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First an update on the 12 Days of Christmas: 2 more items have been purchased, so now we get to give the kids mosquito nets and 11 bags of charcoal (for cooking).  Yeah!  Thank you!  There are still some items left if you are interested please read the post below this one.

On Saturday, January 1st, we held a party for all the sponsored children and their families.  We planned for 125 people, but actually ended up feeding 140 people.  In addition to their meal and soda, we gave each sponsored child a gift: a new outift, including shoes.  Mike also took some time to talk with them and share with them about having a relationship with Jesus.

Mike (with our son Michael Munyaneza interpreting) addresses the attendees

The kids were all delighted with their new clothes, and if you are a sponsor you have probably already received an email with your sponsored child’s new picture.  Want to see more pictures of the party?  Search for “Ten Talents International” on facebook.  On our page there I will add more pictures from the party.

This last Saturday, January 8th, we gave all the sponsored kids 8 exercise books (blank notebooks) and 2 pens for school (after 1st grade they don’t use pencils in school here).  That’s about 400 notebooks and 120 pens!  Next week we will be giving out 50 backpacks.  When you calculate the party along with this and paying for school fees for all of the children (January marks the new school year in Rwanda)- this has been a very expensive month for TTI!  Please keep praying for God to provide for the ministry going on here.

On this same day we also met with all the children who are waiting to be sponsored.  These children come to our offices every month.  We are able to pay their school fees, but that is it.  Many of them have more needs: like notebooks, pens, and backpacks for school, school uniforms, medical care, etc.  Please pray for us to find more sponsors.  It is very difficult to have to see them waiting month after month.  Once they are sponsored we are able to do much more for them.  Right now, we pay their school fees, keep track of them, and we pray for them.  We pray together for God to provide a sponsor for them, as well as for the other needs of the family.  If you scroll down on this blog you can see where I’ve highlighted a few of these waiting children.

Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Rwanda.  Sometimes there is so much need it can feel overwhelming, but I know that what God requires of us is just our obedience.  We continue to move forward in the work he has called us to do.  More children are being sponsored every month, and we also are bringing more boys into the Home Of Innocence.  These two boys both have had heart surgery similar to Benjamin.  One child is an orphan, the other has family but they are not able to properly care for him.  Pray with us for their transition into the home and for God to use their time in the Home of Innocence as He wills.

God Bless You!

Lisa

P.S.  Here is a picture of the new cushions in the Home of Innocence- no more sitting on wood slats!  Thank you!

Merry Christmas everyone! I would like to give you an update on our “12 Days of Christmas for the Home of Innocence” campaign. The items we listed were as follows:

1st Day: a propane cooker and tank, cost $100 – update: this item has been donated towards!

2nd Day: 2 dozen nets, cost $4 each, $48 total (still available)

3rd Day: 3 bicycles, cost $100 each, $300 total – update: these have been donated towards!

4th Day: 4 cooking pots, cost$7 each, $28 total – update: these have been donated towards!

5th Day: 5 comfy cushions, cost $170 – update: cushions have been purchased & are already in the home, picture to come soon!

6th Day:  6 gerry cans, cost $2 each, $12 total – update: these have been donated towards!

7th Day:  7 place settings (plate, cup, fork, spoon, cup), cost $5 each, $35 total – update: these have been donated towards!

8th Day:  8 sets of bedding, $25 each, $200 total – (still available)

9th Day:  9 backpacks, cost $6 each, $54 total – (still available)

10th Day: 10 towels for bathing, cost $7 each, $70 total – (still available)

11th Day:  11 bags of charcoal, $9 each, $99 total – (still available)

12th Day:  12 children sponsored, cost $35/month –  these children are still waiting!

Thank you to those who gave towards these items, and to those who are praying for the children here.  Thank you for helping us to give them a very Merry Christmas!

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me…

12 CHILDREN SPONSORED

(11 bags of charcoal, 10 towels for bathing, 9 backpacks, 8 sets of bedding, 7 place settings, 6 jerry cans, 5 comfy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

That’s right, that’s what we’re wishing our “true love” would bring to us.  (We all know who our real first love is, right?  The one who came as a humble baby, lived, and died to take our punishment for us so that we could live in freedom & power & be with Him forever.)

