Transformation in Kochgoma- Part 2 of 2

Lawrence Ogwal, age 12, loves animals and wants to be a veterinary doctor. His parents are too poor to pay for schooling.


Peter Ogwang is age 14. He stopped in 5th grade, unable to afford to continue. He is currently digging to support some of his 8 siblings.

You may have heard Experito mention in the video yesterday the long-range vision for Kochgoma: a complete school kindergarten through high school. We have been praying about and for this school for several years. The nursery school/kindergarten built a couple of years ago is the beginning of this project.

* Nearly 1000 children in Kochgoma are not attending school…because there is not one within a reasonable distance to attend. Most are hungry or sick. And all are affected by the 20+ year war.

* The dream we share with Experito is that all 1000 children could not only attend school and be educated about health care and learn how to provide for themselves, but also be trained in Worldwide Perspectives/Pathways during their high school years.

* We pray, trust and hope that this school would become a launching pad for sending well-trained students to take the gospel into the un-reached areas of northern Africa (which is in the 10/40 window).

Lawrence and Peter are two of the 1000 children living in Kochgoma who are currently not attending school.

The estimated cost of building the school (including planting food, providing school uniforms and shoes for everyone, building latrines and showers, and providing dormitories to students who are too far to safely walk) is $1,100,000 or about $1100 per student.

One-time “Sponsorship”

You can sponsor 1 child… or 2 or 5 or 10…or more By sponsoring a child, you will be contributing to the cost of building the school and providing the children with uniforms and shoes and other schooling needs. The sponsorship amount of $1100 per child can be given all at once or over the period of a year.

RADICAL Challenge

The Church at Brook Hills, where David Platt pastors, took one year to join forces and take the RADICAL challenge. The challenge is–for a period of one year– to make a plan to forego our comforts to meet the needs of the world around us. The goal is to spend as little as possible and give as much as possible.

Remember the Poor is planning to provide funding for Martina’s home ($30,000), and funding for the school for 1000 children in Kochgoma ($1,100,000). All 15 of Martina’s children are included in the 1000 who need sponsorship. 100% of your donations will go directly toward these projects.

If you, your family, your small group or your church will be joining Remember the Poor for a RADICAL challenge during 2013, would, you let us know by leaving a comment or sending an email? We’d love it if you would share your ideas on what you plan to do to to cut back on comforts to make more available to give. We’ll compile ideas and share them in a later blog post.

As I was writing this, I was reminded of Paul’s encouragement to the church at Philippi. They had been giving to meet Paul’s needs, to “share in his troubles.” He reminded them:“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” As we give, we can do so with confidence that God will meet our every need.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:20

Transformation in Kochgoma- Part 1 of 2...

Bryan and I count this man, Pastor Experito, and his family, among our dearest of friends. Immense thanks to Pastor Jonathan Celoria of Palm Vista Church for putting this video together. The children you see in this video are sitting outside the kindergarten school in Kochgoma, the structure funded by RTP donors. 

Martina's Joy...

Bryan and I, and a group of three others visited Pastor Experito in Gulu in October.  We asked to meet some of the families who live in Kochgoma, whose children can attend the school, as the school grows.

Oct 6 (Drea Thiele):

Today was a long day full of joy, sorrow, sad stories, some victorious, some with no hope. Kochgoma is about 2 hours in the bush outside of Gulu (Northern Uganda). The people here have been so affected by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) and most have nothing. No food, one pair of clothes, no soap, no work, no land and no home. The children are mistreated or unwanted due to a parent’s inability to provide for them. Some have no parents at all.

Today I met with Martina, a widow, whose husband died years ago. She had threechildren, 2 boys and a girl. Her daughter died last month of HIV/AIDS. She now cares for 15 children, as her daughter-in-laws and their children also live with her, and her two sons leave often. She has been seriously affected by the war and the LRA rebels. She is having a hard time because she is old and can’t work and farm like others can. Her small garden is dried up, and her hut leaks. She has very little food and only the clothes on her back. Her daughter’s grave is just a few feet from her mud hut, with a simple home-made wooden cross.

