So much to report-- July, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 30 July 2008

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

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

A hippo at the zoo. Lunch in Ouagadougou

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Such an eventful week!

Dear Family and Friends,

The clinic is finished! This is the latest and greatest photo. This past week we held a final walkthrough of the building and signed papers agreeing that the work was finished. We have a beautiful new building and two young nurses who are excited and ready to move into this new phase of their commitment to our children.

This next week we will start moving in furniture and supplies and very shortly our nurses will be moved out of their small room in the orphanage dormitory and into the clinic.

This is Ferdinand and his new parents, Richard and Rebecca. Ferdinand came to the orphanage almost 3 years ago. He was abandoned by his mother when he was about 18 months old and his father is not known.

Ferdinand's mother left him with the mother of one of her friends saying that she would be back later to pick him up. . . and she just never came back.

Richard and Rebecca have been married for 8 years with no natural children and from the very first time that they met Ferdinand, they asked to take him as their own.

This is one of my favorite photos of Ferdinand not because he is

crying but because it reveals his sweet and gentle spirit. Ferdinand is no longer crying. Jesus has given him a home!

Blessings to you!

Ruth

Clinic News, School News, and Other News

Dear Family and Friends, 30 June 2008

Construction Update
The work on the clinic is finished! Except for very minor glitches the work was done quickly and efficiently. We give God thanks and praise for what He has done for us.

The last time that I wrote I promised a new picture. . . and I am sorry to say that as I write today, my camera is in Yako and I am in Ouagadougou. Sigh! But, I will be back here in Ouaga in a week or so and will show you the finished product.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we will have the final walkthrough of the building with the contractor, head mason, and quality control person and if nothing is found that still needs attention, we will pay the remaining payment of 20%. There is 10% of the total which is held for one year as a guarantee of the work and this payment will be made in June, 2009.

Later this week, we will begin moving furniture and supplies into the clinic that were shipped in the container that we received in 2006. This will be exciting work and with many hands the work will be easy.

School News
The final grades are still not released for the primary school children and about half of our secondary school children! We do have through verbal information that all of our children in our primary school passed this year. Considering that the statistics in the public schools are that up to 50% of the children do not pass, the Lord gave us a wonderfully successful school year.

This was the first year for our school to have 6th graders taking the test called the CEP. This is a standardized test with a pass/fail result which allows the student to continue to 7th grade or requires him to re-do 6th grade. In Yako this year, only 30% of the students passed the CEP. But, 27 out of our 28 6th graders passed! The girl who didn’t pass is an older student but she has done well this year in school. She did well on 2 trial tests which were given but unfortunately, did not pass the ‘real’ test. We will encourage her to stay in school though and to try again next year.

We are thankful to the Lord for the results of this school year. The teachers worked hard. The students worked hard. And, the Lord blessed them all with success!

We had 3 orphanage children who took another standardized test, the BEPC. This exam is given after 10th grade and it also determines whether a student can continue to 11th grade or must re-do 10th. Two of our children, Evance and Lazarre, passed, but Augustin did not pass. Augustin is discouraged but says that he will continue to work hard and try again next year.

At the university level in Ouaga, there has been much unrest this year. Etienne has been enrolled in classes this year in the branch of sociology. Many of the university students have been striking/rioting/demonstrating for the past several weeks over the huge classes of students, inadequate resources and facilities, and the low standard of education that they receive. Two weeks ago the police used gunfire and tear gas to dispel the unrest and 3 students and one police officer were wounded. Several students passed out from the tear gas and one boy fell from a second story balcony.

Yesterday, because of the strikes, the university suspended classes until September 15th and all of the students were sent home. There is rumor that this year will be declared ‘année blanche’ which means that there will be no credit given for this year of study to any of the students. Etienne’s studies were not scheduled to finish until August 15th. Please pray with us that the university leaders will be willing to listen to the students and take positive steps towards improving the living conditions of the students and their standard of education.

The Canadians are Coming!
I introduced Miriah, Nicole, and Sabrina to you the last time that I wrote and truly these girls were wonderful blessings to our children. Miriah was here for 2 months and Nicole and Sabrina were here for one month. Each day the girls worked from morning to night, caring for and loving on our babies and talking and playing with our older children.

The talent show that they organized was a huge success. All of our children from 7 year old Ferdinand and Therese up to 20 year old Emanuel participated and we had an evening to remember. The children are now asking whether we could do this at least one time each month.

The ‘Rainy Season’ has started!
Here is Burkina, we have only 2 seasons, the rainy season and the dry season. During the dry season it is really dry with no rain from October to May. During the rainy season it is really wet and this is when our local friends plant and grow what their families will need to eat for the entire year.

The rainy season has started late this year but it has started and we are thankful for this. Our local friends start looking for and praying for rain towards mid-May but this year our first really good rain was not until June 23rd. Many people, planted early in faith, hoping for the rain, and had to re-plant. But still, everyone is relieved to have received 3 wonderful rains this past week.

Under the guidance of Valentin, the orphanage has secured a field a few kilometers from Yako. Our children have planted a field of millet and beans (a small white bean similar to a black-eyed pea). They have planted millet in the corners of our courtyard and in a few weeks, they will plant a field of peanuts. Because of the drought last year and the terribly high prices this year, our local friends are suffering to provide even the bare necessities for their families. Because a bag of rice is now $45, we have temporarily removed rice from the children’s diet. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to bless us with adequate rains and will give us an abundant harvest this year.

Summary of Prayer and Praise:
We thank God for the completion of the construction of the clinic. Please pray for our nurses as they begin this next phase in the development of our small ‘community clinic’ project.

We thank God for the successful school year for our primary school and secondary school students. Please pray for patience for the university students and wisdom and mercy for the leaders as they seek a solution to the unrest at the university.

We thank God for the rain. Even as I am writing here in Ouaga this morning, there is a steady rain that has been falling for over 2 hours. Please pray that the rains continue to fall over Yako both in the physical sense and the spiritual.

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

June 18, 2008

Greetings to Everyone!

I must take a few minutes to write. There is so very much to tell you and so little time. That is life, huh? Generally, the pace of life is much slower here in Burkina than it is in the States but for the past few weeks it seems that life has been on over-drive speed here.

Clinic News--

The clinic is nearly finished. I'm sorry that I do not have a new photo for you but I promise that in my next writing there will be a photo and probably the 'finished version' of the clinic. The men are doing finish work, painting inside and out, installing light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc. By the contract, they must be finished by June 25th or else pay a penalty so I feel confident that the work will be finished soon.

