Today we move to Africa, for real.

The 365-day countdown has come to an end.  Today is the day we get on a plane and move to Swaziland, Africa.  This year has flown by, but this past week seemed like it took another year.  Transition is hard and I can't say that I have handled it well…there were many tears, too many times snapping at my family, and then more tears.  But today is the day I have longed for since 2003.  It is time to move and serve the Lord whom I love on a continent that I love.

I wondered what to do about the Maxwell's Moving to Africa blog and, while the URL will stay the same, I think I will change the name of it to "Live from Swaziland ... it's Saturday morning" (said in my best "Live from New York... it's Saturday Night" voice).  I will try to blog every second Saturday if I can.  At this point we don’t anticipate having regular internet service, but hopefully it will improve with time.  I am an eternal optimist.

We have been building a house on Project Canaan that won’t be quite ready for us when we arrive, so we will live in the long-term volunteer housing until it is finished.  All our furniture and "stuff" is stuck at the border and they won't release it until we arrive, so it looks like we won't have the soft landing that I had hoped for, but at least it is there.  The water filtration system is in the container as well, so we won’t have drinkable water until the container is released and the filtration system is installed.  The electric fencing is still being installed, and we are not sure about whether we have electricity yet (which is obviously required for the ELECTRIC fencing to work).

Chloe will start school on June 6th - parachuting into the middle of 10th grade (they call it Form 4 there).  The school year runs January to December so she will have some work to do to catch up. She scored really well on the admission testing and she is a straight A student, so we are confident that she will do just fine.

Spencer is coming with us on May 31st and will stay for three weeks to help get us settled.  I am so thankful for that.  We will come back in August to get him settled at Florida State University (and shed another bucket of tears I am sure).

Last week my mom was sent to a hospital in Guelph from the nursing home where she was living. She will be moved to a mental hospital next week where they will try to find a way to stabilize her mentally so that she can return to the nursing home and have them provide proper care (which she has been refusing).

I am hit with waves of emotion that seem to be uncontrollable and at times unbearable.  I long for this time of transition to be over.  While we have worked in Swaziland since 2005 (Spencer calculated that he has been in Africa for 70+ WEEKS since he was ten years old), I am sure there will be things that we are not prepared for. That is okay. We will be home, finally, and for that I am grateful. 

We fly out of Atlanta today, May 31^st, and will arrive in Johannesburg on June 1^st, where we will be met at the airport by Kaleli Mulli, and my second best friend (next to Ian of course), Ralph Glass, from Canada.  We will drive to Swaziland on Saturday, June 2^nd and I will try to give you a report somewhere along the way.

So with that I say thank you to all of you who have followed us on all or part of this 365-day journey.  Thanks for your prayers, your encouragement and your friendship.  You will never know how much you all mean to me.  Thank you Jesus for choosing our family to go and serve and thank you for giving each of us the courage to say “yes”.

Janine

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My birth mother was 15 years old when I was born.

In 1963 a 14-year-old girl made a poor choice and had sex with her 16 year-old boyfriend.  She was afraid, embarrassed and the family was ashamed.  She was immediately sent 400 miles away to a home for unwed mothers where she had excellent pre-natal care, attended school and then gave birth at the age of 15 years.  The baby was put up for adoption, but kept a secret from the rest of the girl’s family and from the community so that the girl and the family could save face.  To this day, the family and the community do not know about that little baby.  That baby was me.

Last Friday we got a call from the Social Welfare department in Swaziland saying that they had found a baby in a ditch and asked if the baby could be accepted at the El Roi Home for abandoned babies.  They said the baby was 3-5 weeks old and needed immediate care.  Of course we said yes.  The baby was taken to the hospital for the weekend to be cared for while an investigation took place and paper work was completed.  On Monday we learned that the police had found the mother.  She was in the 8^th grade (likely 13-14 years old) and knowing what is happening in Swaziland I can assume that she didn’t make the choice to have sex, but was more likely forced to have sex (note – I don’t know the facts of this yet, but believe it is a solid assumption).  

It is illegal to “dump” a baby in Swaziland and so the young girl/mother was arrested and put in jail.  We are told that her parents (also uncertain of this fact) wanted to keep the baby and so the baby was taken to them.

