July 16, 2007

Dear Family and Friends, July 16, 2007
Finally, the rains have started and everyone is happily working in their fields. The orphanage is planting two fields this year. One is a field of peanuts and the other is corn and beans. Our children are also working in one corner of our courtyard. Each child has a small portion of land where they can plant whatever they want. Some have planted corn and millet. Some have planted tomatoes, green peppers, and onions. One boy planted watermelon. . . how fun is that! Some have planted okra. Some have planted peanuts.
In addition to working in our fields, our children have been diligently studying French and math this summer. We have two classes of two different levels for each subject. We have hired two local high school teachers, one for French and one for math, for the more advanced students. Valentin and Ernest are teaching the children in the lower level. The children’s attitude towards all of this work is really positive and we are thankful for these children that God has given to us.
We received another new baby last week named Jeannette. Jeannette came to us through Social Action with the story that she was 9 months old and that her mother had abandoned her. After just a short time with Jeannette we discovered that physically she is much smaller than 9 months but developmentally, she is much advanced for 9 months. As it turns out, Jeannette is actually about 22 months old. She is severely malnourished. Social Action has attempted to contact her father but according to the extended family, he has left the area and they do not know where he has gone. Only time will tell the real story for this child but for now we are giving her a vitamin substitute called Ambrotose, and as much food as she will take.
Please continue to pray for Thérèse, our little one with the enlarged heart. We took her back to see the heart specialist and she changed most of Thérèse’s medications. She explained that for some of them it was only safe to be on them for a certain amount of time. Please pray that the Lord will heal Thérèse. The medical expertise that she needs is just not available here in Burkina but our God is the Great Physician who can heal her.
I went back to Ouahighuia this past week to see Nemata who is HIV positive and suffering with Noma. She is still a very sick little girl. Please pray that our merciful God will heal her or else take her to be with Him. She is suffering terribly and so is the grandmother who is caring for her.
While in Ouahighuia (OHG), my truck broke down. It started making a terrible noise and lost all power. Dr. Zala recommended a mechanic who is currently working on it. It is really hard to find a good mechanic here. We have a good mechanic in Ouagadougou but OHG is 180 kilometers from Ouaga. Please pray that this mechanic will ‘really’ be able to fix our truck and not just a patch which would continue to give us trouble.
We applied for and have been assigned a Peace Corps volunteer to work with our soap and weaving projects. There is a new program in the Peace Corps here in Burkina which allows volunteers to work in small enterprise projects and our soap and weaving projects qualified. Sarah arrived this week and is currently learning how to make soap and how to weave. She will be responsible for managing these projects and will be marketing the sales of our products.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Week of June 27, 2007

Dear Family and Friends, June 27, 2007
The past month has passed so quickly! There is no way that I can write about all that has happened but I will try to give you a condensed version of our activities.
We have received news a couple of times from Tene and her adoptive parents in France and they are doing wonderfully well. They sent us two beautiful pictures of Tene playing at school and in a field of flowers with two of her new friends.
I recently returned from spending a week in Ghana where I took a course entitled ‘Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills’. The course was excellent and we were a class representing 8 nations. The discussions were interesting and were seasoned with various cultural backgrounds and perspectives.
Last week was really hard in that several families with very sick children came to us asking for help. The first were 15 month old malnourished twin boys, Seni and Lassane, who weighed just 8 and 10 pounds respectively. We took them to Ouahighuiya where they were hospitalized. They will be treated with IVs and antibiotics until they are well and then will transfer to a Cren, a special clinic for malnourished children. At the Cren, they will receive good nutrition and their mother will be trained in how to continue the care of the children.
Then 2 days later, a grandmother came by with a little girl, Nemata, who was also malnourished and was suffering from noma. Noma is a disfiguring disease caused by poor dental hygiene. The disease is easily treated with antibiotics if it is diagnosed early but Nemata’s case is advance and has already started eating away parts of her gums, lips, and nose. We took Nemata to Ouahighuiya also where she was hospitalized. Blood tests at the hospital revealed that Nemata is also HIV positive so she has been transferred to another clinic to see if there is medicine available that can help her.
Then 2 days later, our little Therese fell to the ground, unconscious. We rushed her to the Yako hospital where the nurse inserted an IV and started treatment for malaria. I was not comfortable with this diagnosis and again made the trip to Ouahighuiya. Blood work there indicated that she had a bacterial infection and she was treated with antibiotics. This next week we will take her to Ouagadougou to see the heart specialist to be sure that the dosage of her heart medicine is still working properly for her.
We have been blessed with some wonderful visitors this past month. Nichole’s brother, John, has been visiting for 3 weeks and will be returning to the States this evening. John was an absolute joy to have with us and the children all love him. He played soccer with the big boys, played games with the little children, played with and packed around babies, participated in the widow’s distribution, ate tô, and opened his heart to see and experience everything that he could.
Arienne, from Canada, and Rebeccah, from the US, are also visiting right now for a period of two weeks. These girls are doing internships through their universities and have come to us through the mission organization, SIM. Arienne speaks French and Rebeccah is studying French so these girls have slipped right into daily life with us and are playing with and caring for our children.
Lynn returned from a 3 month visit home and it is great to have her back with us. The school year for the primary children is almost over and our school ranked first out of the seven primary schools in our community. This ranking is based on standardized testing that is given three times a year.
And, Ami Galaske joined us two weeks ago. Ami is from Columbia, MO and she has been to Burkina 4 times now. This time she has made a commitment to work with us for one year. Ami has finished her undergraduate work and is doing an extended internship with us through her university. Ami will have the opportunity to work in all of our projects and she is especially interested in continuing her studies at home to work in international adoptions.
We have received three new babies this month. Dieudonne is a little newborn boy whose mother is not well mentally. She gave birth in Gourcey, a small village nearby, and Social Action called us and asked us to take the baby. Social Action will do an investigation to try and find the family of the mother and to identify the father but if these efforts fail, Dieudonne will be available for adoption. We named him Dieudonne because this name means ‘given by God’.
Ibrahim is a little 12 month old boy who is the product of cousins within the same family. The mother is very young and the father is already married with two children. Because of the shame and embarrassment of this situation in the Mossi culture, Ibrahim does not have a place in either of his parents’ families. After a thorough investigation by Social Action, Ibrahim will most likely be available for adoption.
Another newborn, Harounna, came to us this month through Social Action. Harounna’s mother died shortly after giving birth and there is no one in the family who can care for him. We will keep Harounna for 12 months or so giving his father time to adjust and either find a new wife to care for the baby or else someone else in the extended family who can care for him.
So these are glimpses of daily life in Burkina.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Our 5th Adoption--

