Our Kids Enjoying Themselves

YOU can save a child from human trafficking.

"* Sex trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry in the U.S., victimizing between 300,000 and 400,000 American children every year according  to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

* Globally, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5 million people trapped in forced exploitation. 

What is most important to note is that much like it is in Las Vegas, trafficking is happening in every city across the United States, 24/7, 365 days a year. Wherever there’s a Smartphone, computer, strip club, or massage parlor, trust that sex is being sold to those who demand it. And if sex is being sold, sex trafficking going on at the same time. It is literally happening everywhere, all of the time."  http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/01/30/sex-trafficking-survivor-truth-about-super-bowl-and-sex.html  

Send a donation today through the PayPal donate button on the Home Page of koi-kidsofindonesia.org or through our USPS mail address P. O. Box 1881, Fremont, NE, 68026. 

In a little over one year we have saved 4 babies potentially "at risk." These were babies the mothers could not keep and did not want. Two more are on the way. Send me an email if you want more information. Let's do something about this!

One of our "at rist" babies.

Global Day of Giving

$15 will buy you 5 large cups of exotic coffee...............or,....... you could make your own coffee and use that same $15 to feed one hungry Indonesian child one hot meal a day for a month...! Today is the Global Day of Giving. Would you really miss $15???? Our mailing address and PayPal donate button are on our web page.    KOI-kidsofindonesia.org

https://www.facebook.com/kids.of.indonesia/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Have a very happy Thanksgiving

God is full of mercy and grace 

and gives generously to all.

Helping feed the poorest of the poor in Jakarta

The photos above show some of the kids living in or near the garbage dumps receiving a free bag of hot food. Some of these kids do not eat every day and even if they do, this will be the best meal they have had in a long time - maybe ever. We can't feed them all, but we can feed some and let them know that Jesus and His people care about their situation. The bottom photo shows the food itself. It is cooked in the restaurant of one of our members and delivered by another of our church members who seeks out the very porrest.  Most of the parents of these children search through the garbage for anything that can be recycled. They make perhaps $1 or $2 a day. Donations from our friends makes this food distribution possible. Today's cost to us is 50 cents a meal. Food prices have varried over the past few years, but at today's prices, $15 will feed one child one meal a day for a month. In former days is was $18 a month and even as much as $20 a month. Anyone wishing to help with this small program can visit our web site and donate through PayPal or send to our KOI - Kids of Indonesia address. Here is the link to our web site. KOI-kidsofindonesia.org

More photos of Tiara arrived this morning

 

Our newest arrival, Tiara. Easy to love and easy to care for. This makes 4 babies under 13 months old.

For more information about our work, go to the following link: koi-kidsofindonesia.org

Tiara

Our latest baby, Tiara, just two weeks old.

Heads shaved. I forgot to ask why.

 Daniella and Queen walking

Daniella

 Queen

 Karina

Our 1-year-old stepping out on the town.

Human Trafficking Close to Home

KOI -Kids of Indonesia is doing it's best to rescue children and babies who could be at-risk. If you would like to help us, please go to the KOI-kidsofindonesia.org and use the PayPal button to send us a donation using your credit card. Thanks.

To prove that Human Trafficking is not just an Asian problem, take a look at the following link:
http://fox4kc.com/2014/06/23/fbi-operation-rescues-168-children-from-sex-trafficking-puts-nearly-300-pimps-behind-bars/

A Mountain of Garbage

We took this photo last week. A mountain of garbage in the background. A house made from scavenged dumped material on the left and a shelter in the center with plastic bags filled with treasure to be recycled. This is the fate of the poorest-of-the-poor in many third world countries. In many ways Jakarta is a first world city but pockets of extreme poverty are still impossible to ignore. The children born into these families represented here have almost no hope of ever escaping a lifetime of misery or worse.  With the help of folks like you, KOI - Kids Of Indonesia (KOI-kidsofindonesia.org) is willing to accept children or new-born babies freely offered to us and provide them with a way out of poverty. We do not go looking for children but we accept (as long as funds are available) those brought to us. We treat them as our own and fill their lives with love, kindness and a hope for a better future.
We need monthly donations to provide for the on-going everyday needs of Connor's House (our house of benevolence in Jakarta) but we also need an endowment fund to help us through times of economic distress.

