Front Lines+ Delivers!!!

Emma updates us on our Front Line+ Feeding Ministry in Uganda! 

Click here to read all about it.  

Thank you to all who make Front Line+ Feeding Ministry possible.

You guys are amazing!  

We Need Your Help! This Mountain is Ready to MOVE!

Friends we need your help!!  

 If you need to catch up with our GO Team projects simply look back at the last post! 
After publishing the last post a very unexpected thing happened which was incredible!

What seemed like a mountain of needs, seemingly impossible in the physical world,
 is suddenly 

- and might I add really close to starting time..... 

READY TO BE MOVED!

Those eyes pierce my soul - yes, honey you're home is coming!

WE will build the home for you precious one!

A friend of aplacecalledsimplicity and IVO sent me us a fb message 

asking if I could talk with her husband.  They had been praying about 

what ministry they should bless with a gift. 

They kept coming back to IVO.   

I had no expectation of what came next!   

The husband shared with me that as they prayed they felt the Lord was leading them 

to make a matching gift donation to IVO.  

A very, very generous gift I might add! 

This has never happened before -
(I thought it only happened on the radio pledge drives)!  

Their generosity has blown me away. 
They've offered a total  gift of $12,500 as a matching gift.  

It breaks down as follows:

The Home for the orphans at "The Home of Praise":   $9000

The Rabbit House: $1,000

Amos is always a hard worker and you can bet he'll be working next to me again!

The Special Project: $1,000 

The Legacy Conference:  $1,000

Isn't that amazing?  

This isn't a scheme - it's a gift by someone who has been blessed to be a blessing.  

If you've been thinking about donating to any of the above projects, 

then now is the time! 

Everyone In!  

Everyone doing something and this mountain is history!

Together, this summer, let's do the IVO version of an Extreme Home Makeover!   

No amount is too small!

Just think, each donation will be matched.

So if you donate $5.00 to the Projects,
actually $10.00 will be donated.

How cool is that??  

Let's do this together!

You can donate at our website:

  

International Voice of the Orphan.com 

or 

there is even a donation button on our Facebook page here! 

As always, 100% of each donation go directly 

to serve the orphans.

  

God Bless you,  Together this Mountain can be removed! 

 Dwight & Linny

IT"S TIME - We Need Your Help!

She's been waiting!

Several years ago we met this wonderful young lady whose name is Praise.  She loves the Lord, loves to sing, and her smile is contagious  She calls me dad and her children call me BIG JAJA.  Now I'm not that big, but I love it anyway.  She loves the Lord and loves the orphans that God has placed in her care.

She cares for and loves 26 children as her own on a little plot of land in the bush of Uganda.  When we built a rain harvesting system we realized the home the children lived in was not safe as it almost gave way with a simple ladder propped against it.  Something had to be done.

At that moment I realized IVO must build a dorm for these precious children.

 

Like these that Emma is hugging.

The children have been sick so many times that it is difficult to keep track.  We have paid for having jiggers removed from their feet.  And many of the children have had rats bite their feet with one child actually losing a finger. (this is not an exaggeration but a reality that they have had to live with).

 They desperately need a safe  home.   But we need your help! 

International Voice of the Orphan is taking the challenge to build a family home for the children of Praise.  We are taking it on because we believe in Praise and love the children.

However we can't do it without your partnership.  We have donations in hand of around $4000 but we need an additional $20,000 to $25,000 to complete the project.

We will build only as the money comes in and realize it may take over a year to build, but it will get built!

I love holding and hugging and they know it!

Isn't he precious, he was given medical attention by a generous donor and is one of Praise's children!

 AND THAT'S NOT ALL!!

