Surrounded by Love

Our Home of Angels began in June 2010 and in this very short time we have blossomed into a beautiful compound.  It started with the word "love" and almost 3 years later that love has grown so strong in many different ways.  All of you have demonstrated this with your donations, prayers and now wanting to be a part of our team through sponsorship.  Mother Teresa quoted "It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving".

We have had people all over the world wanting to help, from Hong Kong to Poland.  Fundraisers in London, England to raise money to build us a playground.  So many people with huge hearts wanting to do something to help someone.  Kids being encouraged to take a step and go overseas and volunteer, but the most important thing I am discovering is...people want to do something to make a difference but don't know how or where to do it.  Edwin and I are so happy that many of these same people are wanting to visit in teams to help us help the children, the widows and the community.

There is also the "love" that is growing daily in these kids. This is huge.  They are all becoming friends and the family bond is forming.  The 12 children coming to us in August have sponsors and the love that these people are pouring out to them has changed their lives.  We thank all of you so much and hope you will come to meet your child in the future. Yes, we still need to work on sponsoring the next 45 children and if any of you would like to be a part of our big family, just let me know and I will add you to the list.

Our project still has a long way to go.  The 2nd phase, which will be the long term sustainability program, will begin with the construction of the wall around the gardens and chickens.   We will also be starting a bakery to provide bread within the community.  The equipment and staff have been offered to us at a very low cost and this will definitely be a means to help with operating costs.  We still have no idea how we will feed this many but with God's help, we will figure a way.

We have decided to put a small clinic in one of the apartments and since this decision, we have received some donations of major equipment.  In addition, two wonderful people in Canada donate money monthly for medicine for Dr. Isaac who then provides free care to the impoverished.   Our dream is a separate building for a clinic on the 2 acres we recently had donated.  That would be ideal but definitely a future plan.  All we know for sure is that God's leading us to help the poorest of the poor and that is exactly what myself, Edwin, Dr. Isaac and David are going to do.

The framework for the roof of the 2nd children's home is almost completed.

The back stairs to the kitchen of each apartment are finished.  

The latrine has been painted.  This week the showers will be installed with the pipes extending
down to the sump pump.  We estimate this first latrine being completed in May but with 57 children
moving in now, we will need to build another at a future date.





Construction on the cook house has started.  One side will be a storage closet for the bags of rice, beans and porsho, the standard items prepared in their culture.  The other side will be where the cook will prepare meals.  We have asked the same woman that most of these kids had known in their prior home to continue cooking for them and she has said yes.  Our home is going to be a happy place to grow up in and we owe it all to God our Father who loves us so much.  I believe He picked all of us individually in order to make this home a special place and is helping us find the perfect people for the jobs to run it.

The paving stones are almost laid out to the main gate.  A few more to make and we will be done with this massive project.  The stones also have been painted on the patio and I see that the grass just planted is taking root.  It will be as plush as the rest in no time.

I wanted to show you the paving stones leading up to the children's home.  The veranda has been completed and the rooms are just waiting for 12 little bodies to be sleeping under the fluorescent stars that will be on the ceiling.   My stomach is fluttering as I write this.  What a day that's going to be.

Our well is open to these kids daily and Edwin and the men help them get as much as they need.
These little ones are very special and will eventually be coming to live with us.

And of course there are the boys....the boys who always make you laugh and seem to always be
having so much fun with so little.

Around the time when we first started our project, Edwin found Hope, Desire, Sammy and blind Grandma on the street selling charcoal.  With Grandma blind, these three kids had to help her to do everything.  They have now been sponsored by two wonderful women who expected to send all three to school.   Hope and Desire got to go but Grandma wouldn't let Sammy leave her because she had no one to be her eyes and she was scared.  Can't really blame her.  She has given permission for Hope and Desire to come and live with us but for Sammy, he must stay with her.  Life isn't always fair but Edwin and I are not giving up on Sammy.  We will find a way to help her and maybe she will release him to be a little boy again.

Hope and Desire came to the project to see their new bedroom.  They are so happy to really have a home and people around them to call family.  Of course Grandma and Sammy will always be welcome and I am sure we will find a way to help all of them.  Look at these two...they still have their Christmas dresses on.

Thanks again to all you for showing your "love" to all of us involved.  There is truly only God, Edwin and myself doing this with all of your help.  Thank you for buying so much banana bread and sending donations when you can.  We will never stop thanking Global TV and Save on Foods for starting all this and continuing to never give up on us. 

