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Emmanuel, Victoria and the Children of A Place of Hope

Having TEN children to care for is very different than having THREE! Their ages range from two months to one teenager.  Keeping them clean, fed, medicated, in school and out of the usual trouble kids can get into keeps us extremely busy.  We have received Baby Joy’s HIV results.  Her initial test, which tests for antibodies to the virus, was positive.  This definitely means her mother was HIV positive.  However, infants can carry the mother’s antibodies and not be truly HIV positive.  We now know she is positive to the  and will care for her accordingly and pray the cure is found real soon.

Two of the girls graduated from one level to the next in their schooling.   They are a couple of years behind where a child would be in the USA, but nevertheless they are now steady in school.  Mezoma is turning out to be a very intelligent little girl.  She was the top child in her class!

Bev continues to treat the villagers for their varying sicknesses as she can.  Her bout with Malaria put her down for a week and slowed her pace considerably, but thankfully she is now back to normal.  Brittni, a volunteer from Kansas who has spent 4 months here, was able to help carry the load along with Ebuka and myself.  We took turns caring for the baby in the night.  A week or so later, Brittni also came down with Malaria and was also out of commission for a week.  Everyone is doing great now!

We recently had an 11 year old girl, claiming to be from South Africa show up at our house asking to stay for a few days.  Her auntie had been in an accident and her uncle had taken the auntie to another city.  She said she didn’t want to stay alone at her house in Nsukka.  We weren’t comfortable with the whole story, so we pried and she then told us that she had been living on the street and had been trafficked to Nigeria from South Africa.  That very evening we got the police involved.  They questioned her and we spent several days dealing with various Nigerian police agencies.After a week in the custody of a Nigerian Agency for Trafficked Persons, she disclosed to a social worker there that her mother lived in Nsukka and she had run away!  We had been duped by an 11 year old run away.  The only consolation was that the police agencies had also been duped!  She was reunited with her mother, a widow with 7 children.  We will continue to try and work with this child to find out what led her to choose to run away from her home and fabricate a very intricate story.

The University of Nigeria Nsukka has offered their assistance with the medical care of our orphans at their medical center on campus.  This will be very beneficial and will reduce the cost of their care.  We are grateful for this assistance.  Also, the Department of Student Affairs has appointed me to the post of Volunteer Student Advisor and Counselor to help with their load of students facing various problems.  This will give us the opportunity to help students in need of advice as many of them face difficult decisions about their future.

We have been joined by some new staff.  Originally last August we had asked Emanuel and Victoria about coming to work with A Place of Hope.  However, at that time they declined.  This year, due to Pastor Williams resignation from our staff, they made the decision to come on board and have marked an incredible difference.  They both have just jumped in and are doing marvelous.   We are encouraged by their presence and sincere love for the children.

The house plans were finally approved yesterday and we will begin the foundations for the first house on the property next week. We have been waiting for so long and it will be slow this time of year because of the rain, as it is the full fledged rainy season.  Hopefully before our return to the USA next month for fund-raising the foundations will be completed and the walls will start to go up.  Remember this is third world and there are no spinning cement trucks out in the jungle.  Mixing and pouring is all done by hand!

We are busy helping in two church plants with students from the Biblical Training School we have started on Saturdays.  Men from this school have asked us to help them to do this and it has been a blessing as we share the good news that Jesus is the way, truth and the life and that God truly cares for the people of Opi!

Our 501(c)(3) status with the US Gov. has been approved and we are now a full-fledged public charity.  Our church, Temple Baptist of Fort Worth, TX, helped cover A Place of Hope-Africa with their status and we are grateful to them.  Today we can emit our own receipts.  This has not been easy nor inexpensive, so we are grateful that it has finally been completed.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT & PRAYER!

www.aplaceofhopeafrica.org Click here to DONATE TODAY

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Naemeka, the child we took to the hospital over a month ago, was joined here by his older sister. We tried to save their mother, but after a week in the hospital she was released. Then a few days later at home in the village, she suddenly died. Because of his condition, we felt it would be best if we could bring one of his two siblings to be around him. Juliet is 15 and will continue to go to secondary school here in the village. But she will help us with the special care that is needed for him. He has seizures from time to time and though he is about 12 yrs. old, his mind and body function at around 7. He has to be bathed, and has to have help with taking medicine and trips to the bathroom require supervision as he might “make a mess”!

