Our Little Excursion

Hello everyone:

I am back at the "stone age" Internet Cafe because the connection at the ICDI office refused to cooperate today. So I will probably not even try to do pictures here. Sorry...

But first we as a team would like to express our condolences to the Simms' Family. We have been praying for all of you and share your sorrow at the passing of Marlin. However, we sorrow not as the ones who do not know God, as Paul put it in 1 Thessalonians 4. For we know that we will see our brother again. We as a team wanted you all to know that we love you and that we will continue to pray for you.

We are all doing well, thanks to God. We are tired and trying to finish up as much as we can today because tomorrow we pack our bags and do a little shop before our departure on Thursday night.

Rick and "Flat Stanley" help themselves to the Pygmy well
We thank you for your prayers for us as we went on our excursion yesterday. The day was long and arduous but we were able to spend quite a bit of time with our friends at the Pygmy village. Laura: Rob did find the two girls you and Barb befriended last year and he took picture of them, but he hasn't been able to find the other little girl you met in Bangui. Sorry...






I have mixed emotions after my visit with the Pygmies. It is true: they have relocated their village a little further ahead, have cleared land and are beginning to talk about building more permanent structures. They have come up with money on their own to pay for the land. This is huge. Now they won't be as harassed by the Central Africans as they could have been, if they didn't own the land. They are also using the latrines we helped built last year and the well serves not only them but the Central African village as a whole. It also provides them with some much needed income, as they charge a little bit for every pale of water that is taken from the well. This is all good and I praise God for what has been accomplished in such a little time.

But I am still overwhelmed at how the odds are still stacked against them. The overt racism they suffer in the hands of some Central Africans is still as thick as icebergs. For example, we had taken a soccer ball with the express purpose of giving it to the Pygmy village. We played with both Central Africans as well as some Pygmies. As we ended our time there a young man grabbed the ball and refused to give it to the Pygmies. We knew this was going to happen so we were prepared. We demanded that they return the ball because it belonged to the Pygmies.

By now several young men and some women had joined the chorus of the taunters. They were demanding to know why we were giving the ball to "these animals who don't even know how to play with it." Pastor Tom got very irritated and in plain Sango told them that the ball belonged to the Pygmies and they were going to have it. I am sure he said some other things but that is not the point here. The point is that they finally gave the ball back. But not without cursing the Pygmies first.

Secondly, I am still disturbed by the general state of health among the Pygmies. They now have a well right in their village but don't bother to bathe every day. They are still covered with dirt from head to toe and many of their children are covered with sores. Jeana and Beth spent basically all their time there tending to the wounds of children. They also helped a lady who had leprosy. They worked until they had exhausted themselves.

Yes, I was glad I had the opportunity to see this village again, but I have to say I still have a lot of concerns for them. As I played soccer with the kids and watched Jeana and Beth care for the needs of the sick, I was reminded again of the magnitude of the task we have in our hands. Had I not read Tim's entry from the day before, I might have been easily discouraged. I know, however, that we did make a difference with the ones we cared for. And I know that being an advocate for the Pygmies in front of their most volatible enemies must have done the Pygmies some good. But most of all, I know for a fact that it pleased our Heavenly Father because Christ died for the Pygmies too.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

I'm Checking Out

Hey everyone:

My ride is here so this is all the time I have today. I thought I would give you a good surprise with the Portuguese entry. I have so many people in Brazil looking at this blog and they all wanted me to write something in Portuguese. I didn't have any other place to put it, so it is here. Our blog has gone international now.

It's a little after 6:00 p.m. here and I am going back to the guest house. The electricity just went out so I am working because of a generator that keeps this place going. ICDI has some important equipment here. I am thankful I can come here and use this place. Please, pray for the work of ICDI. They just found out that their partnership with the Word Food Programme, which provided until now food for all the orphans they sponsor (and also for the Grace Brethren sponsored orphans) has been terminated. The reason for this is that you actually have to run an orphanage to receive this kind of help. ICDI has stayed away from orphanages because this is not the best approach according to the culture here.

Now they have to find another source of funding for this great need. And it is a HUGE need and it starts right now. Please, pray!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

Para o Pessoal do Brasil - Sorry, this one is in Portuguese!

A nossa equipe, com um grupo de orfaos resgatados pelo ministerio de ICDI

Ola pessoal do Brasil.

Atendendo solicitacoes de todas as partes do mundo da lingua Portuguesa, aqui vai um pequeno resumo do nosso trabalho aqui na Republica Centro-Africana. Estou aqui com uma equipe da minha igreja desde o dia 3 de Abril. A Capital e Bangui, uma cidade que tem uma populacao mais ou menos igual a de Macapa, Amapa.