Since I heard this I have been frustrated, sad, concerned and anxious for the next eight days to pass so that we can get on a plane and go to Swaziland.  Yesterday my dear friend Sandra asked me what I would do if I were there now?  My first answer was “advocate”.  This is not just about the abandoned baby, but it is about this young girl and her future.  I will be there soon and hope to get more information about this particular situation.  How did she become pregnant so young?  What state of fear and hopelessness would bring her to a place where she believed that dumping her baby in a ditch was her best or only choice?  How long will she be in jail?  Will she be allowed to move back home?  Is the baby really safe where it is now?  What does the future hold for this next generation? 

When my mother was 15 years old, and pregnant, there was a system in Canada that provided a solution so that I wasn’t aborted or dropped in a ditch and my mother wasn’t put in jail.  I am alive today and my life has a purpose.  But here is the interesting part to me as a follower of Jesus.  Whether we make bad choices or bad things are forced upon us, He can still make things beautiful out of any situation.  I don’t want to see young girls getting pregnant out of wedlock or by force, but I can’t help but be thankful for my mother getting pregnant because I am here today.  Maybe God allowed that to happen SO THAT I would be here today, ready to go and advocate for this young girl and her baby.  I wonder what her baby will grow up to be and what he/she will do?

Psalm 139:13-18 says,

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand —
when I awake, I am still with you.

We get on a plane in eight days and while there are many moving (and complicated) parts in our lives right now, I am thankful that His plans are not our plans and that His plans are perfect. I am thankful that I have been chosen to care for orphans, vulnerable and abandoned children.  I could have been one of them, but instead HE rescued and redeemed me.  Whew!  “Thankful” doesn’t come close to expressing my feelings today.

Janine

PS – I have a secret relationship with my birth mother now.  Her husband and children do not know that I exist, but she will read this blog because she follows my life from the shadows.   So I would like to take this public, yet secret, opportunity to say THANK YOU for not aborting me, and for giving me the right to life, even though it came at a great cost to you.  I love you.

What if I had said "NO"?

In 16 days our family will be getting on a plane to Africa.  My head moves quickly from having no thoughts to write down to having too many thoughts to write down. Maybe that is an aging thing?  A woman thing?  A mama thing? Or maybe just the reality that we are moving to Africa in 16 days?

Five and a half years ago we moved to Alpharetta, Georgia.  To explain it in "Christian-ese"  I thought I had "given it all up for Him", but down deep I really did love my house, my yard, my neighborhood and my life in Canada.  If I was going to move ANYWHERE I thought it would be to Africa.  Didn't God know that I wanted to move to Africa?  Wasn't I really clear with Him on that in my prayers and daily conversations?  Had He forgotten the children living on the streets that HE introduced me to?  Had He forgotten those that I longed to care for, encourage and love?  Instead, He moved us to a wealthy, (largely white) suburb of Atlanta - this from Toronto, the largest multi-cultural city in the world.  I was not pleased.  We moved into a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood, and I was miserable.  I was angry.  Why America (no offense meant to all my American friends), but why not Africa? 

As I look back on the past  5-1/2 years I am in awe of the people whom we have met, the places we have gone and the miracles that we have seen.  If we hadn't moved here, and moved straight to Africa (my plan) we would have missed so much.  I am thankful for North Point Community Church and for Chloe's small group and small group leader (shout out to Alyse!) who have come alongside Chloe to encourage her to be the most amazing young woman she has become.  I am thankful for the theater department at Milton High School where Spencer has been able to thrive, grow, create and learn.  After watching the incredible Cirque Kuwa performance (over and over again) I thought to myself, "what if I had said NO to moving here - Spencer would have missed this opportunity."  You see, our plans, our desires and our obedience have direct implications for everyone around us - especially our immediate family.

If we had not moved I would never have met the amazing Birk family and seen God's glory pour through a family's worst nightmare.  And of course, without that nightmare, we would not have the El Roi Baby home today.  Without the loss of little Jared Birk, our five little babies (Joshua, Esther, Caleb, Levi and Anna) might not be alive today.  Oh, what I would have missed.

So I repent again and give thanks, again, for His plans are not our plans, but they are BETTER than our plans, every time.