The plans for the clinic are that it will serve first the children in our courtyard. These are the 45 children in the orphanage and the 90 children in our school. After our nurses have these routines down, we plan to open the clinic one or more mornings a week to serve the orphans in the area. Our nurses are young and inexperienced but we will be working hand-in-hand with a local doctor in Yako and also Dr. Zala who is located 70 km away in Ouyaghuia.

Truck Update--

Once again the truck broke down this past week. This time it is the alternator. We had the alternator 'repaired' a few weeks ago but it seems that it was just a temporary fix and it died completely last Sunday.

Today I am back in Ouaga and the truck is in the hands of my faithful mechanic, Jean. Jean just called me with the news that a used replacement part would cost $200 and a new part would be $500. Ouch! Needless to say, I felt obligated to tell him to go with the used part. He said that there is a limited waranty on the part and that if we continue to have problems we can return it.

Please pray with us concerning the purchase of a new vehicle. Our truck will continue to be very usefull for hauling sand, rock, wood, and grain in and around Yako but we are very much in need of a more reliable vehicle for trips outside of Yako.

Orphanage News--

Our children are all relatively well and we are thankful for this. We received 3 little newborns in the span of 10 days about 2 1/2 months ago. I am happy to report that each of these babies are now thriving and are doing great.

This past week, we received twin girls whose mother died about a month ago. The twins were being cared for by an elderly grandmother and they are very sick. The twins are named Fatimata and Mariam and they are much smaller than our other 3 babies of about the same age. Please pray that Fatimata and Mariam will quickly adapt and adjust to our way of caring for them and that they will start gaining weight.

School News--

All of our primary school children passed this year!!! This may not seem like a great accomplishment to you but here often 40% or more of the children do not pass from year to year. The public schools are terribly overcrowded with 100+ children in each class and only one teacher. They also do not have adequate books or resourse materials. We have less than 30 children in each class and each child has his own desk, his own books, pens, notebooks, etc.

We are thankful for the material supplies that we are able to give to our children but we are also thankful to the Lord for the opportunity we have to sew Godly principals into their hearts and their lives. We are also thankful the He helped our children to study hard and to finish their studies.

We had 24 sixth graders take the standardized test given by the government this year. This was our first year to have 6th graders and of course, the first year to take this exam. In pre-tests that were given, our children scored very well. But, the grades from the exam have not been released yet so we are waiting to hear that everyone passed. This exam is a pass/fail exam which allows the child to continue to 7th grade or to re-do 6th grade no matter whether he passed his 6th grade work or not.

The orphanage children also did very well this year in their studies. All of the final grades have not been released yet but several reports have been released and these children all passed. We had 3 boys who took a standardized test given after 9th grade and 2 of the 3 passed on the first try. The 3rd boy qualified for a second try at the exam and we do not yet know whether he passed or not.

The orphanage children will again stay at the orphanage this summer to study and to work our field of millet and beans. After the planting is completed they will be allowed to go and visit their famlies for a couple of weeks but then they will return and stay focused on their studies. We did this last year as a trial and feel that the extra work and effort paid off for our students this year. The children are all in agreement to keep working on their French and their math skills.

Well, I must close for now and publish this. I am attaching a photo that I just received from Assya's mother in Italy. Assya has grown taller and has gained weight since moving to Italy with her parents last September. She is adored by her 2 older brothers and will be starting pre-school this Fall. This is a picture of Assya and her mother at the beach.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

The good news and the bad news--

Dear Family and Friends, 8 June 2008

Construction Update
The work on the clinic continues to move forward at a very acceptable pace. The men worked both Saturday and Sunday this week-end making up for time lost while our contractor was trying to negotiate a new contract. According to the contract, the work must be finished by June 20th or else a penalty will be in effect for each day that the work is not finished.

Most of the remaining work is finish work. The suspended ceiling is in place and the wiring and plumbing is in place. Interior and exterior paint still needs to be applied and the electrical and plumbing fixtures still need to be installed. Interior doors need to be finished and hung and glass needs to be put in the windows.

We are thankful to the Lord for this new building and for the hope and healing that it will bring to the children in our orphanage, our school, and the surrounding area.

School News
The final grades are still not released but I must write with some very unfortunate and sad news. One of our little second graders became sick this week and his family came to us on Thursday to say that Ibrahim was in the hospital. Ibrahim didn’t come to school on Wednesday and there is no school here on Thursday’s for the primary school children.

The nurse at the hospital placed an IV and started the treatment for malaria and then on Friday they started the treatment for meningitis. We visited Ibrahim on Friday afternoon and then again on Saturday morning and it was very clear to see that he was a very sick little boy. On Saturday afternoon, Ibrahim died.

Ibrahim was a sponsored child and we paid for all of his treatment. The nurse was doing all that was possible in this case. Ibrahim was in good general health but meningitis is a disease that can take a life very quickly if the treatment is not started early. It is very rare to see meningitis this late in the season so the family was caught very much by surprise.

Please pray for this family. Ibrahim’s mother and father have both died. He has an older brother and sister still living in the courtyard with extended family. They are a Muslim family.

The Canadians are Coming!
We have three delightful Canadian girls with us right now, Miriah, Nicole, and Sabrina. Miriah is a university student, Nicole is an Occupational Therapist, and Sabrina is in business. The girls are here for one month and they have already been a tremendous blessing. Each morning they love and care for our babies and they pass the afternoons and evenings talking with and playing games with our older children. This evening all of the older children are here watching a film and next week we are going to have a talent show. Everyone has signed up to participate and there will be prizes given for the various categories.

Well, I must close for this evening. Thank you for your faithful prayer support. Thank for your notes and words of encouragement. The Lord is hearing and answering and helping the children of Burkina through your faithfulness.

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

May 27, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 27 May, 2008

Construction Update
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers! Our contractor has agreed to continue the work as defined in our contract. After much effort in communication, he finally admitted that he had taken money that should have gone into materials for the clinic and used them to recover from a problem on another project. He went and got a short-term loan, bought the materials needed for the clinic and is now back on-track for completing the clinic as agreed in the contract. I am thankful that the Lord helped us to resolve this problem without embarrassment to the contractor while at the same time protecting our interest and integrity in the contract.

If there are no more unforeseen delays, the clinic will be completed by the 15th of June.

School Update
Our primary school children continue to study even though almost all of the secondary school children are already finished with their school year. This week is the time of final exams for the primary school children so they are still working very hard.

