. Big sigh! The mother's name is Mariam and she is now 17 years old and nearly ready to give birth to her second child.

Mariam has been working in the gold mines about 10 kilometers from Yako for some time and most recently has been sleeping at the bus station in Yako. Mariam is sick and was asking us for help. She identified the father of this new baby and Adiara began to use her negotiating skills and persuasion skills with the named father to get him to take responsibility for Mariam and this new baby. And, the man said that 'yes' this is his baby and allowed Mariam to move into his courtyard. He is a young man but he made some huge steps towards maturity and adulthood in accepting his responsibility in this coming child.

On Monday, we will be making a trip to Ouayaghuia to get x-rays done on Francois' leg and a sonogram and blood work done for Mariam because this is a high risk pregnancy.

I am sorry that I do not have some photos to show you of these stories but I will try to give you the next chapter in each story real soon and include photos.

Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

So much news to report!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 13 February, 2009

So long and I have not written. So much to do and so little time! But, in the midst of all our busyness the Lord is good, loving, and kind and He is working on our behalf.

Our children are all doing wonderfully well. . . the orphanage children are well, the school children are well, and the sponsored children are well.

We recently sent a little boy, named Norbert, to the hospital in Ouayaghuia with a terrible wound on his head. He is not a sponsored child but he is an orphan and showed up at our gate with a very serious need. Norbert’s mother is not well mentally and one day in December she decided that she did not want Norbert to go to school. In a physical struggle, and purely by accident, the mother bit Norbert on the top of the head. The wound was not treated and Norbert now has a very large wound and a terrible infection on the top of his head.

Knowing that this case was beyond the scope of our nurses, they referred Norbert to Dr. Zala in OGH, who then referred him to the general hospital. Norbert has been hospitalized for 2 weeks now and has undergone one surgery. The recovery will be slow, up to 2 months, but we are hoping for a complete recovery. Norbert is in the 6th grade this year. Because of missing so much school, he will need to do 6th grade again next year. But, he is a good student and we are thankful that he will be okay and will be able to return to school as a healthy boy.

We recently sent a young girl, Sylvie, just 17 years old, to a center in Ouagadougou who receives un-wed mothers who have been kicked out of their family courtyard. Sylvie is an orphan who has made some bad choices and was scared and hurting. She had been living on the streets of Yako, begging and stealing to survive, for several weeks before coming to the orphanage and asking for help.

We cannot receive a girl in Sylvie’s condition into the orphanage long-term but she did stay with us for a few days while we worked out placement for her in the other center. Sylvie still has not delivered her baby but she is doing well. After the baby is born, Sylvie and the baby can stay up to one year at the center in Ouaga and the center will work towards reconciliation between Sylvie and her extended family.

Water Project –
Phase 2 of our water project is well under way and nearly finished. This past week, Russ Green from Friends In Action came and worked hard to install the plumbing to bring water from one end of our courtyard to the other. The water tower was built locally and was delivered and installed this past week. Thought that I would let pictures tell the story of this 2 year project.

First Drilling Third Drilling - SUCCESS!



Russ Green from Friends In Action working with several of the orphanage boys to install water pipes from one end of the courtyard to the other. Liz is in the background, also assisting.

Left. Installation of the hand pump.

Water tower and tank have arrived and a crew of many are beginning to install it.

Can't go any higher without help! Help has arrived!

Tower is installed!

In a week or so, the FIA team will return to install the electric pump in the well. We will fill the tank and then turn off the local water access. Yeah!!!

Thank you so much for laboring with us in prayer to see the realization of this project and to each of you who so generously provided the funds. God is faithful and He has made this dream a reality.

School and Clinic news—

We are about halfway through the second trimester of this school year and our teachers and students are doing very well. We currently have some very special visitors to the school with us. They are a team of 5 girls from France who are from the same town as Jacques, one of our boys now adopted and living in France.

Shortly after Jacques moved to France these girls formed a local association called Yako-Trièves. (Trièves is the name of the region where they live.) Since then they have been corresponding with several of our older children, have several times sent gifts to the orphanage, and have been planning and preparing for the day that they could come to Burkina and visit the orphanage.

The girls arrived February 11th and they will stay with us for 2 weeks. They came with 200 kilos worth of books for our primary school and for our older children. One of the goals for their time here is to inventory all of the books and to create a system to loan the books out. They are already busy in their work.

