Exciting News: The Carriers from West Virginia sent 5 boxes to Malawi containing Christmas gifts for the children and staff at Good Samaritan. The 5 big boxes contained 189 small boxes of candy (sweets as they are called in Malawi). Each box is gift wrapped.

The boxes arrived Thursday 12/27. Thandie has decided to save them for a special New Years Celebration. The children are so excited! They of course wanted to open them today and when Thandie said they had to wait until "next year" they looked so sad...then they realized it was only a few days away :)

The children have gone to town and have had a chance to spend their Christmas money. This was such a special treat for them.

Wellness update: Junior is resting at Good Samaritan and feeling much better. The rest of the children and staff are healthy. Savannah's current weight is 13 lbs 2oz. Today (12/28) all of the children are in the garden working. I could hear them when I talked to Thandie. They were working hard, in the rain,were very very dirty, but full of joy.

Prayer Request:
1) One of the women members of Nawsawa Baptist Church died this week. She left a three month old baby boy. The Pastor of the Church, Joseph Maweta asked Thandie if we could take this little one, and sadly we had to turn him away. The church will now be contacting other orphanages to see if they have room for him. Please pray for this little guy.

2) Our adoption attorney is making a very important phone call to the head of child welfare in Malawi sometime today or within the next few days. We need this mans approval before we can go forward on Savannah-Hope's adoption. Please pray that God will touch this man's heart and he will give us the "go-ahead" to move forward. The Malawi Social Welfare Office is VERY leery of Americans adopting Malawian children because of all the media frenzy and negative publicity surrounding the Madonna adoption.

School Update: Back in September our 8th grade students took their primary school exit exams. They have to pass these exams before they can go to secondary school. The results of these tests are expected to be announced on Monday 12/31. Please continue to pray for the finances for these 21 children to begin school in January. The cost for each child is $300 a semester which includes tuition, transportation, books, 3 uniforms and a daily sack lunch. Please prayerfully consider helping sponsor one of these children. If you can't sponsor one child, do what you can, any amount will help hold a spot in school for them.

Make your check payable to: VWO Orphanage (VWO=Victory World Outreach)
Victory Baptist Church
7808 Beulah Church Rd
Louisville, Kentucky 40228
On the memo portion of the check write: School fees

Brief Update

As of midnight PST on 12/26/07, Junior remained in the hospital with a high fever. Thandie was driving all over town looking of an open clinic to weigh Savannah. Savannah was due to have her December weight check on Christmas Day but the clinic was closed so Thandie planned to take her Thurs 12/27. I couldn't get a connection on the phone line where I could hear Thandie and she could hear me. I could only hear her. So I called every half hour to see if she found an open clinic. Finally at 2:30am I gave up and drifted off to sleep.

Savannah-Hope's mother called this morning and Thandie thought it was me (again not being able to hear us). It was Thursday evening (12/27) in Malawi. The connection was poor so Crystal is not sure if what she heard is accurate or not but here is what she heard. Junior has been discharged from the hospital. Savannah-Hope received her box from the Johnsons. The box contained a video of her new family and Savannah was watching it when Crystal called. This box was sent on December 1st.....we were told by the post office that it would be there in 8 days....it took a month....which is pretty typical.

Savannah-Hope now weighs 13 lbs 2oz. I am not completely sure if this weight is accurate since this was a differents clinic and a different scale.

I will call tonight for another update. It was too late to call Thandie when I would up this morning...or should I say this afternoon. I am off work today and took full advantage of the opportunity to sleep in :)

Prayer Request

I just received word from Thandie that "big" Junior has been hospitalized. He is ill and suffers from epilepsy. Thandie said there is some chance he may be released Wednesday (12/26) afternoon. Please pray for Junior.

I don't have any other updates as I wasn't actually able to talk to Thandie. I could only hear her. She took a chance it was me and gave me the update about Junior before hanging up.

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday 26 children visited Good Samaritan from the Amitofo Care Centre. Thank you so much for praying! Thandie was so excited to share what the Lord had done. When the children arrived they first showed the Good Samaritan children some karate and self defense techniques. Then Amitofo director said it was time for the Good Samaritan children to share with their them something they are taught at Good Samaritan. Can you say open door!!! So it was our turn. Our children sang four Gospel songs and then Jason preached. Not only is Jason a child resident at Good Samaritan he is also the Good Samaritan Children's Home Pastor. All the children call him Pastor.