We will be holding another basketball camp for the boys at A Perfect Injustice but this time inviting others to join as an outreach to the community!  Pray that children receive Christ!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

David and Abby have let Emma know they would like to build a rabbit house to begin a business for the older boys.  Cost - roughly $2500 - yes they are big houses, but will provide food and revenue for the boys and the home.  This is an investment that will keep on giving.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

We will be holding a Legacy Leadership Conference in Kampala with my denomination.   The denomination has awarded us a $20,000 grant but only as matching funds to raise up and train leaders in Eastern Africa.  If you have a heart for multiplication both in training and in souls, this is the place to invest.  You won't know the exponential return but I guarantee you will see it in heaven!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL: 

We will be working on a special project, not quite ready to be announced, but you will love it.  If you'd like to give to the "Special Project" just note it in your contribution.  Needs are about $5000.

God Bless you!

As you can see the needs are enormous.  Please do not ever think your contribution is insignificant!

Everyone doing something and we can take this mountain!

One Little Street Boy

Lynne, a short term missionary, who is living 

with Emma at Emma's new home,

was at street feeding program last week. 

She noticed one little street boy who just could not stay awake.

He didn't eat.

He only slept.

She felt his head and guessed he had a fever.

Lynne knew she could not send him on his way when the program ended.

She kept watching him.

He just kept sleeping, unable to wake.

As the program ended, she talked to another volunteer.

They would have to do something.

They guessed he might have malaria, or even typhoid.

Lynne brought him to Emma's new home, 

where she knew Emma would be willing

to open her home to him. 

{FYI, as hard as it is to understand, not all missionaries welcome

street boys to their home, even for a bath, meal and fresh set of clothes. 

 I was so proud of our Emmy.}

 Lynne and her friend arrived with him and gave him a bath.

They needed clean clothes for him.

I suddenly remembered that the Lord had told me to pack some

boys underwear size 10-12.  

I giggled.

Who knew?

Only God.

I ran to get the undies.

I went and told Liberty.

She went to her suitcase and found her prized and 

most favorite basketball shorts.

{Our chica Liberty loves playing basketball 

and her red shorts are her very favorite.}

She willingly brought them to me.

"See if he would like these mom."

This precious boy's story tumbled out.

He was from a distant city.

His mom had sent him to the market 

to get some vegetables.

He had met up with a friend at the market

who told this little guy of the tall buildings and King's 

palace in distant Kampala.

Together they decided to hop a bus and find this

'fairy-tale' city of Kampala.

Only thing is: Fairy-tales are just that.

Fairy-tales.

Living on the streets had been painful 

and all he wanted was to head home.

Lynne found a shirt of hers...

{appropriately it has James 1:27 on the back}.

We gave him food. 

We prayed healing over him.

He ate.

He guzzled the water bottles we brought him.

Our team gave him a baggie of fun things and snacks.

Lynne and her friend met up with our son LuTaaya

and he helped them to know what to do next.

Over the next few days he was taken for medical

care and found not to have malaria or typhoid.

{After food, water and prayer, he had perked right up.}

At this moment Lynne's friend is in the distant 

city to see if he can find his family.

In the meantime, he is being fed, cared for, is off the streets

 protected and cared for by a trusted friend....and should the family not be 

found, he has a spot in the Ssenge village boy's home waiting for him.

 I marvel at the network of caring people that encountered this little boy 

and ministered to him....

all believing that God has an amazing plan for him and

 each willing to minister in the best

way they knew how.

As I step back from writing this I wonder:

Who can even begin to imagine this little boy's life?

Who can stand to think what he has been through?

Who can know what it would be like to be alone on the

 streets of a big city at the age of ten?

If you think of him, pray that his family can be found.

Pray that God will open his heart to God's love.

Pray for the missionaries who are His hands and feet around the world.

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, 

whatever you did for one of the least 

of these brothers and sisters of mine, 

you did for me.'"  

Matthew 25:40 niv

God, Break Our Hearts...

We encourage each team we lead to

 pray as we are preparing to head to Uganda to minister 

and throughout the trip 

that God would break our hearts with the things that 

break His...

Not one person on the team will ever be the same

again after walking the streets 

feeding the street children

These two little treasures couldn't get the food into 

their mouths fast enough... 

We gave some a little package with food and a few trinkets...