I continue to find it interesting how others perceive our move to Swaziland.  We are not moving there to be missionaries just like we didn't move to Georgia to be missionaries.  We are just a family moving to serve in another country at this time.  But this time I feel like I won the lottery.  I get to go and spend time in a beautiful country, serve with people I love and respect and serve people who are in desperate need.  "Religion that God our Father considers pure and faultless is this; to look after the orphan and widow in distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27

For the past 5-1/2 years I could look after orphans and widows from Georgia, but it was a daily struggle to keep myself from being polluted by the mall, Starbucks, Macy's one day sales and NCIS marathons on TV.  You know what I mean?

I look forward to long walks around the farm, driving Chloe to her really cool International school, sipping coffee with Ian looking out at our amazing view of the fields, Skyping with Spencer to hear about his life at FSU, having philosophical conversations with Kaleli, rocking babies to sleep with Helen and visiting orphans and widows in distress with Pastor Mike.  I have won the lottery, no doubt in my mind, and I am so VERY thankful that I didn't blow it by saying, "no, I don't want to move to Georgia." 

Is there something that you are doing because you want to, not because you believe God has asked you to?  Are you avoiding doing something that you know you are supposed to do?  A phone call perhaps?  A move?  A job change?  Don't put it aside for another day.  Don't blow it.  His plans are better than our plans, I promise.

Thankful in Georgia.

Janine

37 days: A new baby, an aging mother and a couple of teenagers

Forty -five days ago I started a whirlwind travel schedule that flew me 29,328 miles (or 47,198 km) around the world.  I met with people in Honolulu, Hawaii; Venice, Italy; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Edmonton, Alberta to talk about the desperate

situation of the children of the Kingdom of Swaziland and how we can make a difference to a single baby while giving hope to a dying nation.

The response has been good and I choose to believe that people do want to help.  We have plans from the Hawaiians to start roasting and selling private-label coffee on Project Canaan to help generate income for the farm.  Some of the people we met in Venice, Italy want to help us get a Free Range Egg farm up and running to help provide the nearly perfect protein for orphans and vulnerable children.  Our friends from the MedAssets Healthcare Business Summit in Las Vegas are working to provide medical supplies and equipment for the El Rofi Medical Center and the El Roi Baby Home (including a special shout out to the German company DRAGER for committing to donate a new Isolette, Incubator and Baby Ventilator).  And our friends in Edmonton, Alberta (New Life Community Church) raised $40,000 for needs and further development of the El Roi home for abandoned babies. 

On top of that, we have people working on accessing water from the natural springs at the top of the property and Rotary International is raising funds to build a huge dam at the bottom to capture the water from those springs, while others are looking at how to generate hydro-electric power as it flows down the mountain.  We even have long term volunteers from California, Arizona, Wisconsin and Afghanistan (serving as a Captain in the US Army) preparing to come and live at Project Canaan for one to two years!  God is clearly sending the people and the expertise that is required for this massive project.  We are thankful for all the ways He provides.

But, I have to be honest.  While I really DO get excited about coffee and eggs (the perfect breakfast) and medical supplies and incubators, these things just don’t compare to the news that little Baby Anna has arrived at El Roi!

Baby Anna was born on February 13, 2012 and, while we don't know many specifics around her birth, we do know that she was dropped into a deep pit latrine (outhouse/outdoor toilet) and left to die a terrifying death.  A stranger was walking by, heard the cries from this tiny newborn baby and immediately called the police.
 
She was rescued and taken to the government hospital where she was cleaned up, cared for and treated for a chest problem.  For six weeks we have been trying to have Anna released into our care, but the police were still investigating and trying to find her mother and so the child was kept at the hospital.  After much prayer and appeal to the highest powers, we finally got the phone call and Anna arrived home on Wednesday, April 18th!  She is baby #5 and we give thanks for her life.  

That is one half of my life.  Here is the other.

My mom is struggling with frontal lobe dementia in a nursing home in Guelph, Ontario and my heart continues to break for her.  She has no brain filter system left and her anger/frustration is manifested with flying food trays and scratching and biting her caregivers.  She is completely immobile and rarely gets out of bed (which requires two people and a Hoya lift).  My heart hurts for this woman who served the Lord her whole life, but is now trapped in a body that is broken and hurting.  For those of you who struggle with aged parents, know that my prayers are with you.  Mom’s most recent attempt at escape (via a Bahamian cruise) did provide a little levity to the family mood, but passed quickly.