Our clinic is looking more and more like a clinic and each month we are touching and healing more and more children. Our clinic serves the 46 children in the orphanage, the 130 children in our school, the 154 children in the sponsorship program and the 75+ children on Social Action’s list of needy cases in our area.

Here is a picture of Josie, one of our nurses, treating a wound on the leg of one of our school children.

Our teachers have commented that with the clinic open, when they notice that a child is not feeling well, they send him directly to the clinic for treatment. Usually when the treatment is started early, the child does not have to be sent home, and he does not have to miss valuable school days.

This picture is of Josie treating a student complaining of stomach pain.

Trip home—

Last but not least. . . . I am planning a trip home very soon. I will leave here on March 1st and will have 2 months at home. . . . time to rest, time to hug grandchildren, and, time to visit with friends.

Please pray for me while I tie together last minute things in preparation for leaving for 2 months.

Love and blessings to you!
Ruth

Christmas Greetings!

Dear Family and Friends, 28 December 2008

I hope that your holiday celebrations have been joyous and blessed!

We celebrated numerous times this year. We started with a huge party for all of the sponsored children and the orphanage children. Then, we invited our primary school teachers to a party introducing them to hamburgers and French fries and games like ‘Hot Potato’. We celebrated with our local church where the children presented skits and special musical numbers. We celebrated twice with the children at the orphanage eating riz gras with them on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning treating them to pancakes with peanut butter and jelly or syrup.

Finally here in Ouaga, Liz and I met with a group of friends and ate turkey with all of the traditional trimmings. Lots of different ways to celebrate the birth of our Lord and to rejoice in all that He has done for us!

Playing 'Hot Potato' with our teachers.

Hand Pump for our Well.

We have reached another phase in our well project and that is the installation of a hand pump.

Our well is 76 meters deep and the water is totally pure. In the near future we will build a water tower and install pipes from one end of the courtyard to the other. But, even now we are enjoying the relief from the high waters bills in this blessing from the Lord.

I have been sick for about a month but am now beginning to feel better. I contracted some kind of bacterial stomach infection and/or amoebas and in killing off all of the bad stuff the antibiotics also killed off the ‘good bacteria’ which helps us in properly digesting food. For several weeks I have struggled greatly with diarrhea and could not get it stopped.

This week-end I saw a doctor here in Ouaga and with the help of some meds and the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, and toast) I am very quickly recovering. The diet is boring but I am trying to be faithful to it in order to recover my health.

Thank you so much for all of the love and prayers and tangible support that you have sent to us. Liz and I are thriving. All of the children in the orphanage, the sponsorship program, and the school are thriving. All of our workers are thriving. The clinic project is growing and our nurses are doing a wonderful job. Our widows are all precious and although struggling with old age, they also are thriving.

It is because of your partnership with us in the place of prayer and in the giving of financial support that I can joyfully say ‘Look at what the Lord has done’! Thank you so much! May the Lord bless you 100-fold in this new year of 2009 for all that you have done for the children of Burkina Faso.

Love and blessings!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

New Names Written in Heaven--

Dear Family and Friends, 14 December, 2008

New Names Written in Heaven—
We are rejoicing with the angels in heaven for Therese and Ascension who invited Jesus into their hearts this week. Therese is 8 years old and Ascension is 18 years old.

We have been praying for Ascension for several years now and in the Lord’s perfect way and perfect timing, He softened Ascension’s heart and gave him the boldness to stand before all of his brothers and sisters here at the orphanage and ask Jesus to come into his heart.
Therese was in the same meeting when Ascension made his commitment to the Lord but she kept silent. Then, just a few days later when the invitation was given at our sponsorship party, Therese raised her hand and said that she wanted to ask Jesus to come and live in her heart.

Ascension Therese

Sponsorship Christmas Party
Saturday, December 13th was the Sponsorship Christmas party. We held it on the orphanage property and there were 150 children here for a day of feasting and fun. The day with a soccer match and then moved into a time of singing ‘Jesus songs’. One of our local pastors, Pastor Eli, told the story of Christmas and every child’s face and attention was on Pastor Eli. When an invitation was given to ask Jesus into their hearts, 15 children responded and went up front. They repeated a simple prayer and then all of us prayed for them. The names of these children have been given to the local pastor nearest to the home of each child so that each child will be encouraged to grow in their new faith.