Feel free to share our post with anyone you know who might be able to help us lift at least a few children out of devastating poverty. Thanks.
KOI-kidsofindonesia.org

Child Abuse

The following link discusses the possible child sexual abuse of children by Afghan military commanders and the reaction of our own Department of Defense. I'm posting the link here because sexual abuse of children is one of the reasons we are so interested in providing a home for "at risk" children in Indonesia. Not that children are at any more risk in Indonesia than they are anywhere else, but that there are immoral people everywhere and human trafficking exists in every country including our own. This is a very ugly problem and one we don't want to recognize; but, it does exist and needs to be addressed. Here's the link:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/26/lawmakers-question-whether-pentagon-encouraged-troops-to-turn-blind-eye-to/?intcmp=hplnws

After a day of school and a fun visit to the swimming pool, the students do their homework under Naomi's supervision.

New clothes for our kids.

Showing off, walking and climbing stairs.

This is Daniella walking and showing off. Queen comes into the picture later and together they climb the stairs. Scary but they are well guarded. Enjoy...!

Getting out of the house for a while.

The kids always enjoy eating out. Today they are taken to a Japanese restaurant for a special treat. One child needed shoes and another needed a swimming suit, so a trip to the mall was part of the excursion. We make every attempt to treat the kids as if they were our very own; but, when we go out we make a very large family. There were 8 children plus a couple of adult helpers. One of our teenagers was on a field trip with the boy scouts camping out near Puncak, a mountain resort.

Daniella Walking

So good to see the children taking their first steps and knowing that they are healthy -- growing and developing normally. 

Photo of Karina

I think this is the first solo photo of Karina we have been able to post. She looks a little under weight but will be taken to the doctor on Monday and probably switched to formula. Hopefully she will start to gain weight.

New school uniforms and a new school year.

The older children are starting back to school again after the break. I thought you might like to see them in their new school uniforms. Two of them are in high school. The rest of those pictured are in grade school.

New photo

Here are new photos in better focus of two of our kids. More photos will appear in our next KOI-kidsofindonesia.org Newsletter. If you'd like to receive our emailed Newsletter, just send us your email address. Our list is always kept private.

Investments

Looks like yesterday was a good day to invest in stocks. Today is a good day to invest in our kids. It's easy at KOI-kidsofindonesia.org. Just click on the "Donate" button. Thanks in advance.

They grow up too fast, don't they....

It's been so long since I've posted anything new I've almost forgotten how to do this.  Sorry about that. Here's a new photo of 2 of our babies. It's a little out of focus but perhaps I'll have some better ones soon. Things are going well. We may have a new baby around the 1st of November. Please pray for a safe delivery and that we have the funds to continue.

Scott and Tracey Visit Nias June 2015

When we are at home in Nebraska, we, like most Americans, have over-loaded schedules keeping up with work, children, and all the other things that go with family life. A trip to the islands of Indonesia reminds us of several important concepts we value, but find easy to forget in the daily rush of life in these United States. One of these truths is that God's creation stretches far and wide, far past the borders of our homeland, and includes people with whom we, on the surface, would not think we share a lot in common.

Another truth, one that we find we appreciate immensely while we are there, is the simplicity of a less hurried lifestyle, one that invites introspection and communion with God and with others that is vital to emotional and spiritual health, but so often overlooked in modern societies. We work to carve out time to appreciate these things, while some on the other side of the globe have that which we crave, but are lacking in other basic needs. So, we leave with an aching question: what is our role in this area? The Bible tells us to "...go into all the world, making disciples of all nations..."and "...caring for the least of these, you did it to me." We know that we are not just citizens of our home country, but of His Kingdom that stretches beyond any man-made borders. And so it is with this thought that we broadened our trip this time to include a more remote area of Indonesia, and travel this small island to get a greater understanding of the needs of the people there, and discern how we could be of help.

The small island of Nias is home to about 800,000 people. It boasts a beautiful landscape, but many of the people there are not able to appreciate it because for them, daily life is about the basics: food, water, and finding a way to insure food and water for one more day. We met a family, husband and wife, each from separate villages inland on the island. Each had been fortunate to have had the opportunity to get an education and leave the village lifestyle for the town of Teluk Dalam. However, even in Teluk Dalam, opportunities are limited due to a lack of infrastructure and lack of government interest in that area.