But most of all.....thank you Lord for your "love".  You are truly our strength to get through this.

Very Exciting Times

Happy Easter to everyone....

The compound is in disarray at the moment with many different projects going on at the same time.
The second house is up to the roofing stage, the paving stones are being placed, the guardhouse has the door and most of the finishing touches done and the verandas have the slate rock on.  The men are finishing the back stairs and the only thing that is not done on the main house is MY painting work.  Yes, I have my very own job and since I didn't finish this past trip, I can now.  The red mud from the
rains were discolouring the rock so we decided to wait until the verandas were completed before I start painting again.

I talk to Edwin on Skype very often and it always excites me to see some of the children that will be moving in just sitting and watching the workers.  I try and imagine what they are thinking.  They are
so excited and I am sure are counting the sleeps before they crawl into their first bed.  I really want to
share this day with you all.

We would like to show you some of the most recent pictures so you can get an idea how
your donations have been used.  We are very grateful to all of you who help and pray for us.  We
know that all of this is done in God's timing and we will conquer all obstacles as they happen.  It's
normal to come to the end of a project and the realization hits.  The kids are coming...how are we
going to feed them all?   What Edwin and I realize is, we would never have gotten this far without
Him and He is not going to abandon us now.

The house fits perfectly and still we have lots of land for the kids to be kids.  The roof will be going on this week and soon we will have our girl's house.  We have decided to name the boy's home after our little Nathan that passed last year with cancer and not AIDS like we thought.  "Nathan's Home" will be the first one that we built and the second, for the girls will be named "Lydia's Home" after a very sweet person who loves kids enough to give of herself in a very big way.  Thanks Lydia from all of us.

A year ago I caught Edwin spending the money I was sending him for food on these paving stones.

He wanted to help from his side of the world and thought he would slowly get them made, so that at

this point, when we needed 25,000, he would have a good jump on it.  Bless his heart, how can you

ever get upset with that.  These will eliminate all the red dirt brought in with the rains. I know how

lucky I am to have this boy in my life... 

This is starting to look amazing.

The grass is thick, the hedges are starting to grow and I see my avocado birthday present in the background really flourishing.

In Uganda, a veranda is a 1 1/2' ledge that circles the entire house.  As you can see, the red dirt is
starting to change the colour of my newly painted rock.  Oh Oh, I have to redo it this year.
John our Contractor came up with the idea to put this slate rock on so the rain will wash right off and
cause no discolouration.  He's the best....it's working.

James will be planting flowers all along the back wall.   Our clothes lines will go back here as there

won't be any dryers and the smell of fresh sheets will be a wonderful change.  We still have to 

place the slate around the back to stop the red from staining the rock.  

I would like to introduce Rachel to you.  Rachel and her friend Rebecca have been very involved

in helping us in Uganda.  They attend Heritage Wood Secondary School in Port Moody and

are baking banana bread to raise money for us.  Since Rachel became involved, her family

followed.  Her father, Thomas in Hong Kong has now donated a very powerful solar lantern 

for our home.  No more  darkness when the electricity goes out.  We are so grateful to this family

and Thomas's company who are now "Lighting up Africa". 

Do any of you remember the old transistor radio?  They are run by battery and very popular in 

Uganda.  If anyone has one of these that they would like to donate, we would all be so happy.  The one you are looking at is the one that plays all day at the project when the men are working.  I think it may have had a full life soon and I just wanted to get them one before it crashes but having difficulty to 

locate one. 

Well, lots happening, lots getting done and all of us, including the kids are really getting excited.

Our electrician Dennis is hard at work.  He is installing all the electrical wires throughout the 

main house.  He will also be working on the submersible pump that will be operated by one switch.

The 5000 litre tank that will supply the community will be turned on by a switch when empty and when full, switch will go off.  This way, the community will always have water.  Both from our well and from the rain water running off the  roof into the tank.  A pumping station will be built outside our wall but we need a little more funding for this to happen.

We are going to have a home and we are going to help a huge community....who would have ever dreamt from a loaf of banana bread only 2 1/2 years ago, that we could make this happen.  We have been very blessed by all of you.  Also, by the many workers in Uganda that are so proud of what they are doing, that they ask for little.   There is never going to be enough "Thanks". 

