Home of Love

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Green, green, green!

The plants, trees, grass and weeds seem to have grown a couple of feet since we left three months ago. The entire place is so green and vibrant. It does resemble a jungle with so many plants taking over Thomas' garden but it's a happy jungle. This year the guava trees that were planted a few years back, yielded so much fruit that the kids were able to eat as much as they wanted. Now its tamarind season and the trees had better brace themselves as they will be climbed repeatedly in search of this favorite fruit.

posted by Colleen at 4:31 AM

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Back at it!

We are back in Chittagong, the city we share with another 3+ million. The rainy season is on its way out, thank goodness because we need to air out our house, clothes, blankets, etc.!

posted by Thomas at 7:47 PM

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Clean Up Day

Bangladesh as a country is quite dirty. Waste management is a big problem here because of the lack of education and the high population. Even in the orphanage we struggle to teach the kids to throw away candy wrappers and not to litter all over the property. We have little hope to clean up the country but want to instill good values in the orphanage kids. Here you see one of our "clean-up days". Some of the little kids fill their bags with sticks and grass and look generally quite bewildered at what it is that the foreigners want from them!

posted by Colleen at 11:29 AM

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

A chance for YOU to get involved

Ever since we moved the Home of Love out to the new facility we have had it in our hearts to build a playground for the children. We have a great flat place all picked out but no playground to put on it! Being in the USA and Germany this summer we have seen yard after yard with playgrounds in them, each playground serving only a few kids. Our playground for Home of Love would serve MANY kids and everyday of the week!
There are many different ways to build a playground and some of the nicer schools in the city have made homemade versions out of steel. Steel though is very hot in the summer (9 months for us) and rusts easily in the heavy rainy season. We considered wood but are worried about the ambitious termites in Bangladesh and again about the heavy rains.
Our dream is to ship a plastic playground over from the U.S. To do this we would need a lot of help from outside folks like you. If 80 people gave 100$ that would about cover the costs. We already have $6,400 for this purpose collected and will need another $6,000 plus the money for the shipping from Los Angeles to Chittagong. The shipping is going to be $2,500. I know that $12,400 for a playground seems extravagant in a country where the majority are wondering where to get their next rice meal from but we feel a liberty from, the Father who gives good gifts, to try and raise this money. If it doesn't happen we can always go to Plan B or choose a cheaper version. We believe that God loves the kids at Home of Love and desires healthy happy lifestyles for their childhood, for us that includes a playground to play on. We have not selected the model yet but have looked at many websites and catalogues.
Presently our nursery age children are inside all morning long as there is no safe place to let them go outside. They are mainly in their bedroom for many hours playing with little pieces of wood or things they have found. Wouldn't it be great to have a playground to let them out on each day? If you agree, let us know how you want to help.

posted by Thomas at 7:14 PM

Monday, August 15, 2005

Greetings from

You would see this if you drive into the orphanage.

posted by Thomas at 7:07 PM

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Apphia dreams of Nursing college

Apphia has been at the orphanage since she has been a little girl. Active in AWANA and a general blessing to the whole family, Apphia has grown into a sensational young woman. She is now about 19 years old and has recently passed her 10th grade exams making her eligible for applying to nursing college. Becoming a nurse has always been her dream and we hoped that someday God would allow her the chance. Last year she took her 10th grade exams and failed them but we knew her heart and good attitude and asked her if she wanted to stay and work as part staff and continue studying alongside for the next years test. She agreed and has been an asset to our staff team. Apphia has been known to sit for days in hospital beds alongside sick children from the orphanage carrying unselfishly for them in bad conditions. She serves tirelessly in the kitchen each day helping the cook and is never without her bright smile.
While away I heard the news that she had passed her exams and wrote her a postcard to congratulate her. I could hardly write a word before getting tears in my eyes as I thought of the faithfulness of God towards Apphia. She comes from a very poor family and has no father. Her mother sells fish in the market and makes enough only to eat a day at a time. Apphia is a beautiful Christian girl, who loves God and has found the JOY of serving others to be a heart attitude. I personally can’t wait to see the future that God has for Apphia, as soon as we get back I will go with her to the Nursing College and try to get her admitted. We are praying for a Godly husband and all the extras for Apphia.

posted by Colleen at 3:19 AM

Friday, August 05, 2005

Rainy season - Soccer

During the ongoing rainy season soccer is still played at "Home of Love"
You might just end up with a frog in your pocket.

posted by Thomas at 1:50 AM

Monday, August 01, 2005

Returning to Colleen's roots

Arriving in the USA, our daughters said, "Oh, it's so neat to be able to talk without even thinking". It was strange for them that everyone could understood them when they spoke! For Ruben everything has been brand new, he balked at using brown paper towels in the bathroom because he said they looked like things to make coffee with. He still cannot grasp the idea that swing sets and slides in people's yards are not public property and finds the whole western concept of "this is mine and that is yours" very difficult to understand! After living in Asia since he was 3 weeks old this trip has been quite the eye-opener.
We are making stops on the East coast then head to Canada, Texas, Mississippi, and finally will arrive in South Dakota the beginning of August. The desolate plains of the prairie sound very inviting.
The DVD that our good friends put together has been received very well and we are so thankful for the tool that it is. One of those friends was Mike Kuechenmeister from Virginia. He was the one who put together our web page, printed our prayer cards and helped with the DVD. We would like to publicly thank and applaud his great work!
It is humbling to see the interest in Bangladesh and the affection many have for the orphans of "Home of Love". We are thrilled with all that God has planned for the future and are so glad that many of you are involved. In case someone wants to get a hold of us, our phone number is 864-363-4154.

posted by Thomas at 2:14 AM