Thank you for all your prayers and support for the Chadian orphanage. During this last visit I was able to bring an entire suitcase of much needed items and more financial support than in August! I left for Chad on October 5th and met Kolpele at the airport for the handoff. He was overwhelmed by the generosity, especially with an English Bible, pills, toothbrushes, shoes, notebooks, iodine tablets and other items. He told me several times that it felt like Christmas. As we approach the holiday season I am planning a special Christmas delivery for the orphanage. I have been working on a list of the core people that live with Kolpele - currently there are about 30-35 on this list including Kolpele's family, orphans, widows, and church members with many children. If you are interested in sharing in this experience, we are looking for additional help filling these Christmas presents - If you are interested, please let me know.
The money that has been donated has been used in incredible ways - it is amazing what can happen with a little determination and a little capital. During my last visit there were structural needs for the church/orphanage compound - namely the walls and floor needed a layer of cement for reinforcement to withstand the rains. This has now been accomplished and children have been able to sleep in many of these rooms. The small goat pen that was under construction in August has now been completed, however, it is nice enough that the sewing machines have been moved into the building for widows to begin sewing with. Currently 2 women are sewing items for sale at a local market and more will follow. With some of the money, goats, food and medicines have been purchased - there are now 9 goats constituting the goat farm and more will follow.
On a less positive note, bricks were also being constructed to develop a large goat farm. The bricks are built from mud and sticks, and then fired for strength. The government has banned charcoal (extortion) so the Chadians must now use wood for burning. Wood is much more difficult to come by and requires a trip to the bush. To keep a long story short, the bricks were awaiting firing and the rains came, destroying 1/2 of the bricks. Kolpele rebuilt the stockpile, but these were again destroyed by the rains. I have taken some pictures of this which are available in the links section.
Currently we are trying to finish construction of these bricks to finish the large goat farm. Goats will be purchased as money is available and we expect the first profits in December as the first round of goats are sold.
I had another amazing adventure visiting the orphanage on my trip home. As with my August visit, there were about 30-40 people waiting for my arrival in the church (under conversion to a hen house). Because it gets dark quickly during this time of year, the generator was running which means it was a special occasion - the generator is rarely used due to the expense of fuel. During the visit, I was able to individually meet every person there - each of the children, widows, church deacons, and Kolpele's family. While I wish I could remember all of their names, I do remember their faces and how they laughed from self-consciousness as they introduced themselves in English.
After the introductions, Kolpele gave a prayer to the group and we spent some time talking. Through our conversations I learned that the group was hungry, having received several new members of late. As it always is when I'm with Kolpele, I cannot keep anything I have - such great needs illuminate how much I take for granted and how much I have. I felt blessed to give the $50 in my wallet to buy dinner for the entire group the following night. I only mention the dollar amount here to show the reality of the situation - feeding 40 people in the US could never happen for $50. To celebrate, Kolpele purchased some Cokes with some of this feast money and all shared in the drinks - as I learned my lesson from the last visit, I shared in the experience by drinking a Coke. I enjoyed using my belt buckle (that has a bottle opener in it) to open the drinks of the entire congregation, rather than having them open the bottles with their teeth. On my next visit I will take a bottle opener for them...
Since the men in the group had not eaten, they had dinner after the drinks were passed out. I declined the dinner as per Kolpele's advice, mostly because I am not accustomed to eating this type of food. Again to show typical Chadian life let me describe how meals are taken; it is very different than we see in the United States and seems much more communal. Washing takes place between all the participants in the same water bowl - no soap is used because many don't see its necessity. The group of about 10 then circled around the food plate which was placed in the center. In one bowl was a Chadian sauce that has a type of stewed leaf (like spinach) and some meat in it. Another bowl held fish. A plate held the bread which looked like a large dumpling, with a similar consistency. Kolpele broke the bread after blessing the food and divvied it up amongst the group. Each member then proceeded to devour what he could by dipping the bread in the sauce and grabbing fish with his hands. No silverware, everything is fingerfood. The meal lasted about 5 minutes and ended with sighs of contentment over finger licking. Even Kolpele's dog had a bite to eat from the crumbs left over.
Following the dinner Kolpele gave a powerful prayer to the congregation. He then passed the torch to me and I was able to give a short message - the gist of it was that regardless of our differences in color, language, country, or situation, we are all brothers and sisters believing in the same God and I thanked them for allowing me to share in the experiences.
It has been an incredible journey to watch the progress at the church and orphanage, and to develop a relationship with the community there. There are still many needs that must be met and we are working hard towards the goal of self sufficiency. Let me know if you would like to be involved with the Christmas gifts. Also, please continue to keep Kolpele, PGI, and the orphanage in your thoughts and prayers. If you wish to donate to this project with financial means or with additional items, let me know or visit the website for Peace Gospel International. Checks can be made out to Peace Gospel International (don't write on the memo line) and I will take care off them for you. Know that 100% of the funding and donated items goes directly towards the orphange to meet the needs of the people. It is rare to have an organazation that can impact a culture as directly as this.