Please pray for the sixth graders who will be taking the standardized CEP test in June. This is a pass/fail test which will allow them to continue to 7th grade or require them to do 6th grade again. Also, please pray for our 10th graders who are also taking a standardized test, the BEPC in June.

Although school is finished for most of our secondary school children, their final grades will not be available until sometime in July. Most of our children feel that they passed this year and we are thankful for this, but we will wait for the actual report cards before announcing the success of this school year.

A Chance for Herman to go to school?
Herman is a little 7 year old boy who has been blind from birth. We found Herman in a small isolated village about 25 kilometers from Yako while doing a home visit of one of our babies in the Friday Milk Program. (The baby, Diane, is doing very well.)

Herman is the 4th child of his mother and of the 4 children, 3 of them have very serious handicaps. The first born child, age 16, is also blind from birth and the 3rd child, an 8 year old, is not well mentally.

In talking with some friends and with Social Action we learned of a school for the blind in Ouagadougou. We went and visited the school a couple of weeks ago and then returned there this past week with Herman and a dossier requesting a place for him in the first grade in the 2008-2009 school year. There is a waiting list though because they only accept 10 children in each class.

This picture of Herman is not real clear so I will try to get a better one for you real soon.

Please pray that the Lord will give Herman a place in school this year. The waiting period can be up to 3 years and then Herman will be 10 years old before starting school.

Would you please consider helping us with the expenses of sending Herman to school? He will be placed in a family who live near the school and they will take him to school each day and pick him up. The fees for the school and for the receiving family are about $600 per year. We do not have this amount in the orphanage budget right now but we are trusting that if the Lord gives Herman a place in school then He will also provide the funds that are needed.

I must close for now but I will write again the next time that I am in Ouagadougou.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

12 May, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 12 May, 2008

Construction Update
The work on the clinic continues but not without some interesting twists. I think that you can clearly see the progress that the men are making.

The twists came in three different phases this past week, one when the contractor asked to re-do the estimates for the work because the prices of materials have gone up, and the second when he wanted to stop the work until the prices go down. On the surface one could almost laugh at these requests but they were very real and very serious.

The third twist came when the contractor wanted to stop the work because there is no cement available in Yako. He can get it in Ouagadougou, the capital, but the price is higher plus he would need to pay transportation costs to bring it to Yako.

After much negotiating and with the help of our technical advisor on the building, the contractor did agree to continue the work as agreed in our contract.

If the men continue to work at the pace that they have been working at, our clinic will be finished towards the first of June. Please pray that our contractor will remain steady and finish the work as agreed in the contract. The contract is a legal and binding contract but because of the weaknesses in the legal system here, taking the contractor to court would only be a last, last option.

Our orphanage nurses at work.

Another Adoption!!
One of our little ones, Ferdinand, has been approved for adoption and a lovely Burkinabé couple who live in Ouaga have been approved to adopt him. Ferdinand was abandoned by his mother when he was about 2 years old and she has not been seen or heard from since. The woman caring for Ferdinand often sent him into the market area to beg for food and Social Action picked him up and brought him to us because he was sleeping at the bus station.

Ferdinand is in the first grade this year at our primary school and as soon as school is out for the year, he will move into the home of his new parents.


The Truck
Again this week we had repair issues with the truck. A small oil leak turned into a problem with the brakes and then a problem with the alternator. For sure, I am not a mechanic, but when these things happen I feel very insecure regarding the ability of my local mechanic. :o)

After going back to the mechanic 6 times, and after sending him to Ouaga to get a part, the truck was running again and this morning I called my mechanic here in Ouaga to come and check out everything in the motor. He talked with the mechanic in Yako and after making another minor change said that the truck was again in good running order.

Please pray with us for a new vehicle. The truck can continue to serve us well for general hauling in and around Yako but more and more we are feeling the need for a more dependable vehicle for travel between Yako and Ouaga and Yako and Ouayaghuia.

School Updates
The school year is winding down here. Many of our secondary students have already finished their final exams and next week will be the exams for the last school. Everyone is still anxiously awaiting their final scores.

The final exams for our primary school will also be this next week. After the grades are all totaled and averaged, school will be over for all except the sixth graders who will continue to study and to prepare for the CEP. The schools have arranged 2 pre-tests for the sixth graders to help them prepare for the exam and in the second round of these tests, our school ranked 3rd in the community in the children’s scores. This is the first year for our school to have children taking this exam so we are very proud of our teachers and of our children’s work.

Little Teebnoma
Wanted to end with a ‘Teebnoma update’ and this photo of Teebnoma. Teebnoma was taken away from her mother by Social Action because the mother was trying to kill her. She came to the orphanage about 8 weeks ago, was sick and malnourished and unable to walk. Teebnoma has stolen the heart of each of our workers. She is about 18 months old and this week she started walking.

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

New construction photo--

Hello Family and Friends! 26 April, 2008

As promised last week I have a couple of new photos of the construction of the clinic. Really, the work is progressing so smoothly and so quickly that all I can say is 'Thank you, Lord for what you are doing for us'.

This photo was taken just 2 days after the one above and you can see the progress of the walls going higher.

The guys in front of the building are the 3 bosses of the project. On the left is the contractor, Mr Sinon. In the middle is Mr. Kientega, responsible for quality control and on the right is Mr Sinon's son, the head mason.

Our nurses, Josie and Bea, are very excited to see this building going up and together we are thinking and planning how to organize and how to equip our new clinic.

We are in a 'season' of typhoid fever. Sigh! We have not had any at the orphanage but sponsored children are coming to the gate almost daily needing meds for typhoid. If the family responds quickly and takes the child to see the nurse at the hospital, the treatment is simple and the children respond quickly. So far, we have not had to hospitalize any of the sponsored children but have been able to treat them.

Our school children are all doing well and are preparing for final exams which will occur in the next few weeks.

I went away for a few days this past week for a mini-retreat to a small village called Zolo. I have been connected with the pastor and the church there for several years and from time to time have gone there for a time of rest and refreshing. This time was no exception and I am so thankful for a fresh touch from the Lord. Even though our temperatures are reaching 110+ these days, I felt the cool breezes of the Holy Spirit touch my heart and refresh my soul.

Please continue to pray for us. The Lord is doing marvelous things in us and for our children. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy but we are standing in the gap for the next generation of Burkina's society. Please pray for this 'Joshua generation'.

Blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

No water. . . yet--

Hello All! April 17, 2008

Must take just a few minutes to write while I have the opportunity. I am in Ouaga since yesterday but will be leaving in just a few minutes to return to Yako. . . the 'land of no online access'. Argh!!

