Finlayson Newsletter

September 20, 2004

Hello Everyone!

I do believe the past 3 months have been the busiest time for us at HOPE than we have ever seen! It will take me more than just a few words to get you “caught up” so be patient with me.

Last newsletter started with the closing of school and bragging on the children for a job well done. This summer has led us in many different directions involving the children in the lives of others and gaining from them.

June 25-July 5 our team from Vero Beach arrived. This team came specifically to work with the Church but had special classes each evening for our children. They were taught by the youth group and their Youth Minister about faith building Bible characters as well as the fruits of the Spirit. It was a joy to see their little faces light up and get excited about Bible class each evening. May these young people know just how special they made our children feel. It was greatly appreciated.

July 17-24 Was our Medical Team/Day Camp. The Day camp was specifically for the children of HOPE. Russ and Martha Brown of Lakeland, FL came last year with this team and worked with our children. They did a wonderful job in 2003 but having been to Guyana and to HOPE and knowing what to expect really boosted their abilities of making our first “Day Camp” a great success. It was wonderful!! The girls built and painted baby cradles while the boys did trucks. Everyone was taught how to weave a basket and necklaces and bracelets were made by all. The Brown’s were assisted by Ricky Flippin of Lubbock, TX who took charge of sports each day. A perfect pick, as Ricky was just what they needed. Someone who will get right in there with them, have fun, but all the while teaching them about Godly behavior…even when they play. In the afternoon Bible lessons were taught by Victor Eskew’s team from Brookland, AR. Those ladies did an outstanding job in putting together lessons that would keep the attention of the children. Having been going whole day in sports and craft, that was not an easy task but much thought and prayer had obviously gone into the planning of these lessons. Because this was such a large team, there was lots of love to be spread around over the week. The children were touched, hugged, kissed and told many positive things. This, I feel, was worth it all! Thanks guys! Our medical team did an outstanding job as well. We saw 2,402 patients at the clinic. Gave away over 1000 reading glasses. We conducted 328 Bible studies which resulted in 18 baptisms among the two villages served. God used Dr. Mindee Flippin to implant the first pacemaker in Guyana. One of the members of the Enmore Church was the recipient of this blessing. A special thanks also to Linda McAnally for preparing 5 lessons and teaching them each day to the ladies of the Church/community. A good crowd gathered each morning for these classes.

Starting July 26-August 13 we had 2 guys from England who came over to work in Sports with the HOPE children. The mother to one of the guys lives here in Guyana as her husband is a Diplomat for the British High Commission. The Mom, Glenda, works as a volunteer for HOPE 2 times a week. She has taught courses in computers as well as working with some of our children with speech problems. The whole aim of working in the area of sports was to teach “team work” and the idea of accomplishing so much more when we work together. It was very obvious in the beginning that we needed this! By the end of the second week I could see that the point was becoming more and more clear as to what team work involved and why it is important. The end of the 3rd week led us to our big event…HOPE Children’s Home Sports Day!! This was the first ever and we are already planning for Sports Day 2005. That is how GREAT it was! The children were a bit nervous but they had worked hard for this event. After it all got started, their fears subsided and they were able to carry on with their team sports. Included in the event were sports such as relay races, baton race, and the 60 meter race. Our day was made special by some very distinguished visitors. Two Diplomats gave up a very hectic part of their day to be with our children. The British High Commissioner Steve Hiscock and American Ambassador’s wife, Hilda Cox-Bullen (Aunty Hilda to the children at HOPE) were so gracious to us. They were there at 10:00 when the event started and stayed for the entire activities. Given the fact that former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Guyana the same day and a conference was planned for 2:00, I know what a sacrifice they were making. They presented the children with certificates and gifts for their efforts. A trophy was awarded to the team who brought first place. That made the day! After all was said and done, we treated all to a trip into Georgetown and had lunch at Popeye’s. WOW! What a day!!

August 2-6 was our annual VBS and again our children were richly blessed. Much love from, Linda Forrister, a dear friend in Lubbock, TX made it possible for our children to have such a wonderful VBS. Our Theme this year was the life of Moses and how Moses worked together with God to accomplish much. Our number was off this year by about 150. We learned later in the week that there were 2 other VBS going on that same week in Enmore. That’s OK….we were pushing 400 children and that was plenty. The children learned new songs and parts of Moses life that they had not known about. God is so good and we appreciate the opportunity of sharing his love to the children of Enmore and surrounding villages. Many thanks to Debby and Marc Nickens of Florida who came for 1 week to help us in our VBS. They were lifesavers! Their presence allowed me to move about among the different classes instead of teaching. That made my job so much easier.

Two of our children have had surgeries in the past month. Zarhir had fallen a few weeks back and the arm did not heal properly. A plate was inserted and he is doing well. Hopefully he will get his cast off on Friday. Naresh had hernia surgery today. All went well and he is at home resting. It is always a scary thing for little children. Hopefully we will fewer of these incidents. Thanks for your prayers. Please continue to pray for healing in these two boys.

August 22 Kenneth and I had 16 children of HOPE over at our house to spend the night and half of the next day!!! Whew! I could have used a few more hands to help out! When he took them home….he brought 16 more!! Those little guys got a bum deal as they played for about 4 hours, ate lunch had a snack later and went back home. I just couldn’t take 2 nights in a row. They had a blast and it was good for them to spend a night away from home.

August 26 the children will have their last outing for the summer! We will be taking them to the Zoo and then lunch at Grand Coastal Inn. This is a gift to the children from Mokesh Daby, owner of the Inn. He so graciously provided a field trip for the children last year and promised to do it again this year. The children love the zoo and getting to see all the different animals that live up in the interior. Lunch at the hotel will be a special treat. That part is going to be very interesting!! Pray for us…

We are now gearing up for school, which will begin August 3rd. I am frantically working on uniforms and school supplies. I’ll talk about…”first day of school” in our next letter. It was a good summer, but, I’m ready for these guys to go back to school so that I can get some things done!

All of this brings us down to today. What a privilege it is for me to tell you that today is Dominic’s birthday!! He is 2 years old today. What a great blessing he is to us at HOPE. We did not know if Dominic would ever sit up by himself because of the severe muscle waste. Today Dominic is walking!! May God receive all the glory, honor and praise for this child’s recovery. He is a joy to be around. His words are Ma-ma, Na-na and MAN! He has a strong will and that is partly what kept him alive. May God continue to bless him and keep him strong and healthy.

We love each of you and fully understand that none of these children could be so richly blessed had it not been for your generous donations to our work at HOPE. May God bless you in ways beyond your imagination. May HE shine in you as you live your lives so that others can know how wonderful HE is and what great power HE possesses and how HE can change their lives. Grace and Peace be unto you.

Photos of some of these events can be found at www.hope-childrens-home.org under the newsletter archives. This will be located under August newsletter.

With Much Love,

Samantha Finlayson