Hello May! Well friends, as the needs continue to increase, we find it necessary to condense our monthly newsletter so that we don't overwhelm you. Yet, we don't want you to miss a thing! For this reason, I hope you'll follow us on Facebook or Instagram, where we share needs and highlights as we receive them. There's just so much good happening because of your constant support here and on social media. We thank God for you!

Phase two of our Empty the Orphanages campaign is still live. It's a lofty fundraising goal to help empty orphanages full of children with special needs. We invite you to partner with us to make a world of difference for these precious children.

Let's keep bringing more light together where we are able. Now for the April updates...
Top of the list - Baby Benon's family in Uganda! This one feels really emotional because this family had such great need (shared on social media). The baby (Benon) was (is) severely malnourished and needed urgent medical intervention. Several of the other children appear to be malnourished, too. Their house was strong but needed some major repairs to keep down the dust. They didn’t have a rainwater catch tank. There was no latrine and conditions were extremely unsanitary. And, now? THEY HAVE IT ALL. Our amazing partners (and students in our education sponsorship program!) finished renovating their home. Emergency food and clothing were provided. They now have a latrine, water tank, and kitchen with a shop window for business. Baby Benon spent time in the hospital and is getting healthy. And they now have furnishings and utensils for eating.

Our partners reported: "Finally, the long awaited move in day is here. Everyone first took a shower and put on their new outfits and got ready to smile for the camera. You can imagine the excitement! The children and parents are very grateful for this show of generosity they have never seen before. They never expected any of this. They thank you so much and wish you the best of everything."

This project was costly, but saving this family was worth every cent, right? We sure think so!!!!
Our motto for this year is "Bringing Light to the World" and we are so thankful to be able to do that quite literally, thanks to the participants of our recent Facebook auction. About a month ago, one of our Uganda partners, REHUM, shared photos of some bulky solar lanterns they had purchased in-country for vulnerable families. The cost was a bit high, so we reached out to a US-based company that manufactures lightweight, collapsible solar lighting systems at about 1/3 of the price. The problem was shipping though. We had no way to get them to Uganda because of customs issues. So we let it sit believing that it would somehow come together.

A week later, we were - out of the blue - contacted by a friend of our organization who saw a post about our efforts to help vulnerable children in Uganda and her family happened to be traveling to Uganda the very next week. Was it really possible?? We quickly placed an order of 240 solar lanterns to be shared among three of our Uganda partners and the manufacturer assured us the order would make it to the traveling family within days. This gracious and willing family repackaged the lanterns, fitting them all into a large suitcase and we were good to go.

Amazing, right? But then we got an urgent call at 6 p.m. that Friday night from the family. They were at the airport and customs wasn't letting the lanterns through security. They were told they had to leave the suitcase behind. Yes, panic set in. But, as Emily began to demonstrate how the lanterns worked and explained that they were for people who had no lights or electricity, there was a sudden change of heart in the agent. And, just like that, everything was okay. Divine intervention.

The solar lanterns have been safely distributed to our partners and each of them will work on plans to get them into the right hands. We received photos from our partner REHUM recently. John has already been working hard to give them to the children who need them most - to make sure these children can now do their homework and chores at night. It feels like yet another small miracle that this all came together. Thank you, Emily Ohlinger and family, for your willingness to transport these important gifts.

Where there is darkness, let there be light!
Thanks to your continued support of our medical intervention fund, we were able to send more needed supplies to Ping (diagnosis epidermolysis bullosa) and his buddies in the care of Little Flower in China. In multiple shipments, we sent pain relievers, specially treated bandages, gauze pads, baby vitamins, neosporin, and NG feeding tubes. These deliveries should last them about six months.
This beautiful family. They always talked about adoption as part of their family plan before they married twenty-two years ago. And, after many years of infertility and multiple miscarriages, God gifted John and Susan with five biological children. One of their daughters was born with an extra chromosome, and her life prepared them to say yes to adopt a child with Down syndrome someday. Well, that "someday" was in January, when they were matched with perfect little Nora, meaning "Light" and "Honor", and she is - indeed - their light, and they are honored to give her their love. As our newest "Say Yes" Downright Lovable grant recipient, we wish the Biery family extraordinary blessings as they welcome and raise their precious new bundle of love!