Right now there are 12 waiting children listed on our sponsorship page (click on “get involved” and then “child sponsorship”).  Imagine, most of these children we have listed there now have been waiting for their own sponsor since early 2009.  That’s almost 2 years now.  We allow sponsors to pick the child they want to sponsor, and we do not require that those who have been waiting the longest be chosen first.  So, while other children have been receiving their sponsorship, these kids have been waiting… and waiting.

I would like to highlight a couple of these kids for you.  The first one you see here is named Antionette.  She is a quiet girl who suffers from chronic pain in her head and stomach, possibly a result of beatings she received during the 1994 genocide (she was 2 years old then).  Although she is very small and frail, she is actually 18 years old (and going into the 4th grade).  Antionette is an orphan with no siblings, and she is being raised by her grandma.  One of the most important things sponsorship would provide for Antionette would be medical insurance.  Hopefully regular medical care would provide her with some relief from her physical suffering.  This girl has big dreams though, when she finishes her schooling she would like to be a political leader, like a mayor.

This young man’s name is Emmanuel.  He has a mother, but she is poor and lives out in the village.  His father’s whereabouts are unknown.  Emmanuel has been living in Kigali for several years trying to figure out ways to take care of himself.  He had to spend two years living on the streets of Kigali, not a good life.  Through an uncle of his he has managed to be admitted into a boarding school.  He is 20 years old and has now reached 12th grade.  He has worked very hard to make it this far, and his determination is proven by the fact that the school he attends has admitted him even though they know he is unable to pay the fees.  Emmanuel regularly visits the TTI office, wondering if we have found a sponsor for him yet.  Although he has been admitted to school, there are many other items he is needing in order to be there (school supplies, mattress, wash basin, soap, etc.)  Sponsorship could help with some of these items.  His dream would be to become a doctor.

There are other children on our sponsorship page all with similar stories.  All coming to our offices each month, as required, waiting to be told they have a sponsor.  What a wonderful Christmas present it would be to be able to tell them they now have a sponsor, someone to help them reach their goals!

Child Sponsorship: cost $35 per month, but the value of it is beyond measure…

As mentioned, please click on the tab that says “get involved” and then the heading “child sponsorship”.  You can see the waiting children and their profiles right there, and select the child you would like to sponsor.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very blessed New Year.  Please join with us in praying for a sponsor for each one of these waiting kids (there are another 20+ who we do not have room for on our website that are also registered and waiting).

God Bless You,

Lisa

P.S. Tomorrow I will post a recap of the “12 Days” so you can see it all in one post.

my true love gave to me…

11 bags of charcoal!

(10 towels for bathing, 9 backpacks, 8 sets of bedding, 7 place settings, 6 jerry cans, 5 comfy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

I know that charcoal is usually a gift reserved for those kids who are on Santa’s “naughty” list, but we promise that charcoal is actually a very useful thing to give!  On the first day of this, when I told you about the propane cooker, I mentioned that charcoal is the primary cooking fuel used here in Rwanda.  The vast majority of people cook outside over charcoal stoves.  At the Home of Innocence the house auntie (and our new house uncle) work very hard cooking for the 12 boys, three meals a day.  They go through one of the large bags of charcoal about once a week.

Charcoal is beautiful because it is what cooks the food that these growing boys get to put into their welcoming stomachs!

11 bags of  charcoal: cost $9 each, total cost $99 (buy a few, or all, there is no requirement)

You can give right here on our website by clicking on the “giving” tab and selecting general fund.  Once you get to your paypal payment screen there is a note section where you can state “12 Days” and what item you are giving towards.

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me…
10 towels for bathing
(9 backpacks, 8 sets of bedding, 7 place settings, 6 jerry cans, 5 comfy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

Something simple, but this, just like the cooking pots, the backpacks, or the sets of bedding, is something that gets used everyday & gets worn out.    Our boys could use some new towels- would you like to help?

10 Bath Towels: cost $7 each,   $70 total

You can give right here on our website by clicking on the “giving” tab and selecting general fund.  Once you get to your paypal payment screen there is a note section where you can state “12 Days” and what item you are giving towards.

