What a day! (Thursday the 20th) I woke up this morning fine but when I got up from my reading my back went out! Anyone who has had back issues understands that this was not a fun situation. We’ll see how the day progresses!

We got to school and I pretty much walked around very slowly or was sitting in a very straight chair all day. The kids were so concerned they were wondering if we had an accident. The ones who can speak English asked me what was wrong; they asked “does it hurt when you walk?” I told them “a little bit.” “Oh pole” (pronounced poh-lay, meaning sorry) and one little guy told me to keep exercising because he said that would help me get better. They were all so sweet and the nursery and pre-unit students held my hand and walked around the school with me during their lunch break. While I was walking around one little boy came running up to me and with a sore back I tensed everything up anticipating a collision! But he stopped in front of me, gave me a big hug and ran off! When Catherine (our head mistress who I have been spelling her name wrong) saw me and asked what was wrong the first thing she said was “the devil is a liar!” She said that the devil hates what’s happening at the Academy and is trying to tear down the workers. First Ruth got Malaria, then Catherine gets Pneumonia, then my back goes out. Ruth, Catherine and I were thanking God for being our strength and provider of all things! He heals and comforts us all and we thank Him for that!

Today we welcomed a new student, Tate (pronounced Tah-tee) to Nice View. (this is the best picture I could get of him so far.) He was going to a public school but was unable to pay the fees, so he was relying on the good intentions of his teachers who were helping him out with fees. He is a very bright student and scores very highly on the official tests given. His mother visited us at the Academy very desperate to get Tate sponsored since she cannot afford the fees and his teachers from the public school are not a reliable source of continued support. His mother works for a family and she stays with them and can only visit Tate when she has a day off. His older brother has just been registered at a school where he will board, so Tate is home alone (he is in class 8 which means he is between 12-14 years old). So he is now enrolled at Nice View and we are going to visit his home and look into getting him as a boarder so he will not have to stay at home by himself. He told us the night before he was trying to cook his evening meal when his shirt caught on fire. Thank God he wasn’t hurt but he was upset that his shirt was burned, some of his brothers and mother’s clothes were burned and his mother’s bible. We outfitted him with a yellow t-shirt, a set of clothes, a bible, a toothbrush and toothpaste and a backpack to carry it all in. He was very shy but I’m hoping that is only because he’s in a new school. Please pray for continued support for Nice View so that children like Tate can be brought into the school for food, shelter, clothing, education and most of all the love of God shown to them.

After church on Good Friday we went to the school and handed out suckers. Those kids were so excited and happy. It’s such a blessing to see their smiling faces everytime we go to the school. Thank you God for such a wonderful experience.

Here’s a picture of our existing gate. By next week we will have a much stronger, better looking gate but I wanted you to see what is there now!

By the way, is this OSHA certified?