Martina’s hope is Jesus. She became a born again believer when she was young. She lost most of her relatives in the LRA rebel war, and grew up virtually alone. Herheart was so troubled, but the Lord spoke to her and said, “Don’t be troubled, you will make it through.” Her miracle is “JOY” she says.  Even looking at the cross where her daughter is buried, she still has joy.

Her grandchildren cannot attend school because they have no money for school fees, but Martina still has joy!

Her granddaughter, Prisca, spent the majority of her day with me. She was leaning on me, playing with my fingers and cuddling with me. I learned later that it was her mom who had just died.  I was so blessed to be able to give her love and attention as she has to be mourning the loss of her mom.

Today the Lord has filled us with unspeakable joy! Joy to do His work. Watching these glorious servants of God, fills us also with hope! Hope to keep going, hope to know that this life is for one purpose only, hope to be the hands and feet of Jesus, the whole earth filled with his glory!

Upon our return to the U.S., we have had ongoing communication with Experito about how we can best help him and Justine and their church serve this widow and her grandchildren.

Experito Nov 1:  Helping Martina would be one of the most burden lifting moments for her and quite yoke breaking. She has been one of the families we help weekly with foodstuffs because of her limited ability to cultivate sufficient food supplies for such a huge extended family!  Martina spoke to Drea about her leaking grass thatched house. Apparently it wears her down to keep looking for the scarce grass to thatch her roof seasonally.

For several years we have been talking with Experito about a Habitat for Humanity type project in Kochgoma.  (The community and residents provides the labor, and others, like us, provide the money for materials). It is his desire, and therefore ours as well, to see the community freed from the chains of slavery to finding and hauling clean water.  The best way to do that is through housing that has iron sheet roofing.  Water is channeled from the iron sheet roof, down the rain gutters, into the water tank. They use this for their water source, rather than walking miles to pump it, and walking miles to haul a few gallons back to their hut.

We therefore asked him if a house would be appropriate for Martina and her 15 children.

Experito Nov 2: We thank God that he has brought you in our way to partner that we can together do whatever we could for the economically vulnerable. My wife has always been praying for them to have a better living condition. I must confess that you are stepping in as an answer to Justine’s daily heart cry.

Please Drea you have made us to genuinely appreciate the unfathomable love of God by feeling what we have been feeling for the least in society. It encourages us more to know that we are not alone but an army of God to bring the goodness of God to whom it had been denied. It sometimes emotionally drains us to see that we are helpless. However, praise be to God who cares. A house shall  take Martina leaps and bounds with her extended family.

Experito Nov 8: I was able to visit Martina and her grandkids.  They are supposed to be 15 in her care but the two had been taken to hospital because they were sick. They were not available for our camera and conversation. It was only 13 available as you can see in the picture.

About the house, I shared the opportunity to some members of the community and they have showed interest to come and provide manual labour when time comes for construction.  Martina is currying this burden of these kids because five of them have no father and mother. Three of them the mother is dead but their father became mentally derailed and his father is as well very ill. The other kids have mothers and the fathers whose whereabouts are unknown. Justine and I are praying that Martina will receive good-hearted people to help uplift her state of living conditions as well as the little kids get educated.

And when we asked what amenities the house should have, Experito wrote:

Experito Nov 12: We will be extremely delighted to see Martina’s family advance to a good standard of living. The house is intended to have 4 bedrooms. There will be a pit latrine bathroom outside. The house shall be built with bricks, doors, windows, and iron sheets (for roofing). It shall be plastered and painted, with a water harvest tank constructed as well. With the size of Martina’s family, a house of $30,000, which shall include a water harvest tank, might be appropriate.

100% of any donations go directly to Africa.  If you would like to donate toward Martina’s home, please send a note with your donation to Remember The Poor.  100% of your gift will go toward her home.  We’ll be taking pictures and hopefully video to provide updates on progress.

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10

Martina with her daughter - in- law, you can see the fresh grave in the background

Martina and I saying goodbye, until we meet again!