The team from Friends In Action returned to Yako this past week to drill a second time for water. They went to the other end of the courtyard hoping that the geology, the composition of the soil, etc., would allow them to drill and reach potable water.

The team was composed of 4 working-machine men who literally gave all of their strength and energy to get water for the orphanage. . . but, again this second time, they were not successful. The reason is complicated but in my non-trained understanding of the problems I will explain what is happening.

There is water down there. There is lots of water down there. But, their machine is not powerful enough to drill as deep as they need to go in order to get the water. They drilled down to 55 to 60 meters deep but they feel that the well needs to be in the 80 to 90 meter range. What they got was a liquid mud that kept causing the drilled hole to cave in quicker than they can even get the casing placed in the well.

We do have options but I need a little time for my heart to settle from this current disappointment before researching other associations who would have the equipment and the technology that we need to get a well.

Please pray and ask the Lord for a solution to our need for water. Our water bill this past month was $160. Most of our water usage is from bathing 60 people a day and washing over 200 diapers a day plus what we use for cooking and drinking for the orphanage and the school.

On a more positive side, the construction of the clinic is going wonderfully well. The walls are starting to go up and you can see the progress of the work everyday.

I'll be back in Ouaga again next week and will show you some new pictures of the work on the clinic.

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

April 10, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, 8 April, 2008

Greetings from sunny Burkina! We are in the midst of the hottest part of the hot season and afternoon temperatures are resting between 105 and 110 degrees. Because of the poor rains last year everyone is hopeing for the rains to start early this year. Please pray and ask the Lord to give us abundant rain and an abundant harvest this year.

Saying goodbye to Rachel--
This past week we said good-by to a special visitor, Rachel Schroeder. Rachel was a short-term Canadian worker who came to us through the mission SIM. Rachel came with a 3-month commitment to work at the orphanage. She assisted in various administrative tasks but her greatest passion and activity was hanging out in the baby rooms, holding and playing with and loving our babies. Rachel was a wonderful blessing to all of us here and we already miss her.

Rachel is returning home to seek the Lord’s direction for this next phase of her life. Wherever the Lord leads Rachel, she will be a blessing to all.

Construction of the clinic--
This beginning phase of the construction of the clinic is very exciting. Each day we can see the progress that the men are making. The trenches for the foundation of the building have been dug and initial layers of rock and reinforced concrete have been laid. The men are now making the concrete bricks which will be the walls of the building.

Well drilling—
In the background of the picture of the construction you can see some of the heavy equipment used to drill our well. The team is coming back to the orphanage on April 11th to drill for the second time. The first time that they drilled, they found water, lots of water, but it is not clean water. It is full of dirt and sand. They gave the water time to settle and then put rock and sand down the well hoping that this would serve as a natural filter. But, still when they pumped the water out, it was a mucky, dirty brown color.

When they come again they are going to drill at the other end of the courtyard and we are full of hope that again they will find water and that it will be pure. Please pray with us concerning this great need.


Keeping 15 orphans in school--
This week we received a call from Social Action concerning a need to help several orphans in a village called Kirsi which is about 40 kilometers from Yako. The request was for help to pay the school fees of 15 orphans so that they could stay in school. We made the trip to Kirsi yesterday and met with the director of the school and learned that this area is suffering greatly from the lack of rain in last year’s growing season. Many families already do not have enough to eat and the harvest this year is still many months away. In addition, in this small village contains many orphans who are greatly suffering.

We met with the director of the school and presented notebooks, pens, and chalk boards to the children as well as paid their school fees.


New baby, Teebnoma—
We have a new baby in the orphanage. Her name, Teebnoma, means ‘having faith is good’. Social Action called and asked us to take Teebnoma because both her mother and her father are not well mentally. The family feared that the mother was going to fatally harm the baby.

Judging by her teeth, Teebnoma is 14 to 16 months old. She is mildly malnourished and is not yet able to walk. We will keep Teebnoma and love and nurture her back to health. Pending a home study by social action, she may be available for adoption.

Well, I must close for now. I am going to Ouaga tomorrow to have some online time and to take care of a few business things. Talk to you again soon.

With love,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Orphanage, School, and Sponsorship Updates--

Dear Family and Friends, 30 March, 2008

Late Happy Easter greetings! I hope that all is well with you on your side of the world and that spring thaws are allowing the flowers to pop up and reflect the glory of our God. We had a week or two of spring-like temperatures and now we are in full-blown summer with afternoon temperatures of 110+ degrees.

The flu epidemic that I mentioned last month has passed through and now we are in the meningitis season. Sometimes I feel like here in Burkina we experience plagues similar to what God sent on Egypt to soften the heart of Pharaoh. Our plagues are somewhat different but still they come in swarms of insects, dirt, frogs, and sickness that leave the people suffering and helpless. Our God is in control though even in the midst of our suffering and lack of understanding so we stand firm and we trust in His un-measurable love.

I wrote to you last month about the loss of two of our babies to the flu epidemic and mentioned that Balguissa was still in the hospital. Just this past week, Balguissa passed away. Balguissa was born on January 2 and her mother died a few days after she was born. Balguissa’s birth weight was small and when the flu symptoms of fever, vomiting, and diarrhea started at about 2 weeks of age, she very quickly got very sick. We sent Balguissa to Dr. Zala’s clinic in Ouayaghuia in February and then again in March but she just could not fight off the infection. Losing a baby is always hard to accept but because of Balguissa’s long hospital stays we were full of hope that she would completely recover. The Lord knows all things though and He decided to take Balguissa to be with Him.

Thank you so much for standing in prayer with us concerning the civil unrest that was occurring here last month. The prices of grain and basic necessities of life continue to increase almost weekly but the rioting and demonstrating by the university students and general public has calmed. Please continue to pray for solutions to the high prices. Burkina is listed as the third poorest nation of the world and the people are suffering from the increased prices.

Hmmmmm, it seems that I have a lot of negative things to report to you today. There are some happy things but first I must give you an update on the land situation for the church. As a summary, the village of Yako had given our local church the piece of land just north of the orphanage to build a new church. The taxes had been paid on the land and the church was seeking God for the money to begin construction. In the meantime, it seems that the village also gave this same piece of land to the CNSS, the division of the government that equates to our Department of Social Security.

The national church hired an attorney to fight for the land because the church holds valid papers of ownership for the land. The attorney hired to do the work and others hired to help the church fight the case have literally dropped the ball and have not done their work. The reality of life here is that an attorney or a judge could sign the paper to end their career by taking a stand against the government. Although it appears that corruption is going to rule and over-ride justice in this case, we know that our God will have the final word against those who raise their hand or their voice against His church. The local church is discouraged but at the same time, after having done all, they are standing firm in the Lord and they are blessing the construction of the walls and buildings that are going up on what was ‘their land’.