O clima e praticamente igual tambem, apesar de que tem a temperatura tem sido bastante amena aqui, especialmente nos primeros dias depois que chegamos aqui. Esta comecando o tempo de inverno aqui e isso significa que chuvas torrenciais podem cair, mas ate agora nos so tivemos algumas pancadas esporadicas, pelas quais nos somos muito gratos porque elas trazem aquele ventinho gostoso pos-chuva.

A Igreja dos Irmaos ja esta aqui ness pais ha mais de cem anos. Temos mais de mil igrejas aqui e uns oitocentos mil membros. Mas isso nao quer dizer que esse povo todo seja crente de verdade. Muito pelo contrario, as nossas igrejas aqui estao infestadas de crentes falsos, incluindo alguns pastores que sao famosos nao pela eloquencia da palavra mas pela ofensa do alcool. Tais pastores julgam-se intocaveis porque sao “anciaos” e nao devem nada a ninguem.

Por outro lado, ha os fieis que labutam no meio de muita oposicao, tanto de dentro quanto de fora. Dentre eles se encontram os professores do seminario biblico, o qual se mudou recentemente para a Capital, depois de muitos anos em uma cidade chamada Bata. Esses homens, sobre os quais eu escrevi aqui em Ingles, sofreram tanto na mao de bandidos que atacam para roubar tudo o que podem, ate que eles nao tiveram outra opcao senao se mudar para a Capital, onde tudo e mais caro e os alunos terao dificuldades em adquirir terrenos para plantar suas hortas. Pois e, eles precisam ter hortas, que sao pedacos de terra de um certo tamanho onde eles cultivam hortalicas, amendoin e, sobretudo, mandioca (da brava) para poder sobreviver.

Esse pais foi quase totalmente destruido em uma rebeliao em 2002, liderada pelo rebelde que agora e o presidente. Naquela ocasiao todos os missionarios tiveram que ser evacuados do pais e muitos deles jamais retornaram. Algumas das bases de operacao dos missionarios foram quase completamente destruidas, pelos proprios habitantes das cidades, alguns lideres da anarquia sendo os proprios pastores.

Hoje restam escombros em um pais militarizado, sem infra-estrutura, sem empregos (os empregados do governo estao ha oito meses sem receber), sem perspectiva futura para os jovens, rodeado de pobreza da mais severa que voce possa imaginar, e com uma alta incidencia de HIV/AIDS na Capital (14%, de acordo com numeros oficiais).

Ha tambem uma combinacao lethal que nao perdoa sobretudo as criancas:

1. A principal comida aqui e a mandioca (da amarga porque ela e mais facil de plantar e colher). Essa cultura foi introduzida aqui pelos traficantes de escravos que vieram do Brasil nos meados de 1700. E uma cultura pra la de ideal. Alem de conter uma percentagem de cianureto, que precisa ser removida, ela e completamente desprovida de qualquer vitamina ou minerais, como ferro. O unico efeito que ela faz e encher o estomago, ja que se trata apenas de carbohidratos.

2. O segundo problema e a falta de agua potavel. Nos vilarejos fora da Capital o povo bebe agua de rios ou riachos contaminados. Eles lavam a roupa la e cozinham com agua desses rios. A mandioca tambem e deixade de molho nesses rios por alguns dias.

4. O terceiro membro desse triunvirato maldito e a falta de latrinas ou sanitarios, publicos ou privados. Como os espacos abertos ainda sao utilizados, tudo escoa para os mesmos rios e riachos que sao a fonte de agua da qual a populacao depende.

O resultado nao poderia ser mais desastrosos. Muitas criancas perecem antes de completar um ano de idade. Diarreia, parasitas, tuberculose, malaria matam desenfreadamente, especialmente na periferia e nos interiores. Para aumentar a tragedia, o virus da HIV/AIDS esta dizimando populacoes inteiras.

Eu estive aqui em 2006 com uma equipe da minha igreja, investigando possibilidades de parceria especificamente na area de ajuda aos mais pobres. Nos descobrimos que se investissemos na perfuracao de pocos e construcao de latrinas (especies de sanitarios publicos) nos estariamos salvando vidas, literalmente. Ah sim, e de quebra a gente tambem iria SALVAR vidas, porque pra onde vamos temos a oportunidade de compatilhar sobre a esperanca que temos em Cristo.

