This is a picture of Papa, who was very happy to receive a comfortable chair this weekend after years of sitting on the hard ground.
I wrote to many of you several weeks ago about the Mercy Ships project I have been involved with for All Saint's Old Folks Home. There are about 6 of us who are trying to raise money to build a home for a group of elderly people who are currently living in the crawl space of an abandoned house. I am thrilled to say that the project is going even better than expected and we have raised enough to not only build the house, but likely furnish it and provide more than the one meal a day they have been getting. I returned to Harbel this week to see the progress, which was really impressive. They have already cleared the land and will begin this week to make the cement bricks necessary for the walls. The foundation will also be laid this week. We went not only to check out the land, but to see the old folks again, who were doing even better than 2 weeks ago. Eddie, the patient that we provided a wheelchair for (he'd previously been laying all day and sleeping on a cement floor and couldn't walk) can now wheel himself around a little and is much stronger than before. He grabbed my hands and said "God Bless you girl" right when I arrived, which makes all the effort worth it.
My family and friends have really come through for me, helping me to raise $2000 for this project! Thanks to all of you who helped make this dream a reality! If you would like to read more about the Old Folk's Home, you can visit www.lighthouseofmercy.com to see the site of Chuck and Sondra Dodgen, who started it all!
This is the newly cleared land
These children live in a little village next to where the home will be built. They always come running to greet us, hoping to have their picture taken. They are amazed by digital cameras and all beg to have a closer look at the picture.