On to wonderfully good and positive things—
The children at the orphanage are all doing well. We have several new babies who are all well and we have several toddlers who have recently integrated back into their family structures. A short-term team who recently visited us bought paint and all the necessary supplies to paint the toddler room. It has been almost 5 years since we last painted the orphanage and as you can imagine the walls are badly in need of re-freshing. The team scrubbed of layers and layers of dirt from the walls and applied 2 coats of fresh green paint. They put colored hand-prints around the windows and wrote ‘Jesus loves the little children’ in French and in Mooré as a border around the room. The room is beautiful and clean and will serve as an inspiration for us to do the same in the other two baby rooms.

The older children have been on Spring break and most of them have gone to their villages to see their families. Most of our older children are doing well in school this year. The hard work of last summer with French and math tutors has paid off and we are all thankful for the blessing of better grades this year. There are 2 or 3 children who are still really struggling to pass. Please pray that the Lord will help them to learn how to study so that they can completely understand the material in their classes.

We broke ground this past week on the construction of a small clinic that is being built in the Sheltering Wings compound. The primary goals of this clinic are to serve the 45 children living in the orphanage and the 90 children attending our primary school. The design of the clinic is multi-functional but there are sick rooms, a consultation room, a lab, a pharmacy, and reception and storage areas. I will try very hard in the next week or two to include photos here in my blog so that you can rejoice with us as the walls of the clinic start to go up.

We have hired Josie and Bea, two of our girls who have completed nurses’ training, as nurses. They have already been a tremendous blessing to the orphanage and the school children and they will lay the foundation work of our clinic. After the clinic is established we hope to open the clinic to the children in the community for one or two mornings a week.

March 22nd was the day of the quarterly food distribution for the sponsorship program. As usual, this distribution day was a day of rejoicing. All of the children in the program came with one or two family members and their family donkey carts to carry home a 100 pound bag of corn and other small food items. We assured everyone that even though Lynn Peters has left Sheltering Wings, the sponsorship program will continue to function just has it has since it was started in 2000. Many of the local pastors of the region of Yako attended the distribution and were asking how they can become involved and help in this wonderful project. After the distribution we met with these pastors to begin talking and praying about how the local churches can participate in weekly meetings with the children to evangelize and to more closely follow their progress in school. No final decisions were made at the meeting but we will continue to meet and to pray about incorporating the churches more deeply in this work.

Our primary school continues to be a great blessing and joy to everyone. When you consider that Burkina has a literacy rate of only 18%, you can understand why a child sent to school here in Burkina is a privileged child. Our teachers are working very hard to prepare the children and the children are working very hard to succeed. Please pray for all the sixth graders in our region as they prepare for a standardized test which will be given in July. This is a pass/fail test which will permit the student to continue to seventh grade or force him to remain in sixth grade. This test is very difficult and many children take this test 2 or 3 years before they pass it. In pre-tests that have been given, our children have done very well. Please pray that 100% of our sixth graders will pass this year.

Well, I must close for now. Thank you so much for your prayers, for your love, and for your tangible support which allow us to continue to help and to bless the children of Burkina. Without your support the work could not continue. You are here with us, touching, healing, and loving the children of Burkina.

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

Please pray for Burkina!

Dear Family and Friends, 28 February, 2008

Greetings from Africa! I hope that all is well in your corner of the world. We are struggling over here with various illnesses, civil unrest, and injustice in various levels that greatly affect daily life. The most important thing that I can ask is for you to pray for Burkina and block the power of the enemy who comes like a thief in the night wanting to kill, steal, and destroy.

In the past few weeks we have lost 2 babies, Adama and Hassane, and Balguissa is now in the hospital fighting for her life. The ‘flu season’ this year has hit very hard. It is a viral infection so antibiotics do not work. The symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea are treated but because of compromised immune systems the babies and older people often do not survive.

I am in Ouaga this week for another series of meetings with Social Action to define how the orphanages and Social Action can and should work together. Social Action is like our Division of Children and Family Services. Out of the 37 orphanages registered here in Burkina, only one of them is run by Social Action. All of the others are privately run either by nationals or by missions like ours. We work under the supervision of Social Action but because of lack of organization and planning, many things that are supposed to be working between us and them, are not really working. There are several ‘decision makers’ attending these meetings so please pray that they will actually hear what we are saying and that a good foundation will be laid for the sake of Burkina’s suffering children.

The 6th graders in our school have been working very hard preparing for the standardized test that they will take in June. This test is a pass/fail exam which allows them to continue their studies to middle school or to remain in primary school. Many children get passing grades in their classes yet do not pass this test and cannot continue their studies.

Please continue to pray with us concerning the land north of the orphanage which was given to the church. The case went before the judge in Yako this past week with a request to stop the construction until the true owner of the land could be determined. But, the judge refused to even make a decision saying that the case needed to be transferred to the Ouaga courts. The translation of this ‘lack of decision’ is most likely that the judge is refusing to make a decision for political reasons. His position is assigned by the government and if he rules against the government in this case, it could affect his career. And, in the meantime, the construction work on the land continues to develop at a very fast rate.

We’ve been experiencing some civil unrest in Burkina. The issue is the rising cost of food and supplies, especially milk, grain, oil, and soap. Last week, there were demonstrations in Bobo, Ouagadougou and Ouayaghuia. They all started peacefully but mob control took over and there was rock throwing, burning of buildings and cars, and in Bobo, one man was killed. The greatest physical damage in Bobo was that rioters burned the mayor’s office destroying very valuable paper documents as well as what was stored on computers.

Today there was more rioting and demonstrations held in Ouaga. People are trying to get the government’s attention by throwing bricks at buildings and cars, burning cars and buildings, destroying signs, etc. Please pray for order and calm to be restored to Burkina and that the Lord will intervene on behalf of those in poverty who are struggling so much with the increased prices.

Well, I must close for now.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Adoption News

Dear Family and Friends,

Our very first US adoption was finalized on January 24, 2008! It was for Stephon Zoundi McAlister!

Stephon’s story is rather typical for orphans here. His mother was very young and not well mentally. She became pregnant and it was not possible to determine who the father was. Because of strain this caused in the family and because of the mental state of the mother, she left the family courtyard and was living here and there, even sometimes on the street of one of the major cities of Burkina.

