The floor is poured. The walls are going
up!
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| This is the way one pours cement when one has no electricity,
no fancy cement mixer, and when one watches carefully every penny that
is spent. |
The workers are still not sure about building a house with hewn
stone, nevertheless, the walls are going up! |
By American
standards we are one year delayed, but counting in Malagasy time, we are
right on time! The floor of the orphanage living quarters (two dormitory
style bedrooms, two bathrooms, a common room, a kitchen and a storeroom)
has finally been poured this last month, after almost six months of total
shutdown thanks to political problems in Madagascar. We are rolling
again and plans go ahead at full steam. Eighty plus workers do this
backbreaking labor daily.
Outer door doorframes
will be installed sometime this coming week and window frames will be installed
as soon as the walls reach one meter in height. Then, it’s on up
to rafter level, plop on a roof (well not plop exactly, but you get the
idea) and a new home for the 19 live-in Betikara children and four caregivers
will be a reality with or without electricity.
To date, price
of land (7 acres) included, we have spent a little over $85,000.
Most of the cost of this project is going directly to Malagasy workers
who have moved earth, dug stone out of the ground, dressed stone, mixed
cement by hand, terraced, shoveled, carried, and carried some more, and
all with cheerful spirits and willing muscles. The most encouraging
thing about this whole project is that those eighty plus workers are also
hearing the Word of God during a short devotional time each morning.
Without your help, we couldn’t have gotten this far. Thank
you so much!
The children are back to school.
It was pretty
much as we expected. On October 2nd, the children walked to school,
signed their names, and were told to come back again in a week to start
classes. BUT! They are off and running now and I know four
caregivers who are breathing a sigh of relief to have those 19 little minds
and bodies on a regular schedule.
We do ask special
prayers for the two smallest lambs, Toky and Arnaud. Last year they
attended private school in hopes of getting extra help. The private
school has been sold. Toky and Arnaud were given entrance tests for
the public school this last week and if results are not good, we are on
the search for another private school for both boys. When asked about
the test, Toky swiped a hand across his forehead, heaved a big sigh and
said, “OOOHHH! They were hard. I can’t do it.” Bless
his heart. Please keep the two littlest boys in special prayers this
month. Thanks.
Wednesday Afternoon
Bible Activities have started up again and we had 55 children in attendance
for the first class. That’s 19 live-in orphanage lambs plus 36 neighborhood
children. The live-in lambs also spend three short periods each day
in devotional and short Bible lessons led by Zoky Dinand (Big Brother Dinand),
and they have regular Sunday morning Bible classes.
Our initial
intention was to help only the four street children who finished the last
school year and who faithfully attended Bible classes and Sunday worship.
But Esther’s heart was especially soft when a raft of parents and children
showed up asking for help with school again this year, so we are going
to give it another go. We are helping the children with school fees
and supplies, requiring regular attendance to Bible activities from them.
We are also requiring the Mom’s to attend Bible class. It didn’t
work last year. Please pray with us that they will be more interested
this year.
Relief
Manna Relief is dedicated to nourishing children in need. Soon,
they will begin sending high vitamin food supplements to Madagascar for
the Betikara Lambs. If you are interested in helping Manna Relief
to help the Betikara lambs, please visit their website.
www.mannarelief.org
| Here’s the newest harvest at Betikara! Eight baby ducklings
to add to our little herd of 10 adult ducks. Six more are due to
hatch soon. |
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