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me… 9 backpacks!
(8 sets of bedding, 7 place settings, 6 jerry cans, 5 comfy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

It may not be back to school time in the USA, or wherever you are reading this from, but here in Rwanda the school calendar runs more in line with the actual calendar.  They begin the school year in January and finish in October or early November.  So right now the kids are on their long holiday before starting the next school year.  What kid would not appreciate having a new backpack for carrying his supplies back & forth to school?

Can you help the kids in the Home of Innocence receive a new backpack before school starts?

9 backpacks: cost $6 each, $54 total (purchase one or as many as you like!)

You can give right here on our website by clicking on the “giving” tab and selecting general fund.  Once you get to your paypal payment screen there is a note section where you can state “12 Days” and what item you are giving towards.

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me… 8 sets of bedding
(7 place settings, 6 jerry cans, 5 com-fy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

A set of bedding would include: pillow, pillow cover, sheets, and blanket.  As we bring new boys into the Home of Innocence we need to provide more bedding for them.  Also, for some boys we need to replace their bedding as it gets worn out.  Can you help provide a more comfortable nights sleep for these boys?

Eight sets of bedding (pillow, pillow cover, sheets, and blanket): cost $25 each, total cost $200

You can buy one set, or all eight, any amount you can give will help us to make each boy feel welcome in their new home.

You can give right here on our website by clicking on the “giving” tab and selecting general fund.  Once you get to your paypal payment screen there is a note section where you can state “12 Days” and what item you are giving towards.

Thank you & God bless you,

Lisa

my true love gave to me…
six jerry cans!
(5 comfy cushions, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

Jerry cans are used for carrying and transporting water.  If you ever travel in Rwanda, or many other places in Africa, you will see jerry cans being used by everyone.  Even though the Home of Innocence has running water, there are times when the “running water” doesn’t run.  Water does not run all the time to everyone, and if you are in the dry season and run out of water then you need jerry cans.  You can go and get water from a public pump to bring home.

6 jerry cans: cost $2 each, total cost $12

On the Seventh Day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

7 place settings

(6 jerry cans, 5 com-fy cushions!, 4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, two dozen nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

A place setting would include: plate, cup, fork and spoon.  We have added more boys to the home, with more to come, and we need to make sure we have enough place settings so they don’t need to share!

7 place settings (plate, cup, spoon, fork): cost $5 each, total cost $35

Can you give towards one or more of these items?  You can give right here on our website by clicking on the “giving” tab and selecting general fund.  Once you get to your paypal payment screen there is a note section where you can state “12 Days” and what item you are giving towards.

Thank you for your gifts and prayers for the Home Of Innocence.

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me… five couch cushions!
(4 cooking pots, 3 bicycles, 2 mosquito nets, and a propane cooker and tank!)

Inside the Home of Innocence there is a living room (sitting room they call it here) with a love seat, couch, and three chairs. There is one problem though, they all look like this…

Yes, they are just wooden frames. You see, they used to have cushions, but have I mentioned that this home has 12 active young boys in it? The material on the foam cushions just wasn’t up to the task, so now the boys are sitting on wood slats. They don’t ever complain about it, but we would really like them to be able to be comfortable in their own house.

Can you help them this Christmas?

Cushions for five pieces of furniture: $170 total.

Update: the cooking pots have been purchased! Thank you!

Please visit our giving page & you can make a contribution with a note that says “12 Days of Christmas” and the item you are donating towards.

God Bless You,

Lisa

my true love gave to me… four cooking pots
(three bicycles, 2 dozen mosquito nets, and a propane cooker and taaaank!)

This is one of the boys, Emmanuel, in the Home of Innocence who stepped in to help out the house auntie for a minute.  He looks a little self concious about being caught on camera, doesn’t he?  Cooking pots are a very simple thing, but as our household at the Home continues to grow we want to make sure our sweet auntie has what she needs in order to cook for all these hungry growing boys!  Have you ever seen how much teenage boys can eat?  Now imagine cooking for 12 (or more) of them! 

4 cooking pots, Cost: $7 each, or $28 total

Can you help provide this item from the Home’s wish list?  Please visit our giving page & you can make a contribution with a note that says “12 Days of Christmas” and the item you are donating towards.

Thank you for helping!

God Bless You,

Lisa