Other events of the day were drama and singing presentations made by each group, games like ‘fishpond’, ‘pin the tail on the donkey’, and sack races, and lunch of spaghetti, fried fish, and watermelon. Everyone left with cookies and candy that they received from winning games or as a parting gift at the gate.

Please pray for all of these children who made a commitment to Christ this week. Most of them will return to Muslim or Animistic homes and may not be able to attend church or Sunday school. But, they are all permitted to attend our weekly meetings held at the church near their home and each week, they are hearing about Jesus and of His great love for each one of them.

Sponsorship Distributions—
Because of anticipated civil unrest. . . which did not occur. . . school in all of Burkina was cancelled this past week. So, we took advantage of this time for the children to be out of school to hold 3 distributions and our Christmas party for the sponsored children.

We combined the 2 groups in Sector 6 into one distribution at the Sayo church, then continued to the Sector 7 church in Goodin, and finished with the Sector 1 and 4 groups at the Central Church here in Yako. Everyone came and the children performed what they had been preparing for the Christmas party. As usual, everyone left happy and content.

This Saturday, the 20th will be the distribution day for all of the remaining children.

Deborah returns to her family.
Little Deborah has been with us at the orphanage since she was just 5 days old. Her mother was not well mentally and the man thought to be her father fled to the Ivory Coast. But, the family of Deborah’s father said that they wanted her and we have cared for her for 14 months.

This past week, Deborah’s aunt came and stayed in Deborah’s room. caring for her, feeding her and bathing her. Within 2 days, Deborah would not leave her aunt’s side and it was clear that Deborah would be loved and cared for. It is always bitter-sweet to say ‘good-by’ to one of our children but knowing that Deborah will be in a loving family makes it a little easier to let her go.

New baby – Nafisatou
Nafisatou is 3 weeks old and she came to live at the orphanage this week. Nafisiatou was born at home but 10 days after her birth, her mother died. She did not see a doctor so it is assumed that she died from complications of the birth.
Nafisatou will stay with us for 12 months giving her father and the family time to stabilize and then she will integrate back into her family.

We have a New Car!
Yes! We do have a new car but it is not yet completely in our hands. Liz and I are here in Ouaga today to sign more papers and we were hoping to drive the car back to Yako. But, the papers are not yet ready and it is not wise to take the car on the road until all of the papers are in order. We are now hoping that when we return here next week to celebrate Christmas with some friends, the car will be ready.

Thank you Jesus for this wonderful gift!

Love and blessings to you in this most Holy Season!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Dear Family and Friends, 27 November, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that all of your celebrations were filled with thanksgiving for all that the Lord is doing for you and with the joy of being with family and friends. Liz and I celebrated yesterday in Ouaga with several missionary friends and a few Burkinabe friends. We all ate too much! But, the food was great and it was fun.

The 2008-2009 school year is now in session. The children are working hard and our teachers are very motivated to help each child succeed. Here is a picture of our first grade class and their beautiful school uniforms. All over town we see children in pink check shirts and we know that these are our primary school children.

The sponsorship program continues to be a tremendous blessing to the children and their families. The last distribution for this year will be held the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December. Each child will receive some grain and special condiments for their holiday meal. And, each child will be measured for a new outfit.

On December 23rd all of the sponsored children will be coming to the orphanage compound for a Christmas party. We are going to start the day with a soccer match and then play various games and relay races with them. After lunch, there will be some quiet time where several of our ‘church groups’ of sponsored children will present special songs and/or skits that they have been preparing. The Christmas story will also be presented to the children with puppets and with live actors.

The children in the orphanage continue to prosper and we are thankful for this. Outside of small colds and runny noses, all of the children are well. Our clinic is operational for all of the children in the orphanage, our school, and the sponsorship program. Our nurses are well trained and it is rare now that any of our children must be hospitalized. Sometimes the care-takers of a sponsored child wait too long to bring a child to us but even this is changing and our nurses are able to treat the children earlier and have quicker and more efficient results.

Two of our orphanage baby care-takers attended a 2-day training session in Yako this past month. The training was offered by a French association that is working in association with a national association of orphanages in Burkina. The training was excellent and Laurentine and Nongewendi returned and gave the training to the rest of our ladies. This picture is of one of our nurses, Beatrice, and Deborah.