Justine (Experito's wife) Prisca (who's mother just died) and Martina

Martina and the 13 of the 15 children in her care

Blog shared by: Drea Thiele, Cindy May and Pastor Experito

Orphan Sunday...

Today, November 4, is Orphan Sunday. I find "Orphan Sunday" hard to say, because in God's economy every day is Orphan Day! James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

I understand that Orphan Sunday is a day of recognition, and not the only day we celebrate, or remember, but is it? There are 147 million orphans in the world. 10,000 just in my home state, Arizona. Are we remembering? Are we celebrating with all the children that are forever home? My hearts cry is that every day we remember, every day we celebrate! Every day we should advocate, every day we should ask God, "How do you want to use me?" 

All over Gods word He tells us how we should care for orphans and widows. These words are not mere suggestions, they are commands. This command has no contingencies, based on finances, space in your home, economic times,  politics, tax deductions, age, gender, location, time, or .......

This command is direct, unchanging, inexcusable, there are no conditions to it. We are to care for orphans in their distress. The only consideration there is, is choosing if we will obey or disobey. 

Five years ago, God interrupted our lives with two beautiful girls, one from Russia and one from China. And then just two years later, 3 more from Ethiopia, 1 girl and 2 boys. We didn't know all He had in store for us and I am thankful that he changed the path we were on, to His path. It has been quite a journey. I have not for one second regretted our YES decision. We have planned, stepped out in blind faith, rejoiced, cried, celebrated, labored, but most importantly we have LOVED and been LOVED. 

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." John 14:18

My heart aches for the other 149 million children who don't know the love of a mother and father, who are alone, fending for themselves. The children who need touch, unconditional love, food, shelter, Jesus. It aches for the suffering, the uncomforted, the tears left unwiped, cries unheard, prayers unsaid.

147 million, minus 5 more, Cailee, Cyilea, Meske, Eyob, Sami...

What will you do with the words of God:

"Whoever receives on such child in my name receives me..." ~ Matthew 18:5

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." ~ Galatians 4:4-6

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation. God settles the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land." ~ Psalm 68: 5-6

My babies, representing 4 Nations

Forever Family

Bubby and Cyilea

The Thiele Clan

I am Alive...

Friends,

I am alive!!! The truth...this traveling, homeschooling mama of 9 has just gotten BUSY!! I have been in Africa, started planning another trip, started 2 of my kids in college, 1 in high school, 1 in cosmetology school, got two kids with their drivers licenses and all of this within the past 2 months!!! If you want a sneak peek into our Africa trip visit www.irememberthepoor.org  there are a few updated stories on our blog there.

Thank you for your sweet comments, I will posting the next adoption story soon :) I can't wait to share all that the Lord has been doing in our lives.

Blessings,

Drea

Step By Step part 3...

Meet my daughter Cailee (Natalia). She is a beautiful girl filled with love, talent, and wittiness. I adore this special gift from the Lord. She graced our lives almost 5 years ago this April. There are days that I forget she is adopted and that I didn't carry her for 9 months in my own womb. But I have carried her in my heart for some time. I pray that her testimony will bless you and be a witness of God's grace, mercy and love for all of His children. He is definitely the Father to the fatherless!

I was born in Yekaterinburg, Russia. When I was about three years old, my parents put me in an orphanage. I always thought that they would come back for me, but when I was about six I had to move to a different orphanage which was in St. Petersburg. I wondered as we left the first orphanage, "How is my mom going to find me now? Does she know that I am leaving?" I kept thinking that over and over. My cousin and my best friend were leaving with me also. That helped me a little, but when we got there my friend and I were separated from my cousin because we were older than him. I was so scared that all I could do is stick close to my friend. I was not sure how to fit in. Would this new place ever feel like home?

