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Helping needy Malagasy kids to become Jesus’ kids! April 2009 Volume 12, Number 4 "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food
with the poor."
Proverbs 22:9 |
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The construction of the water tower at Betikara is almost completed. We waited almost two months for the necessary resin to complete the fiberglass work inside the reservoir, but to date the company keeps telling us that the resin we need is out of stock. So, we are not able to finish the project that we started way back in 2007 before I went to the states to visit churches and individuals and report on the progress of His church and the Betikara Orphanage. Right now we have about 18 inches (46 centimeters) of water in the tower. Any more than this amount and the tower leaks to much.
There are still a few small items that need to be taken care of such as
railings, stairs, and a guard cage for the ladder that climbs to the top
of the tower. These items are already contracted and paid for in full. As
they are completed they will be installed by the metal worker that we
hired. Then there is a little bit of painting of the doors and windows
that needs to be done. Last Friday was the last day of work for the workers that were involved in the water tower project, and the solar hot water project. We are now officially stopping all future projects until further notice. Phases III (volunteer housing) and IV (medical clinic) of the Betikara building project will have to wait until some unforeseen time in the future.
As you can see by looking at the expenses that are listed on the next page
of this newsletter, Betikara spent $2,734.92 for Andry’s medical care during the month of March 2009. This
amount is quite a bit higher (almost double) than what we were planning on
originally. If this rate of spending money for Andry’s dialysis treatments
keeps up we will use well over $30,000.00 in one years
time.
During 2008 the Betikara building project expenses averaged $2,949.58
monthly. In 2009 for the first three months we averaged $2,605.20.
Betikara considers the workers and materials that are used for the ongoing
phases of the Betikara building projects as separate expenses from the
every day expenses such as food, education, health care, care givers, and
clothing that are spent for the care of the Betikara Lambs. Therefore, we
have not reported the outside workers salaries and expenses for needed
materials for the ongoing Betikara building projects in this monthly
newsletter. Now that all building projects have been stopped we will be
able to use this money to take care of Andry’s ongoing medical
concerns.
Some of you may be thinking that if the money was given for building,
should it be used for some other purpose? There were only two donations,
that we know of, totaling $5,000.00 that were given towards building
volunteer housing ($2,000.00)and the solar hot water system ($3,000.00).
All other donations making up the current balance of Betikara funds have
come to Betikara as one time donations that were given with no specific
purpose in mind. These types of donations are what we have funded the
building project with since the end of Phase II.
If you can remember, there was an anonymous individual that wanted to
contribute money to Betikara. He said that for every dollar contributed,
he would contribute one dollar up to the amount of $28,000.00. Within
three months Betikara was blessed with over $60,000.00. That money was
contributed to help us construct Phase II (the church/school part of the
Betikara building). Phase II was started in August of 2004 and completed
the end of June 2006. Since this large donation and the completion of
Phase II of the Betikara building project people have given graciously and
bountifully to Betikara. These donations continue to be used for different
needs or projects that arise.
We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who support Betikara
so faithfully in so many different ways. Presently we see Andry’s health,
both physically and spiritually, as our greatest need. We understand that
there are a lot of obstacles to overcome in the future. However, we also
know that our God is able to see us through this valley and provide for
everything that Andry needs. Right now the greatest thing that you can do
is to petition the Father on behalf of Andry and the doctors that are
overseeing Andry’s dialysis treatments three times a
week. Two different doctors have mentioned that Andry would be a good candidate for a kidney transplant operation. In Madagascar in order to accomplish this feat there are a lot of hurdles to overcome. Andry will eventually need a Malagasy passport, medical visa, and a ton of other papers that will allow this to happen. Madagascar does not have the ability to do kidney transplant operations. So, Andry would have to be sent to India, France, South Africa, or the United States for this to happen. We are in the process of gathering information that we can look over at the present time. We need your continued prayers for Andry as these things start to unfold in front of us. |
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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.” |