Dear Family and Friends, May 27, 2007
Since last writing, our little Téné has met her new family and has left for France. Téné’s parents and her older brother, Eloi, spent a wonderful week with us in Yako getting acquainted with each other and learning a little about Téné’s culture and life-style. It was hard to say ‘good-bye’ to Téné but we are thankful for this family and for the new life that the Lord has given to her.
Thérèse, our little one with an enlarged heart, is still with us and is still doing well. Her heart medicine is helping to stabilize her heart and the congestion in her chest is under control with cough medicine and decongestants. We are in a holding pattern regarding Thérèse because we do not have any news from the States regarding her visa.
The 2006-2007 school year is almost over and our children are looking forward to a little break from their studies. They will take about 10 days to go and visit their families and then they will return for additional help in French and in math. We are hiring teachers this year to come to our courtyard to tutor our children in these subjects. Most of the problems that our children have in school are in math and because of poor French skills. We are hoping that by working really hard this summer everyone will have a better chance of success next year in school.
Valentin and his wife, Monique, and their baby, Wendpanga, have returned to spend the summer vacation with us. Valentin has completed the first year in a three year course of Bible School. Valentin will be teaching math and will be responsible, with the help of our children, for the planting of two fields. This year we will plant a field of millet and beans and a field of peanuts.
We have a small construction project in process. Thanks to a very generous gift from some friends who visited us in March, we are constructing an iron fence around the back terrace of the orphanage. This will give us expanded and safe crawl space for our babies which will also get them out of their rooms and out in the fresh air.
We have had 2 good rains already this year and everyone is very happy about this. Some have already started working their fields in preparation of one more good rain and then planting will start. The temperatures have been unusually high recently but as soon as the rains start we will have cooler and much more tolerable temperatures.
From time to time someone reads my blog and then sends me a note or comment. I appreciate this very much and enjoy hearing from you. But, if you want a response, please include your email address when you write so that I can write back.
Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Another day from Burkina--

Dear Family and Friends, April 30, 2007
I had set a personal goal to blog once a week. . . but it has already been more than a month since I have written. Ah well, time passes so quickly. Sometimes try as I may, it is hard to keep up.
The 2006-2007 school year is almost over. Somewhere around mid-May, depending on when the rains come and on whether the student is in a standardized-exam-year, classes will be over. In our primary school, the children are still diligently studying and yet at the same time there is the feeling in the air that everyone knows that school is almost over.
It has been a hard year for several of our older children in the orphanage. Some have worked hard and some have not. The public school system is not well organized and does not offer much help or support to a student who is struggling in his studies. It is looking like several of our children will not pass. We are still waiting for the final grades, of course, and we are praying that they have all done well enough this 3rd trimester to allow them to have a passing grade for the year.
On April 16th, Téné’s adoption case went before the judge here in Yako and she was officially declared adopted into the Alonzo family in France. Téné’s parents have already bought their air tickets and will be coming for her on May 19th. Téné will be integrating into a beautiful family where she will have 2 older brothers.
Also in April, Dieudonne, was officially adopted by a local Burkinabé couple. Dieudonne came to us as a newborn who had been abandoned outside a Catholic sisters’ home. When he was just 6 months old the couple asked for him and at 8 months of age, they took him into their home as one or their own. Dieudonne, which means ‘given by God’ is now almost 2 years old and he is living in a family with one older brother and a new baby brother.
Another of our little ones, Perpetue, is 16 months old and her case will go before the judge on May 14th. Perpetue’s mother is just 17 years old and still a student. Her father is a married man with 3 children. Because of the circumstance of her conception and birth, there is no place for Perpetue in either of her parents’ families. We expect that the judge will release Perpetue for adoption but we must wait for the final decision before we can say that she is available.
Many of you have been very involved in the story of little Therese. I had hoped to be able to tell you the final chapter of this story but we are still waiting and praying for positive responses from the States. Therese is a little 6 year old who has an enlarged heart which cannot be treated here in Burkina. We have been in contact with two organizations in the States which bring children from all over the world to the States for medical care. One organization has responded that they believe Therese needs a heart transplant and they cannot write a letter of invitation or guarantee free medical care for a case as serious as this. We are still waiting to hear from the other organization but we are beginning to lose hope that medical treatment will be the avenue of help for Therese.
For several weeks Therese has been doing very well. But, in the last few days she is coughing a lot, has congestion in her chest, and is having trouble breathing.
Please pray for Therese. We believe that Jesus can perform a creative miracle and give Therese a new heart.
We received a new baby this past Tuesday. His name is Ousmane and he was born on April 27th. Ousmane has 4 older siblings. His mother is still living but she is not well mentally. She was fine before but sometime during her pregnancy she started talking strange and doing strange things. When the baby was born, she refused to care for him and even tried to kill him. The father contacted Social Action and they asked if we had room to care for one more baby.
Ousmane weighed almost 6 pounds at birth which is huge for a newborn baby here. He is already taking 2 to 3 ounces of milk at a feeding. We will take care of Ousmane until he is around one year old and then he will integrate back into his family. His father told us that even if his mother is not yet well, there will be an aunt or a grandmother who will take care of him.
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Mali last month with Soniya Carvalho and her daughter, Lara, and Lara’s friend, Cleo. We drove to Bangdiagara where we spent 2 days touring Dogon Country and then flew to Timbuktu. Both of these areas are very developed for tourism and were very interesting. And yes, I bought a T-shirt that says I’ve been to Timbuktu and back!
This past weekend was the monthly food distribution for our sponsored widows. All of our widows are doing well. Outside of aches and pains that go along with old age, no one had specific complaints. One woman had huge ulcer on her ankle that we have been treating for months. But she showed us that the sore was now completely healed. Several women said that after we prayed with them last month, their pain or their sickness went away. Praise God! It is a joy to visit these ladies each month, to give them a hug, to pray with them, and to give them the tangible love of Jesus in a basket of rice and some vegetables.
Well, I must close for now. Please pray for us whenever the Holy Spirit brings us to your mind. God is doing wonderful things in our midst everyday. We rejoice in His love and mercy.
Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Please pray for Therese--

