Oct 10, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,


I woke up this morning knowing that there was going to be people waiting to talk to me about school. I had to go out to the fence and tell them that the money was finished. Later, Sarah told them and so did Naomi but they continued to stand out there until after lunch waiting to see if there was something that would change my mind.

We have been able to help with tuitions for over 200 children! Praise the Lord! God has really blessed the children with help this year. I was hoping just to meet what we did last year and we have more than doubled that number. I will be able to give an exact number after some of the people I have interviewed come up with their report card from the school they went to last year. It is a requirement for us to have this. Many from the states have asked how many the school will hold and if there are enough teachers. The primary holds 350 students and the secondary school is 220. And yes there are enough teachers. It is not too late for anyone who may have considered sponsoring a child. There still is a need.

I would like to give an update on what is happening with Odette. Naomi and I have now committed to going over to the hospital everyday to work with her. Her health seemed to be going down. Her lower back bone is protruding and her knee was 4 times the normal size and her ankle is now swollen along with many other problems. She has a really big wound on one of her hips and she has horrible constant pain on her outer part of one of her thighs. Her muscle mass in her legs is almost at nothing. She can not control her urine or her BM's. She is so thin and has way too many bruises and marks all over her body. It is hard to see her like this. Naomi and I are going to work with her everyday trying to get her to move around a little. We started this week just encouraging her to move her toes and ankles to get some kind of circulation going. After one day of that we moved to her trying to straighten her legs for circulation in the rest of her leg. By the third day Naomi and I are really encouraged. The swelling in her ankle is about gone and she is now sitting up when it is time for our visit. After a few days of this and a pedicure I gave her on sabbath that she just loved she is starting to even smile a bit more. Today she hung on to Naomi's neck and actually stood up. Not completely on her own but she is getting better. She is starting to trust us and she looks forward to our visits. She has told her father that she does not want his help anymore she wants to wait for Tammy and Naomi. :) Just in this one week we have seen a huge improvement. After each visit we pray with her. Today she also started to open up with emotional therapy. She told us some things that were bothering her about her experience and she burst into tears. She has a long road of healing but I know that God can help her through this.

Please continue to pray for her and for us as we try to help her through all of this.

Tammy