New land for a new school!

Dear Family and Friends, 8 August, 2009

These past few weeks have been filled with a whirlwind of activity. But, our God has been in the midst of it all. He has gone before us and prepared the way for us to have 6 acres of prime property just outside of the city limits of Yako on which to build our new schools.

The property was 'owned' by the village interpretation of ownership by four different families and two local friends did some expert negotiating with these family chiefs as well as the tribal chief of the area and the tribal king of Yako in asking for the land. The king gave us permission to have the land this past week and then he called the families together and told them that the construction of this school would be for their children and for their grandchildren and that they should give us the land. Thank you, Jesus!

This morning we completed the transaction of money, signed papers, and began to survey the land and to mark off the boundaries. When this work is done, we will submit papers to the state so that the property is registered in the name of Les Ailes de Refuge and can never be taken away from us.

The land is just outside of the city limits of Yako and is located about 100 meters from connections to electricity and to water. It is land that is not tillable so we are not taking fertile fields away from families who need them to feed their families. The land is slightly elevated so we will not have problems with flooding when the rains come fast and hard as they very often do here. There are no schools, primary or secondary, on this side of town. The nearest primary school is 4 kilometers away and it is terribly overcrowded with over 100 children in each room. The nearest secondary school is 8 kilometers away.

We are going to use a mud brick construction method which uses domed ceilings and uses no wood, iron, or cement in the construction materials. This is not really a new construction technique because people have been building adobe houses for centuries. The new part is the domed ceilings and the use of all natural materials that are readily available here in Burkina. This method of construction is much cheaper than traditional methods and it is cooler in the hot season and warmer in the cold season-- all positive benefits of using this method.

Because we will be building with mud bricks, we cannot begin making bricks or begin the actual construction of the buildings until after the rains have stopped and the dry season has begun.

We thank God for what He has done for us. We are thankful for the faithfulness of His people, especially Innocent and Jean, who have come along beside us and are laboring together with us to bring new schools to Yako. We are thankful for you because it is your faithfulness in prayer and your financial support that have make the dream of going to school a reality for hundreds of orphans and disadvantaged children in Burkina.

A Tribute to Job

Dear Family and Friends, 26 July, 2009

I must report some sad news. Our little one, Job, passed away on Saturday, July 24, 2009.

Job is a factor that is not calculated in Burkina's infant mortality rate of 25% for children under 5 years of age. Job never received a birth certificate. Job never received a death certificate. He is one of many who is not counted in these statistics.

Job was abandoned in the bush by his mother, probably a young woman not well mentally, who possibly did not even know what was happening to her when she gave birth. Job was discovered by a little shepherd boy watching his father's goats. The little boy heard Job crying.

The boy ran to get his father and the father took Job to the nearest small town where there was a police department. The police called Social Action and Social Action called us asking us to come and get the baby.

It is not known for sure but Job may have been laying in the bush for one or two days before he was found. When he reached the maternity ward in his village, he was covered with crusted blood from his birth and was crawling with flies and insects. The hospital cleaned him up a bit but the flies and bugs had already had time to lay their eggs all over him, in his eyes, ears, and nose.

The first day that we had Job at the orphanage it became quickly very clear that we could not care for him. He weighed just 1.8 kilos (about 3 ½ pounds), was very weak, and we saw that little worms (larvae?) were crawling out of his ears and nose. We took Job to Ouagadougou where there is a neonatal ward, one of only three such wards in all of Burkina. They accepted him and very quickly placed an IV and were giving him antibiotics to fight the infections. They also tried to clean out his ears and nose.

Unfortunately, just 5 days later, the hospital called us to say that Job did not make it. So, just this morning (Sunday), Angie and I returned to Ouaga and brought Job's body back to Yako for burial. Jean and 3 of our high school boys dug his grave and we had a quiet burial service for Job.
Job was a sweet, sweet little baby. Although we only had him for a few days, we are sad that he is no longer here with us. But in all things, we say 'the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed by the name of the Lord”!

Thank you so much for your prayers for Job and for the many encouraging notes that you sent. Thank you so much for always lifting us up in prayer.

Please Pray for Job!

Dear Family and Friends, 21 July, 2009

I must take a minute to write to you and ask for prayer for a little one named, Job. We received a call early this morning to go and pick up a little newborn who had been abandoned in the bush.

Angie Butler, one of our short-termers, went with me to Grand Samba, a small village about 45 kilometers away from Yako. Along the way, Angie had asked whether the baby was a boy or girl and whether it already had a name. At this point, we did not even know if it was a boy or girl and I guessed that it probably did not have a name. So, Angie started thinking and praying about a name for the baby. When we arrived and found that he was a boy, Angie named him Job.

Job is a tiny, tiny newborn weighing 1.8 kilograms. He is a beautiful little boy but he was born prematurely.

Job had been abandoned by his mother probably immediately after birth. We are guessing that his mama is probably not well mentally and may not have even known what was happening to her. He was found near a water source by a little boy. This little boy went and got his father and they took Job to the police station in the nearest town. The police took Job to the local maternity ward and then called us to see if we could take the baby.