Jason presented the Gospel starting with John 3:16 and then went through the Romans Road. Thandie said you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jason cried as he preached and was so overcome with emotion that God would give him this opportunity to reach these children from the Buddhist orphanage. Thandie said that the children and staff from Amitofo sat perfectly still and soaked up every word that Jason preached. Jason also shared about what the Bible says about worshiping false Gods. Thandie said he preached with power and it was well received. Jason then gave the invitation and asked the children to stand if they wanted to receive Jesus as their personal savior and trust him as the only true and living God. Thandie said 10 of the children jumped to their feet. She said the others appeared nervous that their staff may not be pleased with their profession of faith, but believe that many repeated the sinners prayer
while in their seat.


The children are looking forward to their special Christmas dinner tonight provided by Trinity Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. To read more about this special gift click here.

Savannah-Hope slept in Christmas morning until 9:30, that was her special Christmas gift to Thandie :) The Nanny has gone to the village to spend Christmas with her family, so Savannah is with Thandie. Peace is spending Christmas in Thandie's village with Thandie's mother and grandmother. She has been there since the picking of the Mangoes last week. Please pray for Savannah-Hope's adoptive family, the Johnsons of Nashville, TN. They are so grateful that Savannah is in a place where she is so lovingly cared for, but they long to have her home and are broken hearted to miss Savannah-Hope's first Christmas. They have been waiting 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days to bring Savannah-Hope home. Please continue to pray for their adoption journey.

This adorable little princess is Izabella Johnson. She is Savannah-Hope's big sister. Izabella was badly burned this past Sunday when a cup of HOT Starbucks coffee was accidental knocked over and landed in her lap. Please pray for Izabella. Specific prayer requests include: quick healing, protection against infection, pain control, minimal scaring, wisdom for the doctors treating her at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Burn Center, and the finances needed to cover the excess hospital bills and medical supplies.

Unique opportunity....Please Pray!

Amitofo Care Centre is an Taiwanese-funded orphanage located in Malawi not too far from Good Samaritan. The children in this orphanage are taught Buddhism. This past week the orphanage directer contacted Good Samaritan and asked if they could bring 27 of their orphans to Good Samaritan to distribute "holiday" gifts. They were also interested in having the children participate in a game of futbol and

netball (soccer and basketball).

Thandie said that she would only agree if the Good Samaritan children were allowed to sing Gospel songs and share the Gospel with their kids. The orphanage director agreed! So on Monday 12/24 (Christmas Eve!!) the children from the Buddhist orphanage will be coming to Good Samaritan to hear the Gospel! Please be in prayer for this special opportunity. This maybe the only time these children will hear the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone! Please pray that many of these children will come to know Christ and that God will make a way for us to continue to minister to these children.

This is Phillip! He is the third born son of Henry, the president of the Good Samaritan Bible College. Phillip became a big brother and a "middle child" this week, when his mother Rebbecca gave birth to baby boy number five, Samuel. When I posted about Samuel's birth earlier in the week, I couldn't remember this sweet boys name. I called around and no one knew his name. He has only been a middle child for a couple of days and already nobody could remember his name! Once I was able to reach his cousin Thandie.....she told me right away....his name is "Phillip". So here is ....Phillip....I don't think I will ever forget his name now!

Good Samaritan Chosen for Special Gift

After several attempts tonight I was able to reach Thandie...and she could hear me! Praise the Lord! I was so excited to talk to her even though it had only been a couple of days. We chatted and laughed like a couple of school girls and then got disconnected. I thought to myself "oh no, I didn't even get an update for the blog". I was thinking, okay do people really want to know that Savannah-Hope has a new trick "pretending to be asleep" or what we call here "playing possum". Or that she is getting "fat" and has her next weigh-in on 12/27. Or that she likes to sing along to a gospel DVD in Zulu which is a language no one she knows understands...but apparently she does.