My pride and joy these days are my beautiful children, Spencer and Chloe.  Never have I been more proud of my children than in these final days of preparing for life change.  Spencer has decided to go to Florida State University (to study Communications) and we are all trying to get our heads around leaving this young Canadian in America while we head off to the Dark Continent.  Swaziland hasn’t really felt that far away from Atlanta because it is always in my heart and mind, but Tallahassee Florida seems like a million miles from the Matsapha Airport in Swaziland.  How is it possible that my little blond boy is preparing to graduate from high school on May 19^th?  Spencer turns 18 in June and is ready to take on the world – I pray that when that time comes that I will be ready to release him. 

Chloe is turning 16 in July and will jump right into the middle of 10^th grade on June 6^th since school in Africa runs January to December.  Most “soon to be” 16-year-olds would be freaking out at the thought of moving to Africa, but not our Chloe.  She is the bravest, sweetest, most loving child that I know and she truly sees the hand of God directing her path to live and serve in Swaziland.  Her maturity and faith far exceed her age and she is light years ahead of where I was at her age (remember, I got shipped off to boarding school for a bad attitude when I was 16 … point taken?). 

There are a lot of moving parts in our lives right now, but God is faithful and has encouraged us, carried up, consoled us and amazed us each and every day of this journey.

May 31, 2012 is our departure date and it is coming quickly.  My speaking engagements and travels are finished until the day I get on a plane to South Africa.  For the next month I so look forward to serving my family, cooking great meals, baking, helping with “University stuff”, planning birthday parties and a fun graduation celebration.  While my emotions seem to pour out of my eyes at the most inappropriate times, I do plan to laugh a lot and give thanks continually.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27    

Janine

Important announcement: Babies have arrived at the El Roi Baby Home on Project Canaan!

It was Easter morning in 2003 that I first witnessed the rescue of a child who lived on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia. It was an earth-shattering, life-changing event that changed the entire trajectory of my life.  I saw hope in the face of six year old boy named Kantwa, as he said goodbye to the filth, the terror and the hopelessness of life as a “street kid”. It may have been in that moment that I first truly understood the power of the resurrected Jesus, and it was Easter morning. 

It is now the week before Easter 2012 and I am overwhelmed as I reflect on all at all that has happened in the past nine years.  I have experienced intense pain at the death of children I love in Africa and I have cried a thousand tears and wondered if they would ever end.  But I have also see miracles with my own eyes, seen buildings built, funding appear from the most unexpected places and felt the hand of God on my life in a palpable way.

3 day old baby boy

But today I am writing to tell you of a new story of hope and it comes with the news that the El Roi Baby Home on Project Canaan, in the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland, is now open. El Roi is the Hebrew name for “The God Who Sees” (read Genesis 16:13) and we know that He sees the babies who are being directed to us just as He sees you and me.

In late February 2012 we opened our doors and wondered when, how and even IF any babies would be brought to the El Roi Baby home.  Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world and this murderous and relentless pandemic has a left a wake of orphans and vulnerable children.  It has also left women (often young girls) with a feeling of utter hopelessness that results in them “dumping” or abandoning their new born babies because they have to possible way to care for them.

On March 1^st, 2012 our first newborn baby arrived. Please allow me to introduce you to the newest members of our family and of the El Roi Baby Home.

Baby #1:  Joshua was a three-day-old baby boy was brought to us because his mother couldn’t care for him and had planned to “dump” him as soon as he was born.  The child’s father had been murdered months prior to the baby’s birth and a caring Social Worker convinced the mother to bring the child to life safely and she would help find him a home.  El Roi is his new home.

14 day old baby girl

Baby #2: – Esther was a 14-day old baby girl who arrived a couple of days after Joshua.  Esther’s mother was young and planned to commit suicide in her eighth month of pregnancy.  Again, a caring (and life-saving) Social Worker convinced her to save her own life and the life of the baby.  The baby was abandoned at the door of a man who delivered the child to a local hospital.  The mother is HIV positive and Esther was treated as soon as she was born.  We will know in a few weeks whether she is HIV positive as well, and what her future care needs will be. El Roi is now the home for this little girl.