When I was about 8 1/2 years I was told that there was a family who wanted to adopt me. I was so glad to hear that a family wanted me. I couldn't wait, but first I had to go visit them for a week or two in America so that they could get to know me. The time came for me and the other kids to leave to America. When we got to the airport, we had to go into this big room where there were a lot of families waiting for us. They would call out the families name and then call out a kids name, that would determine what family we went home with. This is when I met my family who had three kids, 2 boys and 1 girl. If they adopted me, I would be the second oldest in this family.

When we got to their house, I loved it! It was really big to me, but I got used to it really fast. The week went by fast and soon it was time for me to leave back to Russia. When I got back to the orphanage I couldn't wait to know if I was going to be adopted by this family or not. A year went by by before I heard that I was getting adopted! I was really happy that I got a family of my own.

The Family traveled to Russia to pick me up and then we traveled to America. The fist night I slept in my house, I woke up really early and I couldn't fall back to sleep. I took the blanket that I was given to me by my Nana and I went into the family room and sat. Looking around I thought, "Is this my forever home, or are they going to give me away like my first mom did?"

A couple of months later my family decided to adopt a new girl from Russia and from the same orphanage. After that we moved to a different state in America. That is when we started to have a lot of problems. I wouldn't do what I was told or I would do it but in a bad way. If I would fool around and play rough with somebody not meaning to hurt them I would be sent to my room. I would not want to be in there so I would yell and kick and throw a fit. Also, I would be sent to bed early even if I didn't misbehave. This was a hard time in my life. One day I was sitting on my bed watching the kids play outside having fun. I was wondering if there was this God, why would He put me in this family if I didn't fit in at all?

One summer we went to visit my adopted grandparents half way across the USA. This particular afternoon, my parents had arranged for us to go to the park. We met this family who had 4 kids. The oldest girl was named Coral and she was the same age as me, but I was two months older. That day at the park, I took Coral's hand and I started running and saying, "Let's go and play!" I was so excited! That was also the night of my first sleep over!

I stayed with Coral and her family for the whole week. When it was time for me to leave, we met my parents at a park. Coral and I played while the her parents and my parents talked. Then they called me over and wanted to talk to me. It took them awhile but then they told me that this family was going to adopt me. I started crying. I don't remember if I was happy or sad, but i think that it was both. They gave me a card and a CD by Rich Mullins, my favorite song, "Step by Step." That night I said good-bye to my second family and hello to my third family, the Thiele's. Even though I didn't fully understand then, I now know and can see how God used my second family to bring me to my forever family.

One night when we were praying in my new parents room, I was looking around the family thinking, "I want the joy, happiness and especially the Jesus that they have." When we were done praying I looked up at my dad and I asked him, "How can I ask Jesus into my heart?" He said, "It is easy, you just need to believe and pray and ask Him." When dad prayed I repeated it after him. Every day I learned and am still learning something new about our amazing Heavenly Father.

Every day I think about my other two families. I used to wonder if the Thiele's would give me up too. But now I know, this is my "Forever Family"! No matter what happened in my past or what will happen in the future, they will always love me. And my Father in Heaven loves me and cares for me. I know that He does because he gave me my forever family. Every day I wake up and see His work in my life and am thankful. I can't wait to see what he has for me in the future!

By Cailee

(Cailee Natalia and Coral)

As Seen Through Her Eyes part 2...

Meet Coral. She is the second born to Bryan and I. As the first biological daughter, Coral has faced many blessings and challenges that come along with adoption, especially adoption out of birth-order. Coral has had the most change of any of our biological kids as she has had to adapt to having two sisters her age come into our home. Coral is an amazing young lady and as her Mom, I am blessed to have her as a daughter and friend.

My hopes from these next few blogs are for you to be inspired and encouraged by real stories, real feelings, real struggles and real blessings about the journey of adoption. Adoption isn't some fairytale dream come true. There are ups and their are downs, however we shouldn't be surprised by any of it. The Bible tells us we will struggle. But in our obedience to Christ struggles are not the only thing we face. There are blessings beyond the hardships and a peace beyond the storms. The story you will read below are Corals thoughts about adoption. I hope you are blessed.

