I was to get on a plane in the morning to travel to Dar Es Salaam for a conference. I am now in the process of changing my travel plans...

I got a call this evening that we had a fire at TCRC. One of the rooms caught fire and it spread quickly through the dormatory destroying the building. The inside has been nearly gutted. Boys ran inside to try and save their things. Many were injured stepping on broken glass and such. One boy, David Mjuni collapsed inside the dorm and became unconsious due to the smoke inhalation. Several boys ran in after him and were able to remove him from the fire before he was burned. He was revived using CPR once the police came. The police took him to the hospital where I joined him and the other boys who escorted him. He was not conscious when I arrived, and the CO2 poisoning was severe. He was put on a drip, and slowly his system was detoxified. He remains in stable condition, and he will be kept for observation this night. If everything is well tomorrow he will be released. Please keep him in your urgent prayers.

I traveled back to TCRC with those boys who were at the hospital, and it was a sad site to see...these children have already lost so much in their lives, and now this place that has become their home has burned down and is no longer inhabitable. Many kids were wandering around outside, afraid to go back in a building. One of the larger classrooms has now become the bedroom for all 90 of our boys. They are sleeping refugee style, piled up like puppies for warmth, right on the floor. The younger ones were sound asleep when I arrived, such emotional moments for children often cause them to sleep...the older ones were trying to find humor, but it was clear that the devastation has affected them all. Not only have they lost their dorm hall, but also clothing, books, school assignments and notes, photos, everything...

We are praising God that more was not lost, the shell of the building remains, no deaths occurred, and only one serious injury. We praise God that there is a place to sleep with a roof overhead. We praise God because we know he will provide for us somehow. But we are devastated as we think of the cost of rebuilding our facilities, the counseling that will be required to comfort these children, the fear that now plagues them in their sleep as they worry about another fire...

We need help now. Please pray for us. My heart is broken, and I wish I could take all of the kids home with me...but I cant. I take refuge knowing that God loves them even more than I do.

Thanks for your prayers and love, I will update soon!

Lorien