A equipe que esta aqui agora e a nossa quarta equipe da nossa igreja a vir aqui nos ultimos dois anos. Ja contribuimos o suficiente para dois pocos e multiplas latrinas. Ja construimos uma sala para atendimento ondontologico na clinica que trata de pacientes com HIV/AIDS. Ja ajudamos a construir uma escola em um vilarejo chamado Pama. E agora estamos construindo uma oficina de trabalhos manuais e aprendizado de mecanica para meninos orfaos. Era uma necessidade muito grande. As meninas estao aprendendo a costurar, os meninos precisavam algo para mante-los ocupados e dar-lhes uma semi-profissao. Vamos deixar essa oficina quase pronta.

A necessidade e muito grande na area de cuidado com os orfaos. Ha uma estimativa de cem mil orfaos somente na Capital. Aqui na Africa o povo prefere que orfaos morem com parentes. Um amigo meu que e pastor aqui, alem dos sete filhos dele e da esposa, adotou mais quatro, filhos do irmao dele que morreu de AIDS ha algum tempo atras. Isso e muito comum aqui. Mas e muito comum tambem ver criancas “cuidando” de outras criancas.

Nos trabalhamos em parceria com ICDI, que e uma ONG de cunho evangelico, e o coordenador do programas para orfaos deles e um amigo de longo tempo. Ha varias outras organizacoes trabalhando aqui, mas eu confio nesse pessoal e sei que eles nao so estao fazendo um otimo trabalho como se esmeram em colocar africanos em posicoes-chave. E uma questao de honra pra eles isso. O diretor dessa ONG e um amigo meu que tambem cresceu aqui e ama o povo daqui profundamente. E eu estou muito contente ja com os resultados da nossa parceria.

Eu aproveitei a carona para vir e dar aula de exegese grega no livro de 1 Thessalonicences. Foram trinta horas de ensino que terminaram hoje. Fiquem doente no meio com um dessarranjo intestinal que me fez passaar mal por vinte e quatro horas, mas felizmente ja estou bem melhor. Esse meu grupo de alunos e muito astuto. A maioria deles fala pelo menos tres linguas. Eles fizeram perguntas muito inteligentes e interagiram bastante com o material que estava sendo ensinado. Foi uma honra impar passar esse tempo com eles.

Brasileiros seriam missionarios naturais em um lugar como esse. Seria relativamente facil aprender a lingua (aqui eles usam Frances e Sango, a linga-franca daqui). Eles adoram futebol aqui e adoram a selecao brasileira. Ontem eu brinquei um pouco com uma bola e o povo me aplaudiu como se eu fosse o Ronaldinho (quando ele ainda jogava...). O amor pelo Brasil e obvio aqui por causa do futebol. Esse povo tambem e muito hospitaleiro. O pais tambem tem muitos dos mesmos entraves burocraticos que ainda assola a nossa patria. Enfim, eu nao posso imaginar um grupo melhor para trabalhar aqui do que os brasileiros, e especialmente os do norte e nordeste (sem preconceieto, OK?). Uma outra coisa boa e que seria relativamente barato morar aqui, com excecao da passagem aerea que ainda e salgadinha comparado ao que eu estou acostumado nos EUA.

Ha uma crise sem precedente na area Sub-sahariana da Africa. Estima-se que daqui a mais 20 anos os orfaos da AIDS somarao cinquenta milhoes. O que vai acontecer com esse monte de jovens se eles nao forem ocupados de alguma maneira saudavel? Podera haver uma explosao do caos em grandes proporcoes nesse pais. E uma crise social sem precedentes, uma bomba-relogio. O percentual de morte pela AIDS, apesar de ter decrescido, ainda e alarmante. A cada dia morrem aproximadamente cinco mil pessoas, o equivalente a um vilarejo inteiro.

A igreja de Jesus Cristo tem que agir. Nao podemos mais ficar de bracos abertos esperando que outros facam algo. Jesus passou uma boa parte do ministerio dele tratando da saude dos doentes e uma outra parte dando de comida aos famintos. Ha 2003 referencias aos pobres na Biblia. Esse e um assunto de gritante importancia para Deus. Nao adianta dar desculpas, nos precisamos agir. E e por isso que nos estamos aqui. A nossa equipe fica aqui ate o dia 17 de Abril. Por favor, contamos com as oracoes de voces. E se tiverem alguma pergunta, mandem.