But I called Thandie back, hoping and praying for a real update to give to you faithful readers....and I got right through! WooHoo! So here is the real update:

There are two cell phone companies in Malawi, Celtel and Telcom. Celtel chose three orphanages to receive a special Christmas Party this year. One orphanage was chosen from each region in Malawi. Good Samaritan was chosen from the Southern Region! The party took place on 12/19. Celtel donated a giant television, chickens, rice and snacks for the children. Reporters from different radio stations came to the party and interviewed a couple of the children. The children gave testimonies on the radio about how the Lord has blessed them through Good Samaritan and the work of our Missionary Brother Gentry. The children shared how they may have lost their parents, but they weren't orphans anymore! They have a heavenly father and have been adopted into the family of God! The reporters thought they were going to do a lighthearted interview about what the kids enjoy about living at Good Samaritan, instead they got preached to! The children gave powerful testimonies and then sang gospel songs. Many of the visitors were interested in buying the Good Samaritan CD and advertising it on their radio stations. We are making more CDs next week and hope this will be a great fundraising opportunity and evangelism opportunity.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I can tell it is the rainy season, because it has become even more difficult to reach Malawi. I try not to complain about how difficult it is to connect to Malawi, because I am so blessed to have as much contact with Thandie and Good Samaritan as I have. But lately it has been rough! For the past two weeks I have not been able to reach Thandie through Tel3Advantage, Which is the cheapest and most preferred way to call. And lately the extremely expensive calling card hasn't been reliable either. Tonight I called using Tel3, not expecting it to ring, since I haven't heard it ring in at least two weeks. But to my surprise it rang and Eda answered. But she couldn't hear me! She just kept saying "hello", over and over. I tried back and reached her a couple times....same thing. Then Thandie answered and again all I heard was "hello" over and over. Then I tried Lloyd, as I heard today from the Jorgensons that they have been able to reach him without too much trouble. Lloyd answered right away....and then I heard "hello" over and over. So I called Tel3 to let them know that after two weeks....I have had enough! Please fix this. They said it will be all fixed in 24 hours. Not sure I believe them....but I hope they are right! I don't know which is worse to hear the recording that your call can not go through or to hear the people you so desperately want to speak with.....say hello....and they can't hear you. Today Brother Gentry told me about another company that he uses, it costs more than Tel3 but much cheaper than the calling card. I may have to give that a try.

Its Another Boy!!!

Henry and Rebbecca had baby boy number 5 yesterday, Tuesday Dec 17th. They were hoping for a sweet little girl named Hannah, but instead God sent them a bouncing baby boy named Samuel. Mama and baby are doing well.

Samuel is welcomed by his 4 big brothers, David, Emmanuel, ??? and Little Gentry.

Trivia Question: Who can name Henry's third born son? Anyone???

I feel terrible that I can't think of his name. He is the older one pictured below.

Side note: The ongoing joke at Good Samaritan between the staff is that Bro. Gentry put medicine in the water so that only boys would be born. Henry moved his family off the Good Samaritan Campus (not for this reason)....and still had another boy :)

Post for Bonnie

The children at Good Samaritan have a Christmas tree! Someone sent a Christmas tree on the container for the children. The tree has been set up in the clinic temporarily and will be moved to the main dining hall on Thursday. Right now the tree has just lights on it. Thandie says they will be "finalizing the decorations" on Thursday after the tree is moved. The children are very excited about having a Christmas tree. Thandie said that the children only know what a Christmas tree is from the moving "Home Alone". The kids have been passing by the clinic looking at the tree and pointing "like home alone". Too funny! Anyway, Good Samaritan children will not be without a Christmas tree!

Thandie's grandmother and Mother

Thandie was supposed to take 15 children to her home village this past Saturday to pick Mangoes. Even though the kids were exhausted from the all night prayer meeting, they all wanted to go. Somehow Thandie ended up with 29 children at her mother's house. Thandie's mom is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She is just a so warm and loving. She was overwhelmed with happiness to have her house full of children. She prepared a large "Malawian Buffet" which consisted of cabbage, nsima and beef. It was an "all you can eat buffet". The children were able to go back as many times as they wanted. They are not used to this style of eating! They were so happy....and so full! Thandie's mother and grandmother had the opportunity to meet Savannah-Hope for the first time. Of course they fell in love with her right away. Which is not hard to do!

Other news:

Henry's (President of the Good Samaritan Bible College) wife Rebbecca went to the hospital today (12/17)in labor. We are hoping for a girl! They have all boys!

To the left is a picture of Henry with two of his boys. I am drawing a blank on the older one's name....but pretty sure the younger one is "Little Gentry".

The children at Good Samaritan have finished their summer school session and are looking forward to promoting to their next grade in January. Please pray for their school fees! A huge but necessary cost for us.

