Movin’ on up… to the east side

Today was a big day for seven of our toddlers who are now “Big Kids”.  Bella, Angel, Joash, Seth, Isaiah, Jerry and Zachariah moved from the toddler home up to the Emseni Campus.

The Emseni Campus is the “permanent” home for each of our children.  Typically, the children are 3-years-old or about to turn three when they move up. They will live there until they finish high school and move on to University, trade school or enter the work force.

Today five little boys joined the big boys at Emseni #2, which means there are only THREE spaces left there.  AND, since we now have 37 2-year-olds at the toddler home, we know that those spaces will be filled soon.  SO… that means we need to start building our third Emseni building this month!  We have the funds for the foundation, and pray that the Lord will provide the rest of the funds needed to build that building.  Within a year, all of those 37 toddlers will have moved up to Emseni and the 34 babies at the El Roi baby home will be at the toddler home.  The 11 babies currently living at Kuthula Place will move to the El Roi baby home.  And it continues.

It’s an exciting day when children “move up” to their next home, but bitter sweet for those of us who remember the day that each child arrived and the history that came with them.  It’s hard to believe that a new born who was strangled to death by her own mother and dumped in a garbage can, then brought back to life with life-giving CPR, is now big enough to walk up the stairs and climb in to her new bed. 

Today we give thanks for each of our children, for the Care Team who loves them and encourages them every day, and for all of the people who give on a monthly basis so that we can provide for our 143 children.

In addition, we give thanks for the rains that have fallen this week and for the green grass and leaves that have exploded to bring us all hope for the future.

Live from Swaziland … it’s a good day.

Janine