Abracos,

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

One Person At a Time, By Rob Miller

"Our time here in Bangui is half over now and it seems as though we just arrived. I have really enjoyed getting to make some new friends and to see friends I had made last year. It has been a challenge to keep working at times because of the heat. When I start to get to that point I just try to think about the lives that could be impacted years from now as the young boys from the orphan care center learn a trade in woodworking. I am truly blessed to have this opportunity to serve.

Today we did home visits for children who attend the orphan care center. Most of them typically live with relatives or only have one parent. Their houses were small brick homes about 10 ft. by 15 ft. Typically housing about 15 people per home, with no running water or plumbing. It seems about 80 -90% of the 600,000 people in Bangui live in these conditions.

The average annual income is about $250.00 per year. As I visit the people who live here I often can’t help but wonder how I was born in the time and place that I was. We as Americans are truly blessed in so many ways. Being here even only for a couple of weeks I see that life here is very difficult and challenging in ways that most of us will never know or hear about. Such as a trip to the local bank to exchange money can take as long as 2–4 hours or that most people from childhood have no training in personal hygiene or health.

I know there is no easy answer to solve the problems in the C.A.R. but with God’s help we can work together to make it better one smile, one handshake, one prayer and one person at a time. Jesus would have us do just that."

Rob Miller

Can I Make A Difference? By Tim Harley

"Can I make a difference? This is the question that first comes to my mind when faced with the incredible problems in the C.A.R. I enter this culture with an American mindset of wanting to fix things. In America we want quick fixes. T.V. shows solve complex problems in one hour. Talk shows give easy solutions to problems and there are one hundred ways to lose weight quickly, But there are no quick fixes here. Poverty, disease, corruption, abandonment, lack of food, are just a few of generational problems being dealt with on a daily basis. This is normal life here.

So I refine the question: Can I make a difference in two weeks? I believe the answer is Yes! To serve, love, touch, sacrifice, and laugh; to be Jesus to those I meet. I think of my time her like the boy in the gospels who pocked his lunch and came to hear Jesus teach. The disciples were faced with an impossible challenge given to them by Jesus. Feed over 5000 men in a remote location! The disciples did what I would do – they tried to calculate how to fix the problem on their own. And all they could come up with was a boy’s packed lunch.

Now, the difference is that they gave it to Jesus. Jesus took the bread and fish, fed over 5000 men, and there were still leftover baskets full of bread at the end. That boy made a difference that day, because he gave all he had to Jesus and He multiplied it impacting, thus impacting many others.

I want to be like that boy. I want to offer to Jesus all that I have. Sometimes I feel like I have much to offer Jesus. But I believe Jesus created me for a purpose. My prayer is: “Jesus, you know you know what little I have to offer, but I put all that I have into your hands.” Please, Lord, help my efforts to multiply and make a difference just like you took that boy’s lunch and fed a multitude.”

So it is with this attitude that I approach our trip. I want to work as hard as I can on the projects. I want to help the orphans of the Central African Republic. I want to encourage all those I come into contact with. I want to build relationships that will make a difference for eternity. I want everything to bring glory to Jesus. He will make the difference."

Tim Harley

Another Sunday in Bangui

Hello everybody.

As you can tell, yesterday I was not able to get online. I came to the ICDI office but it was locked and no one had the keys. Oh well. This happens here and it is OK.

As I write this, I realize that many of you are in church right now. We have been to church already, had our first lunch (at the church, hosted by the pastor), then headed back to the guest house, changed, and had a second lunch with Dr. & Mrs. Yalipendi, the couple we've partnered with here in their work among people with HIV/AIDS. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with them plus Rob and me got to share our testimonies. They opened up to us and asked us to pray that they will grow spiritually and find people here that they can develop genuine relationships with, like the one they feel they have with us. That's something we all can pray for. We were all very blessed to have time with this couple.

I am now in the ICDI office and in the next couple of hours hope to post a couple of blog entries with pictures, including some reflections that other team members have written.

Tomorrow we plan to visit a Pygmy village outside of Bangui (about 60 kilometers). I can't wait to go there because I was there two years ago and since then they got a couple of latrines and a water well. I am told that the difference is noticeable. Before going to the village we will spend time at a place that has some waterfalls that you can actually swim in. I am looking forward to that too. Today has been the hottest day since we got here and we are all feeling it. But God is good. He is in control. And we are still in great spirits here.

