So thankful for a secondary school in Kimini!

Traditional African Dancing

We are so thankful to the Lord that we were able to be in the village to celebrate the official opening of our secondary school.  Although this type of ceremony is not extremely important to us, it is very important to our local friends.  They planned and prepared well and the entire village celebrated the fact that their children can now stay in the village and continue their secondary school education.

New School Books

God has blessed us with special gifts from special people and with these funds we have bought new desks, school books, desks and chairs for our teachers. . . everything needed to equip our classrooms.

New desks - happy children!

This year we are running 7th and 8th grade classes and in the Fall, we will add the 9th grade. We will add one grade each year until we have a complete school through the 13th grade.

The final phase of our school project, a four classroom building,  is well underway.  This building will hold grades 10, 11, 12, and 13.  

Anticipation--

Lunch time at the orphanage!

International adoption is a long process with many curves along the way, long and steep hills to climb, rivers to forge, and deep valleys to cross through.  It requires tedious paperwork to be completed and then more paperwork that needs to be re-done.  It is waiting and hoping for news. . . but all you hear is silence because there is no news to report. 

After a long wait for a referral. . . . another long waiting time occurs while the dossier is studied, passed through numerous offices, papers are signed and approved. . . and then when you feel that you cannot wait another day. . . yet another time of waiting occurs until a court date is set.

But, finally, the parents make the trip to pick up their long awaited for child.  And incredible JOY arrives as Mama and Daddy and Child meet for the first time.  There are tears of joy.  There are sweet smiles.  Sometimes there is a little fear on the face of the little one as well as in the hearts of the mama and daddy.  But, within minutes of time, hearts melt and hugs and tears of joy are shared.

This sweet little 3 1/2 year old boy has only known an orphanage for his home.  His orphanage is

Their new son!

lovingly maintained.  It is bright and cheery.  It is very clean and the children are well cared for and healthy.  BUT, it is not a family.  It is an institution.  And, every child has the right to grow up in a family, surrounded by parents, siblings and extended family who will love and nurture him or her.

We give thanks and praise to God who led this family to adopt from Burkina Faso!  Waiting at home for their new little brother are two older brothers, ages 4 and 6 years old.  

If you have been thinking and praying about international adoption, please contact me via FB Messenger or contact Kim at kim@allblessings.org for information on how to start your journey.  We would love to walk through this journey with you.  There may be tears along the way but there is great joy and rejoicing at the end of the journey!

Double Dedication

Today we were able to participate in the dedication ceremony of a new church building and a new well in one of our neighboring villages.  Many of the village leaders as well as the chief of the village were in attendance.  There were pastors from near and far and the local believers were all present.

The church was started in 2011.  The believers met under a mango tree and then in 2013 they built a small mud brick building as their place of worship.  In 2016 they had to make major repairs to this building because it was in danger of falling down.

Today, the children of God danced and celebrated in a new concrete block building which

will serve them for many, many years to come.

There was a double celebration today because the village also received a new well with a huge source of water beneath it.  The well is located on the church property but it will be open to the entire village to use.  

The well provides natural water to the thirsty and the church brings the Living Water to thirsty souls.

Mobility

In our fast-paced sophisticated society we often take our mobility for granted.  Whether our means of transportation is motorcycle, car, truck, bus, train or plane we can easily get to where we are needing to go in a fairly painless fashion.

This is not so for many handicapped people here in Burkina.  There are very few paved roads, there are no sidewalks, there are very few ramps providing handicap accessibility into schools, businesses, and offices buildings.

This young man is Seydou.  He suffers from the effects of polio which he contracted as a baby.  Seydou is paralyzed from the waist down.  

This new handicap bicycle will allow Seydou to continue to go to school.  He is entering the 11th grade this year.  He is an excellent student who consistently ranks in the top 5 of his class.

First Christian in our region--

This week we had the privilege of meeting the man who was the first Christian in our region.  His name is John Paul and he lives in a village 35 kilometers from us.  He is a deacon in his church.

John Paul grew up in a small village outside of Bobo.  When he was still a teenager, his older brother worked as a guard for a missionary family in Bobo.  From time to time, the missionary would take his guard to the village to visit his family.  During these visits the older brother and the missionary started telling stories about Jesus.  Through these stories, John Paul made a decision to follow Jesus.

John Paul grew up, married, and as his family grew he found that he was needing to go farther and farther away in order to find good fields to plant and to feed his family.  So, in 1997 he and his wife decided to move their family to a very isolated region where the soil was rich and abundant.  And, they settled their family and raised their 10 children there.

When John Paul relocated his family, the nearest church was 70 kilometers away from their humble home.  He searched for other believers in his village but did not find any.  John Paul started inviting his neighbors to prayer meetings and they met under a tree to read the Bible together and to pray.  After 5 years of holding church under a tree, a young pastor was sent to his village to continue the ministry of building the church.

Today there are an average of 100 adults who attend this village church and the children number 50 or more.  There have been 30+ believers baptized!

John Paul says “Choosing to serve God is the best choice that I ever made.  My life has been full and blessed”!

Ouch!

So. . . it was a routine trip to the airport for an early check-in.  All went well and within 30

minutes we were returning to the very back of the parking lot where we usually park.  (We park there so that other cars do not park too close to us.)

But. . . while we were still far away. . . we could see a grey Mercedes resting in a very suspicious way, right behind our truck, and blocking the passage. (Right in front of our truck was a wall.)

What we learned from the parking attendants is that the Mercedes rolled across two rows of parking spaces and stopped after hitting the back of our truck.

Fast forward 3 hours of waiting in temperatures of 100+ and brilliant sunshine until, finally, the owner of the car returned and the police arrived. 

Our bumper is only slightly dented, but the Mercedes did not fare so well.  After exchanging contact information, we shock hands, he moved his car, and we were on our way home!

Only in Africa!

Forever Families--

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  Ephesians 1:4-6

Adoption comes from the very heart of our Father God.  Adoption into our Father's family came at the great cost of the suffering and death of God's own son, Jesus.  

International adoption is not for the faint of heart, but, for those who persevere, for those who are called to step out of their comfort zone, for those who are willing to face the fears of the unknown, to step out of the boat, so to speak-- God has children in Burkina who are waiting for that first embrace from their mother and father.  This is what adoption is all about.  This is the moment that parents and child look forward to, not even really knowing what it will look like or what it will feel like.  

This month Linda and I had the privilege of sending two more precious children home to their Forever Families.  

This is Ibra with his Mama and Papa.  Ibra has experienced more pain and loss in his young life than most of us experience in a lifetime.  He has waited, not daring to believe that a family really wanted him.  But, today, Ibra’s life has changed and he has the hope, love, nurturing, and guidance that a Forever Family provides.

This is Anselme meeting his parents for the first time.  Anselme is 6 years old, full of life, full of energy, and anxious to meet his 3 siblings waiting for him at home.

Our God is so good!  He loves the children of Burkina and He loves to place them in Forever Families.  If you feel that the Lord is calling you to adopt a special needs child, please contact me or contact Kim at kim@allblessings.org – All Blessing, Intl.