Greetings from Todd Ellingson in Rwanda for August 2010

We are very excited that the nursery walls are almost done. Construction started again after a generous donor gave us a gift a month ago. The new nursery is located attached to the girl's dorm. The current nursery is in the boy's dorm and is crowded with eight children and three mamas.


Arlene continues her travels in the USA (details of her schedule can be found here); in the meantime here are a few snapshots of daily life at Urukundo:

The boys play marbles almost every day.


Johnny, Sarah, Rebecca make the most out of a cardboard box.


Praying mantis are common around Urukundo.

Nursery in Progress

The nursery plans have been put in place. The foundation has been dug and a load of stones delivered.

The process has begun. Stones, cement, sand and bricks are needed before we can have a real nursery for the babies.

The Grand Opening of our Multi-Purpose Center

The family gathering for the official opening of the center. The building still needs face boards, gutters and some lawn in front but for our purposes, it can be used.



We gathered on the lawn with our guests singing praises to the Lord for this wonderful gift.



Ribbon ready for cutting.



It seemed only appropriate that members of the team from Wesley UMC, Bloomsburg, Pa who broke ground for this building in 2008 happened to be here for this joyous occasion. "God in Charge"



Sandra Walker, Ed Keller, Leslie Hafner



Kids, benches, bibles & song books.



A word of encouragement from Ed. John as translator



I put in my two cents worth with John helping out.

'Hope House'

The kids are delighted to have a house that will serve so many uses. At the top of that list is:
1. A place to worship.


2. A celebration place.






3. A library and computer learning center.


4. A dorm when teams of more than 10 come to visit and work at Urukundo Village.

Priority Project

Finish construction on the Multi Purpose Center "HOPE HOUSE"

Windows and doors needed.

Ceiling boards and tile for the floor are essential.

We are a faith ministry and in faith we know God is in Charge.
Our mission outreach after feeding, clothing, lodging and educating the Urukundo kids is to the aid children in Rwanda.
The update for scholarships given by you will be in the next newsletter. It is not too late to give the gift of a scholarship.
Send your gift of $16 for a needy child by Paypal or to:
Hope Made Real
Arlene D Brown
PO Box 3222
Williamsport Pa 17701

GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Good News for Urukundo

Todd and Andria Ellingson have dedicated their lives to serving God in Rwanda. If it is God's will, Todd will arrive in early 2010 and Andria in May after fulfilling her obligation to the school she has a contract with.
I look forward to their arrival.

Todd & Andria during their visit to Urukundo Village.

Todd and Andria are part of the family of Christ at:
New Covenant Lutheran Church
15152 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
480-993-9045 (cell)

Their coming will be a loss to New Covenant Lutheran Church but such a blessing to Urukundo Village. We appreciate the love and support given to them by their faith family as they step out on a new journey in faith.
Todd serves as Director of Youth and Family in service to the Lord at New Covenant Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Andria is in her sixth year as a Kindergarten teacher at Madison Rose Lane Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona.

A View of Our Homes

Here's a view of the homes looking from the top of our land.


Boys on the left Girls on the right. Memorial Tiki Hut below trees, basketball court in left corner above boys home.
Avacado trees in center. The clear area will one day have a house for infants.

An Addition to the Nursery

We now have two sturdy cribs for the babies and hope to get two more. We drew a picture for a local craftsman and he made them for us. The side lifts up and off so we will be able to use them for a long time.

Our Present Library

We are very pleased that we have a library but it sure is not big enough for all the kids.



Aline and study bench in library.



Laki on table, Aline and Natete. Books are valued. The kids are learning to read in English. The babies learn so very fast.



The future home of the new worship Center and second floor Library.

Introducing to Rwanda a Protected Burner Barrel

This project has three compartments. 1 for cans and bottles, 1 for Compost and 1 for burning paper. It’s a step in the right direction. NGO (non government Organization) Food for Hungry came to check this one out.

The Mountain

It is still part of the vision to build schools that will aid the poor in the neighborhood and our own children. We have the land for the Day Care Center and Kindergarten. The land for the Primary school is on the mountain. That land is needed to complete the vision. It does not belong to Urukundo Village.
The talk at the present time is that a big hotel will be built on the top of my mountain. This makes no sense to me as our Urukundo Village sets between the main road and the site designated for the hotel. “God in Charge”



I can not visualize a hotel on this land.

Preparing for the future we, with the help of a team from Bloomsburg, have constructed a fence to separate the Soccer field from the road that will be used to build that hotel.



The road is a public road so we can not block it as we did the road next to the boy’s home. The openings in the wall will have metal but for now it looks ok and is protection. There will be a gate leading into the village. One day it will have a sign that says “Urukundo Village.”

A New Tradition of Trees

It started with Betty Brown from Bloomsburg who asked could she plant a tree. Then my grandson Tim also planted a tree. Because we need the trees and want to have a growing testimony of volunteers who have honored us by coming and working in the village, a tree is planted in their name.

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