Lots of water!
We have wonderful news to report concerning our well! To give you a quick refresher, we had tried drilling twice this past year and the equipment that was being used was not powerful enough to go deep enough to get good water. They found water but it was not clean water.

In 2004, we had made a request for help to a Burkinabe Christian association called O.D.E. who funds water projects but we never heard a response from them. But, in October, they called saying that if we still needed a well, they had found the funds to provide this for us. What a day of rejoicing that was!

I went twice and talked with O.D.E. to explain the problem that the other association had in drilling our well. They sent a technician to Yako and his research verified that there was lots of water under our property but that it was very deep. But, O.D.E’s equipment was powerful enough to drill even to 120 meters!

The men and the equipment arrived this past week and in just 2 days, they had drilled to a depth of 78 meters and found a huge supply of water. We are truly thankful to the Lord for this gift of water. The men will be returning next week to install a hand pump which we will use for a while. Sometime later we will install a water tower and pipes that will bring water to each corner of our courtyard.

A New Vehicle?
We have looked at several used vehicles and are hoping to make a decision on one real soon. The latest one that we are praying about is a 2006 Mitsubishi 4 X 4 that has been owned by a Chinese diplomat of the Chinese Embassy. I have asked 2 mechanics in Ouaga to look at the car and also 2 friends and after everyone has given their evaluation, we will make a decision on the car.

Adoption News—
We have received notes and pictures from France, Italy, and the US and all of our adopted children are doing very well. Just this past week we received news from Mathieu and Mariam who are living in France and here is a picture of Mariam.

We are now preparing Ibrahim and Rochelle for adoption. Little Rochelle, 8 months old, will be going to Italy and Ibrahim, 2 ½ years, will be going to Spain.

This is Lisa who lives with her adoptive family in France.

Liz Richert—
Last but not least I would like to introduce Liz Richert to you. Liz is from Michigan and she has come to work with us for one year. Liz is a short-term missionary through Serving In Missions (SIM). She has finished her university studies in Social Work and is giving a year of her life to serve the Lord in Burkina before making a commitment to work and other life responsibilities.

It is great to have Liz with us. She is working in several areas: caring for our babies, tutoring our older children in English, teaching English to our 5th and 6th graders, and assisting in home visits for our sponsored children. Because of her major in Social Work, she is also closely following the adoption cases of Rochelle and Ibrahim.

Welcome to Yako, Liz!

Love and blessings to you!
Ruth

An Angel Paid My School Fees!

Dear Family and Friends, 30 October, 2008

Finally! Everyone is enrolled in school, school uniforms are all made, school supplies have been bought and we can all step back and take a big sigh of relief.

The director of our school and our teachers picked out fabric for uniforms at our primary school this year. The children are thrilled and this past week, they started wearing their new uniforms. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone was wearing big smiles.

Through a very generous contribution from a friend, we were able to send an additional 23 children to school this year. Some of these children and their parents had come to our gate earlier asking for help and we had to send them away because our school funds were finished. Some of these children were on Social Action’s list of most needy cases but Social Action also had no funds left for school fees.

But, one very special boy named Florent went home and told his mother that an angel had visited his school and had paid his school fees! Florent lives in a village about 5 kilometers from Yako. His father has died and he is the youngest of 5 children. Florent is so determined to go to school that he walks to school barefoot each morning. Because his home is so far away from school, he does not go home for lunch but stays at school without eating, waiting for classes to resume for the afternoon session from 3 to 5:30.

Last year, Florent’s mother did all that she could but was only able to pay for about half of Florent’s school fees. The director of the school should have sent Florent away but because Florent is so diligent in school, the director allowed him to finish the school year. This year, the director should not have allowed Florent to start school because of his unpaid debt, yet out of the kindness of his heart, he allowed Florent to enter the 3rd grade.

Our Social Worker, Adiara, was at Florent’s school paying the school fees of another child that we knew was in need. While there, the director told her about Florent’s difficult home situation and his desire to study. After paying all of the school fees, Adiara had just a small amount of money left. And, after she calculated it, she found that she had just enough to pay Florent’s debt from last year and to pay for this year’s school fees.