Myself, Edwin, David, Isaac and all the kids wish all of you a very Happy Easter.  Our Lord died on the cross for all of us and His glorious promises of eternal life for all who believe in Him.

Oh...and I forgot.  We have a quote on starting a bakery.  We have the opportunity to raise money

to feed the kids by baking and we have a way for distribution.  When my daughter and I go back

in July, we will investigate this.  A very good possibility in the future to raise money.  

Oh Willie...we sure will need you now......lol

A Glimpse of "Hope" for more Angels

In 2010 we decided to build our Home of Angels, always saying that we would make it small
to provide a home for children who were truly orphaned suffering with HIV/AIDS.  Well, that has obviously changed.... why should I sit in a country where everything is at our fingertips, when thousands of children are dying every day in a country such as Uganda?  I might be getting on in years but I still have the ability to tell our story to the hundreds of people who want to help, but just don't know how or who to trust in Africa.  When you see these children suffering from starvation and preventable, treatable diseases and know they are dying by the thousands, how can we not do anything?  Edwin and I made the  decision to try and make a small difference and that is why we are now expanding to build for more than 32 kids.  Actually...57 kids now.  We have started construction on the second home.  The  decision was made the last week I was there in January when many little kids came to ask us if they could pick our weeds.  For me, this was unbelievable but they were starving.  Each day they came for weeds until one day we bought rice and tomatoes and made a weed stew.  They were finally full and with the water we continued to provide for them, they left. We decided at that time we were going to build another home to help kids like these.  We don't know where those particular kids are now but we will find the most vulnerable and bring them in to show them there are people in this world who will care about them.  We need to do something and that is exactly what we are going to do with the extra property we have to build on. Edwin and I have no idea what is going to happen, how we are going feed them or treat them medically but we will watch for God's perfect plan for their lives to unfold.  We will not leave them as orphans.

We try and help all children but this was a real eye opener to me being from the Western culture.  Weeds and more weeds and they survive eating them.  I have a lot to learn, but by living there I will experience the devastating circumstances these people live with daily and hopefully with God's help, make a "huge" difference to all the kids we house.  I am so blessed to work with a man like Edwin, a trusting soul who's dream is the same as mine and together, we WILL make it happen.  

The 2nd home will be directly beside the existing children's home.  We have decided to call the first one "Nathan's House" for our little guy that died from cancer a year ago.  He also had HIV/AIDS but the cancer took him with 27 tumours on his head.  The second home which is now being built will be the "Lydia house" in honour of our architect that has given her time to support us. This home will be for the girls.  Thank you Lydia for your wonderful design and hard work.

With the foundation completed, the aggregate, boulders, lake sand and plaster sand has been delivered for the next stage.  

If you look into the distance, you will see a cement mixer.  Our crews have always done this by hand

but now we can mix the aggregate, lake sand and plaster sand to make the mortar in 1 1/2 days.  If the men had done it by hand, it would have taken 6 days and the cost of labour would be that much more. 

And the house goes up.  These men are working on Canadian time now....not Ugandan.

I am so proud of them.

The gatekeepers house is finished except for the door and window.  Beside this house will be the cook's hut where the food for the children will be prepared.  Oh, how I hate to cut more Palm trees down, but necessary.  The land that has been cleared in front will be covered with paving stones for all cars to park entering into the compound.

Black and Gold.....The gate is painted.  Paving stones will also be placed outside this gate.
You can't see by this picture but the spikes at the top are also painted in gold.

And these are some of the 25,000 paving stones to complete the project.  Only 5000 more to go and we are finished.

The crew is preparing the roadway for the installation of the first paving stones.  We have the bags of lime and dirt all in place to start placing these stones this next week.  I watch this work being done many times a week on Skype but this is one job I don't want to see until it is finished.  I know it will bring tears as it is the final step.

Who would have ever thought that I would be invited to the Aviation Leadership Forum to speak about our Home of Angels?  This was the most amazing experience I have ever had because it was about leadership.  I never considered myself a "leader" but after I left this conference, I knew I was.  We are all leaders when we take on a project and make it happen.  Of course I could never have done it without all of you, but we are coming up to the completion and I realize....it's because of the children, the Mom's and Dad's, the handicapped and many others who are making our Home of Angels grow.  It takes many and I am proud of all of you.  Thanks for letting me lead you towards something that will make a huge difference in the lives of children.  We are ALL leaders, not just me.