When Stephon was 9 or 10 months old, out of desperation, his mother abandoned him at Social Action, the social arm of the Burkina government, and he was placed in our orphanage.
We quickly noticed that Stephon had a problem with one of his eyes and that he walked with a limp. Through working with another mission organization, we were able to get Stephon to the States on November 13, 2003 for a diagnosis and for medical care. Stephon was placed in the home of Steven and Rosemary McAlister.

The McAlisters had been talking and praying about international adoption and after having Stephon in their home, they asked whether he was available for adoption. A home study was done here in Burkina and the conclusion of the study was that he was available for adoption. A home study was done for the McAlisters and they were approved as an adoptive family.

On June 9, 2006, Stephon’s case passed through the Burkina courts and he was declared adopted by the McAlisters. Then, on January 24, 2008, his case passed through the Maine court and the final phase of the adoption was completed.

For his day in court, Stephon requested that the family dress in their ‘African clothes’ which were made for them in Yako. They sang a song entitled ‘Yaa Bamba’ in Moore which means ‘We’re leaning on Jesus’. The judge said that he had never seen an adoption proceeding quite like this one. Many family members and friends attended the event and celebrated with the family in this declaration of adoption.

Stephon still has some physical and emotional issues that he and his family are dealing with. Without a doubt, the love of our Father can be seen in the placement of Stephon in the McAlister family. He is a very special boy and God has placed him in a very special family.

Other children already adopted by Sheltering Wings in Burkina Faso!

This is 2 year old Assya with her Italian parents - 2007.

This is 6 year old Téné in France - 2007.

This is 2 year old Mathieu who is now in France - 2007.

This is 2 year old Lisa Mariam now in France - 2007.

In 2006 we placed Paul, now 5 years old, and Jacques, now 4 years old, in France. I do not have digital pictures of them to show you. I do hear from both of their parents from time to time and they are doing well.

We have also placed Dieudonné in a loving Burkinabé family. Dieudonné was abandoned outside of a Catholic sisters’ home when he was just a week or two old. The woman who led the sister to our orphanage ended up being Dieudonné’s adoptive Mom. Dieudonné is a French name which means ‘Gift of God’. We feel that the Lord has very special plans for this very special little gift. I do not have a recent picture of Dieudonné but will try to get one to let you see him now. He is a big 3 year old boy.

Love to all!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Little successes along the way!

Dear Family and Friends,

I know that am going to overwhelm you with my excitement of new technology mastered so you probably need to be seated. With the help of a friend, Mark, I have mastered putting photos in my blog! I was close before. . . but was working in a minimized screen so never got to the 'download' button. Duhhhh!! But, now I hope that my blogs will be a bit more interesting with pictures of our beautiful children.

Just for fun, I want to show you this picture. We have lots of pictures of our babies and children eating but then I love to see fat babies eating! This was a day of celebration because spaghetti is considered holiday food here.

This past week has been pretty hard. There is a virus going around which is attacking the babies and the old people. The symptoms are flu-like with fevers, diahrrea, and vomiting. All of the hospitals are full of babies connected to IV poles, struggling for their lives The orphanage was hit very hard and we hospitalized 2 little newborns, Adama, just 2 weeks old and 3 week-old, Balguissa. Adama was just too tiny to fight off the infection and he died on Sunday. Balguissa recovered though and she was released from the hospital yesterday. Please pray for the children of Burkina. The infant mortality rate is 25%. I am thankful that we have the resources to take our children to the hospital 70 kilometers away. The average family here does not have these resources and more often than I even want to think about, their children end up in this terrible statistic.

I am in Ouaga right now for some meeting with the national office of Social Action. The meetings have been long and tedious but little my little we are moving forward in defining how the orphanages of Burkina work and interact with Social Action (the government branch of social work). In just the 8 years that I have been here the number of orphanages in Burkina has quadroupled. This is a very good thing because the need of the children is so great, but, now we are grappling with policies and procedures of how to make things work smoothly. The orphanages have formed a local association which the government recognizes and through this association we have a voice to ask for change. Please pray for wisdom and courage for the leaders of the local association to clearly define our requests to the government and for favor from the decision makers in the government for the cause of the children.

And, our truck. . . this week, the story is good. I did quite a bit of traveling in taking children back and forth to the hospital, plus the trip to Ouaga, with no breakdowns. I am very thankful for this because a couple of the trips were emergency trips when it was dark and there would be no help available in an emergency. Please continue to pray that the Lord will keep our truck functioning. . . it transports us here and there, it hauls dirt and rock, wood, sand and cement, it serves an an ambulance, it serves as a hurse. Please pray with us concerning the funds to another vehicle.

Well, I must close for now. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.

Love and blessings to you!

Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

January 31, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, January 31, 2008
My truck died on me this morning and so I am stranded in Ouaga for one more day. Mandatory rest, another nice, hot shower, more online time. . . well, things could be much worse, huh? I am very thankful that the problem occurred before leaving Ouaga and not halfway between here and Yako where no help would be available.

I just had some major repairs done to the truck last week. It seems that it is almost becoming a ‘fix or repair daily’ routine which is becoming expensive and tiresome. We’ll see. . . I need to return to Yako and check just how much we have spent on repairs in the last year or so to see if we need to seriously pray about buying a new vehicle or continue to try to make this one work. Please pray with me about this.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to insert photos into my blog. If anyone knows how to do this, would you please send me the instructions? I usually type my blog in MS-Word and then copy it into the blog website. I can insert pictures into the word document but then when I do the copy, the photos are left out.

We have received 2 more babies this past week. One of them is just a month old and the other is just one week old. Both boys are good size for Burkina newborns and I will try again to insert a picture of Hassane so that you can see him. He is just one month old and his mama died. With no one in the family to care for him, Social Action placed him with us until he is past the ‘infant needing formula’ stage and then he will integrate back into his family.

A church in St Louis, New City Fellowship, called me while I was recently home and asked whether we could use some cans of infant formula. It seems that there was a drug bust in St Louis and this stolen milk was found in the warehouse. Usually stolen goods like this are destroyed but one of the police officers spoke up and asked whether the church could have the milk. The story goes that the stolen milk was being sold to customers with food stamps and then the money redeemed from the food stamps was being sent to fund the Talaban. Instead, the milk has made its way to Africa where it is being used to feed orphan babies. Truly, what the enemy meant for evil, the Lord turned into a blessing for us and for our children.