Two days later, Florent and his mother came by the orphanage to thank us for paying his school fees. I noticed that Florent’s mother was wearing a small cross on a chain so I asked her if she was a Christian. She said that she was and that they walked the 5 kilometers each Sunday to attend the Catholic church here in Yako. The mother then continued to tell us that Florent had come home from school saying that an angel had stopped at his school that day and paid his school fees.

Florent is small for his age and Adiara told me that he was wearing the same ragged shirt and torn pants that he had been wearing 2 days before at school. He was also barefoot. So, we dug into some clothes that we had in storage and found a pair of shoes, 3 shirts and 3 pair of shorts that fit Florent perfectly.

We are now looking for a mother living close to Florent’s school who would be willing for Florent to eat lunch with her children each day and then return for the afternoon session. We have not found this woman yet but if you consider that the Lord sent an angel to pay this little boy’s school fees, He certainly has already prepared the heart of some mother to give little Florent his lunch.

Herman
Please continue to pray for Herman and a place for him in the blind school. We have run into a snag that is discouraging but not too difficult for our loving Jesus to solve.

Herman has a place in the first grade class but the school has not been able to find a foster family near the school to care for Herman throughout the year. Tomorrow I will be calling the woman responsible for finding foster homes for children like Herman to see if she has found a family for him. If she has not, Herman will have to wait until next year to start school. If she has, we will quickly get Herman ready and settled in Ouaga for classes to start on Monday, November 3rd.

Thank you so much for your prayers and for your generous tangible support. Our children are thriving! And, Jesus is King!

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . . Mom. . . . Grandma

Hope Springs Eternal for a Deep Well--

A forage is a deep, drilled well. Last year an association called Friends in Action drilled in 2 different locations in our courtyard trying to get clean, pure water for the orphanage and school. In both of these drillings, they found water but it was very dirty water, full of sand and silt. We were discouraged. Friends in Action were discouraged.

This is a picture of the first of our drilling efforts last year.

There is water on our property but it is deep. The equipment that FIA has only has the capability of drilling 60 to 70 meters and the water is resting at 80 to 90 meters.

This past week I received a call from an organization called ODE here in Burkina. They are a Christian relief and development association which do water projects, agricultural projects, schools, clinics, etc. We have submitted a request for a forage with them in 2004 and our request had just worked its way to the top of their request list.

I went in and talked with ODE this past week to see what kind of drilling equipment they have and whether they would be able to drill to the depth that we need to find good water. And, THEY DO have this very powerful drill! We talked about the composition of the land here in Yako and they said that they have drilled several wells in our region and that they are aware of the problems that we have recently encountered.

ODE will be coming to Yako soon to do an initial study of our land to determine where they will drill. Then they will make a schedule of their work for the upcoming dry season and will give us a date that they will come to drill for us.

I must admit to you that I had lost hope of having a well on the property. We are connected to city water but our water bills run between $200 and $300 per month. And, that is only for drinking, bathing and washing clothes. With a well, we will be able to garden during the dry season and have plenty of water for our animals.

I am reminded and encouraged by Isaiah 35 which says that in the joy of the redeemed 'The burning sand will become a pool and the thirsty ground bubbling springs'. We live on the edge of the Sahel and we know burning sand and dry, thirsty ground, but, the Lord is going to give us streams in the desert.

Back to School - Oct. 08

7 October, 2008

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Burkina Faso!

It is ‘back to school’ time once again! This time comes every year and every year we try our best to prepare in advance but try as we may, we still end up in a crazy rush to get everything and everyone ready in time. School started on October 1st this year. At the orphanage we have 27 children in school; 1 at university, 20 in secondary school, and 6 children in primary school. In the sponsorship program there are 41 children in secondary school and 74 in primary school. In addition, through the special contributions of a few friends, we will be sending 25 more very needy children to school this year. All of these children need their school fees paid, school supplies bought, and school uniforms made.

The Sheltering Wings Primary School will hold five classes this year, first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Since we only have a 3-classroom school, the fourth and sixth grade classes will be held outside under a temporary shelter. Our teachers are busily preparing their classrooms and are excited about the new school year. Many of the children in the Sheltering Wings School have failed and have been rejected from the public school system. These children have received a ‘second chance’ to continue their education at our school. We believe that every child has a right to receive an education and in providing the right environment, every child can learn.


