Danielle's Posts

Hello friends,

   as the time is nearing to leave here i’m getting super sad!  this country feels like a part of me now, and the people are like family!  These last few days we’ve been seeing the beautiful nile falls and today we tested 130 children.

Out of these 130 kids 5 were test HIV positive.   We feel blessed that the numbers were this low, but, hurt for those who were positive.  The village we went to today was about 30 minutes from STAO and we also tested kids at a neighboring AIDS orphans ministry.  The doctors were really patient and efficient with their time and good with the kids.  It was so good today to see each member of our team have a special interaction with the children and adults.  all of us differ so much in our ministries and together it is so great to see us move as one body of Christ and so united.

Our health is so good ( minimal bouts of stomach pain =) )  But, Gods been so faithful to our team and we give the praise to him for our safety.   The Holy Spirit has really moving the other night as satan really tried to attack our home.  We had some really tough spiritual warfare in the girls room.  But, praising God for His power and sovreignty made the demons fleeing.  Continue to pray for spiritual protection! Thanks sooo much!

One last note,  I’m sure you’ve heard a little about Sophia, she tested positive and was being abused by her caretaker! WEll, i went to visit her father and she hasn’t seen him for two years.  I told him about the abuse and that sophia wasn’t going to school and that the lady wouldn’t taunt her saying don’t you wish you could be smart like my kids. Also, she would feed her own kids and not sophia!  This was  heartbreaking for Sophia’s father to hear.  HE sent her away because his wife left him and he was crippled.  Sophias HIV ended up being a blessing and now Sophia is safe and at STAO! Praise God!   but, her 14 yr. old sister is not in school and hasn’t been for awhile due to school fees…but, i’m going to pay for them as she is taking care of her father and 9 yrs old deaf and mute sister!

Her father was sooooo love and gentle with the children and this warmed me to the depths of my heart….  His prayers had been answered….all along he thought his daughter was in school…and now she is….this is his only dream that his daughters get to rise up and get good jobs!  He truly blessed me and i was able to pray with him!  I can’t even express how happy i am!  This made coming here soooo worth it!  God’s so good and helps direct us in ways we could never know! He’s so good!  Continue to pray for this family as they continue to try to pay for basic needs!  Thanks so much for all your prayers!  I love you Ritchey family!  =)  and everyone unrelated to me! We really miss you! God Bless! DAnielle

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Hey Friends and Family,

   Our teams are now beginning our individual work!  Yesterdays briefing with Pastor David was amazing! Learning about the culture, and how to go about our projects! Today, I and the rest of the healthcare team brought 4 children to the clinic.  1 girl having AIDS, and the other 3 having different infections.   Watching and going through this process with the children was wonderful! The office was nice and prompt with the care. 

It is heartbreaking to think about testing the kids we’re working with and finding out some have HIV.  We are  preparing our hearts and focusing on God’s purpose for us here! The stories and faith of the children and adults here is astonshing and captivates your spirit and makes you want to draw nearer to God and fall in love with Him so much more! 

As far as the other teams go Sustainable income team is working on the pig stye and building that!  We’re hoping to have that finished in the next few days.  Also, the building we’re working on we are hoping to have finished by the time we leave!   This will hold an additional 60 children.  So this is a huge focus and chunk of our budget.  Please keep this in your prayers as we progress in this project!  We really need guidance on where to spend our projects and where to put our focus! 

The education team is still planning and deciding what to do exactly! We super excited about what this team is going to do. They’re hoping to do a workshop to help children with their English.  This will help equip these kids for their future careers. 

We all miss you very much, but, we are having a blast here and falling in love with the community of people here! The culture here is so much less self-serving. They are all about visiting and serving one another.  the church here is so recklessly diving into Jesus and serving Him with all they have.

Thanks for all your prayers! We love you! Danielle Ritchey

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