Needs of the Family

I have a few people in my life that often email asking me what my family or myself needs.  I often post about needs of the ministry or local kids but these friends of mine are interested in what we need.  I have been told that I need to tell people when I have needs, that way they can be filled.  Well, this blog is about the things that me and my family needs:

School fees:

As a family, we have decided that it is best for our kids to go to one of the International schools in town.  Last year proved very difficult for us as a family.  Fiker was attending the school that is a part of BCI.  We support the school and think they offer a great alternative to the public education that is widely offered here.  However, this school is taught in Amharic.  They have English classes built into their schedules but even in those classes, Amharic is widely used.  

Last year was really rough for us.  I wasn’t able to really be a part of the education process.  Even though I understand a lot of conversational Amharic, I can’t read it.  Nor do I understand “educational” terms.  We also need our kids to improve their English quickly, and that didn’t happen last year.  For this reason, we thought it best for our children to attend an English-speaking school.

We are really excited about this new school.  They use a British curriculum and have tons of educational resources on-site.  As you know, most children learn best by using different varieties of teaching other than just lecture.  This school is able to accommodate that.  This is especially great for Fiker as she doesn’t learn well in a lecture type environment.  

The school is expensive for us though.  It is $50/mth per child.  So that means we need $150/mth.  That equals out to $1500 for this year.

Clothes:

I often collect clothes for the kids in the program but now it’s my kids that need clothes.  They all need pants, shorts, shirts (long & short sleeve), sweaters, socks, and underwear.  They need:

Fiker:

Size 8/10 clothes 

Size 4 undies

Size 1 & 2 shoes

Rebirra:

Size 4t & 5t clothes and undies

Size 9 & 10 shoes

Makreab:

Size 4t & 5t clothes and undies  

Size 9 & 10 shoes

Size 11 rainboots

If you would like to help us out with the clothes and shoes, I can get them from you when I am in the States.  Just let me know.

Medical Expenses:

When I come to the States next week I have some medical visits I need to attend.  I have some medical things that can’t be dealt with here so I have to do it in the States.  Between visits, tests, and prescriptions I am looking at approx $1500.

Could you please join me in prayer that these needs will be met?  If you would like to help us out financially, you can do that through PayPal.  Just click the PayPal link on the left hand side of the page.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and your financial gifts.  May God bless you in return!

July Newsletter

I have put together a newsletter for July and you can access it here. Please take a moment to read it and remember these precious little ones in your prayers.

 

Clothes, clothes, clothes!

I am so excited to post this!!  This is a dream realized for me.  It may seem small to some, but it is huge for me.

When visiting missionaries come they always bring a lot of clothes for the babies and small children.  I understand why this happens-they are cuter clothes and they are smaller so more can be packed.  Hardly ever do people bring clothes for the teenagers that I work with.  

This has weighed heavily on my mind for quite some time.  I finally felt God’s gentle voice telling me that I didn’t have to wait for someone else to remedy the problem-I could do it.  So I went online and went on a HUGE shopping spree.  Belk was having a big online sale so I took full advantage of it.  Nothing cost over $7 and most things were around $4.

I ordered 115 pieces of clothing for our teenagers-boys and girls.  My poor sister had the boxes delivered to her house but she was gracious enough to take some pictures for me.  

Some of the brand-new clothes!!

I absolutely can not wait to bring back these brand new clothes for our young adults.  Now. . .how will I get them back here?  Oh well, that is a good problem for me to work on.  :)

Because of the financial support that I receive from friends, family, and church members I am able to do projects like this.  For that I am so grateful and I am so happy that you are part of this project.  Not everyone can go to a mission field far away but everyone can give-whether in finances or prayer.  So THANK  YOU! 

I will post pictures when the distribution happens.

Our family is growing!

So pretty soon we will be a family of 5.  Mussie’s nephew, Makrab, will be moving in with us.  I am not going to go into all of the reasons of why he is not with his birth parents, due to family privacy, but he is in need of a home.  Makrab is 7 years old and will be going into 2nd grade.  Due to health problems early in his life, Makrab looks to be about 5 years old or so.  Rebirra (my 3 year old) is heavier than Makrab!!

Super cute Makrab.

We are all excited about Makrab’s arrival but we know that it will bring some challenges.  He still suffers from some health issues.  Both of my kids are relatively healthy so we haven’t had to deal with any health problems as of yet.  This will bring a new dimension to the family.  

I want to make sure that Makrab feels welcome and not like the “outsider kid”.  We will treat him just like we treat our other children but you know sometimes children perceive things that aren’t necessarily there.

We request prayer during this time as we make a change in our family.  I already had my trip to the States planned (my Ethiopian visa is expiring) before we decided to take Makrab in so I will be gone for 5 weeks while he is getting settled.  One of Mussie’s sisters will be staying at the house to help with the children so we are confident that his transition will be okay, seeing as how he is really close with his aunt that is coming to stay.

For the past two years, when I would look at my future, I saw my house filled with children that needed homes.  I guess it’s coming true.  :)

Thanks for the prayers!