Three of the new ones came by way of the hospital we usually deal with when we need medical assistance with the children. The USAID program that provides free HIV testing and HIV drugs is operating there and Hope gets her treatment there. The coordinator of the program called us a few weeks ago to ask if we could take three children he had heard lost their parents. After a delayed process of communication with the family that was overseeing the children, we finally were able to rescue them on Sunday. Their mother died 3 yrs. ago and the father’s second wife was caring for them, but when he was put in prison, the stepmother no longer wanted to care for them and they were sent back to their home village, which is about 25 miles from our place. They don’t speak IGBO as they were raised in the Northern part of Nigeria and their family doesn’t speak much English, so you can imagine their emotional condition. The children became ill after arrival and the family took them to see the doctor at our local hospital. They were tested for HIV and two of them are positive.

Our Orphans

Chioma (Blessing) is 7 yrs. old and a beautiful girl. She is still very shy, but Hope is helping her to get used to the new accommodations and routine. Chukwuneso (Martin) is 5 and a very energetic boy – he is free from the virus. Then there is sweet Ugochukwu (who has no English name yet). He is a very sweet boy who loves to help and he is only 3. The two with HIV will have further tests this Friday to determine treatment.

Sunday afternoon, while away picking up those three, a visitor came by the house to tell us about another orphan child. When Bev and I returned, we called the phone number that was left with us and found out that a mother had died in child-birth leaving behind 5 children. She had not lived with the husband for many years and he was not a part of the picture. The extended family just could not cope with the newborn’s need for formula. It is expensive and they could not care for all five and tackle the baby’s needs. They heard about what we are doing and asked if we would care for the child! So we now also have in our care a 12 day old infant girl. Her name is Chidubem (Joy) and she is a doll! It has been a long time since Bev and I bottle fed a baby and changed diapers in the middle of the night!

Life at APOHA
Obviously, we have a full house now. Kyrsten and Brittni (volunteers from the USA) have been so helpful! Both Kyrsten & our son Jordan go back to Texas next month. We will miss the extra hands! Brittni doesn’t go until June. We will be looking to hire an additional supervisor to help with all the duties.
Our very tight budget is now getting stretched and there is much still needed in terms of our project. We hope to lay some foundations next week, but rain has started and the bulldozer hasn’t come. We are having to remove stumps by hand and try to level the land also by hand. This is slow and we have to pay day labor. Since we are “white people” we must pay the highest wage, which has to be negotiated and finally an amount is agreed upon.

Life in Opi
We encountered some additional costs that we had not budgeted for as we learned even in the villages there are Local Government Development and Planning commissions who require nationally approved building plans to be registered and approved by them. Not required for wooden-thatched roof structures, but for “public” type buildings it is required! This meant our Architect now had to secure the seal of the National Architecture Group (this has a price) and then we had to submit five copies to the Planning Commission also at a cost. We also are paying two guards to watch over the supplies and block we have accumulated.
We decided to lease our compound for another year, as we cannot move into the property until a house is built and that means additional funds for that. However disappointing this may be, we are still very happy that we have been able to bring change to the 9 orphans we now have as well as help improve the lives of many of the villagers we have given or secured medical treatment for.