8 months old baby boy weighing 12.3 pounds

Baby #3: Caleb is a baby boy and is 8 months old and only weighs 12.3 pounds.  Fortune was delivered to a local hospital in a cardboard box, by his father who is in the final stages of HIV/AIDS.  His mother had already succumbed to the disease and the father was no longer able to care for him.  Fortune is HIV positive and is being treated with ARV’s.  He has active Tuberculosis and is covered in terrible sores and lesions.  If that wasn’t enough for this little guy, he is severely malnourished and is struggling to survive.  El Roi is now his home.

8 week old baby boy

Baby #4: Levi arrived TODAY (March 29, 2012) and is 8 weeks old.  His mother was raped in South Africa and as a result is HIV positive and while she does not want to have anything to do with the child, the Social Worker encouraged the mother to care for the baby for a time to see if she would change her mind.  Today she brought the baby to the hospital and left him there.  El Roi is now his home.

Baby #5: Anna is a baby girl, is a month old and has been living in a government hospital since she was found in a pit latrine (outhouse/toilet) just after she was born.  She has been struggling with a chest infection since then and getting treatment in the hospital.  While she has not arrived at El Roi yet, we are praying that she will be released to our care in the hours/days ahead and El Roi will be her home.

As you can see we have much to be thankful for and much to pray for.  The emotional and physical cost to care for these babies is high.  Please join us in praying for Helen Mulli and the others who have been hired to provide 24 hour care at the El Roi Baby home. As some of you may know, Helen was rescued by Mr. Charles Mulli at the tender age of eight-years old and was raised by Mr. & Mrs. Mulli at the Mulli Children’s Family Home in Kenya.  She has grown to be a wonderful woman of God, married Peter Mulli (Charles’ youngest brother, and Kaleli’s Uncle) and is now living at the El Roi Baby Home to care for “the abandoned and ignored” babies who are brought to us.

As you would expect there is also a high financial cost to care for these babies so that they get proper and immediate health care, the right nutrition for their situation and all the love that can be poured on them.  Currently we only have 6 people helping on a monthly basis and are asking if you would consider becoming a Heart for Africa HERO by committing to a monthly donation to support the El Roi Baby Home.  It is as simple as clicking here and signing up today.

This has been a long read, but I hope that you are inspired by it and will join me in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord who is the giver of life, and to El Roi, the one who SEES us all. Thank you also to Annie Duguid, from the Watoto Baby Home in Uganda, who came to Swaziland to help prepare the El Roi team to be ready to receive babies (including hiring and training women who will love and care for these children).  We are thankful for the leadership team at Watoto who invested in the El Roi Baby Home by giving Annie six weeks of paid leave to come and serve with us. Thank you to our Staff at Heart for Africa and on Project Canaan and to our Board of Directors in the US and Canada who have stood by us through the highs and lows as we have prepared the way for the little ones to arrive.

Happy Easter everyone!  He has risen indeed!

Janine

Janine's ramblings at day 79

Moving to the US in October 2006 seemed like a bigger thing than moving to Africa. The move from our home in Aurora, Ontario was traumatic on so many fronts. It was the home that we designed and loved. It was perfect in our eyes. We had a big piece of land, large gardens, a fabulous custom designed pool and great neighbors who were Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Indian and just a few WASPS. The hospital the children were born in was close by and everything they knew was right there. Healthcare was free, my cousin was our dentist, the restaurants were diverse and my mom was just down the road. Our community was very safe and the small private school the kids attended was lovely.

We were happy (well, content might be a better word). We were certainly COMFORTABLE with what and who we knew. Moving to Atlanta was crazy because we didn't know anybody, we had no friends here, AND worse, we were heading south to be in full time ministry, which was WAY out of our comfort zone.

But God is faithful and He connected our family quickly and for 5 1/2 years this has been home.

Now it's time to move again, and for some reason this seems much easier. Well, "easy" would be a gross overstatement, but we have such peace about this move and every day Chloe says, "I can't wait to move to Swaziland! I wish we were going tomorrow!". Wow. I never thought I would be hearing that from my beautiful 15 year old daughter. I know that I would not have been saying that to my parents at that age (actually, that was the age I was shipped off to boarding school because I had a bad attitude :)

79 days from today the Maxwell family will be driving to the Atlanta airport and getting on a plane. This blog is just an update on where we are in the process, just in case anybody cares.