New Orphanage Children
I would like to introduce some new children to the orphanage to you. “Back to school’ time brings one or more new children to our door needing a place while they continue their studies. And, this year is no exception.
Alexi – 11 years old, orphan of mother and father, fifth grade
Abraham – 12 years old, orphan of father, sixth grade
Barkwendi – 13 years old, orphan of father, seventh grade
Adjertou – 15 years old, orphan of mother and father, first year in technical school to learn to be a tailor

We also have also recently received 5 new babies: Esaii, newborn; Estelle, 14 months; Salif, 3 months; and twin girls, Fatimata and Mariam, 3 months old. Each of these little ones have come with their own stories of tragedy even at their young ages.

Estelle has been placed with us by Social Action. She is 14 months old and her mother is just 15 years old. In desperation, the mother is abandoning Estelle because she cannot care for her or provide for her. The mother is an orphan of both mother and father. Because of the shame of her pregnancy, she has been kicked out of the extended family courtyard and has been living on the street. Depending on the final decisions made by Social Action, we will care for Estelle and possibly place her on the list for adoption. At the same time, we are looking for a family or school who will help Estelle’s mother to stabilize and get her life back on the right track.

Here are photos of Alexi, Barkwendi, and Estelle.

Sponsorship Program
September was the quarterly food distribution for the Sponsorship Program. We are in the process of dividing the children into smaller groups which meet in 5 of our local churches. A weekly meeting is held in each church where volunteers teach the children Bible stories, sing songs with them and interact with them. With this new organization, we see the children each week and can more closely follow their progress in school, talk to them about problems at home or at school, and have a weekly opportunity for evangelism.

Many of our sponsored children live 10 or more kilometers outside of Yako so this new system brings the distribution closer to their homes. Each of our participating churches held their own distribution this month. Most of sponsored children attend primary and secondary schools near their homes. Because of this seeing that every child is enrolled in school and paying school fees is a major challenge. But, our lists are taking shape and in the next one to two weeks, all of the children’s school fees will be paid. These are photos from one of the distribution sites.

Clinic News
Our clinic is slowly taking shape and is now in use by our nurses. There were very valuable medical supplies and equipment stored in our container which have now been moved into the clinic. Things that we still lack are beds and some tables and chairs.
Because of our lack of beds and supplies we are not yet ready to hospitalize a child but we are able to treat all of our children and 2 mornings a week, the clinic is open to children in the community. If a child needs to be hospitalized we refer them to the local hospital or to Dr. Zala’s clinic in Ouayaghuia.

Herman
Herman is the little 7 year old that we found in a remote village and who is blind. We have been assured that Herman has a place in first grade this year but still there are a few obstacles to overcome. The school is searching for a family for Herman to live with during the school year and has not yet been able to find one. This family must live near the school and there must be someone to take Herman to school each morning and then return to take him home at night. School will start for Herman on November 1st. Please pray along with us that the Lord will provide the perfect family to care for Herman while he is in school. Herman is the little one sitting between his mother and his father.

Thank you so much for your consistent and loving support of our projects and our children both through your prayers and your financial support. I wake up every morning amazed at the kindness and abundant provision of our Heavenly Father and it is through faithful friends like you that the Lord meets our needs. I rejoice in Him and thank Him daily for your part in what the Lord is doing in the lives of our children here in Burkina.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth Cox

Prayer requests:
· Please pray for the funds to build another 3 classrooms for our school.
· Please pray for the Holy Spirit to permeate the classrooms of our primary school and for children to invite Jesus into their hearts.
· Please pray for baby Estelle and for a safe environment for her mother.
· Please pray for a foster family that lives close to the school to care for Herman during the school year.
· Pray for the health and safety of our children and our workers.

September 7, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 7 September, 2008

Earlier this week as I passed through the baby rooms to great our daytime workers and the children I could not pass up this ‘Kodak moment’.
We are in the midst of the rainy season and the local people actually call it wintertime. It is true that when the rain comes, the temperature can drop down into the upper 60’s. For me this is comfortable weather for a t-shirt or possibly a long sleeve shirt but for our local friends this is terribly cold. This was the scene in one of our baby rooms.

Good News! Herman has a place in school!
This past May while visiting a baby in the village who has been in our Friday Milk Program, we found this little boy, Herman, who has been blind since birth. This is a photo of Herman, his parents and several of his siblings.

