Thanksgiving

By the time you read this Thanksgiving will have come and gone.
I missed sharing the day with family and friends and thought about the Thanksgiving days before both good and bad. I was blessed this past summer when I was back in the US as 2 different friends had Thanksgiving dinners for me sharing with other friends(thanks Reine & Suzie)! It was a blessed time!
On Thanksgiving here this year we didn't celebrate it like I usually cook an American meal (chicken instead of turkey (no turkey here)) but instead I spent some hours fasting and praying. Trying to remember all of the little and big things that God had done in my life and all that He had blessed me with. That was healing.
This morning - a major problem with a staff member who is both a driver for us and suppose to do maintenance. Since my regular malee (all around yard keeper, misc. jobs) wasn't here yesterday or today I asked the other staff member to clean out the goats pen for me. He flat out refused several times. At first I was very upset but knew the room needed cleaned for health reasons (two of my goats are pregnant) and so I just decided to do it myself! Not the first time I've cleaned it out.
The people here, even though they have seen me paint, dig holes, carry rocks and other misc. jobs, still have an overal view that American's are softies. As I was cleaning out the room and trying to shift my big male goat who can be EXTREMELY stubborn sometimes, I had to laugh. God reminded me how my own earthly father had prepared me for this moment. Even though he was an alcholic (praise God he was saved 6 months before he died), he was a hard worker and never missed a day of work. He also worked me hard. He gave me the love for all of the animals BUT he also gave me full responsibility for taking care of them and that meant cleaning out rabbit pens, etc. And now, so many years later, I laugh. The people think this is out of my territory of work but they don't know. Only Jesus and I smile at the situation, He gives me a wink, and I have peace in my heart that yes, He has prepared me for many things, even when they didn't make sense at the time. Thanks Jesus for the blessings! I love you!

Are you aware?

on CNN online yesterday...

Hunger 'kills 17,000 children per day'

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Somewhere in the world, a child dies of hunger every five seconds -- even though the planet has more than enough food for all.

Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general, laid out the sobering statistic as he kicked off a three-day summit on world food security in Rome on Monday.

"Today, more than 1 billion people are hungry," he told the assembled leaders. Six million children die of hunger every year -- 17,000 every day, he said....

Many children, many needs

Today and tomorrow and the next few days will be a time of helping children get adjusted. Mariam returned today after 4 days. We are still working on helping her gain weight but then she is going back home in a week for a few days for a religious holiday. Tarun just finished exams today and is on holiday until Monday. He wants to go home to visit his mother. His sister Deepa, who wanted to come live with us and go to a good school has now changed her mind. I don't know if there is the fear of the change or if her grandparents want more from me than just to help with her education. I asked Deepa to try living here for one month and if she didn't like it she could return home. So, tomorrow, Deepa and her mother are coming just to have lunch and visit, and see if this is what she wants to do...pray. Finally, Samson and his father and uncle are coming to visit tomorrow. They are going to take him to the deaf school first and if he is accepted he will live here with us and go back and forth to school each day. Pray as we try to finish painting the inside of the house and get everything settled so the children can settle more easily and for them to be on a regular schedule.

Solitude

How often we need time alone with God. Not just a few minutes but great chunks of time. We keep running and running way past the time our energy or fuel runs out and we wonder why we get so stressed. Yesterday was a blessed time. I spent all day and night fasting, praying, and reading God's word. It really refreshed my soul! I've made a vow to do this day and night of fasting once a month.

Time flys

The week has gone by quickly. Still having rooms painted on the inside and shifting furniture and everything else. Attended a wedding of two of my staff on Wednesday and now just arrived by train to the city to attend another wedding on Monday. First though, going to the markets to get some bargin deals on curtains, bed sheets, and clothes for the children.
The boy's sister that was suppose to move in this week didnt. The grandmother and aunt said she changed her mind and didn't want to come. I think it is some manipulation going on with the grandparents trying to get money out of me. Pray for the situation. It's a really bad home life. I told the family I would return on Tuesday when I return from the city.
It looks like a deaf boy who I've know for 5 years might be coming to live in our home too. He will be attending a deaf school in the close city and there is no place for him to live so he would have to commute about 40 minutes one way every day.
Tarun, who usually throws a fit when I leave for a few days and gets very angry at me, have a very good transition this morning. He gave me a hug and said goodbye and waved as my taxi drove off. This is a huge improvement for him

Sunday School #2

Two more photos from Sunday School

Sunday school in the new room

I'm having problems getting the outside "before" and "after" photos to print, but here is Sunday school yesterday in the newly painted room! Sorry the photos are kind of blury. I think my batteries were old.