NEW Website!!!

Hey everyone!

We're SUPER excited to share the news of our brand new website, it is NOW launched.

Be sure to check out our NEW WEBSITE!

The website address remains the same.

www.odeafo.com

We completely renovated it by starting from scratch so the website can be 100% focused on helping the orphans rather than our mission trip to see them.

It is our goal that the website remain as a permanent home for them, where we can get together and share ideas and help them.

The website has a lot of information, pictures and videos on it. If you have any feedback, please feel free to email us, we'd appreciate it greatly!

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ODO T-SHIRTS are now for sale, for a limited time only.

Proceeds from sales will be used towards building a new, safe fence around the orphanage that will protect the children and provide them with a secure place to sleep. Please consider buying a t-shirt to help us reach this goal!

With much love,
Alex and Alexa

New Website and T-Shirts

Hey everyone!!!

Currently, we're working on a new website to publish for Operation Deaf Orphans and in hope that this website will be a lasting one with minor news, changes, updates, etc. Our old website contains information about our trip to Africa but this one is different, you see, we're looking to settle and focus on helping the orphans in every way possible and this is something we've decided to commit to doing with no plans to EVER STOP.

Also in a week or so, we'll begin selling t-shirts (like the one below). The purchases of the t-shirts will go 100% directly to the orphans' needs. Currently, one of our biggest needs is to have fences around the orphanage. Right now the orphanage isn't safe as they often have intruders, and it is basically open to anyone on their property and this needs to change for the safety of the children and the staff there. They've reported several items being stolen from their property, too! So, by selling the t-shirts, the proceeds will go to installing and building new fences around their land.

We'll advertise this on our new website and on here so be sure to check out the t-shirts!

Not a day goes by where we don't think of the children in Africa and we miss them dearly. We have already started planning our trip to Africa again!
Thank you all for your support as always.
Alex and Alexa

Moises, one of the members of our team and Mike.

Meet the 6 New Orphans!!!

Hello everyone!

We have great news - there are six more deaf orphans at LDO!  The work there is growing.  For pictures of our first visit to survey deaf orphans in villages around LDO, please look at this previous post: Village Survey Trip

Dear Frederick and Pauline with the two new cows donated by Humura House!

The man on the left is the same interpreter who was with us when we went to the villages to meet the village deaf orphans.  He went with Winston, the team leader who was with us for the entire month of June.  

You will see six new orphans that were brought into LDO in this picture.  They are the girl in the pink dress, the boy in the back with the plaid shirt, the girl with blue shirt, boy in yellow shirt, girl in pink shirt, and girl with blue stripes.  This room is where the ODO team ate and had meetings in June.

Hello Alphonce.  

Hello Nicholas!  That's the boy that Alex gave his blue hat to.

Hello Ephy!  That's the girl who had no pants when we met her.

Maurine - the oldest girl.  She wore a green dress when we met her at a village.

Hello, Lucy!

Hello, Sheila!

The two boys will fit in wonderfully with the other boys there, the three little girls will always have each other, and Maurine will have the opportunity to learn KSL and get an education and contribute to LDO in the future.

Our beloved LDO orphans with the 6 new orphans!  Now it is a total of 20!  We can't wait to meet them this summer, God willing.  

Everyone looks sharp!  The three little girls will get new uniforms.

The garden that we worked hard on is now blooming!  Hope it provides plenty of vegetable for the kids.

New bowls, cups, and utensils for the six kids.  

Now you can eat and eat and eat!

We have a big need here with Lucy, one of the six new orphans.  She has a bad disease on her feet, and she will be taken to the hospital for it to be looked at.  It will cost some money to treat this, and we are asking if you are willing to make a donation at www.odeafo.com/donate to help us to help them.  

Probably because she did not have shoes growing up.

Again, we are so happy to have the six new orphans.  It means that our work is being fruitful.

Because there are 6 new orphans, naturally this will have an impact on the current budget.  We are in need of $150 more a month for the food budget and $100 more a month for the personal supplies/medical budget.  We hope and pray that you can make a commitment to donate a specific amount monthly to www.odeafo.com/donate so that we can continue to support those deaf children who have NO parents to watch over them.  

Updates from Africa

Hello everyone!  We would like to share some of the updates we have been getting from leaders at Lance's Deaf Orphans (LDO) in Kenya.  It is very encouraging to us that the children have adults who will take care of them and ensure that their needs are met.  

