You Reap What You Sow

This is Rock and John in February, we look forward to posting some before and after pictures.

We have seen the results of our children eating a nutritiously balanced diet along with drinking water! Our kids are growing, really growing. Mostly the boys, they are ranging in ages ten to twenty and all of them are growing at once. It is not the usual growth spurts that we are accustomed to. It seems like they were dormant and then swoosh! Like water on a drooping plant.

So, thank you sponsors and friends, you are making a difference in these kids lives! These kids are the fruits of your labor! Most people here in Uganda are of slight built and on the shorter side. But it looks like people can see the difference of the "Door of Hope Kids." Academically we all know about proper nutrition but to see it in action is really quite amazing, Praise the Lord!

We also noticed this with two of our grandchildren that my daughter Jenny and her husband Todd adopted last year from here in Uganda. Jenny would see the results almost on a daily basis and some of it was just teaching them how to drink enough water. Of course good clean water is somewhat of a precious commodity. At first you could barely get a child to drink any water, and now they want to drink it all of the time.

Outwardly we can see their bodies, but I am also looking forward to seeing the effects it has on their brains, we should know by the end of this school term.

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Everybody Needs Milk

Meet Dave! mmm the one with the beard... mmm the one wearing blue...mmm the one from the UK....mmm the taller one!

David tells us how to feed the dairy goats for a well balanced diet.

All eighteen of us went in one vehicle, African Style!

David and Jackie Dowdy have been here in Masaka for over fifteen years working in their ministry. When I think of how a goat would tie in with ministry work I could only think of Bible stories because they are mentioned their many times along with sheep and many others.

Over the years JOY Youth Training and Goat Breeding Center has developed a program to help the future of Uganda. With approximately 200 goats on this farm you will find a mixture of exotic goats for the purpose of producing good dairy goats. The goats are there for training the youth on the proper care and upkeep to learn how to use them in this country. This program has youth working on a scholarship type of program where they are earning income for further education.

On Wednesday we took all of the children for a field trip to the goat farm and David gave us a wonderful tour and quite an education about the role of dairy goats in Uganda. We learned several things, one of which is that goats eat far less than cows and they can be a great addition to a family to provide milk and at the same time to be affordable to keep. The variety that they are breeding can yield enough milk for a family to receive good nourishment and they can be fed from the family's own production of certain trees and plants. David and Jackie work with local churches in assisting families by education and providing dairy goats.

It is so good to see and visit with other ministries to see how God is working in all of us!

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Matthew 25:35-36

Robert With His Mom

File photo 4/22/09

Robert testified tonight that his mother was near death when she entered the clinic because of dehydration and a kidney infection along with peptic ulcers. After two days of an IV and a few injections she was released from the clinic; Praise God! She has gone to a church for prayers for further healing. She still has a journey ahead of her, along with the care of her many children, for her to return to her village, but I am happy that we could be there along the way. Robert thanked God for his mother's health.

My testimony is that I followed the bible to make the decision to render aid to "Momma Robert," Praise The Lord.

I thank God for the encouraging words I received, after our previous story.

The Writing Is On The Wall

After church today as all of our children gathered around us I realized how big our family has grown. We basically still have our regular bunch of fifteen but we are "taking care" of a few others as well. A "few others" amounts to six more mouths to feed.


We have two extra boys during the holiday break between terms. These guys, whom we have known for a couple of years, go to a boarding high school, they are completing their final year, and this is their home when they are out of school because we are their only family.

We have three others right now because of one of our boy's family. His mom is a widow and has eight children, she lives quite a distance from here and while visiting on her children which two were boarding in another facility, she had to remove them from their situation which wasn't very good. Now the mother has come down with something and is very sick. She was staying in a church basement in an overcrowded situation with no food. So we are taking care of her two other children while she gets treatment. We took her to the clinic we use, she is at the clinic with an IV as she was dehydrated and has a kidney infection, and seemingly a couple of other problems, she may be there for a couple of days. We will cover the cost of her medical treatment as she has no money. We have a couple of questions; when will she be able to travel home, and when she is well enough, how will she have money for transportation back to her village which is quite a distance.


