One of the first things we were able to do was visit the Home of Innocence.  The boys are all well, including Benjamin.  Both Benjamin and his brother David speak English quite well and they help us to communicate with the other children in the home.  I was asking them about school, including how far they have to walk to get to school.  They told me it is about a 20 minute walk- about 1 mile.  I asked Benjamin if it made him tired to do the walking to and from school (they also walk that far when they go to church on Sundays).  He replied that it did not make him tired at all- it was no problem.  So, praise God that it sounds as if his heart is doing well & is strong!

For comparison sake, I would like to remind you of how Benjamin looked in the hospital in Rwanda last May (before his heart surgery):

And this is how he looks now:

Now that is great to see!  Praise God for letting us be a part of his miracle!

God Bless You,

Lisa

Our family leaves for Rwanda this Wednesday the 18th at 8am.  Please pray for us during our travels, as it will be about 28 hours of traveling before we reach Rwanda.  It is grueling.  I would love just to be able to get some sleep during that time!  And I would pray for all of our luggage to arrive safely with us as well.

Donations continue to come in from so many people & we are only a couple thousand away from what we need for our first 3 months expenses there.  We are confident that God will supply and take care of all our needs- it has been amazing to watch thus far.  When you think that just a few weeks ago we had basically $0 of the money required, but we just prayed and trusted and were obedient.

The word that just keeps coming to my mind is our God is amazing!

Talk to you soon from Rwanda….

God Bless You,

Lisa

We are leaving for Rwanda on August 18th (arriving August 19th: 25 hours of traveling).  Our kids will start school the following Monday, August 23rd.  We would appreciate your prayers for our preparations and travel.  If you would like to keep up to date on our family news while we are Rwanda you can visit & subscribe to the McColm family blog at www.mccolms.blogspot.com.

Benjamin & Maureen have returned to Rwanda from the Sudan & he appears to continue to be in good health.  We are excited to be over there & actually get to see him and share with you his continued progress.  To God be the glory!

God Bless You,

Lisa

Benjamin is doing fine & is expected to be heading back to Rwanda at the end of this month. We were told his “heartbeat didn’t feel right” the other day, so the hospital ran some tests and adjusted his medication (this was something we were told to expect).

We are so thankful for all that God has done so far & continue to believe that bigger & greater things are ahead. Believe with us!

God Bless You,
Lisa

Our team that was in Ensenada, Mexico has now returned and had a great trip.  The team engaged in various projects to help in the maintenance of the orphanage (now 30 years in existence).

They had many windows that did not have screens.  The weather requires that those windows be open a lot, and adding screens not only makes it more pleasant for those inside, but also safer.  Our team had to actually construct the frames for the screens and stretch the screen material across that handmade frame.  Quite challenging- but they rose to it!

They had carpets in some of the rooms, but no vacuum or carpet shampooer.  You can imagine, with many children going in & out, how much they desperately needed some TLC!  We brought them both a vacuum and a shampooer, and we used it to clean those carpets.  Of course, what I love is seeing how universal the charm of an empty box is for children…

We had several other projects including window curtains, shower curtains, hot water for the shower in the team dorm house (!), some dry wall repairs, closet shelves, and more!  One of the projects that we got to see the kids really enjoy was this fixed tire swing:

You can see what pleasant distractions we had from our work.  Playing, laughing, and just enjoying the children there was really the life force behind this trip.

This in itself was very moving and profound, in a way that is hard to put into words.  Perhaps the images speak for themselves.

Whatever else we accomplished, if we loved them with the love of Jesus then our trip was a success.  Thank God for this time where he allowed us to be his arms of love to these kids.

God Bless You,

Lisa

P.S.  Please mark your calendars for the evening of August 7th.  We are planning a Ten Talents event & would love for you to be there!

I am writing this post from the El Sauzal orphanage near Ensenada, Mexico (we have an internet connection here- yeah~!) We praise God for how he has helped our team also. We are having a good trip and enjoying our time here with the children. Everyone has been healthy, and although our nights have been a little sleepless (thanks to a peacock which calls out all night, roosters, barking dogs, and sleeping on air mattresses) everyone is keeping a good attitude. It is not always easy to try to accomplish things in a foreign country (although they do have a Home Depot here)! Things are different than how we are used to doing them and it isn’t always easy to find (or make) what you need. But we are doing our best to tackle some improvement projects here, and hope that beyond our small repairs that the lasting impression will be that we were a reflection of Jesus to them.

Thank you for your prayers and support of all the work of Ten Talents, and I look forward to sharing pictures with you soon!

God Bless You,
Lisa

Mike & Mike leave tomorrow morning in the van for Mexico. Thank you for praying for their trip as well as our time of work in Ensenada.

God Bless You,
Lisa

Our Mexico team is getting ready to leave this week. Mike and another team member will be driving a van full of luggage and supplies starting this Wednesday, the 23rd. The rest of the team, including myself and our kids, will fly down to San Diego on the 25th, where the van will meet us and we will drive into Ensenada, Mexico. We are praying for the van traveling down- no mechanical problems, protection, making good time, etc. And we are also praying for the team & our time there: health for all and for God to help us to get a lot done as well as loving on the kids there at the orphanage.

Thanks for praying with us!
God Bless You,
Lisa

We appreciate your prayers for Benjamin as he prepares for surgery. Pray for peace for him (this is probably all strange & could be scary) and for him to be able to have the surgery soon. Let’s pray for his body to be strong and ready for the surgery, as well as for the surgeons to do exactly what needs to be done.

Thank you!
God Bless You,
Lisa

Benjamin and the Home of Innocence house mom, Maureen, will be going to Khartoum, Sudan on June 14th. The hospital, called the Salam Centre, provides a guest house for Maureen to stay in while Benjamin is in the hospital.

Please pray for Benjamin to be sustained by God and for all the remaining details to fall into place. We are praying for this surgery to be a complete success and for Benjamin’s recovery to be so quick that all the doctors are amazed!

What a blessing it is that God has allowed all of us to be a part of helping Benjamin. He really is getting a second chance at life. We just can’t wait to see him running the soccer fields with his friends- and that day is going to come!

Blessings,

Lisa