Dear Family and Friends March 24, 2007
The hottest part of the dry season has been slow in coming this year and we are very thankful for this. The temperatures reach 100+ in our house each afternoon the but the evenings are still cooling down so that we are able to sleep well.
We have received news from the family who is hosting Grace and she is doing very well. She is gaining weight, gaining strength, and growing; she can now turn from her stomach to her back and then back to her stomach again; she is laughing and smiling and trying to talk; she is reaching and grabbing for toys; all of which she was not doing at 8 months of age when she left here to go to the States for medical care. Because of being premature, Grace was not growing and gaining weight because her little body was not able to digest protein. She also has developed asthma which also is rather normal for premature babies. But, with special formula and asthma treatment, Grace is growing and thriving.
Right now we are fighting for the life of another of our little ones, Therese. Therese came to the orphanage in January with a ‘heart program’ but because of limited technology and expertise here, we did not know just how sick Therese was. About a week ago, Therese came down with a fever and needed to be hospitalized. Within just 2 days, Therese was having difficulty breathing and had become very weak. We took Therese to see Dr Zala, a pediatrician that we know and trust in Ouayaghuia who confirmed that Therese has an enlarged heart that he feels is treatable by surgery but that this surgery is not possible here in Burkina. He also stressed that Therese would not live much longer without this surgery.
We had tried to send Therese to the US in January for treatment but because we cannot get a clear and accurate diagnosis, it is difficult to get a doctor to write a letter of invitation for a case like this. But, with renewed urgency we again contacted Lending Light Ministries in the Boston area and asked whether there was any chance of getting Therese to the States.
God is in control and His timing is perfect! In just one week, we have secured letters from a doctor and a hospital in the States, we have a signed parental consent from Therese’s parents and Therese has received her Burkina Faso passport. The only remaining things needed are her US visa and the money for air tickets for Therese and an escort. With the grace and favor of the Lord, Therese will be in the States within a week or 10 days from now.
We received a call this week from the national office of Social Action asking whether we had room for 2 more children. These children have lost both their mother and their father and the aunt who is caring for them works in a bar. She works from 1 in the afternoon until 2 or 3 in the morning. The aunt takes the 18 month old baby to work with her and leaves the 5 year old boy at home, usually alone. The little boy was found on the streets by a Social Action Agent and that is how they became aware of the difficult situation of these children.
Our house is already full but how can we turn away these children? Even though my head says that we do not have the room, my heart cannot turn these children away. So, next Tuesday, our family will increase by two more children.
The work of processing adoptions, both international and national, continues to consume a good portion of my time. We have 4 adoptions still in process, 2 to France, 1 to Italy, and one to a local Burkinabé couple. We have received requests for a child from 2 new Burkina couples and one couple from the States. What a joy it is to prepare a child for an adoptive family and then to see them introduced and integrated into their new family!
We received a note and photos from Paul and his parents in France this week. Paul is 4 years old now and by his photo he looks like he has grown 6 inches or more. His mama wrote that he loves to study, to color, and to ride with his bike. He is speaking fluent French and learning his letters and numbers.
We also regularly receive notes and photos from the parents of Jacques in France and Stephane in America. Both of these boys are also doing well in their families and have grown a lot.
I must close for now. The mechanic just came by to pick up my truck for some minor repairs. Some friends from Washington DC are coming in this evening and we are leaving tomorrow for a 5 day trip to Mali. We are going to visit Dogon Country and then continue to Timbuktu. I am looking forward to a little time away for rest and also to seeing these tourist sights.
Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