We have another sweet little ten year old girl during the school break, she does not have any family to go to. She has two step sisters and a step brother here at the Door Of Hope, so it is a good reunion for them.

So much of the time when I have to make decisions on problems I go to the Bible and usually I will find a good answer or solution. Robyn and I were sitting at my desk and as I pointed to my Bible, I said I would look it up for the answer on what and how we should help all of these people, and then I said, "Why look it up?" "I know exactly where to read the scripture that tells me exactly what I need to do and how we should take care of these people." Matthew 25:31-46 I even considered that all of these people were not my problem, but I quickly reminded myself about the good Samaritan, and how can we pass anyone by. Sometimes this isn't easy!


Then I recall the scripture our organization was founded on; Genesis 22:14 The Lord Will Provide! And one of my favorites is James 2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


Please pray for us!

My Broken Arm Is Better Than Yours!

Now it is Matty's turn to have a broken arm! If you remember, Rock broke his in April when he fell from the guava tree. Matty fell on his arm during a football / soccer game and it chipped his elbo in two places. Thank God we have a good Orthopedic doctor in town. On Wednesday after the swelling goes down, he will get his permenant cast.

Great Happy Birthday Pictures!

Make A Wish!

Happy Birthday Robyn, Rob and David

Happy Birthday Times Three

If pictures don't show on this feed, go to: www.Hewillprovide.blogspot.com

August 20th, Happy Birthday

To Three People At The Door Of Hope!

What A Special Day!

Happy 13th Birthday Rob!

This is Rob On The First Night He Arrived At The Door Of Hope, Pictured with His Big Brother. Always with a Big Smile!

Happy 18th Birthday David!

He Has A Genuine and Kind Heart.

Literally, He Would Give You The Shirt Off His Back!

My Wife: Always the Cheer Leader!

Happy Birthday Robyn

Thank you Jesus

Thank you Jesus for all of our monthly supporters, their continued faithful giving is what allows us to survive. Today we received two donations that were random in nature, by that I mean they are not one of our regular monthly donors. This helps to bring us past the threshold of where our sponsors carry us. What a blessing this is because it encourages us so much. Our financial needs are real, but we have given that up to the Lord to Provide. He knows our every need, He hears our prayers and He works through people to give them an opportunity to be a part of life. Through this continued support it gives us confirmation that God wants us to be here doing His work! It is awesome to see Him work right before our eyes.

Mentoring

Tonight, as I was sharing with Rock about space travel, I realized how valuable all of us can be to these children. As we were looking through this outdated book of World history, there was only one page on space travel, and the same applies to numerous other events in history. In just my lifetime, so many events and advances in technology have occurred from transistor radios to computers and cell phones and yes, space travel is another whole area of huge advances.

So what do you have to offer these kids? Probably a lot more than you could ever imagine. I was just reading today about mentoring; where the article said that it was sharing of knowledge of life experiences from an older person to a younger one. It also mentioned how rewarding it could be the mentor as well, which you will find the same is true if you ask any missionary. Here in Uganda, it is just the knowledge that we have learned over the years just because of the modern world that we lived in. It is pretty hard for a young person to understand space travel when you can hardly find a paved road here or even a dirt road in good condition. Most have not flown in a plane or even some have not seen one. But they have cell phones here, not many microwave ovens and most have never seen a washing machine let alone a clothes dryer.

We teach about Jesus and we pray and worship together every night. We have family dinner together and share stories and celebrate birthdays. We talk and share about our family experiences and how God works in our life. What we really give, is of ourselves. Do you know what? That's what the kids really want and need.

Yes, we need some more modern books of history, science, geography and the like. But we also need people to share their lives with these kids that are craving education and knowledge. It is pretty exciting when you see how new some of the old is to them! Wide open eyes and ears ready to soak up the knowledge and them asking questions and somehow for us having an answer is amazing to see. I didn't know how much I knew about space travel until I was asked, and all I answered with is my general knowledge of my life experience.

It is at times like this that I see the Holy Spirit work in me. Usually I notice it during Bible teaching or in sharing the Word, but I Discovered, if you are doing God's work; He is there through all things all the time!

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