Rick was quite sick yesterday. He had to stay at the guest house in the afternoon and rest. I took his place helping Rob with the metal doors we are making for the shop. Rob was welding and I was grinding. It was my first time doing that kind of job but I enjoyed it. If you don't think I actually did this, Rob actually has pictures to prove it. We were able to finish the door yesterday. And Rick is feeling a lot better today. We praise the Lord for all of that!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

Back to "Slow-nectivity"

Hello everyone:

I am sitting at an Internet Cafe. The connection is bad. But the reason I am sitting here and not somewhere else where the connection would be faster, the room not hot and sticky, and the surroundings not as noisy is a different one altogether. But I am afraid I am not going there now because I don't have time and I probably wouldn't do justice to the complexity of the issues that resulted in a slight downgrade to the Internet Cafe next to the GBIM headquarters in Bangui.

Let me just say that I can't wait until tomorrow because I will be able to work from the ICDI office where the connectivity is a lot faster and smoother. I am not going to be able to upload pictures today. It would take me ages to do it here. But it's not like you haven't gotten a good share of them lately, right?

I have just come from a lovely dinner at the GBIM headquarters here. We ate some great tacos and enjoyed some good fellowship with the Brethren (Grace or not). We appreciate Heidi's tremendous hospitality in hosting us. It was a good taste of home!

I finished my classes today so it was a packed day. Needless to say, I feel completely spent now. As a matter of fact, I am aware of every movement with my typing and it's as if I could fall over the keyboard at any moment. We started rising early as usual. Pastor Tom preached at Chapel today and the students were very challenged to hear him challenge them about the meaning of the "fear of the Lord" in Joshua and Proverbs. He was his usual Central African self with lots of jokes in between lines. The students and faculty were having a good time.

At the end of my class this afternoon they had a ceremony in chapel with the faculty and the students. The President of the student body made a beautiful speech in which he thanked me for my teaching this week. Then I spoke some about how my church in Wooster is praying for the school here. I told them about the story I wrote on the blog and the responses from some of you. Then the dean spoke reminding the students that I was the first visiting professor to come to teach at the seminary in Bangui. He welcomed me back any time, and he thanked me and my family for releasing me to come. Next the dean's wife came forward with a gift. I opened it and it was a nice African type of suit that I had wanted to get. And she had eyed me perfectly as it was just the right fit. They then prayed for me and we said our good-byes.

The rest of the team continued work on the building today and they also made a couple of visits in the homes where orphans are living. As soon as they got there, they said that they were swarmed with people from everywhere. I haven't heard a full report from the team about this but Pastor Tom said that things went well.

Everybody is in good spirits. Beth is feeling better. We are all exhausted beyond measure. This was evident today as we sat for lunch and our normally talkative bunch dug the food in stoic silence for the longest time until someone remarked the fabled "either we are too hungry or too tired" aphorism. I think both were true this day. The days are getting long because we are more tired but they seem shorter because we still have so much to accomplish.

I haven't read all your comments here from yesterday. I started copying them but my connection was interrupted twice. I copy and paste them every night so the team can have them read to us during our team time every evening. What a tremendous source of encouragement your comments have been. We are humbled to be Christ's representatives here and we don't consider us to be anything special. We are just trying to be Jesus' hands and feet, as one of our team mates said today.

Thank you for your love that has been so obvious from your comments. Please, continue to pray for us fervently as we near the end of our time here.

Love from all to all,

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

The Surprise of the Day... these girls will make you laugh (and cry)

This is one of the main reasons we keep coming from Africa. Children like these orphans need advocates. They need someone who can speak for them. Like these two girls there are an estimated 100,000 orphans in Bangui. Most of them are not as blessed as these two little ones who are already sponsored (I could be wrong, but I think that Pastor Tom & Sue Peters are sponsoring these two precious girls).

If you want to know more about sponsorship, check ICDI, GBIM or ASIA'S HOPE's websites. ICDI does its orphan partnership in Bangui through an organization called Vision Trust, Int'l. GBIM (Grace Brethren) has its own orphan program called Project Hope and Charity in the CAR. The same is true of Asia's Hope (Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam).

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

Some of Beth's Pictures

Stuff

So we've now established that God loves the Africans (see previous "band aid" post), but the question is: does He love us?

We've all been praying for the arrival of our luggage. We had been told not to have our expectations too high, but we prayed fervently. Well, they arrived. Well, almost all of them arrived. But one out of 17 didn't...

As I arrived back to the guest house after my morning classes I hurried to read the labels on the trunks. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had to read twice just to make sure. Then, it dawned on me: "Beth's name is not on one of these trunks." I mean, how can this be, God. Of all the trunks. One our of 17 and it had to be that one? How about the stuffed animals that Beth's daughter and niece had picked out and sent with such love and care to some little orphans in Africa? Or the close that her Mom and sister bought? And all the art supplies she was going to use to do something special with the children down here?