February 28, 2007 News from Yako

Dear Family and Friends, Feb 28, 2007
Greetings from sunny Burkina Faso! We are in the midst of the dry season here. Burkina has only two seasons; a dry season and a rainy season. We have not had any rain since October 8th and the temperatures are starting to daily climb to 100+ degrees in the afternoons. The evenings are still cooling down though and that makes it much easier to get a good night's rest.
Already this year we have been blessed by two visits from wonderful teams of friends from home. This past week a team of 8 came from Victory Fellowship in St Louis, MO. It was a short visit of only one week but the Lord wondrously arranged our time and allowed us to see and accomplish all that He had pre-arranged for us to do. Every member of the visiting team was impacted by what the Lord is doing here in Yako and our local team was greatly blessed and impacted by the visiting team.
Julie Rondeau has been living and working with us since October, 2006. Julie is a native of France so she was able to jump right into the daily activities of the orphanage and the school. She has been a tremendous help to us. About two weeks ago, Julie suffered two seizures and since then she has suffered severe pain in her back and in her abdomen. She has seen a local doctor whom we trust and he has recommended that Julie return to France for medical care. She was prepared to stay with us for one more month but the Lord is calling her home early. Please pray for safe travels for Julie and also that Jesus and the doctors in Paris will completely heal her.
We have three new children in the orphanage since I last wrote to you. One of them is a little boy of 5 years of age, named Ferdinand. Ferdinand's mother left him in the care of a local Yako woman when he was about 18 months old. The mother has not been heard from since she left. Ferdinand has not been well taken care of and neighbors have testified that the care-taker often sent him out into the streets to beg when he was hungry. He was often seen late at night sleeping at the bus station.
The first thing that we did for Ferdinand was to change his name. He came to us with the name of KooKoo. KooKoo is a meaningless and silly name which many people name their dogs. We did not want him growing up with this name. Ferdinand has settled very easily into our family. He studies and plays everyday with our other pre-schoolers and he is learning his numbers and letters and basic French.
We are in the process of handling five adoptions right now. If all goes well three of our children will be going to France, one will be going to a family in Italy, and one will be going to a local Burkina couple.
Assya is a little girl of 14 months and she has been matched with the family in Italy. Well into the adoption process, Assya's birth certificate was lost. We went to the prefecture in Yako to ask for another copy of the birth certificate to send to the Italien agency in Ouagadougou. When I received the copy I noticed that they had incorrectly indicated that Assya was a boy!
Assya's adoption proceedings are blocked right now because our local office is asking that the original paper be returned before they will make the correction and give us a new one. Please pray for us that the papers for each of these children will pass quickly from official to official, that all papers will be properly signed, and that no papers will be lost.
During the last rainy season our mud-brick house for the chickens fell down and we sold all of our chickens and our goats. For the last month or so we have been working to rebuild two houses and two pens for our animals and this work is nearly finished. We are again going to invest in chickens for their meat and eggs for the orphanage. Instead of goats though, we are going to try raising sheep. We will use the meat for the orphanage and also sell it for profit for the orphanage.
Lynn and the school are doing very well. We have 75 children enrolled in grades 1, 3, and 5. They have fallen into comfortable patterns of study and recess and study and lunch and activity changes are managed by the director blowing a whistle. From the orphanage we hear the children singing, reciting their lessons, laughing and playing, and it is a joy to hear them. Our school did very well on their first round of standardized tests that were given in that we ranked second out of all the primary schools in Yako. We are encouraged, our teachers are encouraged, and our children are encouraged by these test results and we look forward to even better marks on the next test.
I close with some really good news that our online problems in Yako seem to be resolved. The problem was diagnosed as 'noise on the line' which prevented us from connecting and/or keeping the connection. The phone company did respond and they did repair the line and we are thankful for this. We also got some really bad news about 3 weeks ago that the hard drive on our laptop was dieing. But, the team who just left brought us a beautiful new laptop so now we are all desperately trying to catch up with family and friends everywhere.
Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

BurkinaOrphanage

BurkinaOrphanage

Already it is the first of February! I cannot believe how quickly time is passing!

We are all doing well here in Yako. Our children, especially our babies, are all doing well. You know. . . we do have a winter season here and although this will make you all smile, we feel the cold very much. Our local friends suffer much in our cold temperatures of the mid-60's and low-70's. :o) We are very thankful though because our babies have done very well throughout the cold season this year. We have struggled with some pretty serious coughs and colds but in general, they are all doing well and they are growing fat.

Some of you may have heard that through the ministry of Lending Light Missions we were able to send little Grace to the States for medical care. Grace was born pre-mature and has struggled for life since her birth. At 8 months of age, Grace weighed only about 8 pounds. She would gain a little weight and then get sick and lose a little weight and it became apparent that without some serious help, Grace would not survive here.

We recently had a wonderful team visiting from Columbia, MO and the team agreed to take Grace back with them. Someone met them in Detroit and then Grace continued to a family in Maine who is now caring for her. The doctors reports have all come back negative and we are thankful for this and already Grace has gained more than 2 pounds! We don't know what the Lord has in store for this little girl but we do know that His plans for her are good and we rejoice in this.

We have another little girl, Therese, who has a serious heart problem and we are looking into the possibility of sending her to the States for care. It is very hard to get an accurage diagnosis of medical issues here but it does seem that Therese's problem is very serious. Please pray that the Lord will lead and guide and give us wisdom concerning how to proceed with this case.

We are in the process of finalizing 4 adoptions at the same time right now. It looks like 2 of our children will be going to France, one to Italy, and one to a local Burkinabe family. This also is a subject for great rejoicing!! Each of these children available for adoption have either been rejected by their families or taken away from their families by Social Action. But, the Lord has hand-picked a family for each of them and we are walking through this process with each of them and with the Lord. It is hard to let go of these children. Some of them have been with us for 2 or more years. But, when the day comes that their new parents come to get them. . . well, this will be a bittersweet day of tears and great rejoicing in what the Lord has done for them.

I mentioned earlier the visitors from Columbia. . . what a wonderful time we had together! We laughed together, prayed together, experienced Burkina life together. . . and then cried when they had to leave. I am always amazed at what the Lord does in and through short-term mission teams. He knit our hearts together immediately as though we had known each other for years and then He moved and worked through each member of the team. Dr. Jack ministered and healed the orphanage children, the children in our school, several sponsored children out in villages, and several local friends. Teacher, professor, educator Howard ministered and encouraged Lynn and our teachers and workers at the school. Pastor Mark ministered and blessed our teens and preached at our church. Debbie and Mary ministered and blessed each one of us by their servant hearts and loved and blessed each one of our children. Ami. . . on her 3rd visit here fit right in as though she had never left us and brought smiles and comfort to each one that she touched. And, Catherine, loved on, played with, cared for, and spoiled our children as though an angel were ministering to them. What can I say, huh? May the Lord richly bless you, Columbia Team. You touched our hearts. You touched our land. Our hearts are forever knit together. Blessings to you for all that you brought and poured out to us!

How we love short-term mission teams!

I know that there is so much that I am forgetting to tell you about. Nichole Ditillo is doing very well and she is a tremendous blessing to us. She is working very hard on her French classes and also has a strong desire to learn Moure. She works morning, noon, and night with our children helping with everything from changing poopy diapers to reading with first and second graders to tutoring English with our high schoolers. She also helps with various administrative things in the orphanage office, does sponsorship home visits, widow's monthly distributions, etc. Her love for the Lord is visible in all that she does and her joy is contageous. Thank you, Jesus, for Nichole.