Save on Foods has supported us from the beginning.  We could not have done it without

them as they supply all the ingredients for me to bake the banana bread that provides the funding

to build our Home of Angels.  Global TV has also been there showing the public how we have grown.  Without these two, we would never had made it and I cannot say enough thanks to each one.  I honestly don't think either one knows what they have done until they see it themselves.  They have saved children's lives by making our story real and because of them, we are able to keep fighting.
The last fundraiser was a surprise for us.  We had no idea the Abbotsford firefighters would show up with lights a blazing to help up raise money.  Thanks Station #7 for all your help at the Sumas and Whatcom stores.  What a difference you made.

As I finish this blog, Edwin is still sending me pictures of updates.  I have to leave them all for the next time because I can't keep up with him.  I would never have dreamed that we would get this far so quickly.  I don't know from moment to moment where the funding will come from and when I think of how we are ever going to survive with this many children, I close my eyes and pray.  57 kids now...that's a lot of food, a lot of sponsors and a lot of prayer.

I really want to thank all of you for your encouragement and the emails I receive daily from so many of you.   It's because of you that I don't get discouraged and don't give up, but also because of God as I know He is with us every step of the way and wants to see His children taken care of and be loved.
This is getting really exciting now to see what is happening.  We are so close to the end.

Thanks to all of you.....

Breaking Ground for the 2nd Children's Home

We have broken ground for the second home for children and things are moving along quickly.  While we don't have all the funds necessary to complete this home, my oven is still running continually in an effort to bake enough banana bread to raise the money needed.  We are determined not to slow down and I believe in the upcoming months we will be able to achieve this dream.

My daughter is joining me on my next trip and we will both personally move the first group of children
into their new home.  She will be hosting an online auction in the coming months to help raise money
to purchase supplies for our trip so I will update you on this at a later time.

In the meantime, I had the honour of attending and speaking at the Aviation Leadership Forum in Vancouver.  This was a life changing event for me as I realized the impact of what we are doing.  How I can turn it around for the kids of today and teach them also to be leaders in the community tomorrow.
I am such a "Grandma" kind of person, that lives by old school rules and just does what has to be done, never thinking of the impact that it is instilling onto others.  Thanks to the Aviation community, I am now aware that I must be thinking in a different context.  We must teach the next generation to become leaders by example and encourage them to go out and make a difference in this world.

Save on Food is again taking the bull by the horns and having yet another big fundraiser this weekend.  They are calling it "Gone Bananas 3" and it will be held at the Sumas and Whatcom stores both the 23rd and 24th of February from 10am - 4pm.  Without Save on Foods and Global TV, we would not be where we are today.  Thanks so much from all of us once again.  You are our heroes.

I would like to show you some of the most recent pictures of our compound.  You must realize that in this country there is little equipment to work with.....it's all done with muscle and hands.  I wish we could help them, but we can't.  We just love them for working so hard and we let them know how valued they are and one day, when we can, they will be really rewarded. There are two men that work continuously from their hearts and they are James and Sula....We consider these two men "family".

Ground is now broken for home #2.  We made the decision to take approximately 40 more children.  We have the land, why wouldn't we do this?  We are not sure who they will be at this time, but when my daughter and I are there, we will work closely with Edwin to find these children that are truly alone in this world and bring them home. 

We thank RosaLee and her family for contributing these bricks to start the 2nd home.  All of us are very grateful to you.

James is digging again.....this time in the sock pit.  He dug out the entire septic tank and now this hole.  This is why we call James our family because he works so hard to make this home a place for children to live and he takes such great pride in his work.

Security is complete with the razor wire around the entire 1 1/2  acre wall.  The only thing left to do on the wall now is plaster the outside and eventually paint it.  Thanks again to the dairy community of British Columbia for building this wall in order to keep the children safe.  

Normally these kinds of boulders would be moved by machine but not in Uganda.  It's all done with

muscle and determination.

This is Sula and Daniel and they lifted every one of these boulders to put into the sock pit.  It's hard to

imagine what people will do to to accomplish a task.  They work so hard, ask for nothing and we appreciate them so much.  One day they will get what they deserve.  That's a promise from me. 

Into the sock pit they go.

And now to the paving stones.  To pave the complete compound, we need 20,000 paving stones.

We have approximately 5000 more to go @ $.25 cents each.  We can then start placing them between the homes and the difference in the look of our Home of Angels will completely surprise everyone, including me.  

The most recent stones completed.