“What do you guys think of adoption?” I remember my dad’s question just hanging in the air. My family was an average sized family. It consisted of 2 boys and 2 girls. I was the oldest girl, the second oldest out of all the kids. I was 10 when my parents went on a date night to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. They returned with a small pamphlet, on the front was a little Asian girl, she had one of the biggest grins I’ve seen. My parents sat the four of us down in the living room for a “family meeting” as they like to call it. Usually family meetings are far from fun, they usually consist of new rules or explaining how we don’t need every light on in the house. But this one, this one was completely different. “What do you guys think of adoption?” Adoption? The unfamiliar word played in my mind. Sure I heard of adoption, I knew what it was, I was just a little confused on the whole process. Do we just waltz into China and take a kid? If that was the case, I loved adoption! But little did I know what I was claiming to love so much and exclaiming was an amazing idea, was a lot more work than just grabbing some kid and telling them you loved them.

The adoption process begun. The months we took raising money, filling out paper work, having home studies, and so on and so forth, seemed endless to me. As a 10 year old I didn’t fully get this process, I was completely annoyed with hearing we are waiting for the courts or getting asked questions by a strange lady about my parent’s ways of discipline. Then one morning me and my younger brother Christopher Ash decided we were going to call the adoption agency office ourselves and see if the documents of our future sibling came in. We had the phone on speaker, everyone crowded around as me and Christopher innocently asked about our sibling. Sure enough the mail just came in with a picture and paperwork for a little girl from China. My heart jumped! The same day we drove 30 minutes to the office to retrieve the documents. A huge step closer! I thought to myself. With total excitement I continuously prayed about my new little sister, Jia Bao.

More months passed, the dates were set for my parent’s trip to retrieve our little girl from China. It was 8 weeks before they were planning to leave, when my mom got a call from our adoption agency. “How do you guys feel about adopting a little girl from Russia?” asked the lady on the other end of the phone. My mom just laughed, little did she know it was a completely serious question. Natasha was a 11 year old Russian girl that was adopted by a family in America. The family decided that it was God’s will to give her to another family, a family that would love her and be her forever family. Her story completely touched my heart and right away I called her my sister and knew she would be forever a part of my family. And she was! 5 weeks before my parent’s left to China I met Natasha (now known as Cailee), we adopted her 5 days after our first meeting, the day before Easter. That day I promised her we would never abandon her and we will always love her.

This insane adventure started to begin. Cailee who is born almost exactly two months before me moved into my room. This was nothing new to me, I shared a room with my little sister Chloe until we moved into our two story house (which was about 8 years) and even then we ended up sleeping in each others beds. Cailee and me hit it off for awhile. We decided to share clothes, music, hair products, just about everything! Only after Cyilea (Formally known as Jia Boa) came home, our sharing began to shift.

(Me and my sisters and friends)

Some people think adoption is a complete walk in the park, it’s the most fantastic thing you can do and you’ll be so happy with it. It is true that it is one of the most fantastic things you can ever do and it is true that you are really blessed and happy. But there are some hardships, there are somethings that you have to fight through. As a 11 year old girl mine was fighting through sharing friends. I liked my friends, I liked having my own people. Selfishly, I didn’t want her to be apart of it. She talked to the people I talked to, she texted the people I texted, she liked the boys I liked. It was really hard for me to learn to love her through it. When I got to the age of 13 I began to pray about my heart and my selfishness. And my heart suddenly started to change. Now don’t get me wrong, there were still some times when I lost it and truthfully there still is. But God bonded us in a special way, gave me crazy love for this amazing girl from Russia.

You may think that God would be done with our family and adoption. I mean, a girl from China, a surprise Russian sister. But no, he was just getting started. I guess a family with 6 kids just wasn’t big enough for Him. Because He brought 3 more along.