Access to email is still not working for us in Yako. In talking with friends in Yako, although the access is slow, they are able to send and receive mail. So, now I am wondering if the problem may be something in my computer. I had some service done when I was home and also a new package of MicroSoft installed. . . but, I am clueless as to what the problem may be. Sigh! Again, if anyone has any ideas, please send me a note.

Well, must close for now and try to find some dinner.
Talk to you again soon.
Love you lots,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

January, 2008

Dear Family and Friends, January 25, 2008
Wow! How the time flies by! I have so much to tell you.
My trip home was just wonderful. We have a new baby in the family named Claire Marie. She arrived Nov 2nd and her proud parents are Todd and Amy Shaw. Claire and older sister, Lillian, are both doing very well. The joy of being home for the holidays greatly overshadowed any inconvenience or minor discomfort of the snow, ice, and cold temperatures of the mid-west winters. It had been many years since I had driven on snow and ice but thankfully my schedule was light and it was rare that I needed to be out in it.
Three of our children were adopted this past quarter and left Burkina. Assya is now living in Italy with her parents and 2 older brothers. Mathieu and Mariam are both now French citizens and are living with their respective families in France. We have received news from each of these families and the children are all doing well and are quickly adapting to their new environments. We are thankful to God for these courageous parents who are willing to persevere through the tedious process of international adoption and welcome our children into their homes
Just this week, Stephon, became a US citizen. Stephon went to the States on a medical visa and the family receiving him asked whether he was available for adoption. After a home study was completed here in Burkina, it was documented that his mother had abandoned him when he was about 9 months old and his father was unknown. His case passed through the Burkina courts and he was declared adopted by his American family. Subsequently, on January 24, 2008, Stephon had his day in court in America and was adopted. This is a picture of Stephon and his family.
Last summer we changed our regular routine and hired tutors in French and in math to come to the orphanage and work with the children in secondary school. Everyone really worked very hard. When the children were not in class or doing class exercises, they were working in our fields of millet and peanuts.
Well, the grades are in for the first grading period of this school year and the hard work of last summer is paying off. Several of our children received very high marks, well above average! All but two of them had 10 or above. . . 10 is a passing mark here. . . and the two who are under ten have 9.88 and 9.87. For these two it is very possible for them to work very hard and still get an average for the year of 10 or more.
The children in our primary school continue to prosper. They also did remarkably well in their first grading period accomplishments. The sixth graders are working especially hard this year because they will be taking a standardized test at the end of the year. This is a pass/fail test which will allow them to continue to 7th grade if they pass or force them to re-do 6th grade if they fail. Please pray for this group of students. The pressure is very intense. Please pray also for wisdom for their teacher, Innocent, as he does all that he can to prepare them for this test.
We have received 3 new babies into the orphanage in the past 6 weeks. Céline was born in October, 2007. Her mother and father are cousins, from the same extended family. Because of the shame of this situation, Céline is not welcome in either of her parents’ families. After a thorough home study by Social Action, Céline will most likely be available for adoption. This is little Céline.
Dafimatou and Bassirou are both 4 months old and both of their mothers just recently died. Because there is no one in the families who can care for the infants, we will care for them until they are 12 months old and then they will integrate back into their families.
In mid-December a team from Friends In Action came to Yako and drilled a well for the orphanage. They found water, lots of water, but for the moment there is a problem of a lot of sediment in the water. We are hoping that the sediment will settle and if not, there is a solution of putting small, clean rock down the hole and allowing this rock to serve as a filter for the sediment. The team will be back in mid-March to again test the quality of the water to see if it is safe to drink. We are gathering estimates for a water tower and a tank which we will build when we are sure that the water is good.
Our last but very exciting piece of news is that we have received a very generous contribution which will provide for the construction of a clinic on the orphanage property. We have blueprints and estimates but these are almost 3 years old. The blueprints are still good, but I have been going back to the contractors asking them to review the estimates and see if we can build with these prices. Very favorable estimates are coming in so hopefully we will be starting construction soon on the long awaited clinic.
In preparation for the clinic and also to meet an immediate need for the orphanage, we have hired ZONGO, Josie and TENKODOGO, Beatrice as nurses. Josie was the very first child to come to the orphanage and Bea was with us for 4 years before we sent both of these girls to nursing school. They graduated last summer and have been working at the orphanage, at our local hospital, and at Dr Zala’s clinic in Ouayaghuia since then in order to improve their practical experience. Both girls excelled both in their studies and in the practical application of what they have learned. Already, they have been a tremendous blessing to the orphanage and as the clinic is realized, they will also be a blessing to the community of Yako.
In closing, please pray for all of our local workers. Each one of them is a blessing from the Lord and they do their work as a ministry until the Lord. Pray for their health and the health of their families. None of our projects could survive without the faithfulness of our workers.
With love and blessings!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

News from the orphanage

Dear Family and Friends, Aug. 27, 2007
First, a quick ‘Jeanette update’. Her splint has been removed and a new x-ray shows that her leg is now healed. There is a lot of calcium build-up on the top and bottom of where the break was, but the doctor said that this should not keep her from walking. Her mother comes to the orphanage each day to care for her and we are working with the mother to help Jeanette to catch up on normal development for her age. She is now 22 months old. She is sitting up but she is not pulling up, crawling, or walking.
This past week we had a wonderful unexpected visit from Janine Jackson, the US Ambassador to Burkina. She was passing through town on her way to Ouayighuia and stopped by the orphanage to see our Peace Corps volunteer, Sarah. Sarah is working on developing our soap and weaving projects and has been with us for a little over a month. We spent 2 days frantically cleaning up inside and outside the courtyard and all of the orphanage buildings. The clean-up days went well and in fact, were much needed. Because of a really good rain the night before though, our courtyard was a virtual mud pit when the Ambassador arrived but she seemed to take this problem right in stride.
The Ambassador toured our facilities, played with some babies, and listened to some our primary school children sing. She brought a gift of 120 books for our school. This gift was from a joint project sponsored by the US Government and the World Bank. The books are beautiful and they are for grades 1 through 6.
Our Canadian friend, Christina, left last week. She was a short-termer who came to us through SIM. It was a joy to have Christina with us. She played with and cared for our babies, and made lots of friends with our older children who speak English. We miss Christina but wish her the best as she begins her studies in nursing.
Two of our babies, Aminata and Lassane, have returned to their families. Aminata comes from a village about 130 kilometers from here. Her mother died just a few days after Aminata was born. In the 18 months that Aminata has been here, her father has found a new wife and they came to pick up their daughter and take her home. Lassane’s mother also died when he was born. He has rejoined his family and will now be cared for by an aunt.
We are still waiting for news on the adoptions of Mathieu, Mariam, and Assya. Mathieu and Mariam are going to families in France and Assya is going to Italy. We expect that all of these adoptions will be finalized in the next month or two.
Thank you so much for your prayer support and your tangible monetary support. The Lord is good and He abundantly provides all that we need through faithful friends like you.
With love and blessings,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