All of the children and staff our currently healthy! Praise the Lord!

Savannah-Hope update:

We are still in the paper chase. Waiting on Adoption Recommendation Document from Malawi and the immigration form from America. International adoptions in the country of Guatemala are being officially closed as of Dec 31, 2007. The only children that will be allowed to be adopted will be those already through the power of attorney process. What does that have to do with Savannah-Hope's adoption? Good Question! Well, the rumor is....Tennessee (which is where Savannah will reside) is prioritizing the immigration paperwork for Guatemala for the next two weeks to help bring the children home who have already been matched to families in the US. So the Johnson's paperwork likely wont be ready till after the first of the year. But only God knows for sure when the paperwork will arrive.

Please also be in prayer for Savannah-Hope's attachment process. Typically Malawian infants are extremely afraid of white skinned people. They rarely see them, and when they do....they go crazy with fear. When we first got Savannah she was too small and sick to realize that I was white or that the other visitors were white. Now time as passed, she has gotten older, and the American visitors have all gone home (rainy season!). Yesterday Thandie was watching a video that had Nzungus (white people) in it. Savannah started screaming and grabbing at Thandie is shear fear. Thandie said she was terrified. That just breaks my heart! The Johnson family has been preparing and aching for this little one, and Savannah-Hope really has no understanding that they are on their way for her. The Johnson's have already sent pictures and a video is now on the way. Hopefully that will help prepare her heart.

Prayer and Mangoes

Tonight is an all night prayer meeting for the children and staff at Good Samaritan. The prayer meeting will begin at 9pm and will end at 5am. The children and staff will use this time to thank the Lord for the blessing He has bestowed on them throughout this year.

After the prayer meeting at around 10am some of the older children will be going with Thandie to her home village to pick Mangos. Thandie and the children are looking forward to this event. They missed it last year because Thandie was in America.

Thandie said that a few of the younger children have been caught picking mangoes off the property that neighbors Good Samaritan. The children know better but have had trouble resisting the temptation. Thandie is taking these younger ones with her to pick mangoes. She plans on feeding them mangoes until they come out their ears :) Reminds me of the children in the wilderness and the quails (Numbers Chapter 11).

I'm Back

Sorry for the long hiatus. I was out of town for a couple weeks and had to direct my focus in a different direction for a bit....but I am back now and here is a long awaited update:

It is the rainy season in Malawi. The rains started in November, but were troublesome. Some parts of Malawi didn't get any rain and the parts of Malawi that did get rains got so much that there was terrible flooding. Fear began to set in that there may be a famine in Malawi's future. Maize and other crucial crops are traditionally planted during this season. However, the farmers were not able to plant because of the lack of or too much rain. Thandie said that once December came, the rain has been more consistent. Some farmers are now planting their crops, although it is several weeks later than normal. Good Samaritan planted their corn three weeks ago and have been praying for steady rain. God has been answering their prayers and Thandie says they are getting just the right amount of rain.

Thandie mentioned that the children have been taking great care of the corn crops at Good Samaritan. Every afternoon the children weed the fields to make sure that everything is just right for the corn to grow.



The bakery house at Good Samaritan is just about complete. The final step is securing its own electrical supply. Brother Gentry's original plan was for the bakery to have its own electrical source but he was told that it wouldn't be a problem to put the bakery on the same electrical box as the kitchen. Well now that we are ready to bake in the new bakery...it has become apparent that it needs its own electricity. In order for it to share with the kitchen we will have to bake in the middle of the night because the 3 cook pots that are used to prepare food for the entire campus, use too much electricity to also run the bakery. So now we are working towards getting the bakery its own electricity. Next time you have a donut or a piece of bread...pray for the Good Samaritan Bakery House. Its costing a pretty penny now, but will save us so much money in the long run once we have it up and running.

Peter Frank and Wonderful had fevers yesterday and Cathreen had stomach pains, but all three are feeling better today and were well enough to attend school.

Prayer Request

Sorry for the delay in the updates. I am in Tennessee visiting Savannah-Hope's adoptive family. I was hoping she would be here for my visit. But she is still in Malawi. I am thankful though she is healthy and being lovingly cared for.

Please pray for Ida. She has a headache and a sty in her eye. She will be going to the doctor in the morning. More to come soon....