No doubt, the ladies lovingly ministered....

and the smiles on both sides were priceless.....

Many years ago God stirred Emma's heart for a tribe 

from the north that has had many members migrate south due to famine...

We were able to feed some of the mamas

and their babies as they sat on the side of the busy Kampala street...

Each so grateful for the food...

Who can imagine wondering where the next morsel of food will come from?

And when one has a baby to feed?

Impossible for us to comprehend without a glimpse of 

this up close.

We, truly, are never the same after days like this.

Please Lord, continue to break our hearts

 {every day, no matter where we are}

with the things that break yours

and allow us to be your hands and feet

and voice at all times.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, 

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, 

I was a stranger and you invited me in..."

Matthew 25:35

Front Lines Update

This report is from IVO missionaries, Shawn and Sarah Ferrell.  

Shawn & Sarah are responsible for Front Line Feeding programs at two of our partner orphanages.   They also work with a third partner, API, in the street feeding program.  

Shawn and Sarah purchased a truck to make it easier 

to deliver food to various needy orphanages. 

 

They recently reported the truck broke down needing major repairs,  so if you'd like to help get the truck back up and running and delivering,  simply mark your donation truck repairs.  

Any amounts over and above the repair costs will be used on other projects!   

__________________________________________________________________________

Report from the field:  

Building a school.

Raising up a child for Christ in a community of Muslims

.

IVO has built the latest and newest addition to this elementary school. 

This village is full of Muslim households and we are reaching them for Christ through there kids. Many of these kids never had hope of going to school but now there is a place where they can come, learn, grow, be safe and hear about the love of Jesus Christ. 

The newest addition will house the new 4th grade class. 

Seeing all of these kids in their uniforms with smiling faces says it all!

A bag of Posho.

What is that?

Good question, it is what Ugandans call food. It is corn ground up into a powder, then cooked in boiling water to make it eatable. If we ate this 5-7 days a week we would not be excited to see a truck with 50klg bags of this show up at our house. But these kids most defiantly are. They also get beans with each meal. If the money is there then vegetables are added to the beans. Not much for variety but it is healthy and they are getting food. If these orphans where on the streets it would not be so. We are very thankful that these kids are taken care of.

To date this year --- over 7000 meals!  Thank you to all who give!  The need continues so please continue to give and we are finding more opportunities to feed the children.  As always we promise to steward your gifts wisely!! 

Remember to help us get Shawn and Sarah's truck back on the road! 

May the Lord bless you!  We are delighted to serve alongside you all! Dwight & Linny

It's Been Way Too Long

 

WOW, it's been way to long since we wrote!   I cannot believe two months have passed since last  writing  while leaving Uganda.  But there it is in black and white on the calendar.  Two months?  Really?  Where has the time gone??


To begin with, upon arriving home we had to send out year end donation receipts to our generous donors.   We had contracted with a company to help us, "Donor Snap", but they took much longer than we anticipated and it still required a lot of our time. 

Next, was the new concept that I had to be ready for the CPA and the tax man on two levels.  The first of course is our personal return.  That was pretty simple given our past year's income.  What I did not count on was the time consuming posting of each donation and other items over the last year for IVO.  It is now complete & finished and we are on our way.

Please do not think for a moment that the ministry has slowed or stopped in the past two months.  To the contrary!  It is increasing at an ever expanding rate.  We have three team members on the ground in Uganda; Shawn & Sarah Ferrell and Emma Saunders, who are accomplishing many things for the orphans. 

Shawn and Sarah have been busy working with our feeding programs - keeping the children with food supplies and also developing strategies for the future.      (I will share on one of these stories in the next few days.)

Emma, is in charge of the medical, "Ruby's Friends" for IVO.  We now have completed three operations for children with great needs and will fill you in with more details in the next few days.    She is also busy establishing the vision the Lord has called her to.

So there is a quick update with stories to follow in the weeks ahead. 

To our generous donors we again thank you!   Your gifts make everything we are doing possible!

May God Bless You,  Dwight