Our First Marriage in the Urukundo Family

We have had our first wedding in the Urukundo family! Mary Claire, one of our first mamas, is a beautiful bride, and her new husband a handsome young man.  Mary Claire is now a student at Butare University thanks to her sponsors at Wesley UMC in Bethlehem, Pa. Because of their kindness, this young woman will have a brighter future.

She intends to finish her education and return to Urukundo to return the love that has been shown to her.

Introducing Dr. Jean Bosco and Our Medical Wishlist

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Dr. Jean Bosco is a nurse 1. He can prescribe medicine and do minor surgery. We are blessed that he has chosen to work in Christian ministry and work with Urukundo in our clinic. This past week two visitors from a clinic in Ruhungeri came to see what we were doing and were amazed that we had a Nurse 1. Theirs is a clinic in operation to the community in the north and they do not have a nurse 1. It made me stop and thank our God for Dr. Jean Bosco.

We visited a clinic in another location and witnessed all the medical supplies they had that we needed. This examining table with steps is on our wish list.



It is home made and we can get it here. Our clinic really needs everything but this would be a start.

Our Tiki Hut Brings Us Together

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Since the girl's home is still under construction, we had been struggling for some time because we wanted our kids to worship together and transport was a problem.  Living in two different places poses it's challenges.  One day we will have a chapel at Urukundo Village, but until that day our eyes were opened to the beautiful little Tiki Hut in our garden just below where the boys home is and we are building the girls home.  It was built as a resting place and is in such a beautiful setting. All around is the beauty of the earth. Our Tiki Hut Worship Center is now where our children gather.  It is small but there is always room for others.

A Look Ahead at Our Future Plans

I want to share with with our future plans for building a life here for these children that will see them into their future.  Our plans are to one day build a Chapel, a Clinic for the community and our kids, a Nursery School for working parents with small children, An English Primary and Secondary School where English and Kinyarwanda will be the working language, two more homes for Orphans and a home for Street Kids needing a place of refuge.  It may sound like a lot, but look how far we have come.  There is much work to be done and teams are needed and welcome.  Anything you can do to help us in restoring this wounded part of the world is appreciated.

Progress on the Girl's Home: Building the Roof

Progress on the girl's home continues with the beginning of a roof.  It's remarkable how quickly it is coming together as you can see the last few months progress on the girl's home here for comparison.  It looks like our girls will have their new home as soon as November.



We have been able to hire four young students who are working during the holiday between trimesters.  Not only does this help us get the girl's home done faster, but it helps them earn money for secondary school, improving themselves and the community.

Farming and Weather

The weather continues to be unpredictable in Rwanda.  It is unusual to have rain in July, but it is happening. I am looking forward to September when we will plant our first real garden on our own land.  How wonderful. The land is cleared, leveled and is getting filled.  It will take a lot more fill before it is ready for planting but the soil is rich.

Half of it will be American and the rest Rwandan. We have seeds from America and are going to experiment with them. Lettuce, radishes, peas, carrots, cucumbers, squash, etc. This month, August, I will start tomato and pepper plants. Three months from planting to harvest does not seem like enough time for these vegetables to mature. We’ll see. The best part of all this gardening is I can supervise but fortunately don’t have to do the work nor pull weeds.

Donna Doutt, Presbytery Kiskiminetas, from Yatesboro, Pennsylvania is sending us Mammoth Russian Sun Flower seeds to experiment with. These flowers could give us chicken feed.  Whether a success or a failure, I will send you pictures so you can see how our experiment goes.  This work really is fueled by your ideas and efforts, so our thanks is extended to Donna and all others for their great work.

The Progress on The Girl's Home

Check out the picture of the girl's home under construction last month.



Now check it out in this picture taken on June 25th.



The progress in less than four weeks is great.  The girls are watching the work very closely. This is their home and they are excited. I really want for all of us to be in one place and so I am praying that we will be able to raise the funds to complete this house by November.

Thank you again to everyone who is helping to make this great work possible.

Cooking Food, the Price of Gas, and our New, More-Efficient Cooker

I'm sure everyone is well aware that the price of fuel has been going up.  It's been straining us here too.

Charcoal has become very expensive here because of the ban by the government on cutting trees.  This is, however, our least expensive way to cook.  Electricity is currently not possible for us and gas is expensive and can only be purchased in Kigali.  So we spend $20 to retrieve it and for $86 purchase a small tank that lasts less than a month.  There is no truck to deliver gas like in the US.

Looking for a solution, we discovered a new, much more efficient design for a cooker.  We had it build in a single day.  It is made of cement but has three cooking holes and uses a third of the charcoal and can burn scrap wood.  We have lots of that from old scaffolding.  It's a step in the right direction and makes sure we all have properly cooked meals.



It may be reaching a bit, but it reminds me of the old Iron cook stove in my Gram's house when I was a kid.  Any way you look at it though, we're please to be doing more with less, making better use of the materials and gifts available to us.

Settling Into the Boy's Home, Laying the Foundation for the Girl's Home, and Much More

There is much to report for the month of May on Urukundo Village. For those new to Hope Made Real, Urukundo Village is our new home that we are currently trying to build on land that we actually own so that our work and these children have a place they can truly call home.

Our Great Progress

We have purchased 2.4 acres of land and it is ours, completely complying with all Rwandan government regulations, bought and paid for.  We are so happy to have land to call our own, to grow our good works, and to give these children a true sense of the word "Home".



The boys moved into their new home on April 23rd, 2008 on what was a joyous day and a small house for the caregiver in charge is also completed. It will initially be where I live and then for whoever follows me.



We have also bought a small house close to the boy's home and are renovating it to use it as a charcoal kitchen.



We have built roads to the existing buildings for easy access. Electricity and water have not been easy to get connected to both houses.

The Girl's Home in the Early Stages

In this photo you can see the foundation is nearly completed for the girls home. We need your help to complete this project both financially and with your thoughts and prayers. Living in two different areas is not good for us and hopefully we will be rejoined once the Girl's home is completed.

Our Play Area

Lastly, we have completed the play area to keep our kids safe. This consists of a basketball, volleyball and tennis court combination and a Karate practice area. It is good to see our children doing the thing children should do: just enjoy being kids.

Your Help and Support Make It Possible

Thank you again for your contributions and support. Please help bring our children together in one place enabling us to better care for them. God has been good to us. Things are changing here and making the right decisions is so important. Please pray for wisdom for yours truly as we proceed.