We received a call this week from Ouagadougou saying that Herman has been granted a place in the blind school. Really, the Lord gave us great favor on behalf of this child. There is a waiting list at the school and some children have waited 3 or 4 years to have a place there. Through a friend at Social Action in Ouaga I was introduced to the woman who is the head of the government Ministry of Handicapped Children and Adults. This woman personally knew the director of the blind school and through this relationship Herman was given a place in the first grade class.

Many of you generously responded to this need and we lack only a small amount to send Herman to school for one year. Thank you so much for your gifts. Please continue to pray for Herman, for his family who do not know the Lord, and for his adjustment to this new school.

Therese is much better
I wrote to you recently that Therese was sick and having trouble breathing. Today Therese is again her happy and gentle self. Once again, the Lord touched her and healed her of the malaria and cold that was causing her to have trouble breathing.

We are in Ouagadougou right now, Therese and I, and tomorrow we will pass by the lab and get some blood work done that the doctor prescribed for her.

Babies Come and Go--

Since last writing, 2 of our babies have integrated back into their families and we have received 2 little newborns. Salimata is now living in Ouagadougou and being cared for by an aunt and Madina is now living in Ouayaghuia and being cared for by an aunt.

We received 2 calls this past week to take little ones whose mothers are not well mentally. Wendemi is premature and only weighs about 4 pounds. His mama refused to care for him and her family felt that there was danger of her harming him. Fatimata’s mother is just 17 years old and she also does not have all of her mental faculties. After home studies to see if there is someone in the family who wants these babies, they may be available for adoption.

This is Fatimata. This is Wendemi.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

August News, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 30 August, 2008
This is the rainy season and we are thankful that the Lord has been sending abundant rains this year. Here is a picture of Ange, Steven, Abraham, and Michel standing before a small field of millet planted in our courtyard.
Our children planted every square inch of our courtyard with millet, corn, and okra. Plus, they planted about an acre of millet and beans in a field about 4 kilometers from the orphanage. I’m proud of the way that our children have worked this summer both in our fields and in their studies. They have been studying hard and they have also worked in Pastor Salou’s fields and the fields of several of our workers.

School News
We have already started planning for the 2008-2009 school year. We will have 5 classes in our school this year and already each class is full. Our primary school children will wear uniforms this year so parents have already started having these made for their children. We have also started making uniforms for all of the orphanage children.
In total, with our primary school, the orphanage children and the sponsored children, Sheltering Wings will be sending 261 children to school this year.
The unrest at the university in Ouagadougou has diminished a bit in that the school will be opened again on September 1st. The students will be given one week in class for review and then there will be one week of final exams. After the exams the school will be closed until classes start again on January 5th. Etienne has continued to study all summer and feels that he is as prepared as possible to take exams. Due to the unrest, the university students missed 50% of their classes this year. Only time will tell how many students will pass and how many will have to re-do their whole year of study.

Josué, placed 4th in all of Yako
Josué is 12 years old. His mother and father have both died. Josué and his sister, Irene, both live in the orphanage.
Josué completed sixth grade this year in our primary school and was second in his class. When the standardized test was given to all the sixth graders of Yako, Josué placed 4th among all of the students in our region. Because the classrooms are so overcrowded here, this year even if a student passes this test, there will be an entrance exam given for 7th graders and only a certain percentage of them will have a place in school. Josué does not have to take this test but is already guaranteed a place in 7th grade this year.
We are very proud of Josué and the accomplishment that his hard work has brought to him.

Therese is sick.
Therese is our little 8 year old who is suffering from an enlarged heart. We took her to see the heart specialist yesterday because she is again having trouble breathing. The breathing problems this time were a result of malaria and a cold which she is recovering from. The doctor changed some of her heart medicine and with rest and a complete recovery from the malaria, her breathing should improve.
Please pray for Therese. Without saying so in so many words, the doctor told us that there is really nothing that he can do for her. But, Jesus is the great physician who can give Therese a new heart.

