A ray of sunshine…
On Saturday Nov 1, we made a special trip to the Door of Faith Orphanage to deliver much needed food and cash donations.  The economic downturn hits charities, like orphanages, especially hard and not only are donations down but their normal flow of visitors is also down due to fuel costs and border city safety concerns.  Our quick visit was greatly appreciated since we had brought over 200 pounds of food and nearly $2000 in cash and gift cards.

In spite of the problems the orphanage is facing, including recovering from a fire that damaged half of their older boy’s dorm, God is evident in his grace.  No one was hurt in the fire, it was extinguished quickly, and within days a contractor “dropped by” offering to do the work.  No sooner had the repairs been completed, when a large church visited with a bunch of paint and “free” labor, and they were able to quickly repaint the entire damaged areas and more.

One other update… as some of you know, the Orphanage had torn down its old nursery building earlier in the year, as it had become unsafe and was deemed too costly to repair.  With the economic challenges impacting the Orphanage budget, all building projects were put on hold.  But, it turns out that the economic conditions have also altered the exchange rate so while most of the funds for running the orphanage come in US dollars, they are now worth nearly 30% more.  This means that concrete and cement block building materials are cheaper to buy.  So the foundations for the new nursery have been poured and with additional volunteer masons coming next week, the walls for the first floor should be in place soon.  Somehow when there didn’t seem like there was enough money available, God has made the available money more valuable.  Amazing and Wonderful.  Praise God.