We also met Lance McWilliams, the founder of Lance's Deaf Orphans!  We had a great weekend together in Iowa and talked and prayed about the future of LDO and how ODO can be a big part of it.  

Enjoy the pictures!

The older water tank at LDO broke after a heavy rainfall caused the tank to collapse on the wooden foundation and it cracked under the weight.  ODO, through LDO, sent money for them to get a new tank and re-build the foundation!

We miss that road!

Our trusty partner, Winston.  You should remember him from our blogs while we were in Kenya.  He is the main man and the one where all financial transactions and reports go through.

That's Joseph on the right, one of the kids of Mary, the headmistress.  The door on the left is where we stayed in June.

The man on the left is Elphas, a deaf teacher.  

Notice the torn water tank behind the new one?  Compare the size!

Wood for the foundation.

We built those gutters on the right!  It is sad to see the tarp still torn.  That's something that we have to fix next year!

It is harder than you think to make holes.  Very rocky soil and sparks fly when you pound with that metal stick.  These two men are hired workers.  

The panga (machete) is the knife of choice in Kenya! 

Preparing the concrete.

Mixing it.

And the new tank is put on the new foundation!  It seems to be angled so there will always be water pressure.

Secure!  The concrete is still wet, but it will be very strong when it dries up.  We are very happy to see that this project has been accomplished - because it develops trust - we know that when we send money to them, that they will complete projects and "do what they say they will do."  

When we were in Kenya, we met Stephen Greek, a hearing missionary who loves the Deaf and has his own organization.  His organization donates money for local Africans who are doing ministry for them to buy dairy cows, so they  can have milk and maybe develop a business from selling milk.  Stephen Greek and his organization donated money for LDO to have two new baby cows!  On the left is Daniel Ogembo, the acting director of LDO, and on the right is good ol' Winston.  

Welcome to LDO!  

When the ODO team was in Kenya in June, we had many projects.  We finished most of them, but one of the projects that we did not get to finish was building a new rabbit cage.  The have a rabbit cage but it was too small for the ever-growing rabbit family.  We started with the frame, but time ran out and we left them with wood.  LDO sent them money for them to hire workers to finish the job!

Adding walls.  Wood is a great insulator.

Who needs shoes?

Looking great!  

The bottom part is finished with six separate compartments.  

Pauline and Felix posing with the working water tank!  We miss you both a LOT.  

The two new cows and Mary's cow.  

Another day of workin' on the rabbit cage.  The older cage is on the right, and that is the one you saw in our blogs.

Building the doors.  

No power saws or buffers!  Everything is done by hand.

The beloved children are always curious!  

Making the screens.  

The kids with a deflated ball.  The terrain is so rocky and with barb wires, balls deflate so fast.  Next year, we will bring SUPER TOUGH balls so they won't deflate!  From left, here is Evans, Sarah, Pauline, Larwance, Frederick, Kevin, and Japheth.  

Using a plane to smooth out the tops of the doors.  

It's looking good!

Now the roofs are being installed.  

FINISHED!  Check out the awesome double-cabinet design.  That way the rabbits can stay cool during the day and stay warm overnight.

We love you, Elphas, John, and Larwance!

Thanks, Winston, for making sure that this project is completed!  What's up with that Vols t-shirt?  

What a big structure that is!  Elphas is very tall, so the cage must be almost 7 feet tall.  It looks very strong and should serve the orphans' needs for many years to come.  

Brand-new homes for you.

Now, the rabbits can multiply and there will be more food and opportunities to sell them for extra money for the children.

We met Lance McWilliams.  All the ODO team is here except for Kat, who lives in Utah.  We had a great time talking with him and discussing about the experiences we had in Kenya and the future of LDO and ODO.  Right now we are working very closely and Lance has expressed that he hopes that ODO will be able to take over what LDO has been doing for four years and be the official sponsor for the children at LDO.

We have also decided to go ahead and invite six more orphans into the orphanage, and that will be blogged later when we get pictures of them!

We need your support more than ever!  Now, it is not about supporting a specific project or sending us to Africa - we are asking you to make a monthly commitment to ODO so we can continue to send money to the orphanage and for them to continue to feed the orphans, educate them, clothe them, and add more orphans as there are MANY more who don't have a home or a family.

To donate, please go here: www.odeafo.com/donate.  Thank YOU so much for your support and prayers!