Prayer Requests
Ø Please pray for the funds to purchase a new vehicle. Our truck has faithfully served us for 5 years but it has entered a ‘fix or repair daily’ phase and is becoming less and less roadworthy. We will keep the truck for hauling needs in and around Yako but are in need of another vehicle for travel outside of Yako.
Ø Pray for the health and safety of our children and our workers. This is the malaria season and although we use insecticide and mosquito nets, we have 3 or 4 children and workers sick with malaria at any given time.
Ø Please pray with us for funds to equip a small lab in our clinic. We have a professional microscope which has given us a good start but we are in need of other lab equipment.
Ø Please pray for Matthew and for Ascencion, two of our boys who still need to surrender their hearts to Jesus.

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

So much to report-- July, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 30 July 2008

School News—
The end of the 2007-2008 school year brought smiles and celebration to the Sheltering Wings Primary School. Of the 87 children enrolled in our school all of the children except 3 passed to the next class. All of our sixth graders passed and 18 out of the 19 students in the class passed the standardized test which allows them to continue to the 7th grade.

As a reward for their hard work, we took our sixth graders on a field trip to the zoo about 20 kilometers outside of Ouagadougou. Many of our children had never even been to Ouaga and none of them had ever been to the zoo. The children saw elephants, hippos, monkeys, baboons, tigers, ostriches, and many other animals. After visiting the zoo, they feasted on rice and sauce and a bottle of Fanta Orange soft drink. At the end of the day everyone was happy and content.

A hippo at the zoo. Lunch in Ouagadougou

Enrollment for the 2008-2009 scholastic year has already started and two of our five classes are already full. With the wonderful achievements of our teachers and students last year, the word is out and parents are coming to enroll their children in our school.

We are thankful to the Lord for what he has done for us this year. Everyone worked hard and the Lord blessed us with success.

Orphanage notes—
One thing that is difficult to deal with but is part of running an orphanage is change. We have had several children integrate back into their families and we have also received several new children.

Ousmane, Sarata, Joseph, and Harouna have all integrated back into their families. Each of these children’s mothers died shortly after they were born and we took them and cared for them until they were no longer needing formula, were eating table food and were walking.

Baby Daniel came to us as a tiny newborn weighing just 3 ½ pounds. Daniel’s mother was not well mentally and it is not known who his father is and because of this, Social Action took Daniel immediately after birth and brought him to us. Daniel was doing well and gaining weight but he became sick with malaria and died just this past week. A side effect of malaria is that it kills red blood cells and because Daniel was so small, his little body was not able to replenish his red blood cells fast enough and he died of anemia.

We received a pair of twin girls from the region of Ouayaghuia and although they also are very small they are slowly gaining weight. Their mother died shortly after their birth and there is only an elderly grandmother to care for them in the village. We will care for Fatimata and Mariam until they are 12 months of age and then their grandmother will be able to care for them.

Sponsorship News—
June 28th was the quarterly distribution for the sponsorship program and it was a day of joy. Everyone arrived early and each family was given a sac of millet and several other food items.

Already we are preparing lists of school age children so that all who are eligible can be enrolled in school and their school fees paid.

We have a team visiting us from Columbia, MO right now and one of the team members brought a gift for the child that her family sponsors.

Mary Moe, Rodgigue, Martinier receiving his gift, and his mother.

Widow’s Basket—
This program is a great blessing both to us who administer it and to the widows themselves. Once each month we go to the home of each widow taking her a small gift of food and visiting for a short time with her. We pray with each one of them before leaving and we are always blessed by the smiles on their faces.

The Columbia team asked if there were any small repairs that they could do for any of the widows and this is a picture of a new door for the house of this widow to protect her from theft and also from the cold evening temperatures.

Anna, Dan, Valentin, Widow, Mary, Aaron, family member

Short-Term Team visit—
I’ve already mentioned the team from Columbia and some of their ministry but also wanted to include a few more pictures of them as they ministered to all they came in contact with. They were an energetic group who came with hearts to help and to serve. Among other things. . . they ministered to the orphanage by taking care of babies and painting 3 of the rooms of our older children, they held a day of child evangelism where over 200 children sang and danced and heard about Jesus as well as received suckers and mangoes, and they ministered to the sick at the hospital praying for children very sick with malaria and one little girl recovering from a snake bite.

If you ever feel the Lord tugging at your heart concerning a trip to Burkina, please let us know. We welcome visitors. This team was a tremendous blessing to us and we hope and pray that we also were a blessing to them.

Mary caring for our babies. Mary and Jenni painting the girls’ room.

Mary, Dan and Evance praying at the hospital. Child evangelism in a village.