July 25th - Oops, missed a week!

Okay, to be honest, I didn't actually "miss" a week. I knew it was there...it's just that the internet wasn't there when my self was there. Tried a couple of times, but nothing was coordinating!

The first picture today is of Isaac and Peter at our house on their Friday night/Saturday morning with us (now 2 weeks ago). They were such a hoot! They said they wanted me to take their picture on Saturday morning, and so they posed like this. So funny! We had a great time with both of them...and this was our last Friday night for awhile. It will be great to have a break for awhile, even though it's been fun to have the kids. We're both ready for free Friday nights.

The second picture is our boys playing football (known as soccer in the States) in the playground area across from the orphanage. They so love when one of us will take them over there - when they play in the orphanage courtyard, the windows get broken, other kids get knocked in the head, etc., so we've had to outlaw football there.

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is a list that Rogers and I came up with in looking back over the past year and a half. There are so many things yet to be done, but it was so great to sit and list the things that have already happened here!

• Orphanage of 30 children
• Employ 17 people full time from the Budaka area, plus many on a temporary basis
• church of 150
• began with 1 church service. Now have 5 services every week (Sunday 9am and 10am, Wed 5:30am and 5:30 pm, Friday 5pm)
• Built a temporary kitchen building on loaned land
• school of 100+
• 5 businesses

1. chickens
2. maize, beans, eggplants, tomatoes, g-nuts
3. restaurant
4. school
5. selling stuff in the States

• Jessica – healing from skin disease. Mother and Jessica saved.
• Saturday School with 150-300 kids once/month – done 11 of them. 25 kids saved at one.
• Rescued 4 kids from homelessness. 1 who rescued from death (Moses).
• Bought property to build on
• Mutwahiru – got surgery (thanks to American donors), mother is saved now. Mutwahiru is able to ambulate, is out of pain and on his way to as complete a recovery as possible.
• We found out about CoRSU Hospital to take children to for surgeries (found out through meeting a doctor who knew about it and sent us there)
• Crusades – 2 – 2nd one 2000 people attend the week. We worked with 10 pastors. Gave away the crusade to 3 villages – Kabuna, Naboa, and Kaderuna. Saw almost 200 people saved..
• World Race team in October – built relationships with our kids, did door to door evangelism, helped at the crusades, cleaned up Budaka with our kids.
• Took the kids to Sipi Falls on an all-day trip on a bus

We were so happy as we thought through all these things. Thank you so much for being a part of this work God is doing here in Budaka! Some of you helped us with set-up costs, others help us on a monthly basis, still others help by sending things over that help us in ministry, and others by keeping in touch weekly to encourage us as we continue in the work. May the Lord bless you as you have blessed us! We all are so thankful for you!

Laurie