I did think about my personal stuff inside that box too, but only for a second... I felt really sorry for Beth. I thought: you do the statistic calculations on that one -- what are the chances? One in how many thousands or maybe a million? I don't know, but it is a fact now and there is nothing we can do about it.

Amazingly, when Beth arrived, the only thing she mentioned was the things the girls, her Mom and sister had sent. She said the other things "are not a big deal. I went a week without them, I can go another week." Thanks, Beth. She just saved me about an hour of arguing with God tonight. "Come on, Lord. Can't you try to work with us a little bit here? Don't see that these folks have already sacrificed enough? Don't you hold the world in your hands, how come you can't make that little speck of dust in this universe called Beth's trunk get on that Air Chance (I mean Air France) flight?"

Ah, but that is exactly the point, isn't it? The fact that God CAN and DIDN'T do it is exactly the point, isn't it? He must have a reason for it. God is not just a master irritator intent on ruining your mission trip to Africa. And He is definitely not a cosmic kill joy one ready to erase that smile out of your face.

Thanks, Beth, for reminding me of that today. Alright, I have been a little sick the last couple of days, but so has Beth. She stayed at the guest house all afternoon yesterday, trying to rest her weary body. Her cough came back. But today she was back being Beth and feeling a lot better. I know she could have used a little encouragement today, but I am sure she was not waiting for it to come exclusively from her luggage arriving.

I see this kind of attitude prevailing among all of our team members. And I am honored to be a part of this team. I praise God for each one. They all play a very important role. Please, keep praying for each one of us. The enemy is trying to get us out of focus here, but we will not let him, with God's help through your prayers. May we be reminded that in the end it is just stuff, right?

"God owns the trunks in a thousand cargo loads."

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

Building Update

The whole back wall is done. All the translucent siding is up for the rafters. Tim had a different experience today. He was standing at a wall full metal shards (put there for the purpose of not allowing people to walk on it) and he was working installing this translucent roofing material to enclose the shop. He had to keep from falling, being poked and not knocking down the wall that the other workers were putting up. The good news is that he is here all in one piece and the wall, as far as we know, is still there. No one knows how Tim’s body will be tomorrow. Stay tuned...

The relationships with the workers continue to grow and they are communicating better. The crew is incredible and the progress is noticeable. The volleyball net is almost ready to be put up and tomorrow they should be able to play a good game of volleyball.

It was very nice today to have the remaining of our tools arrive. You should have seen the guys looking though those containers with such anticipation. Now they have no excuse not to do a good job. Just kidding... We couldn't have a better crew here.

A Band Aid Party

I am back at the ICDI office. Blogging after a full day teaching. I preached in chapel again and them taught the rest of the day, pretty much.

Jeana and Beth just arrived from taking care of orphans and they are reporting that they had a wonderful time interacting with the kids. Beth gave one of the little girls a button that was missing on her shirt. She was self-conscious about it so when she got it she was so happy. What a difference a little button can make.

Jeana has been helping this little orphan girl, Dorcas. She is the only one left of her family, except her dad, and Jeana met on Monday and helped her with some bandages on her leg. She came back today to have her band aids changed. Just for the record -- they had a dozen or so band aids on her legs... Dorcas lives with her dad and because of that she has her hair very short. She said her dad does it that way because he works and does not have time to take care of her hair. I suspect he probably wouldn't even know how to do it, even he had time. Anyway, Jeana asked her if this bothered her but she said not. Jeana said that she looks very sad. She is new to the orphan care center and hopefully she will get more comfortable as she gets used to the workers and her new friends there.

Jeana said that tonight the orphan care group they were with had a sort of a "band aid party." They applied band aid on kids as long as they were there. Just about until the time that the ICDI worker told them that they had to leave. They also met a young man there who could not hear or talk. They helped him and tended to his wounds. He smiled as they helped him and Jeana was praying that somehow she would see him in heaven and they would be able to communicate freely.

They were able to give away one hundred crosses that had been manually made (a cross-stitch kind of a thing) by an 88 year old lady from California. She wanted to make crosses for children here in Africa to tell them that God loves them. What a wonderful testimony to the fact that there is no age or geographical limit when you are intent on sharing God's love with someone.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

Their Sunday best

A sample of my Sunday pictures. Look at how these girls dress up for their baptismal service! And look at the crowd gathered to witness the baptism. What a thing to see!