Painting Day at the Orphanage

What a day! Saturday saw our church and Rumabi communities come together to completely paint the interior of the new orphanage as well as tear out the yard and pave it with cement bricks. It was an amazing outpouring of love and caring for Insan Permata and the kids that will live at this new orphanage.

We had 45 people volunteer their time on Saturday and if you count the people that came the week before to sand we had a total of 56 people give of their time to help give these kids a safe place to call home. On top of that number we had many other people who donated money to put into cleaning up and retro-fitting this building. What an effect He has on the hearts of people!

We are floored by the tidal wave of donations of man hours and money we have seen come in for this project. When God laid it upon our hearts to help this orphanage we could not have envisioned this. He has shown us so many blessings through all of this. It truly shows the fact that nothing is too big for Him.

We had 3 shifts of people show up. My buddies Shane and Barry and I took our gardeners in at 6:30 to start tearing out the yard and get going on putting down the bricks. The next group of workers showed up around 8:30. The final group came in after swim team practice at 11:00. It was quite the anthill of activity. We put on 2 coats of paint over the entire interior of the house, tore out the yard and replaced it with bricks and brought in new soil for a garden where they will plant six fruit trees and several different types of vegetables. The fire chief on camp also brought in two fire extinguishers and put up new smoke detectors. The last of us left at about 4:00.

Kathi and I stayed and talked to Pak Jonedy and Ibu Anna. They couldn't stop smiling. They were so excited. They told us they felt like they were in an "istana," which is Bahasa for palace. They were telling us how they were planning to surprise the kids next Saturday with their beds and toys on their beds. You see, the kids will have not seen the house since it has been painted and fixed up until next Saturday. Think of it like the big reveal on "Extreme Home Makeover." It was great to see them so happy and to know that these kiddos will get the love and spiritual direction they need.

We still have some more in store for the orphanage. We have people who will be outfitting them with all new kitchen equipment as well as having an "orphanage shower" where we will get them household items they need. Our school has raised money to get them playground equipment as well as pay for their school fees and possibly get each child some new clothes. Oh, and we are having each child professionally photographed and getting their pictures framed for hanging in their home.

Kathi and I are just so proud of our family, friends and community who have stepped up to help out these children. Thank you again to every one of you who have prayed, donated, sweated and generally just supported this project. We will let you know how the big reveal goes!

Kathi and Ibu Anna smiling away while cleaning the bathroom.

The finished outside wall. We will be having our PYP kids partner up with the orphanage kids to paint a mural there in the next few weeks.

Pak Jonedy and his son painting the outdoor fenced wall.

John and Bianca posing while painting.

New Patio.

Paul and Pak Jonedy discussing the day's progress.

The garage, which will serve as a boys bedroom until the orphanage can take possession of the other half of the duplex, probably at the end of May.

New dirt was brought in and is being allowed to sit after having fertilizer put into it. We have six fruit trees and 4 different types of vegetables to be planted next week.

Girls Bedroom.

Living Room.

Kitchen

Friday Night

Jeffery and Armen playing with John's I-pod

Listening to a little bit of "Thriller"

Friday night John and I made a quick run to the orphanage to get everything ready for Saturday's big painting day. We were excited to see two of our favorite kids from the orphanage were there: Jeffery and Armen. They were a big help getting the floors covered and were quick to jump up anytime they saw we needed a hand.

John brought his I-pod and a portable doc with him to the orphanage to give us little music to make the work a bit more enjoyable. We thought we were going to be on own but Pak Jonedy and his wife Ibu Anna, along with Jeffery and Armen were there finishing up a few things too. We discovered two new things we did not know about Jeffery and Armen. First they are HUGE Michael Jackson fans. They knew every song we played. I guess that confirms that Michael was a World Wide music star.

The second thing we learned is the kids had never seen an I-pod or at least one up close. They were mesmerized with Johns. The touch screen just about sent the over the edge. John let them flip through his music. But the highlight had to be letting them play "Fruit Ninjas". It is a silly game where you chop fruit. To top the night off we ordered Pizza Hut Pizza delivered to them at the new orphanage. I love seeing the world through their eyes. Things we don't think twice about are almost beyond their imagination. It was a great night.

Tomorrow we have three shifts of people working at the orphanage. It is going to be a really busy day. I will be sure to post pictures tomorrow. It's time for bed and I am exhausted.

Message from Brooklyn

Thank you so much for all your donations. Brooklyn will share a grand total when Grandma gets everything added up.

The ceiling on Saturday

The Orphanage ceiling today!

It looks like hiring the guys to do the ceiling repair was a really good idea. It looks fantastic especially by Indonesian standards. I can hardly wait for Saturday.

Swim-a-thon Update

Brooklyn heading to her swim-a-thon. I bet I have a really tired Kindergarten class this afternoon. She was super excited this morning when she woke up and I told her about all the donations coming in. She could not get to the pool fast enough this morning. Kinder kids are swimming at 9:00. Sydney and Kade will be swimming this afternoon. Brooklyn has agreed to share her pledges with them. Thank you so much for all your generous donations. I am humbled by the out pouring of love that these orphans are receiving. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Message from Brooklyn

If you would like to donate to Brooklyn's swim-a-thon you can send a donation to my Mom and she will make sure it gets to us. They are hoping to buy playground and sports equipment for the kids at the orphanage.

My Mom's address is:

Elaine Eaton

336 Scottland Dr

Camano Island WA 98282-7250

Next Step

We have already begun work on next Saturday's agenda for the workday at the orphanage. I can hardly wait. We have a good size group coming to help. I am just floored by the support we have received. Here is what we have planned:

• Taking out the front yard and replacing it with concrete. Think of it as one giant patio for the kids to play on. It might seem strange to you that we would tear out the yard but in Sumatra yards sometimes create a lot of problems. First they are breeding grounds for all sorts of pests like mosquitoes and great hiding places for snakes. Second, they cost a lot to maintain and can't be played on when they are wet.
• On the side of the house we are prepping for a garden. We will be tilling up the dirt and adding fertilizer getting it ready to plant. We are hoping to get the orphanage a few chickens so they can serve two purposes: to provide eggs for the kids and natural fertilizer for the garden.
• The kids will be painting the outdoor cement walls to prevent mold re-growth.
• Lastly the biggest project will be painting the entire inside of the orphanage except for the ceilings. We have hired someone to come in and fix the ceilings and repaint them. There wasn't anyone on team that felt capable of fixing drywall. We will leave that to the experts.

I want to thank everyone once again for making this possible. I am can hardly wait to show you next week's post work day pictures.