Julie Rondeau is a beautiful young French girl who has been with us since October. Julie is also a joy to have here with us. She also works much with the orphanage children and with our school children. She plays with the children, she reads to the children, she studies and tutors the children as well as helps Lynn with sponsorship visits and administrative work. Julie and Nichole are planning a trip to Ghana next week and they are looking forward to this new experience. Julie has made a 6 month commitment to work with us and then she will be returning to France and then to Sweden to begin her university studies.

We have not had email access in Yako since last October. Please pray for solutions to our technical problems. Now our online provider is saying that the problem is with the phone lines and only the phone company can find this problem and fix it. I have talked with several friends who live in remote areas of Burkina and they are all experiencing the same symptoms that we are with email access. This has been very hard for us but we are trusting in the Lord. He is the Master of everything. . . even technical things. Please pray that He will stir our local technitions and give them the expertise needed to fix the problem.

Well, because of limited time here in Ouaga and because there are 2 other people here wanting to use this computer, I must say 'goodby' and close this note. I wish that I could talk to each of you individually. Please don't be offended by this mass letter but please pray that our email starts working real soon in Yako. You are all constantly in my heart and my thoughts.

Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends, December 15, 2006
Greetings from sunny Burkina! The dry season is well upon us and we have been enjoying some wonderfully cool temperatures, very few bugs, no frogs, and no mosquitoes. Dust storms are starting to pick up though as winds come in from the north bringing the desert sand and dust with them.
For two months now we have been having serious technical problems with our e-mail server. We are unable to send or receive e-mail from Yako right now and can only catch up on e-mail when we are in Ouaga. So, if we are slow in responding to you, this is the reason. You are constantly in our thoughts. Please pray that the Lord will help the technicians with of our local server to quickly find and resolve this problem.
Just this evening we took Sarah McGrew to the airport. We had a wonderful 3 weeks with Sarah and it was hard to let her go. Sarah used her nursing skills everyday to minister to our children and each one of the children fell in love with her. Under her care, our little baby Grace gained three-quarters of a pound. Grace was born pre-mature and has been sickly since her birth but in Sarah’s capable hands Grace greatly improved.
Nichole is doing wonderfully well here. The Lord is helping her daily to adapt and adjust to the challenges and difficulties of life in Africa. She is doing very well in her language studies and is able to communicate simple exchanges in French and also exchanges greetings in Moure. The kids all love her dearly. While Sarah was here the three girls, Nichole, Sarah, and Julie, took on some painting projects which brought a new and vibrant face to many parts of our orphanage.
Our primary school is flourishing. It is a joy to hear the sounds of learning, singing, laughing, and shouting coming from the school building. This past week mid-term exams were given and most of the children did very well. Some of our children were not doing well in the public school system and some of them had never even been to school. We have been watching these children knowing that they need special help and tutoring. Some of their grades were not good but this did not surprise us. We now know even more where they need help and concentration in their studies.
We have a little one in the hospital right now. His name is Amede. They are treating him for pneumonia. He is responding to the treatment and we are encouraged that he will be okay. He is in the local Yako hospital and one of our part-time workers is there taking care of him. Amede will be one year old the 22nd of December. Please pray that the Lord will completely restore him to health.
I want to send a huge ‘THANK YOU’ for all the generous contributions that came in for Christmas gifts for the widows and for the children and for a Christmas party for the children. This week will be full of planning and shopping in preparation for this event. We will butcher a goat to prepare with our holiday spaghetti and this will make the children very happy. We are also planning games and prizes and a special gift for each one of them.
Our holiday traditions here are very Christ centered and most activities revolve around the church. On Christmas Eve there will be a special time together where all of the children prepare skits and musical presentations. There will also be a Scriptural presentation of the story of the birth of Christ. Around 10 or 11 we will go home and then return again on Christmas morning to celebrate the birth of Jesus together as a family and then enjoy a meal together.
On New Year’s Eve the church again gathers together for a time of celebration, skits and musical presentations. We then sing and pray until the new year enters. After the service the children stay at the church and sing and dance and celebrate until early hours of the morning.
In closing, I want to wish each of you a warm and blessed holiday season. I hope and pray that the love of Jesus is burning in each of your hearts and that the new year brings you blessings beyond your greatest imagination. Our God is good and He is a faithful and loving father to all who love Him.

Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Family and Friends, November 24, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that for each one of you your holiday was happy
and filled with the love of Jesus and close family and friends. Lynn, Nichole, Julie and I
went to Ouaga and celebrated Thanksgiving with some missionary friends there. We
were a ‘family’ of 14 and it was good to be together. There are several wonderful cooks
in this ‘family’ so we ate royally. After dinner, we watched a re-make of "Miracle on 34th
Street and that also was lots of fun.

Since my last writing life in the orphanage has been much calmer. Outside of
coughs and colds, all of our children are healthy and we are thankful for this. A set of
our twins, Awa and Bourema, rejoined their family this week and we were very glad to
release them as healthy and strong toddlers. When they came to us 10 months ago,
Bourema was malnourished and sick but now he is healthy and walking. Thank you,
Jesus!

We received a call from a French couple this past week who are thinking and
praying about adopting Tene. Tene has been with us for 2 years now and she is about
6 years old. Most often, adoptive families want to adopt babies because it is easier to
integrate them into the family. Because of this we have been praying for a family
especially prepared to receive Tene. This adoptive family has an eleven year old and
they specifically asked for a girl 5 or 6 years old. There is still lots of work to be done
before the adoption will be complete but we are thankful to the Lord for what He is
doing for Tene.

I attended a 3-day seminar in Ouaga last week sponsored by a national
association of orphanages that I belong to. The theme of the seminar was ‘keeping the
needs of the children as our priority’. For three of the sessions, the speakers were the
director and assistant director from the department of international adoption of Social
Action. The teachings that they gave were outstanding and after the classes we had
times of very open discussion about what is working and what is not working in the
arena of international adoptions. They listened to what we had to say and took notes
so we are hoping for change and improvement in the adoption procedures.