Since Indonesia is comprised of 17,000 islands, the area is not only expansive, but difficult to travel at times, and one will find amazing differences in daily life from island to island. We were able to tour two villages, both involving several hours by car, and additional travel on foot. One was more primitive than the other, but both were isolated and dependent on what could be gathered from close by since travel to and from the villages is over difficult terrain.

Despite the difficulties in transportation, it is hard not to love Nias. In 2005, Nias was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale. In the same time frame, farther north, Indonesia was also devastated by a tsunami. Aid came from all over the world at the time, which proved to be very beneficial overall for the island. New roads and bridges were constructed, making travel to some areas much safer. However, inevitably, while many were killed in the earthquake, there were children left without parents. There has been church involvement to establish a children's home on the north side of the island, and that is very successful. We were pleased to have the chance to visit there two years ago and participate in a mid-week worship with the young people.

Our most recent trip took us to the southern tip of the island where we are interested in establishing an outreach to minister to the needy, encourage Christians, and be present to travel into the villages to take aid that rarely reaches those areas. We are so excited about this opportunity! It is a fledgling project that has amazing possibilities! Nias is largely a Christian island, without very much government surveillance, so it is very friendly to outsiders. We were greeted very warmly wherever we went. We would like to share some pictures of our trip, and will continue to provide updates and opportunities regarding prayers, plans, and dreams for ministering in Nias. Currently there are 89 churches of Christ on the island, however most are in the remote villages. We are dreaming of ways to be of service to these brothers and sisters who live in difficult conditions.



Donations can be mailed to: KOI - Kids of Indonesia, P. O. Box 1881, Fremont, NE 68026

10,000 steps a day?

I’ve been reading that for most people, there are about 2,000 steps in a mile.

If I walk 6 miles, that’s 12,000 steps for the day. Other studies indicate that the more miles walked the better but I assume there’s a limit up there somewhere.

Another recent study shows that the faster you can comfortably walk is an indication of your general or overall health. My fastest comfortable pace is 3 miles per hour which, according to the studies, is very good for my age and a predictor of several more years of productive life. Of course that’s assuming a healthy life-style otherwise. 

So, in order not to become obsessive/compulsive about exercise, I’ve concluded that  6 miles every day at a pace of 3 MPH is reasonable and my best hope of leading a productive life for most of the years left to me.

By the way, and for your information, I copied this from the internet:

"The origins of the 10,000-steps recommendation aren't exactly scientific. Pedometers sold in Japan in the 1960s were marketed under the name "manpo-kei," which translates to "10,000 steps meter," said Catrine Tudor-Locke, director of the Walking Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. The idea resonated with people, and gained popularity with Japanese walking groups, Tudor-Locke said. [The Best Pedometers of 2014]” (http://www.livescience.com/43956-walking-10000-steps-healthy.html)

More photos of our babies

Our "babies" are growing up...

Sometimes you want to put a brick on their heads and keep them babies forever; however, it's also fun to watch them continue to discover new things, taste new things, do new things, grow and develop and that is exactly what they are going to do no matter how much we wish otherwise. In today's photos you see our three newest arrivals in various stages of that growth and development. They are precious and we love them dearly and hope you do too. A small donation to KOI - Kids of Indonesia, (P.O. Box 1881, Fremont, NE, 68026) can help us keep them well fed and healthy. Check back with us often to watch them continue the growth process. We are expecting our fourth newborn late this month or early in June. We'll have photos here as soon as possible.

Past Friends Visit Connor's House

They came to visit Daniel at Connor's house while Daniel was out. Daniel and Naomi know them from when they lived in the shop-house in 2009/2010. The visitors still remembered Daniel and came to visit him. Daniel and Naomi bought some groceries and went to the address they had left with the staff. They are squatters illegally living in a tent of their own making from scavenged materials from the local dump. They illegally plant vegetables on someone else's land using their very limited resources, hoping to be around long enough to harvest a crop. This is their reality -- their life: dirt floor, no bathroom, no kitchen, no schooling for the children. Even though dirt poor, they are better off than some of their neighbors because of their farming efforts. They asked for nothing.