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| Sunday, January 30, 2005
13 months ago
Friday, January 28, 2005
 Yes, that is how long we have now been out of the cramped, dark rented house in the city and at our new place in the country. This is a picture of the building we used to rent and house 50 kids in! There was little room to play and no place to jump and run. In our new property we are able to accept double as many kids. Thank you, Lord for giving us a beautiful place to raise Your children! posted by Colleen at 9:21 PM Wake up call
Saturday, January 22, 2005
 This bell, located at the orphanage announces and helps us to remember mealtimes, meetings, the beginning of school and many other important times throughout the day. God is not just a God of mercy and compassion, His love translates practically into action. He speaks to us as His people that we might be His hands, His feet, His mouth and His love expressed to these vulnerable ones who suffer. Children, a true gift from God, are brought into our world dependent upon the nurture, love and protection of a family. It is bad news to be a child today as UNICEF and the World Health Organization report: -200 million children suffer from chronic hunger -Millions of children live on the streets -Hundred thousands of children have been killed through wars in the last 5 years -30,000 children die daily from preventable diseases (The main causes of death are pneumonia,diarrhea, malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition - and most are related to poverty.) -Four million children under the age of 15 have been infected with HIV since the epidemic began. More than 90% of them were infants born to HIV-positive mothers who acquired the virus before or during birth or through breastfeeding. Where is the church? Where are the people of God? More workers and resources are needed to serve children who are at serious risk. Can you hear the bell ringing? May we all wake up... posted by Thomas at 11:03 PM Hope for ladies
Friday, January 21, 2005
 For everyone who thought our Christmas cards were pretty this year, here is a photo of the Hope training school where they were stitched. The ladies working here have a clean, good, safe environment and are able to help their families with an extra income. They can take the work home or do it at the training center. posted by Thomas at 10:13 PM HOL Primary school receives a worthy name
 We have written before about the new primary school that has recently opened for our children and the village, but now we have an official name. The school will be known as Bora Primary School in memory of an 11 year old Korean girl. "Bora" was the name of a young girl that fell out of a 3 story window and died. Her parents desired to set up a memorial fund and as the word got out that the collected money would be used for the building of a school in Bangladesh the response was great. It is with great respect that we name the school after this precious girl and remember her family with honor. We still need sponsors for the teachers salary. posted by Colleen at 5:03 PM Livestock for sale
Sunday, January 16, 2005
 As Eid ul Azah is around the corner, there is a large population of cows filling the streets. Eid ul Azah is the second biggest Muslim festival and is celebrated with much gusto in Bangladesh. Each family that is able buys a cow, bull or calf to slaughter on the Eid day. The cows are then paraded along the streets and each animal is decorated with flower garlands and glitter. It is custom to ask the person leading the cow how much it cost, often he will exaggerate as the higher the price the more distinguished the family is. The picture here is from our neighbors, he has reportedly paid 50,000 taka (840$) for his animal. The poorer families slaughter goats and even chickens. The killing is symbolic of the offering from Abraham and Isaac in the Bible, which is also in the Koran. On this day the rich are supposed to give 1/3 of the meat to the beggars/poor people and 1/3 to their families and keep 1/3 for themselves. It is a day of feasting for the poor and rich alike. posted by Colleen at 4:33 PM A visitor from the island of Hawaii
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
 After many emails over many months it was great to finally meet Ken Kroehler from Hawaii. Ken has been instrumental in networking Home of Love with his church. Ken might just have the distinction of taking the most pictures of any guest we have ever had! He told us that one just must take pictures of the kids they are so cute. We want to publicly thank First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu for your help, prayers and encouragement in 2004 and 2005. It is a true work of God how he orchestrates the care of His children in Bangladesh through such remarkable ways. We rejoice that so many people can be apart of this ministry of caring for the "unwanted". As we might get our 54th child this week, a one year old girl we are excited about the future of each and every one. Below is Ken, a teacher himself, inspecting some of the children's art. He was very encouraging to all of us and great to have around.  posted by Colleen at 8:17 PM School admission tests, sponsors needed
Sunday, January 09, 2005
 Today was the first day of admission tests for the primary school. Parents, siblings and students buzzed around the school grounds like bees. As the kids took their exams we had people standing guard around the windows so that the parents could not give them the answers. Cheating in Bangladesh is not considered wrong as long as you don't get caught! We hope to see many good results coming out of the school and high standards raised for the village education. Our Home of Love children (KG-3rd) will attend this new school along with the neighborhood village children. The school is right across the pond from the orphanage and was only completed a few months ago. Would anyone be interested in sponsoring a teacher at the school? We would like to really invest in GOOD teachers that are able and willing to do more than teach by rote memory. As the old saying goes, give someone a fish and you feed them for a day but teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime. If interested please contact us.  Here are some of the guardians and relatives waiting outside the school. posted by Colleen at 7:28 AM Korean Taekwondo team visits Orphanage
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
 The children at Home of Love have been learning the skill of taekwondo now for about 2 years. The older ones have advanced up to the 4th belt and are quite talented. Naturally, it was with joy that the Korean team joined us today for a taekwondo demonstration. Boards were smashed with sawdust flying and techniques were shown. The Home of Love children also showed some of their high kicks and punches. The team, from Handong University in Korea were impressed with a few Korean songs that the children had learned and sung in their honor. In closing one young man from Korea shared his testimony and we shared a meal together.  This is Ronald as he gets ready to kick the board out of his teammates hands. The one holding the board is almost touching the ceiling. Can you imagine?  As you can see everyone had an enjoyable afternoon and were attentive to all that was happening. posted by Colleen at 10:40 PM A big THANK YOU to DICC
 DICC (Dhaka International Christian Church) members gave in a very special way to our orphanage. During December 2004 the Church (located in the capital city Dhaka) put up a Christmas Wish Tree. The tree had all the names of our kids and staff, their sex and age written on it. Then families or singles in the church choose one or more kids they wanted to give to. They bought individual presents for the kids and staff, worth about 5$. They brought the presents back to Church and made sure they got to us in Chittagong. I wish you could have been there when we gave out the presents and the kids took turns opening them one by one! The kids could hardly contain their joy as they have rarely ever had an individual present. Thomas and I kept blinking away tears as each present opened seemed to somehow match that child exactly! We looked at each other and said, "How did they know?" A true success at any rate and we have DICC to thank for it. Our staff were amazed that their names were also included and in a childlike way ripped open their gifts also. The kids were excited to hear that foreigners up in Dhaka knew their names and took time to buy them presents. How special this Christmas was for "Home of Love".   What did she get? posted by Colleen at 6:37 AM
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