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 Jesus’ kids! July 2001 Volume 4, Number 7 “Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.”
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Rejoice with us . . . in the completion
of another school year for the Betikara Lambs. For the most part
it was a good year for the Lambs. Below is a chart showing where
the Lambs finished among the students in their classes. The first
number is their place in the class. The second number is the number
of students in their class. Toky is the only student that will be
repeating another year at the same level.
Rejoice with us . . . in the successful passing of the tests that Sedera and Robert took on June 11, 2001. The passing of these tests allow Sedera and Robert to progress to the next level of education in the Malagasy school system. Many different students from all over Madagascar took these tests. However, not many will be continuing on to further education. Sedera and Robert were not in the same group for testing, therefore their ranking upon completion of the tests is a little different. Sedera placed first out of six students that made the cutoff for her group of students. Robert placed ninth out of twelve students that made the cutoff for his group of students. Both students are relieved that they passed the tests. We want to say a special thank you for all of your prayers on their behalf. We also want to recognize all of the individuals here in Madagascar that volunteered their time in coaching Sedera and Robert to make their tests a success. Rejoice with us . . . in the finalizing of the land deal for the Betikara Orphanage, on Monday, July 2, 2001. Many of you may remember the plan of the Betikara land that we were showing individuals while in the United States. There was a large section of land that was not Betikara land, but it was inside the boundaries of the Betikara Land. We have successfully negotiated with the owner of the land, and now own that piece of land. It will still be some time before we have the title to the land. The government does not work very quickly in these areas. Please pray. We do have an official paper from the government stating that the land has been sold to the Betikara Orphanage. In the past, the size of the Betikara land was calculated at 2.346 hectares or 5.79462 acres. Now, with this new purchase, the size has increased to 2.731 hectares or 6.74557 acres. With the purchase of this new piece of land we have greatly increased the bottomland or fertile farmland that will be able to be used by the Lambs for growing much of their own food. |
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If you remember, during our visit to the states, we mentioned that the Betikara land was lake front property. The problem was, how to get the water from the lake to the elevated area where the Cypress trees are planted, and where the land so needs to be moist to facilitate digging both for terracing and for mixing cement once the building project for the Lambs actually begins. The workers could carry water in buckets, but that would entail a lot of time and workers for carrying water and not much terracing would be accomplished. We could buy a gasoline or diesel driven water pump, but pumps are very expensive here in Madagascar and the pump would not be able to pump the water the needed distance up the hill to the site where the men are terracing the Betikara land. It was then that I decided we needed a way to carry the water easily from the lake to the work site. We could hire a tank truck, but that would also be expensive. We could hire some men with oxen and a wagon to haul water, but the hill is fairly steep and the oxen would not be able to haul much water each trip, and it would take a long time for them to descend and ascend the hill. Then I came up with the idea of turning the old Daihatsu into a water transporting vehicle. The vehicle already had a strong roof rack that was used extensively in Kenya for hauling many different items. So, what was needed was a couple of 50 or 55 gallon drums that could be connected together and be filled easily with water from the lake. I already had many of the fittings and valves necessary to connect the barrels together. (These fittings and valves had been used on the water tanks that caught rain water for our house that we built in the countryside of Kenya.) So it did not take long to put everything together and start hauling water.
We’ve already made 52 trips to the lake, carrying over 5,200 gallons of water for the trees and terracing work. Once we know exactly where the new home for the Lambs will be placed we can start digging a well up close to the building. The well will supply all of the needed water in the future. But for now, the workers are very gracious for the help in wetting down the soil and watering the Cypress trees that they are responsible for on a daily basis. |
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If you would like to help with a monetary donation, write your check out to BETIKARA and send it to: Indiana Church of Christ
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him
for what he has done.”
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