Jeannette update--

Dear Family and Friends, Aug. 13, 2007
This is a ‘Jeannette’ update. This saga continues but I think that we are getting closer and closer to knowing the truth of the story.
Jeannette’s leg seems to be better. She is immobilized in a splint and she does not cry even when she is moved around to change her diaper or to pick her up. This is improvement.
Jeannette’s father told us when he brought her to us, that her mother had left Burkina for the Ivory Coast with another man and that he did not have anyone in the courtyard to care for Jeannette. Well, we found out this past week that this is not true. Jeannette’s mother is in Yako living in her parents’ courtyard, not far from the father’s courtyard. We called the mother to come to the orphanage and talk with us and then took her to Social Action so that the agent that we are working with there could hear the other side of this story.
Jeannette’s mother found out about a year ago that her husband was being unfaithful to her. She confronted him on this but he refused to admit it and to stop seeing the other woman. Around this same time, her husband’s mistress approached the mother accusing her of spreading a rumor that she was pregnant by Jeannette’s father. Jeannette was on her mother’s back at this time and the two women started fighting. The mother fell backwards onto Jeannette, breaking both of her legs and scratching and injuring her face.
Mother took Jeannette to the hospital but they did not notice that her legs were broken. She then went to the police to file a complaint against her husband and the mistress. The police noticed that at least one of Jeannette’s legs were broken and went out searching for the husband. They found him in town and forced him to return to the hospital with Jeannette. The doctor said that the couple needed to take Jeannette to Ouayaghuia to the hospital for x-rays. But, the father refused to take her saying that he did not have the means and that he wanted to treat her with traditional methods.
When the family returned to their courtyard, the chef of the family kicked Jeannette’s mother out of the courtyard saying that she was the cause of all of this trouble. He gave Jeannette to her grandmother to care for her.
Now since Jeannette’s mother came to the orphanage to talk with us and also went to Social Action, she has been kicked out of her parents’ courtyard! Social Action has agreed to talk with the chef of her family to ask for forgiveness and to try to help reconcile the family. At the same time, we are looking into a couple of centers in Ouaga who receive young women like this who have been excluded from their family courtyards.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit for us and for Social Action. Jeannette’s mother does not want Jeannette to return to her father’s courtyard. She wants to care for her child. The best solution would be for her to remain in her family courtyard. But, if this is not possible please pray that we will be able to find a safe place for them in one of these special centers in Ouaga.

With love,
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

August 7, 2007 update

Dear Family and Friends, August 7, 2007
Greetings from Burkina!
Life is moving fast and furious pace here in Yako but the Lord is in the midst of all and we are resting in His grace and favor.
The rains have continued to be good this year. Our peanuts and beans are now small plants and our corn is about 2 feet high. Our children have been very diligently clearing the fields of weeds after each rain. They have also been diligently studying French and math so we are hopeful that the 2007-2008 school year will be much more successful than this past year.
I introduced Jeannette to you the last time that I wrote. Working with Jeannette’s family has been a great challenge. Her father has consistently lied to us and even now we are not sure that we really know the history of this child. This past week, we took Jeannette to the hospital because of pain in her leg. She would not move it on her own and whenever anyone touched her she cried. Well, an x-ray showed that Jeannette’s leg is broken. We called the father again to the orphanage and he admitted that he knew that the leg was broken but he did not tell us about it when he brought her to us. He said that he did not know how or when the break occurred.
Jeannette’s leg has been set and immobilized in a splint. Please pray that her little bones will completely and quickly heal. Please pray also that her father will understand his responsibility to his child and see that she is properly cared for when she leaves the orphanage.
Another little baby, Nemata, was hospitalized in Ouayighuia and was diagnosed to be HIV positive and to have Noma. This little one was also severely malnourished. We received a call this past week that Nemata had died. As hard as it sounds, it is the grace of the Lord that Nemata is no longer suffering in the hospital. We are working with Social Action to see that her mother and father are adequately instructed about AIDS so that they can get care for themselves and protect others.
This week we learned that 2 of our babies have scabies. Yikes! We have been treating them for 2 months through our local hospital but they were not getting better. As it turns out, they were not correctly diagnosed and they were receiving the wrong treatment. We took them yesterday to see Dr. Zala in Ouayighuia who immediately diagnosed them to have scabies and prescribed the correct treatment for them. The treatment is not complicated and tomorrow we will wash and boil all of the babies’ clothes, sheets, diapers, etc., and then bath the babies with the medicine. Dr. Zala has assured us that this will kill all of the parasites and set our babies free from their terrible itching.
Lots of rather difficult things to tell you about this time! But, we also have been enjoying several special gifts from the Lord. We have been blessed this summer with several short-term workers who have come to us through SIM and SIL, other mission organizations working in Burkina. Some of the girls have come for just 2 or 3 weeks and one has come for 5 weeks. These girls have cared for, played with, and loved on our babies and the babies have thrived under all of this attention.
We also have received 3 visitors from the St Louis area. Sarah Torretta was with us for 2 weeks. Sarah teaches French in a middle school in STL. Each day Sarah worked with our primary school children strengthening their French and reading skills and teaching them to tell time. Jenny Griebel and Heather Romine are pediatric nurses and have spent two weeks with us. They also have played with and cared for our babies as well as helped us with medical needs. As nurses coming from the sterile and hygienic climate of American hospitals they have been very quick to adjust and adapt to some of our difficult situations here. We are thankful to the Lord for each of these visitors and for all the help and gifts that they brought to our children.
Josie and Bea, two of our girls, have finished their nursing training and have returned to the orphanage. We are so proud of their accomplishments and they are very glad to be finished with this phase of their studies. Dr. Zala has consented for them to do a 1 to 2 month internship with him at his pediatric clinic in Ouayighuia. This will give the girls invaluable experience and exposure to the various tropical diseases that they will be dealing with here. Already after just one week to rest and to visit their families in the village, they have taken over the distribution of our medicine in the orphanage. They have started temperature and growth charts for each child and a separate record for the medical treatment for each child.
Well, I must close for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs. May the Lord richly bless you. Please pray for the protection and favor of the Lord for each one of us and for each of our children.
Love and blessings to you!
Ruth. . . Mom. . . Grandma

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