2019 DOI Updates
Home Visits in January
Kelly visited our three homes in Myanmar this January as well as dropping in on an additional home that turned out to not meet our criteria. So many happy kids!!
In Thailand I was as always guided by our faithful partner Terra from our lighthouse home that is such a blessing to DOI and especially me personally as she serves as my driver, trip planner, interpreter and sounding board. We visited all but a couple of the homes in Thailand and both of them had recently been visited by our closest associate foundation very recently and we have been given access to their written reports.
It is always interesting to see some of the homes full of excitement and things changing for better from year to year. Some homes remaining status quo and there is usually one or two that are in decline. We have to remember this ministry is based on people and leader burnout, health concerns, relational issues and family tragedy can all take a home that was healthy for years and put it in decline.
We had three of our homes come off our support this trip which is more than the 4 years previous combined. One home no longer existed as it had been broken up and its resources merged into its sister home. That sister home had changed its core mission to become a school and was housing its 200+ children in area that couldn’t support half that.
DOI was only a small contributor to this home, however we could no longer support its standard of care. The third home was a small home where they had gone from 13 children to 3 over 18mos and felt like the leaders had pretty much given up now that all but one their natural children had moved on.
Cancelling support is always the hardest part of job. It is never the children’s fault but when a home declines to the point that it no longer meets our minimum standards it is our responsibility to be good stewards and make the difficult decision.
My high points this January was definitely getting to spend some time with Terra’s kids that I know the best and enjoying watching as they grow up as well as my time in Myanmar at our newly constructed “GEM” or “Samuels Faith” home.
The culmination of much hard work, prayer and believing in the Pastor who said he could get it done. It is a new 4500 sq ft two story structure that took 50+ kids from living in two make shift shacks with tarp and woven mat walls to a secure structure they are proud to home.
These kids treated me like royalty – it was embarrassing actually, but I did get to share with them and several of them shared back.. including a young lady “Angela” who I had the privilege of giving her western name. This is after she shared the most unforgettable testimony of what God is doing in her life while she lives in this home with her first sense of family. I will remember her and her enthusiasm for the rest of my life!
Watch the website for lots of new pictures over the next couple weeks.
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