This evening Angie and I made the trip to Ouagadougou with Job and have admitted him to the neonatal ward at 'Five Friends Hospital. Besides being so small, Job is highly susceptible to infection because when he arrived at the maternity ward he was covered with flies and insects. This afternoon, there were small worm-like things crawling out of Job's ears and nose. Our local hospital in Yako gave us a referral to the neonatal ward here in Ouaga.

Please pray for Job:
- that this infestation of whatever he has will be cleared up
- that all of his little organs and lungs are completely developed
- that the formula available here agrees with him and that he begins to gain weight
- that either a family comes forward saying that Job is theirs and that they want him or that he is very quickly released for adoption

School Closing 2009

Dear Family and Friends, 10 July, 2009

Today was the official 'school closing' for the school year 2008-2009 for our primary school. The start of our day was hindered by hard rains but when the rain stopped, the children and the parents started arriving.

Here in Burkina, the end of the school year is heralded with a party for the children and their parents, recognizing those students who have done exceptionally well, and recognizing and thanking the teachers and school director for all their hard work throughout the year.

Our children worked very hard this year and almost all of them passed on to the next grade. It is very common here in Burkina for half or more of the children to fail and re-do the grade again the next year. In our sixth grade class, all except one child passed the standardized CEP exam and will be continuing on to the 7^th grade.

For the closing ceremony, the children sang several songs for their parents, received 'good student' awards, and then everyone celebrated by eating riz gras, a traditional African dish of rice and tomato sauce with fried fish.

We are thankful to the Lord for his help throughout this school year. The children have all been healthy and they all worked hard.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . . Grandma

June News--

Dear Family and Friends, 3 July, 2009

Happy July 4^th! I often forget about American holidays but I am in Ouagadougou this week-end and the US Embassy and the American Rec Center are hosting a July 4^th celebration complete with a BBQ and fireworks and lots of the 'red, white, and blue' flying.

Our school year is finally coming to an end. School starts late here so it also runs late in closing. All of our sixth graders except one pass the standardized CEP exam and will be continuing to 7^th grade this Fall. For the older orphanage children, the exam results were not so encouraging. Out of 8 children who took the BEPC exam after 10^th grade, only 2 of them passed. The other 6 will need to re-do the 10^th grade. And, out of our 3 boys who took the BAC, the final exam of high school, 2 of the 3 passed. Emanuel and Mathieu passed but Pierre will need to re-do the 13^th grade. Please pray for Emanuel and Mathieu as they prayerfully consider this next phase of their lives.

Almost all of our older children have gone to their home villages to visit family and to help in their family fields. The children will return for the beginning of school around October 1^st.

All of our babies are thriving and here is a picture of some of them in hand knitted hats that a friend from California, MO made and sent with the team. It is too hot right now for knitted hats but before long at all it will be cold again and our babies will be decked out in their winter clothes.

We recently had a wonderful short-term visit of a team from California, MO. The team ministered daily to our babies, our older children, and to Liz, Miriah, and I. The two guys, Todd and Scott, were instrumental in building a chicken coop which is the start of a chicken project to produce eggs for the orphanage.

The rest of the team held 4 days of VBS for the children in our primary school and the Lord wonderfully met with us and blessed. In total, during the 4 days, 23 children responded to invitations and gave their hearts to Jesus.

At the very bottom of this blog is a video of some of the children praying and asking Jesus into their hearts.

This past week, the director of our school, Innocent, and I met with the Department of Education for our region to show him the plans for new schools that we would like to build in Yako. The plans consist of a domed construction technique that does not use cement, wood, or iron. . . . the three most expensive items in the construction of buildings. The plans are not the standard building plans that are generally used for the construction of school here. But, without hesitation, the Inspector approved our plans and gave us an open door to build a school complex wherever we would like in Yako. We talked about 2 areas in town where either there are no schools or else the existing school is very overcrowded and we will begin looking for a large piece of land in both of these two areas.

Please pray with us as we begin the next phase of choosing a parcel of land, getting the land registered in the name of Sheltering Wings, and the beginning conversations with the builders.

It has been a while since I have talked about our 'animal raising' project but this past week we went out to the village to visit the animals and to see a new baby calf which was just 4 days old. We now have 11 head of cattle, 6 females, 4 males, and the calf. We are raising the males to sell for their meat and the females to reproduce. This is the first calf that has come out of the project.

The other females are still too young to reproduce but maybe next year. And, the males will mature and be ready for market in the next 2 years or so.

Please pray with us for the blessing of the Lord upon this project. The goals of the project are to provide meat to the orphanage and also income as the animals mature and are ready to be sold at the market.

Last but not least is the upcoming visit of Angie Butler from St Louis. Angie was supposed to arrive this past week-end but her flight out of St Louis was delayed because of bad weather. Please pray that the Lord will give her favor in re-scheduling her flights and bring her quickly and safely to Burkina.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . . Mom. . . . Grandma

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