Love Made a Hard Decision - One Changed Life

The rusty old door in the fence was opened by the little girl with huge brown eyes.  Maybe it was her warm coat that she wore on this hot day that hid any fears that she might have had.  Did she know that her life was about to change forever?

Elshaday is a small six year old girl in the Upper Kindergarten class at the Lifesong School in Ziway, Ethiopia.  She has lived with her elderly grandparents ever since she became an orphan at two years old.  Her favorite subject is English and she spends much of her free time jump roping.

Her elderly Grandpa’s love for her was evident, but his poor health kept him in a bed or chair.  The meager wage her Grandma makes washing clothes by hand and spinning cotton has the family still depending on charity to survive.  

The Grandpa begged us to find a home for his granddaughter.  He was old, unemployed and felt helpless to care for dear Elshaday.  Academically, Elshaday was  at the bottom of her class and the Grandpa told us he couldn't teach her things he didn't know himself.  He desired his granddaughter to get a good start in life, but he knew he could never provide food, education or health. 

Love made a hard decision.

Elshaday has now moved into a forever family with a new Mom and Dad to love, protect and provide for her.  She is now living at Samuel’s Home, a vision project by Misgana Ministries, with nine new siblings.  Samuel's Home is designed for vulnerable children, like Elshaday, who no longer have family that can care for them.  She now has a permanent, Christ-following family and hope springing into her future.

Elshaday...One Changed Life!

"God places the lonely in families..." Psalm 68:6

(Thanks to Ann Meyer, Ethiopia Vision Team Member, for relaying this story)

Prayer, Praise & Fasting - Lifesong Liberia

**New Opportunity** We invite you to share a word of encouragement to our staff at Lifesong Liberia. To do so, please comment on this post and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support! 

Director Bishop Emmanuel Jones shares prayers and praises in Lifesong Liberia:

"Praise report:  We are seeing real godly fruits being produced among the children at Rehab.  Can you imagine....every Friday is fasting from 6 to 10 am, and the kids spend those hours praying for other kids around the world!

Prayer request:  For the children's health at both homes, especially during this heavy rainy season.  Please pray for the safe delivery of Pastor and Finda Gunter's baby (directors at Marshall). Also that the children will use their vacation time wisely. 

Lifesong Christian Academy ended the school year with commendation from the Honourable Minister of the Interior, Mr. Ambullai Johnson, guest speaker at the graduation ceremony.  He spoke on the topic:  "Teach Me to Fish".  He commended the school for taking the challenge of transforming the community through education and the gospel, and challenged all to take education seriously."

   

Here is a sweet letter we received from JB, an unsponsored nursery student, to his future sponsor. There are so many JB's in the world longing for commitment and love! To learn more about sponsoring kids like JB in Liberia, please visit http://tinyurl.com/libsponsor.

"You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." 

Matthew 5:14,16 

Only50Kids - Lifesong Ethiopia

In January of this year, child sponsorship for the Adami Tulu School in Lifesong Ethiopia was launched. THANKFULLY, of the 189 children, 139 have been given sponsorship! But, there are still 50 children that are unsponsored!

What does this sponsorship look like? For $19/month, you can sponsor one of the kids at the Adami Tulu School and ensure that they get the incredible education, spiritual mentoring and food that they need to break the cycle of poverty. Many of these kids are already orphans; all are vulnerable children sitting on the razor’s edge of extreme poverty that can rip families apart and create orphans for life. (Questions? Read the program details or contact us.)

Would you be ONE of 50 to ensure that EVERY child is sponsored at Adami Tulu School?

To sponsor children like Olana, Mulash or Yosef, click here.

Olana

MulashYosef

Updates from Lifesong Zambia

We are blessed to give you an update from Lifesong Zambia from missionary Leslie Ringger,

"We are praising the Lord for the ability to get a cement mixer!  We've been able to complete so much more in our numerous building projects this month, namely two buildings on the farm, and a home addition that will give our new team member, accountant-extraordinaire, Sheila Schwab, a place to call home. We're so thankful to have her join our team!

As we begin our second year in strawberry farming we realize that there is still much we are learning in the process, but we thank God for His leading and trust Him to provide the increase of our labors.  It is an honor to work beside an amazing group of Zambian women who have a desire to serve God and a drive to lift their families out of poverty. They are an encouragement to us all.

 

And here is a picture of our Lifesong students' first day with their new uniforms! They are praising Jesus for something most American kids are thankful NOT to have. How ironic!"

 Please continue to pray for our staff and children at Lifesong Zambia!

Construction Continues - Lifesong Ethiopia

Please enjoy this update from Gary Ifft, Lifesong Ethiopia...

"Construction progress continues to go well.  Shown below in a picture is part of the 14 room (12 classroom) Primary School building in Ziway.  As you can see, the floor between the first and second floors has been poured and work is under way to lay the blocks for the walls of the second story.  We are still waiting for the floor to cure, thus the "forest" of eucalyptus poles which are holding up the forms are still in place.  Cutting and placing those thousands of poles is an engineering marvel, but it's the way such work is done here in Ethiopia.

Also shown below is the front of the new four classroom building in Adami Tulu.  Being a much smaller project it is further along.  The tile floors are being laid, the ceilings are being painted, and preparations are being made for finishing the windows and doors.    With our projected increase of 150 students this September (from 600 to 750) we will need these buildings finished and ready for use by then." Child Sponsorship Update: We are thankful to have 16 more children sponsored since our last update! If you are interested in supporting one of the remaining 54 students, please visit the Sponsorship Website.