A Work in Progress

Mercy and I had a very busy week working on things for Oasis of Life. It’s never easy to get things done here. You are always fighting traffic, rain, and lots of waiting. But there are good distractions too… singing and dancing with children, prayer times, warm hellos and goodbyes with friends.

As I told you in my last post, we had a mission team come and paint the girls house on Tuesday. The fresh coat of paint makes a huge difference on the inside and really brightens things up. On Wednesday I met with the director and tried to prioritize needs and get a handle on the budget. On Thursday the mission team from OBU came to paint the boys’ house. This was no easy feat with limited supplies and no running water at the house. They were real troopers and did a great job. They got most of it done and might be able to finish up this next week. It’s been such a blessing to have these two mission teams just fall in my lap and be open and willing to help! I love to see how God provides. And it sure makes these kids feel special to have so many visitors to love on them.

The boys using extra paint to do the outside walls

 

Fresh paint on the inside!

 

Sometimes you just have to play in it too!

On Friday, I got to go pay some bills! Thank you so much for being patient and willing to move your donations from PayPal to “The Hope Venture”. I am glad to say that most of you took the time to do that and I really appreciate it. Friday some of that money was wired to me. So I got to go pay for school fees and uniforms for the children. I also paid off the water and electric bills, which were a few months overdue. I can’t tell you how excited and grateful Pastor Robert was to have this weight off of his shoulders. He was literally bouncing around with excitement. The children should receive their uniforms in the next week or so. Pastor Robert traced the bottoms of all of the kids’ feet. So this next week we’ll go to the giant flea market to buy school shoes and sandals for all of the children. We’ll also pick up school supplies for them too. We’ve put in a request with the utility companies to get water and electricity hooked up at the boys’ house. I think this will make a huge difference for them. Can you imagine trying to keep a house of thirty boys clean and their laundry washed with no running water?

Mercy and our new friend, Kristen, hiding in the laundry lines

I am also excited to tell you that the kids are going to get medical exams! This week God placed an amazing mission team here at the house with us. The team includes some doctors and nurses that are going to be doing medical checks on children at a nearby orphanage (I’ll write more about it later!). When they heard about Oasis they decided they needed to check out these kids too. It really is remarkable how God is putting all of these pieces of this together. I was just thinking the other day that it would be great to get all of the children checked over, but a logistical nightmare to try to get them all to a clinic, especially one with qualified doctors. The next day, this mission team offered. Love it!

Hanging out on the bunk outside while the house is painted!

 

We hope these new nets help fight off malaria



Mercy and I took this sweet boy to the clinic the other day for the worst ear infection I've ever seen. 

I really can’t thank you enough. Your money is in action here and making an immediate difference in the lives of these children.