A happy guy at Bethsaida Orphanage. Orphan’s Tear provided the new addition to their dorm behind him after the previous addition was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.
Dear Friends,
You may have heard that our first team to Myanmar made it successfully there and back, but our second team had their flights cancelled because Bangkok’s airport was closed for eight days by anti-government demonstrators. I was with the first team in Myanmar, and once they went home, I waited for the second team that never arrived. Thankfully I was able to reroute myself and avoid Bangkok on my way home.
The second team has been rescheduled for January 16-30, but only 11 of the 19 team members will be able to fit those dates into their schedules. This has been a disappointment, but it could have turned out much worse. And every team member received full refunds for all their air tickets and expenses, so that was good.
Our first team was able to visit about half of the 31 orphanages that we regularly help in the Yangon and Kalaymyo regions, and everyone was very touched. I will never forget how Philip Barker, from the U.K., was touched when we visited the Handicapped Care Center in Kalaymyo. We always begin our visits by introducing ourselves. Philip tried to, but was speechless. He was so moved as he sat there among about 40 children with polio, who all have legs that are essentially useless, but who are absolutely full of the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Philip has since returned to the U.K. and found sponsors for many of the children who live in an orphanage that we’ve recently “adopted.” And he is going to help us launch an Orphan’s Tear website in the U.K. specifically for U.K. child sponsors. God bless you Philip!
We were able to see many new dormitories that have been built over the past year because of gifts to the Dorms for Orphanages Fund and the Orphan’s Tear Special Gifts Fund. Some of the previous dorms had been completely destroyed as they were built only from bamboo. The new brick and concrete dorms are very cyclone-proof!
The brand new dorm at Emmanuel Children’s Home in Yangon, with the kids who live there
We were able to take portraits of about half of all of children in Myanmar, and we’ll finish the job when we go back in January. If you sponsor a child or children in Myanmar, we’re very excited for you to see how they have grown. And we’re hoping to provide a high-quality digital photo for every sponsor to use as a “screen-saver” or “wall paper” on their computer screens, just like the photo below. We’ll let you know how when everything is ready!
If you haven’t done so already, please consider sending $5 to provide your sponsored child or children with a Christmas gift this year. Your child will receive something essential, like a sweater or blanket or shoes, and that will likely be his or her only Christmas gift this year. You can take care of that right now by giving to the Christmas Gifts for Orphans Fund securely by credit card. Or you can mail a check to Orphan’s Tear, P.O. Box 12854, Pittsburgh, PA 15241. Please write “Christmas Gift” in the memo.
If you would like to give our Lord a Christmas gift this year, why not sponsor another child? We have hundreds waiting at Orphan’s Tear.
OK, have a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah (or what ever you might be celebrating)!
For the Children,
David