We have taken 5 new babies into our Friday Baby Milk Program in the past few
weeks. Each of these little ones have their own unique story but I want to tell you about
SEBOGO, Kiswendsida. His mother and his father are both not well mentally. His
mother was caring for him but one day she walked out of her father’s courtyard and did
not come back. The grandmother brought Kiswendsida to us asking us to take him.
Because we work closely with Social Action on cases like this, we sent them to SA to
talk with an agent before accepting the child. As it turns out, SA knew this family and
knew about some of their problems. And because here in Burkina, by law the children
belong to the father’s family, SA called the head of the father’s family to come in and
discuss the problem of the baby. As it turns out, there is an aunt and a grandmother in
the father’s family who are well and are willing to take care of Kiswendsida. The best
thing for a child is always to be placed in a family and in this case, we are happy to help
them with formula until Kiswendsida is ready for solid foods.

Another new child to the orphanage is Nanema, Pauline. Pauline is 15 years old
and she is a sponsored child. Her story is complicated. She was living here in Yako
with a grandmother. When the grandmother died, she went to Ouaga to live with an
uncle. For some unknown reason, the uncle brought her back to Yako this past
summer and left her alone in the vacant courtyard where the grandmother lived. When
school started, Pauline came by the orphanage asking for help with her school fees and
for food. At this time, we started asking about where she was living, who was looking
after her, etc., and we learned about her living conditions. We contacted her uncle and
also some family out in the village and no one wanted to take any responsibility for
Pauline. So we invited her to come and live with us in the orphanage. Pauline has
adapted easily and quickly to our routines here. This past Sunday, she responded to an
invitation from the Pastor and asked Jesus to come into her heart. Pauline is a sweet
girl but she is struggling greatly at school. Please pray for her as she learns what it
means to be a child of God. And, pray that the Lord will help her to understand her
lessons at school.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention. . . Yako now has electricity 24/7. You may
remember us complaining from time to time that the electricity was cut anywhere from
midnight to 2 AM and it was turned back on around 7 in the morning. We have been
promised 24 hour electricity for 5 years now. . . and we finally got it! So, if any of you
have been thinking of coming for a visit and have just been waiting for 24 hour electricity
to come to Yako. . . well, call and make your air reservations now!

Love you,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Back in Burkina--

Dear Family and Friends, November 3, 2006

Already we are into November! Where has the time gone? Since returning to
Burkina (almost one month now) we have had some serious challenges: in the area of
communication problems and in health issues with our children. Server problems and computer problems were blocking all of our e-mail. We were able to send but not to receive. This past week I found a friend, Eric, in Ouaga who had a little extra time to tinker and play with my computer and some of my software and he performed magic! It seems that my McAfee software was blocking all incoming mail as well as our internet access. Eric, uninstalled McAfee, installed a free virus protection package and set up Nichole, Julie and I with gmail accounts. What a relief to be back in touch with the outside world. Thank you Jesus for friends with computer
expertise and a heart to help.

The last time that I wrote, I told you about the twins, Alphonse and Alphonsene,
who just came to us from Koudougou. Alphonsene is strong and is trying to walk but
Alphonse was diagnosed to have some kind of brain damage, probably from his birth.
In the 3 weeks that Alphonse was with us, he was hospitalized twice, once with malaria
and the other time with a high fever but no actual diagnosis. Both of these times, when
Alphonse had a fever he would convulse. Well, Alphonse was back home and
seemingly doing better when just yesterday he took a turn for the worse again and
began convulsing. Jean immediately took him to our local hospital but before he even
arrived there, Alphonse passed away.

Just a few hours after Alphonse was buried we were back on the road to
Ouiyaghuia to the hospital with Grace. Grace is the little pre-mature baby who spent
the first 2 months of her life in Ouaga in a neo-natal ward. Grace is now 5 months old
but she is still tiny for her age. When Grace is sick. . . well, she is very sick. Grace was
admitted to Dr Zala’s hospital and is being treated for malaria. Please pray with us that
the Lord will heal Grace and bring her back to us healthy and strong.

Also yesterday, one of our little sponsored children, 5 year old Sibila, who had
just been diagnosed with AIDS, died at Dr Zala’s clinic in Ouiyaghuia. Lynn took Sibila
to see Dr Zala because of his symptoms of malnutrition and dehydration. But, after a
blood test, it was clear that his symptoms were because of the effects of AIDS on his
little body. The diagnosis was too late and his little body was too weakened to respond
to any treatment that could be offered.

Last week we had another little one, Jacob, in our Yako hospital. The doctor was
treating him for malaria but he was not responding well. Because of the malaria, Jacob
was dehydrated and anemic and the doctor referred him to the hospital in Ouiyaghuia
for a blood transfusion. At the same time, there was a little boy from the village who
also needed to go to Ouiyaghuia for blood so we had a truck full of sick children and
family care-takers. Just as we arrived in Ouiyaghuia, an hour and a half drive from
Yako, the little village boy stopped breathing. We continued to the hospital but there
was nothing they could do for him. The nurses moved very quickly and gave Jacob
blood. He revived a bit and we thought that he would be okay. But, we received a call
early the next morning that Jacob passed away around 4:00 that morning.

I don’t really have happy things to write to you about this week. Sigh! This is life
in Africa. This is the effect of sin in our world. I rant and rave against it sometimes until
I wear myself out. But, at the end of the day I know that the Lord is here in the midst of
us and that He is a faithful God. I know His love and his undeserved mercy. I rejoice
right now in each of our children who are healthy and I entrust these who have left us
this week into the everlasting love of our Father God.

With love and blessings!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Hello Family and Friends! June 18, 2006

It is Sunday evening here and again time to write to you. It is amazing how quickly the week can pass by. It does not seem like a week since I have written. This has been another wild and crazy week. Through weeks like this one, I am comforted with the thought that eternity will reveal the reasons and purposes for all that has happened.

Our children have continued to work in our field this week. They have cleared the land, burned it and started digging up ground that has not been plowed in several years. They have worked hard and joyfully. We are waiting for one more ground soaking rain and then they will plant. The rains have been slow in coming this year but we are trusting that the Lord will give us a good rainy season.