Please know that we appreciate your support. If you are or want to become a financial contributor and have not sent your support in, we do need it! Also don’t forget to tell others about what we are doing and how they can get involved in making a difference in the lives of children who might not have any hope with it.
APOHA LIFE
www.aplaceofhopeafrica.org Click here to DONATE TODAY
A Place Of Hope
P.O. Box 242
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria, West Africa
From USA: 011.234.803.678.3696

A Place Of Hope – Africa
US Address:
P.O. Box 833
Hurst, TX 76053
817.319.9096

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On Monday, we were blessed to have Kyrsten Rivas join us on our journey to Nigeria. She has been working her job diligently for over a year to be able to come and assist A Place of Hope in Nigeria. Her mom and dad have been friends of our family for a long time and helped us lug all our things to the airport on Monday. Jerry Keeney, was kind enough to bring his Pick-Up and we loaded all 18 pieces of luggage and all the carryon luggage & pillows.

Of course, each piece had been previously weighed and each was compliant. British Airways allows missionaries to carry three 51 lb. pieces and 2 carry ons. We would pay for 2 additional pieces. Chase’s guitar & the smaller of the keyboards would go on-board.

The airport was not so busy and we had a very kind counter agent taking care of getting us all tagged and checked-in! After saying our goodbyes, we went through security….which took a while with all the carryon baggage, laptops, and pockets! Because of the banks being closed for President’s day, and me forgetting about it until Saturday evening, I had had to find creative ways to get cash out of the bank! Then, I had gone around getting $100 bills from the $20’s the ATM had given me. I still had about $400 in $20’s to exchange for $100 bills. I managed to run around the terminal and found the $100 bills. In Nigeria the exchange is noticeably lower for anything less than $100 bills. After boarding, getting all items arranged, we settled in for the 9 hours in the air. In London, we were not allowed to carry the instruments on-board, so we packed the keyboard case with our pillows and prayed the keyboard would not be damaged.

After another 6 hours in the air we landed in LAGOS. A couple of hours later (collecting 18 pieces of luggage is not all that simple here) we were on our way to Emeka & his cousin’s houses for the night. We had been able to stow most of the luggage at the office of Aero, the local airline we fly from Lagos to Enugu. Ogechi, the marketing manager had made the arrangement for us. That evening we shared a wonderful meal of chicken and spicy rice together with Emeka (our Lagos Attorney) and his family. They are such kind people.

The next morning we rose early and headed out to the airport. The airport is divided into two sides. The international side is where we had stored the luggage, but now we had to transport all of it over to the national airport (MM2) which is on the other extreme side of the runways. So we unloaded everyone at MM2 first and then took the mini-van and car Emeka had provided over to the International side to load. Amazingly it all fit (African packing is amazing!) and we carted it all to the national side to begin checking it all in! Ogechi also arranged for the over-weight to be waived of fees! Praise the Lord!!!

After a little trouble from one of the flight attendants about Chase’s carry on, (Aero has always been awesome to travel with) we were on the final “air” leg of our journey to ENUGU! were met by Pastor Williams and two mini-buses he had secured to carry us the 1.5 hours to our home in OPI.

We made it with several hours of daylight to spare and were greeted by smiling, dancing children, neighbors and friends! It was a very inspirational reunion. Ebuka our care-taker and the girls were all smiles and hugs… but where was little David? He was napping. They went to wake him with the news that we were home but when he awoke he was in a daze. I really think he thought he was in a dream! Within the hour he was quite the David we left behind, dancing and singing as well.

Electric current to the village where we currently live had been back on, but the current was extremely low. Daily it comes on at about 2 p.m. and is on for about 12 hours. We still use the generator as the light bulbs are very dim by nightfall and though it is sufficient to charge up our cell phones and laptops it is not very comfortable on the eyes. We were able to hook up to the other power line coming to village and found the voltage to be much higher! No generator needed now when the power is on! This is a new life for us here! From no power without our generator to having full city power half the day! A Place of Hope still does not have power, as it is a couple of miles from where we currently rent the “flats” we live in.

