Solar Power

It has been some time since I last sent an update about the Chadian orphanage. As many of you know, I have ended my travel to and from Chad. This means I have not had a chance to visit the compound or to speak with Kolpele face-to-face. Nevertheless, I have maintained contact with him and we have continued our efforts to build self sustaining enterprises & improve the local community. We have also been able to bring additional items over through some other employees who continue to travel back and forth.

Activity in the orphanage & in Kolpele’s other churches has been stable over the last several months. The goat farm is maintaining several goats & seamstresses are continuing to sew to raise money. Kolpele has also been raising cattle in the southern part of the country. Orphans keep streaming into the orphanage and most go to school full time. Several of these orphans are being employed by the goat farm to help teach them skills & to raise money for the ministry. Many people are coming to know God through Kolpele & his ministry.

Since my first visit to the orphanage, there have been many needs identified, and many needs met – either through your generous support, support of others visiting Chad, or through Kolpele’s hard work. We have seen large projects accomplished such as the addition of walls and roofs on the orphanage, clean drinking water wells, new church buildings, a large-scale goat farm, bunk beds & a hen house. We have also seen many direct needs met – widows given money to keep their families alive, children given clothing & toothbrushes, orphans able to have medical care, money provided to feed hundreds. These examples all highlight God’s faithfulness to Kolpele & his ministry. Thank you to everyone who has donated, prayed or shared these stories – none of this could be done without you.

I mention all these great examples only to say there are still major needs to be met. First, and foremost is electricity. Have you ever been without power? During Hurricane Ike we were without power for 15 days – 15 days without fans, cold drinks, a working refrigerator, TV, lights, or an electric oven. I felt like a caveman by the time the lines were fixed and I practically hugged the utility man. Now take that feeling and imagine your entire life without any of those luxuries. Chad does not have readily available access to electricity. Kolpele has a very small generator that he runs infrequently due to high cost, pollution, and noise – typically he runs this for A/V equipment for church or for lights from time to time.

One of our “dreams” is to eventually have electricity in the orphanage, full time. The list of reasons is enormous but to name a few; lights can be used after dark if a child is in need, cell phones can be charged (cell phones of locals may be charged for a small fee as another small micro-enterprise), and the TV can be used to show movies to the community. Eventually I foresee water pumps to help with plumbing.

A logical choice for this power is solar panels – no usage fees, readily available power source & no noise or pollution. We have recently been blessed with an opportunity to buy this equipment at a discounted rate – a Chadian gentleman must sell these at a discounted rate to send his kids to school. With that said, we still need additional funding to make this a reality. Please keep this in your thoughts & prayers so that these solar panels can be purchased. If you feel led to donate for this project, please visit the PGI website (below), my blog, or contact me directly.
One last thing to mention, Peace Gospel International (our non-profit partner) is hosting a dessert info session in November that describes the work we are doing in Chad, and in several other projects worldwide. Below is the information if you would like to attend:

Peace Gospel International: Coffee, Chai & Dessert Celebration

Thursday, November 11 at 7:00pm

Location: West University Baptist Church, West University, Texas

Again, thank you all for everything you do. We are all making an impact on an entire community!