Pierre, Matthieu, and Emanuel spent 3 days this week in the standardized exam that follows 10th grade. They are all confident that they did well but we have to wait for a couple of weeks now to have their results. They have worked very hard this year and we are hoping that they passed and will be able to continue their education.
We’ve had a young mother, Awa, and her baby staying with us for the past two weeks. Awa is just 16 years old and she is not married. Her baby, Hamidou, is just one month old. Awa has not received much support from her family. In fact, when it was know that she was pregnant, she was sent away from the family courtyard. She has been living with an aunt here in Yako since then.

Awa came to us asking us to take Hamidou so that she could take the standardized exam that our children were taking. Her aunt sells vegetables everyday at the market and does not help her with the baby.

I refused to take Hamidou because Awa is nursing him and would have even greater problems if her milk dried up and she was not able to feed him. So instead, I offered Awa to come and stay in our girls’ room and to spend all of her time studying and preparing for the exam. Our ladies cared for Hamidou and called Awa when he was hungry.

This evening, Awa and Hamidou returned to the aunt’s courtyard and Awa promised that she would let me know her test results. Awa needs lots of help and lots of encouragement but we were thankful to be able to help her in this small way. She also desperately needs to know that Jesus loves her and has a way out of her difficult situation. Please pray for Awa.

A very special blessing came our way this week in the form of a check that was given to us from Social Action. A sum of money was given to SA by Unicef, the World Bank, and a couple of other Burkina banks, and they distributed this money to the orphanages in Burkina. Friday was the National Day of the African Child and we were invited to a ceremony where checks were distributed to the orphanages. The amount that we received was nearly $2,000!

We are very thankful for this money, of course, but in addition I am thankful for the recognition from the government of the overwhelming need of the orphans in Burkina. It is encouraging to see Burkina rising up and taking some responsibility for the great social need of her children.

There are many places where this money could go and we have not yet made decisions as to where to put it. One very pressing need that we have is for new screens on the windows and doors of the orphanage. With the rainy season upon us, we need all the protection that we can get from the mosquitoes. We also need some maintenance work done on the truck. . . like new shocks and repair to the A/C. Not very exciting things but definite needs for the project.

I have something really heart-wrenching to tell you. On Thursday, a thief broke into Lynn’s house while she and her guard, Boris, were out doing sponsorship visits. The police are investigating and evidence points very suspiciously that the job was done by someone who was very familiar with the courtyard and the house.

The thief entered probably through the front door and left through the side door. He took a brand new laptop computer, a camera, a CD player, a cell phone, and about $600. He went straight to what he wanted, even though some things were in a closed cabinet and in a file drawer. He did not disturb anything but reached in and took exactly what he wanted, knowing exactly where it was at.

As the shock of all of this is settling, our prayer is that the thief will be found and that Lynn’s possessions will be returned. Our prayer also is for justice as well as mercy and compassion for the thief. The justice system does not work real well here and prisoners are often severely mistreated. Please pray with us that all that is hidden will come into the light. Please pray for the salvation of the thief and for compassionate treatment of the prisoners.

Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Hello Family and Friends! June 11,2006

It is blog-writing time again and I’m sitting here with a glass of iced tea and a bowl of peanuts. This has been a wild and crazy week. So much has happened that I don’t even know where to start.

This was a week of much travel. Travel here is exhausting because of bad roads, animals on the roads, and people on foot, bikes, motos, and donkey carts all in the same lane of traffic. Plus, the air conditioner is not working in our truck. Sigh! But through is all, God gave us some wonderful advances this week.

We are trying to get a little girl, Ludivine, who is severely handicapped, to the States for medical treatment. There was someone visiting Ouaga this week from the organization who may fund Ludivine’s treip. So I made a quick and unplanned trip to Ouaga this week to take x-rays and some medical records to Basil who hand carried these documents to the States.

Then on Thursday, I returned to Ouaga to continue to Koudougou with our attorney. The adoption case for Stephane went before the judge in Koudougou on Friday morning. The trip took about 5 hours and the time before the judge was about 10 minutes. I would have been willing to spend 10 times the travel time though just to hear the decision that Stephane is now legally a McAlister! Stephane’s case was difficult and complicated with blocks all along the way. His case has been in process for over 2 years but finally, it is finished. Thank you, Jesus!
In just the past 3 weeks, 3 of our children have been adopted. Jacques (18 months) and Paul (3 ½) are being adopted by French couples and they will both be coming in July to pick up their children.

The construction on the staff house is moving really quickly now. The doors and windows have been installed and the masons are applying the final finish to the concrete block construction. The plumbing and the wiring are all roughed in. The contractor is still saying that it will be finished this week. . . and it will be very close.

Yesterday I told the ladies who work in the newborn baby room that when I move out of my room in the orphanage that we will move them into my big room. They were thrilled, to say the least. There are now 8 babies in a small room just 3 meters wide and 6 meters long. My room is 6 meters by 6 meters so they will have twice as much room as they have now. We need some more cribs because there are 2 or 3 babies in a crib right now. But, we have already found one crib on the container and I think that there are one or two more in there that we have not yet uncovered. We also found a baby swing on the container which Mark put together and this will be available for them in their new room.

The rains have started and everyone is out preparing their fields for planting. We also are going to plant this year. Valentin has found a field for us which about 2 miles from the orphanage. It is a little far but with the bicycles and the truck we will be able to get children and food back and forth to the field. We’re not exactly sure what we will plant this year but most likely it will be either a field of millet and beans or a field of peanuts. A portion of the harvest of our field will be dedicated to the building fund for our new local church.

Four of our children received special awards at school this year for ranking in the top three in their class. Augustin, Marcel, and Ange were all first in their classes of over 100 students. Pierre ranked second in his class of 86 students. Each of the boys received a backpack and some school supplies and we are now waiting for the results of a regional evaluation based on their grade point average. The top three students in the region will be invited to Ouayaghuia for a recognition ceremony where they will each receive a new bicycle.