This is Erna and she decided this past Christmas to get together with her family and donate money

to our Home of Angels.  Her entire family participated and they accumulated $700.00 between all of them.  We are so grateful for this contribution which made a big difference to the building of our children's home.  Edwin, the children and I thank you all so very much.  

The main house is almost finished.  The glass windows are in, painted inside and out and the patios are finished.  The plumbing and electricity are in and we are almost ready for the caretakers and the clinic

to be in operation.  Dr. Isaac will primarily take care of the children but he will also attend to the community as it's all about giving back to our neighbours that have so little.  

The people in Jinja have not had water for awhile so we have been inviting people to come and use our well.  These are some children living near by that are taking advantage of the invitation.  We feel blessed to have so much water to share with everyone.



We live in such a wonderful country where we don't experience the problem of water or food.  We sometimes take it all for granted, but in some parts of the world people are really suffering.  If we can help them, share and show our love for others, we are doing what God has asked of us.  This is what Edwin and I want to do in our area of Uganda.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed this month, prayed for us and encouraged us to not give up.  Edwin and I really appreciate your caring and your heart to get this finished.  This compound will be completed one day and we thank all of you for your donations to make this dream happen.

God bless all of you

Phase One Nearly Completed

Hello everyone

I returned home from Uganda 3 weeks ago and since then, mountains have been moved in the construction. Even though I couldn't be there to watch it, Edwin makes sure we all get pictures.  I need to be here on this side of the world to hopefully keep it going, bake the banana bread and speak wherever people will invite me to come.  Thanks to the many that have already invited me.  We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives that care enough to make this home happen.  We know now that this dream is really for the kids.  They come over every day to watch and imagine what it will be like to live in a real home, a wall to protect them and never worry about water.  Thanks to all of you...their dream will come true.  

      

     

The wall is plastered on the inside and the top has also been been prepared for the razor wire.
This razor wire has been purchased and is ready to install as soon as the men complete the entire perimeter.

The property on the other side of the completed wall is our sustainability land where we plan to house 500 broiler and layer chickens.  Also, there will be an acre of gardens planted.  I know that many of these avocado and banana trees have to come down but it has to be done to provide food for the kids. That will be Phase II.

We love the colour of our windows...

After the painting of the rod iron, all windows were installed...

When I was in Uganda this Christmas, I watched our crew put in this stone slate.  They worked so hard to make it precisely balanced and I think they did a great job.  The paving stones will go everywhere else in the compound but because of costs, we decided to use stone slate in front of the main house.
It is much cheaper and I think much more beautiful.

What would we do without Sula and James?...These two men that have been with us since the beginning have worked so hard for so little.  Sula is planting grass again...One tuft every few inches and before you know it... a lush green area again.

We need to make approximately 3,000 more paving stones to complete.  Each one is hand made.

James is washing our new stone slate patio

This is where I really get excited.  Meet Hope and Hadeja, two girls moving into our home.  These kids have bonded so well and even now, before the time comes to move in, they are the best of friends.  I am so happy they care about each other and I think these two girls will be the role models for all the little ones to come.  They have been given hope and their attitudes have completely changed.
If your wondering what is on their faces....they are stickers that were supposed to be used for the many thank you cards they wrote to all of you that helped them...

And then we have their two little sisters, Maryanne and Desire.  They seem to have bonded also.
Sure do love these kids....and miss them terribly.

My last day before I came back to Canada, Edwin and I went to the project early in the morning and noticed these kids outside our wall.  They were just sitting patiently while their mother and father were digging across the street.   When we came home late afternoon, we noticed again they still were in the same spot so Edwin and I went to our well and filled water bottles for them.   They probably had no water all day and we felt in our hearts we had to do something.  Water....so valuable in these parts.



We will be returning July 24th to open the home for the 12 original children.

This will not be the time for the Grand Opening as there is still Phase II to complete.  This new phase
is for a home we are building for approximately 40 more children and the sustainability program.  We are not sure who those children will be but we have the room to accommodate approximately 50-60 more and we are going to utilize it.  When you see homeless kids and the need for just food, how can we not do this?  Edwin and I have come to an agreement that we will try very hard to make this happen.  God has always been with us and we know He will not abandon us now.  We just ask that all you pray for a way to keep them fed and in school.  We have the original 12 all sponsored.  If anyone would like to sponsor one of the new kids we will be taking in, just let me know and I will put you on the list.  God bless you all.