It is very dry here…. The rainy season ended in November and will resume in April or May. We are on conservation mode with regard to water. This means we take extra care to use water very carefully and sparingly. We have to buy a “tanker” (2000 gallons) of water for about $55 dollars. If used sparingly, it should last 2 weeks or more, as there are now 11 of us living on the property. We have a few more months of “dry” season and then the rain will begin to fall and the dusty roads will turn to muddy ones…yee haa!

The internet service at the University of Nigeria’s First Campus and soon to be the “Premier Campus” is down for an upgrade! So I am back to using the internet “café.” I have found one that is a bit more comfortable and a little faster, most days, than the one I previously used.

I have inspected the block and the clearing and we hope to resume construction next week. Today, visited with our young architect to mull over some changes I have made to the plans and finalize the details so we can dig footers.

Our bodies are adjusting to days being nights and nights being days (jetlag is unmerciful) and our way of life here! Beverly & Kyrsten have gone to both the local market (some vegetables & fruits) and the Nsukka market to stock up on the necessary items.

When calling Pastor Williams from the airport in Texas, he told me of an abandoned newborn that had been found Sunday by his cousin beside the highway in our town of Opi. The child was taken to the hospital and reported to the local authorities. Upon arrival we visited the family who had found the child. They told us that they had decided to care for the child themselves. I was happy to hear of their compassion and hoping that the reason for keeping her was not just the fact that since she is a girl, she will bring a dowry someday! We let them know that we are here for such cases and to let us know if they change their minds (this may happen if the child is sickly!)

The state of ENUGU is in the process of dividing to form a new state. If this transpires, we will be located in a new state which will be known as ADADA state. The city of Nsukka, which is where the University of Nigeria is located, will become the capital of the newly formed state. We have been advised to register our plans with the current area development planning office in order to avoid any hassles in the future. As soon as we have the plans registered, which might take a few weeks to do, we can begin construction! We will continue the block-making and the digging of the footers and the “well” or water holding tank. The wooden storage area will hold the cement and other supplies we will be collecting.

We were very happy to see all the folks at the church we attend and help. There were many new faces… it looks like the congregation is growing! This week, I will be meeting with the Chairman (Mayor) of Nsukka Local Government and the Vice Chancellor (President) of the University of Nigeria – Nsukka. I look forward to seeing them again.

Our address & phones in Nigeria:

Joey Starling
A Place of Hope
P.O. Box 242
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria, West Africa

From USA dial: 011-234-803-678-3696 (Joey)
011-234-803-482-1762 (Beverly)

Sometimes you have to dial several times to get through and remember we are 7 hours later in the day from Central Standard Time; if it is noon in Dallas it is 7 p.m. here and if it is 7 p.m. in Atlanta it is 1 a.m. here! Text messaging works here too… so you can always just send a text!

Please let us know via email, if you are sending a “care” package as we will know when to look for it.

Again thank you all for your prayers and donations! We so love the people we serve here in Nigeria and to be able to offer hope to them on your behalf and because of your contributions is an enormous blessing! Thank you!

For the children,

Joey & Beverly Starling

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As Joey & Beverly settle in after arriving in Nigeria, I just wanted to give a heads up about the new website that will help in the effort.  The reason for the change is to enable Joey & Beverly to easily update us with the latest news from Africa.

One of the greatest parts, is that now you can participate, too.  By simply commenting on the news and stories, Joey & Beverly will be able to see that and respond.  In addition, this new format allows them to quickly upload pictures and video.

Please keep them in your prayers as they plan this year:

• Build Two Homes on the donated property enabling us to rescue and house 20 – 30 orphan children
• Raise funds ($12,000) for vehicle to be used at A Place of Hope in Nigeria
• Engage more individuals, churches and businesses in the support of our rescue operation
• Training & Developing Nigerian Staff
• Medical/Health Campaign-Tour in Nsukka Area
• Help Area Congregations

Thank you!

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