This week there is a very critical exam for Pierre, Matthieu, and Emanuel. They are finishing 10th grade this year and there is a pass/fail exam which will allow them to continue their education or force them to change school and re-do 10th grade. The exam is this Thursday, the 15th.

Etienne is in his last year of high school and he also must pass a standardized test in order to continue to university or to a specialized school. Etienne’s exam is July 5th. Please pray for these boys and for all the children taking these exams. They are very hard and the children are under a lot of pressure knowing that if they do not pass, they cannot continue their education.
Well, I must close for now. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Thanks for your prayers. A sister gave me a word of encouragement this morning at church. She said ‘Be strong and courageous because the Lord is in the midst of what we are doing here’. It was a very timely word and encouraged my heart. The Lord does know all things. He sees our hearts and He knows our needs. I find much comfort in this truth.

Blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Hello Family and Friends!
I am so happy to tell you that I am completely recovered and back to my usual ornery self. :o) The final diagnosis was a bacterial intestinal infection and we’re assuming that the fever was the cause of the pain and swelling in my joints. Everything is strange here but all of the symptoms are gone and my strength is back and I am thankful for this.
We are continuing to work through the container and are probably about half-way through now. So many wonderful treasures and gifts that were lovingly sorted, packed and sent to us! Several people sent us microwave noodle and rice packets. And, do you know what? Just 2 weeks ago a microwave was given to us by a missionary family who are leaving Burkina! Now, the container was packed in August, 2005 and arrived here in May, 2006. Is it just chance that people thought to send us microwave dishes and food or did our Father know what was coming and prepared everything for us? I prefer to believe the second choice and am amazed at the detail of His care for us.
Our little baby, Grace, who is in Ouaga in a neo-natal facility is doing well. She has gained 400 grams, almost a pound, in one month. The head nurse said that she can be released when she reaches 2 kilos. If she continues to do well and to gain at the rate she is now, she could be released in just 2 or 3 weeks. I’ve been trying to figure out how to include photos in my blog but have not yet mastered that part of the technology. I have a cute, cute photo of Grace that I would like to show you.
The construction of our staff house is almost finished. The contractor has said that we will be able to move in by June 15th. We are very anxious for this, of course. Since the orphanage opened I have been sleeping in one of the rooms in the orphanage. On one side of my room is the newborn baby room where there are 7 babies and on my other side is the 6 to 12 month room where there are also 7 babies. And, as you know babies cry during the night. Our staff house is in the orphanage compound but we will be on the other side of the compound and I am looking forward to a measure of privacy and quiet.
We have six bedrooms in the staff house. Mark and Connie will be occupying one and I will have one other. That leaves us four rooms to receive friends and visitors. So, if accommodations were holding you back from making your reservations, please don’t wait any longer because we now have a place for you. :o)
The rains are a bit slow in starting this year. We have had one average rain but the ground was so dry that the very next day all of the moisture was gone. But, this is the time of year where families are beginning to prepare their fields for planting. We have asked for 2 fields this year in an area about one mile from the orphanage. If we are given use of this land, we will plant a field of millet and a field of peanuts this year.
The plans for opening the school are progressing quickly. This month we will be interviewing and hiring teachers. A group of five students in France have been raising money for school books for some of our older children and they will be sending these to us in July.
Thank you so much for all your support. . . prayers, letters, packages, e-mails, telephone calls and financial support. The work here is a labor of love from the heart of our Father and you are partners in everything that we do.
With lots of love,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Welcome to my Blog! Blog-writing is a new thing for me but I suppose it is time to enter the 21st century, huh? I would appreciate your feed back on what I write and also on what you would like to hear about.
This past week has been unbelievably busy and interesting. On Monday, Mark returned from his trip to the States, safely, on time, and with all of his baggage, and with all his news from home. I was really not feeling well because of a fever and serious pain and swelling in my joints. On Tuesday morning, Mark and Connie took me to see a doctor in Ouaga and he immediately hospitalized me. Yikes! We still don’t have a clear diagnosis but he is treating me with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. He released me on Thursday. I still have just a little swelling but the pain is gone and I can walk again! Thank you, Jesus!

Then, on Friday, our container arrived! Oh what joy! We have been waiting and waiting in anticipation of this event not really knowing what to expect or how we would feel. It was a wonderfully overwhelming experience to see this huge container moving through the air by a massive crane and coming to rest on the concrete pad that we had prepared as its resting place. And then the container was opened and love literally tumbled out! We’ve only gone through a small portion of the container but we have already found treasures that you lovingly packaged and sent to us that came from the very heart of our Father. Thank you so much for all of the work involved in gathering and organizing, packing and shipping these goods to us. The Holy Spirit was leading and guiding your hands in the selection and placement of each precious item.
Just the week before last, we had four babies in the hospital. This was a really hard time for us. Besides the stress of having a critically ill child and the expense of medical care, we also have to send a full-time worker with each child in order to care for the child. This stretched our resources and our personnel to the max! But, three of these four babies are home now and everyone is doing really well. We have a few slight colds and lots of teething going on but nothing more serious than that and for this we are thankful.

We received a new little newborn that we named Grace. She was born about 4 weeks pre-mature and she weighed less than 3 pounds at birth. Her mother is not well physically and mentally and was abused by someone in her family courtyard. Connie and I tried to take care of Grace ourselves in our room but Grace needed special neo-natal care. Thankfully, we were able to find a place for her in one of the two neo-natal units in all of Burkina. Grace has been at a hospital called ‘Five Friends’ for 3 weeks now and she is thriving and gaining weight. Thank you, Jesus!
So this is Sunday morning and I am looking forward to going to church. We have been given so much and I long to be in the House of the Lord and to join with our local body of believers to thank and praise the Lord.
Thank you for the myriads of ways that you partner with us in the work. Thank you most of all for your prayers. Our God is a faithful God and He hears and answers.
Laboring together, in Him,
Ruth Cox