A New Home for RHO?

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while may remember that I shared back in January about the problems we were having with our landlady. She is Ugandan, living in Ireland, and didn’t realize till visiting in January that her house had been rented out as an orphanage. The property manager assured us that she was delighted to have her house used to help orphans, and then, when she came, he denied ever knowing that we had children here! Such is business in Uganda! I haven’t updated on that situation, partly because it has been pretty much up in the air. We really didn’t know for sure whether the landlady would relent and let us stay, or whether she would indeed make us move. Shortly before I arrived in Uganda on March 5, Gracious received a letter from the property manager telling us we had to leave the house by March 31. We have a one year lease (until September 30) and we have in no way violated the lease agreement, but apparently she can still require us to leave. So, we have been looking for a new home for Redeemer House.

Oh, my goodness, I had to stop in the middle of this and go rescue my kids from a cowundo, or rescue a cowundo from my kids, I’m not sure which! They were chasing a bat around the compound, and had it cornered when I became suspicious of the roars of laughter. After a lesson on bats carrying rabies and cruelty to animals, and after trapping the bat in the corner for Uncle Noah to dispose of when he gets home, I had to take time out for a couple quick handclapping rhythm games with the girls, and then try to find some duct tape to fix the very leaky old soccer ball for the boys (no luck, and so now I find them trying to patch it with LAYERS of scotch tape)!

The school year starts here in Uganda in February, and this year we moved our kids to a new, much better school, for the same price. The kids are all happier at Buziga Hill School, and are doing much better in their classes. We don’t want to have to move them again, and we don’t believe we could find a better school for them anywhere in this area, so we really wanted to find a house nearby. We have engaged a broker (a fine Christian young man, Nicolas, who helped us find our present house, and has been a great friend to the orphanage), we have told friends, neighbors, and pastors, and we have prayed! I wish you could hear the children pray! Their faith is incredible!

Time is running short, and until today everything we have heard about is too expensive, and most didn’t want children. Today we think we may have found the right house! It is nearby, 4 bedrooms, not quite as nice as our present house (cement floors in the bedrooms instead of tile, for example), a little older – and very suited to house a bunch of kids! It has a large compound (yard) with room for the kids to play, and room for a large garden. We are hoping to get the house for $400 per month – actually very reasonable here, where landlords are now asking about $600 and up for houses big enough for us. (Our current house is $500 per month). Please pray with us, that if this is the house God has for us, we would get it at a good price and the landlord would agree to install an outdoor latrine (for times we don’t have water, and for the kids to use during the day) and finish the fence on one side (important here for the safety of the kids, AND we would be able to keep chickens in the compound and have eggs). We think it would be a wonderful home for the kids of Redeemer House.

In Uganda, houses this size are generally leased for 1 year, and landlords want 6-12 months’ rent at signing. That means we need at least $2400 – money we don’t have right now. Please pray that the landlord will only require 6 months’ in advance, and that we will have the money in time. We have the money to pay him one month at signing, which he would use to make some necessary repairs to the house. Then we would need the rest before we move in. Two other people were right behind us wanting to look at the house, and if we don’t come up with the money right away, we would likely lose the house.

If God is speaking to your heart about helping provide a home for the kids of Redeemer House, you can donate by making a check out to:

First Baptist Church

Include a note that it is for:

Redeemer House Orphanage

Mail it to:

James Lambert

544 NW Apollo Rd.

Prineville, OR 97754



We know God loves the kids of Redeemer House, and has a place for us. He has never failed us. Thanks for praying with us as we discover where He wants us to live and serve Him!