Our house in Alpharetta is on the market now, but we haven't had anyone come through and see it yet. We are in the process of building a house on Project Canaan in Swaziland and it is coming along nicely. Above is a photo of the house and the view from the front porch The doors and windows are in, the view is great and the electric/security fencing will be going in soon. There is lots of landscaping to do, which is critical to try to encourage all the neighborhood poisonous snakes to relocate. Landscaping will also remove of all the marijuana plants that seem to have cropped up wild all around our house. Sheesh.

I maybe should be feeling panic, but I am not. I have peace about our impending move and our new lives. I found out today that I will have to iron ALL our clothes that dry outside (too expensive to run the dryer except during rainy season) because of grass tics and itch bugs that might be living on your clothes when you bring them back inside.

We don't have a water filtration system installed yet for any domestic use, but that too is underway. We have started our Typhoid pills just in case of an outbreak - strange to have to take a live virus in a series of four pills over eight days to prevent possible illness. I am so thankful that malaria is not an issue where we are living so we don't have that to deal with.

I have gone through every drawer, every closet, every room and have purged to the best of my ability. The way I look at it is we now live in a three story home and are moving to a one story home. Simple math suggests that we need to eliminate two thirds of all the stuff we own. Slowly it is going away and I am not missing any of it. We will ship the first half of our belongings on April 4th so they are there when we arrive on June 2nd. The other half ships on May 31st as we get on the plane.

A few things that are still to be done: sell the house, drive our 2 Canadian cars up to Canada to sell them because we can't sell them here, determine what University Spencer will attend, find someone to take our 2 beautiful Bengal Tiger house cats, Chloe's 16th birthday party, Spencer's 18th birthday party, pack 2 containers, change of address notifications, get new Canadian passports for the family (they expire soon - not good) and a long "to do list" of miscellaneous items.

I have a bit more travel to do before we leave. In fact I have 14 more flights before I get on a plane to fly to Africa. Now I'm not complaining because I have an awesome month ahead with some awesome speaking engagements (Hawaii, Venice Italy, Las Vegas, Edmonton Alberta), but I look forward to the month of May when I am home in Atlanta for our last month.

Of course (ladies only read this please) I also want to get everything "checked out" before the big move since I won't have access to the same level of healthcare in Swaziland. So this month is Mammogram/PAP/Colonoscopy month and Chloe got her wisdom teeth out. Fun eh? I know, I know, WAY more information than you wanted - that was for the die hard friends who are still reading down this far :)

We left the comfort of "home" in Canada to settle in the "land of the free and home of the brave". It has been an interesting time here in the sunny south and we are thankful for our time here. But it is time to move on. We really don't know what to expect when we get to Swaziland other than change, challenges and joy. What we do know is that God is with us every step of this journey and we feel His presence every single day. For that we are thankful. Without His presence, this would just be a bad idea.

Thanks for your prayers and support and for reading all the way to the bottom. Happy Tuesday!

Janine
79 days and counting

Thoughts on spiders, snakes, abandoned babies and Jesus

It's a rainy morning in Georgia and I am jet lagged, tired and a bit foggy, but I want to put my thoughts in writing while they are fresh. It seemed that it was a week of extremes (as always?), and I will write things here that may not help in our "recruitment" efforts, but maybe they will help us all with a deeper understanding of Jesus and His plans.

I just arrived home from 10 days in Swaziland where my dear friends and sisters (Lori Marschall, Janice Johnson, Bree Friedl and Annie Duguid) worked tirelessly to get the El Roi home for abandoned babies ready to open - and it is officially open now! What an amazing group of women they are.

We were blessed to have nine teams of visitors come to Project Canaan for 3 hour tours over five days. We welcomed senior members of several big hospitals, Police Child Protections services, Planned Parenthood, World Vision, Pastor and members from Mbabane Alliance church, the "Queen" called Inkhosikati LaMbikiza (who is the Patron of the home) and on the last day the Deputy Prime Minister of the country and twenty of his Social Welfare Officers who are responsible for OVC's in the country. It was glorious to show them all the Lord has done in only 2+ years at Project Canaan. Now we wait for government approval for us to receive babies and are praying for "Joshua" to arrive any day.

While the Lord is blessing the team at Project Canaan in unimaginable ways, it is not easy work. And it is not always safe. Many of us are quick to judge "Africans" and wonder why they don't just get up and work or why don't they just solve their own problems. But we can't even begin to imagine the basic challenges in day to day life.