Me and my mom had a dream the same night about 3 kids from Africa. My dream was helping them get home using bikes. There was 2 boys and 1 girl. Soon enough a lady sent us a video of these kids from Ethiopia that needed parents. 2 boys and 1 girl. God is amazing, huh? These kids were all siblings, the girl (Meske) was the oldest. Both of their parents died and their older siblings didn’t have the money to provide for them anymore. The littlest boy (Sami) was sent to an orphanage away from Meske and Eyob (The older boy), were he was going to be adopted by a family, away from his siblings. This sent my mom in a panic, she didn’t want them to be separated. After talking with my father and us kids, and praying, she called the lady and explained to them we will adopt all the 3 together.

Another process started. A lot of garage sales, more paper work, but this time I understood more fully what we were in for. The “Little” girl Meske wasn’t so little, outside of size that is. Meske is about 6 months older than me. Another girl older then me? I thought to myself. I hated loosing my role as the oldest female, which I seemed to keep the title even with Cailee. Why not? I thought to myself. I did it once, I can do it again. My confidence was high. The process didn’t seem as long as Cyilea’s, mostly because I’ve been through it before. And soon enough in January of 2010 I traveled with my parent’s and older brother (Cadenn) to Ethiopia. The culture shock was major. To think of my great luxuries at home compared to my 3 new sibling’s home, broke my heart.

The day I met Meske, Eyob, and Sami was the most nerve racking day, I think of my entire life. I remember arriving at the church, kids everywhere singing and clapping. And then, the 3 kids come to us with flowers. Tears streamed down my face when my new sister approached me and gave me flowers and a hug. That day we ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, were a taught Meske how to work the camera (great bonding might I add) a few days later we said our good-byes and made our way home. Me and Meske sat alone on the plane ride to America, we tried talking (even with our language barrier) and amazingly, like a couple of teen boys, bonded over a little video game. I automatically had this insane love for Meske, she had this gentle spirit, she prayed before she ate, and just was all around a great girl.

When we arrived home things began to get hard. The friendship between me and Cailee lessened as we tried to adapted to a threesome instead of a twosome. The language barrier almost seemed to become larger to me. I constantly had to explain everything to Meske. If it was what someone said, or a movie, or anything else, I was Coral Thiele the interpreter. I liked the job at first, I enjoyed explaining things and talking with Meske constantly. But soon I started to loath it, I got this horrible attitude when ever she asked a question or even wanted to talk to me. Not only was I an interpreter, but I was the peace maker between my sisters. The job was heavy, I was in tears about the whole situation multiple times. I started to always want time alone, if it was locking myself in my bathroom for an hour or hiding under my covers. I wanted to be rescued.

I remember one night, sitting in my bathroom reading the bible. I was so tired of language barriers, calming fights, and helping my sisters understand one another. In tears I began to pray. I remember calling out to the Lord, telling Him how I didn’t understand why everything was so hard. I told Him I wanted to give up. No sooner did I say those words the verse 1 Corinthians 13:13 flash through my mind. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Love.. That was it, the patient, kind, unfailing thing, I needed. Adoption isn’t just saying you love them, but showing it as well. I knew I needed a heart change. And it had to start right away.

We learned to adapt to this threesome. We also learned to love it! Let me just say, Chinese food and movies are a lot better when there are three crazy girls who all have different accents. I learned a lot from these beautiful ladies, not just in the sense of Crocheting or a Russian dance move. But I learned the pain of these orphans. I’ve never been abandoned, I never had parents who couldn’t take care of me, nor have my parent’s ever died. I am completely blessed, in every way. And they really opened my eyes to that.

In all honesty, my siblings from various countries is one of the best things that has happened to be (Besides my salvation in Christ). I love sharing my room with those two amazing girls, I love going throughout my house and listening to the various accents, I love when my Chinese sister talks about China, I love when Meske shares insane stories about her home land, I love getting “Russian Hugs” from Cailee, I love when I my family all goes somewhere in the 15 passenger van, I love my life, and all my siblings, everyone of them. Sure I still have times where I struggle, and maybe even lose my mind for a moment. But if I had to do it all over again, if I went back to the day my dad asked that question for the first time. I wouldn’t change a thing. I would have the same answer, “Sure! I love adoption!”

By Coral