Last week we stayed in the newly built (and beautifully modern) Lodge at the farm. We were staying were we were comfortable and could focus on the work. Here are some my thoughts on what we saw and experienced.

Spiders - First day there I got a large spider bite on my finger. It blistered, bled a bit and is now healing. Didn't really hurt, just a bit ugly. Haven't really seen many/any spiders, but I know they are there.

Snakes - Several days later Annie went to use

the bathroom (without her glasses on) and saw a frog on the bath mat. Well, the frog slithered away and she realized it wasn't a frog. After an emergency phone call to and visit from Kaleli we discovered it was a baby Puff Adder snake. Not good. Speaking of frogs - there are frogs everywhere ... think of the story of Moses and Pharoah. For those of you are now saying "oh, I won't ever go and serve there" or "I don't like spiders and snakes" I would like to say "NEITHER DO WE!" And I can assure you that the orphans and vulnerable children who we are called to serve don't like them either and don't have doors and windows that shut tight to keep them out. So, we suck it up, pray, and go.

Electricity - There was no electricity for the first few days of our stay. We were thankful for Peter getting up and putting on the generator so that we could have lights for a while at night and could eat with lights on. When the electricity did come back I was SO thankful because it was SO HOT at night and we were then able to use the ceiling fans (windows closed tight due to snake incounter).

Water - We don't have a water filtration system at The Lodge yet so we (Lori) had to boil all our water to drink, cook and even to wash our dishes. Simple? Yes. Time consuming? Definitely - but at least we had a gas stove to use for heat - we didn't have to go collect wood. Our water for showering and cooking comes from the bore hole in the farm and is pumped up to a 500,000L holding tank. We must always use it sparingly because when it runs out, it runs out. Speaking of running out - the dam that we must use to irrigate the crops is almost empty. Without rain the crops will die and our plans for a second and third crop (using drip irrigation) will not be possible. Water is life. Period.

Orphans - I was speaking with Pastor Mike, who is the newest member of the Project Canaan team. He delivers maize and Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) meals to our rural church partners. His heart broke as he told me about six very young children (5 different families) who live near him, right near our farm, and have lost their parents (that means 10 adults have died). He has little to give, but with the FMSC MannaPacks he can now feed them twice a week. His challenge? All the other little eyes who peek through the cracks in the wall longing to eat too. We will work on growing his feeding program soon.

Abandoned babies - oh yes, abandoned babies. Meeting after meeting we saw our Swazi brothers and sister lower their heads and shake them slowly as they shared story after story of young girls giving birth to premature or malnourished babies and then dumping them in the pit latrine, on the side of the road or in the garbage dump. It is a tragic situation of hopelessness. We heard of rape, incest and hunger driven prostitution. It is dirty, ugly and shameful, and no one really wants to talk about it. Can you blame them? But they exist and El Roi sees them (see Genesis 16:3) and He is asking us to care for them. Maybe he is asking YOU to care for them? EVEN if there are spiders and snakes and no filtered water and random electricity? Hmmm.

Jesus - He sees you and He loves you. He sees the abandoned babies and loves them just as much. That is why He calls us to "GO". He sees Kaleli and his team cry out for the rains to pour and He is the ONLY one who can make it rain. He sees Pastor Mike feeding the six young children who live near him and then He asks La Croix church to send 270,000 FMSC food packs to help. Jesus healed my spider bite quickly and protected Annie from the poisonous snake in her bathroom! Jesus invited each and every Swazi who came to visit to see His work and His glory. He gave us a beautiful place to stay, a roof over our heads, soft beds, fresh food, wonderful fellowship and best of all, His very presence. And He gets all the glory. Jesus is alive and well in Swaziland. Amen.

What are you worried about today? Are you worried about not having clean water to drink today or that taking a long shower might use up all the water? Or are you worried that you might see a poisonous snake in your room? Or are you afraid to go down the road in case you find an abandoned baby?

Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

PS - yes I do realize that I had this scripture in my last blog. I thought it was worth repeating.

Want to help an abandoned baby right now? Please go to http://www.heartforafrica.org/ElRoiBabyHome.aspx

Thank you for reading, praying and acting.

Janine