Four years later - still an unbelievable story

Happy 4th birthday Deborah

On February 7th, Deborah turned 4-years old.  She is a miracle, just like the other 148 children who call Project Canaan home. 

As I am at the tail end of two week whirlwind trip to the US and Canada I thought I would cheat a little on my blog today and re-post Deborah's story from February 2013.  Here is what I wrote:

On Monday night I arrived home from possibly the worst day of my life.

I had to sit and write to help me breathe.  I sent it to a few dear friends and family members who are supporters of the babies at El Roi, and me personally.   I struggled a lot as to whether I should publish this.  I am paranoid about it sounding sensational (because it is a story from hell) and I don't want to post photos, but believe that people should see what is really happening here.  Maybe then you will help (if you don't already).  After today, I believe that I am supposed to publish this.  I hope I don’t get in trouble for telling this story.  Please share it if you think you should.  Please DO SOMETHING to help if you get to the end.  Here is what I wrote last night…

I just got home after a very long hard day, showered and am now seeking comfort from Donnie McClurkin worship music and my yellow chair.  When my brain and heart are on the edge of exploding I must write.  It is like oxygen to my soul so that I can breathe again and nothing is forgotten. When I am finished writing the tears will have soaked my tshirt and emptied my soul.  Here is what happened today.

At 10AM I got a call from the Child Protection unit of the Police saying a newborn baby had just been found in the bush in our area (Sidvokodvo).  The police were taking the baby to hospital as she was in bad condition. They thought she had been born just yesterday and was found today alive.  I got in the car, picked up Jamie Klee and headed to the hospital.  Halfway there my car broke down (again). We waited 45 minutes before Ian could come to the rescue, switch vehicles and continued on to meet the police.  I am going to start praying harder for the Lord to provide a good vehicle for me to use.

I know you will look at this photo and not want to continue, but seriously, this is really a little baby. Please keep reading. 

Jesus help us.

When we got to the hospital we quite accidently bumped in to the doctor whom I often write about (but never name for privacy reasons).  He was so surprised to see me because he was just about to call me about an abandoned child.  He had just examined the baby and was waiting for her to come to be washed and cared for.   He allowed us to go in to the tiny room where they washed her and take photos to show what condition she was in.  She has many bug/insect bites all over her body, there is a bone misplaced in her leg (will check for fracture when she is stable), her face and backside are in very bad condition (maybe burned?) and raw and she had maggots crawling out of her eyes and ears.  Lots of them.  She is premature and weighs 1.8 KG (4.1 pounds), but she is a fighter.

They had to wash/scrub her twice then finally went and got disinfectant to bathe her in to try to kill the bugs.  She screamed as the liquid hit her open skin. We stood and prayed.

She was then put on a sheet under a “warmer” and the nurse left to get dressing for her wounds. 

Maggots filled her mouth, eyes and ears.  These were digging a hole behind her little ear.

As Jamie and I stood in this small washing room, we suddenly realized we were in the NICU room. There were three other babies there on oxygen and monitors.  I looked at the little boy beside our baby and it didn’t look like he was breathing.  I said that to Jamie and went and put my hand on his tiny chest.  I didn’t feel anthing, but I am not in any way a medical professional.  The nurse walked in just then and I mentioned that the baby didn’t seem to be breathing. She left and got the doctor who was right outside the door.  He came in and immediately started CPR, as we stood and watched and prayed.  After 10-15 minutes of CPR, listening, oxygen, and other emergency things I can’t think of the name of right now (which seemed like a flash and an eternity all at once) he shook his head.  The child had turned color.  He was dead.  Just like that.  Gone.

We believe and are hopeful that our baby, now named Deborah because she is a fighter, will live.  I will be there every day this week to help with her care while the mother of the baby boy will mourn the loss of her beautiful child.

After a time Jamie and I left the hospital in tears, and headed home.  I couldn’t just go home with the vision of that baby boy in my mind so suggested that we stop at the police station to find out if they knew anything more about Deborah’s situation.

This is where the plastic bag with baby Deborah was found.

The police were very kind and agreed to take us to the place she had been dumped.  Deborah was a newborn (umbilical cord still attached) and was put in a black plastic grocery bag.  The police said that the top was tied in a knot and she was left in the bushes under a tree in the middle of nowhere.  This morning a local man was walking by and heard what sounded like crying.  After listening closer he moved closer to the sound.  When he saw the bag moved he was terrified and thought it was a snake so ran to a local store for help. He and the store-keeper came back to investigate the strange bag and found the baby.  She was somehow half in and half out of the bag, face down in the dirt and crying to save her life – literally. 

We went and met the man who found her – the hero of the day.  He said her mouth and ears were full of maggots and it was terrible. He shook his head when he spoke of what he saw.  I gathered together all that I had left in me and shook his hand, thanking him for saving the life of a chosen child – a child who was seen by El Roi himself.

I am tired, confused and emotionally finished.  I don’t know why the Lord had us sit on the side of the road today for 45 minutes, only to be in the room to see a baby die.  I don’t know why he allowed baby Deborah to live for two days (they think) in a black plastic bag under a bush – not eaten by dogs or snakes, and then He allowed a baby boy to die in a hospital NICU care center. 

But my faith is in Him and always shall me.  He is El Roi, the God who Sees and I will cling to that today and in the days ahead. 

Janine

Sorry for the long blog, but this is a Tuesday update, which has prompted a mid-week blog.

Baby Deborah on Tuesday.  So much better.

Don't mind the guy replacing the entire light FIXTURE over the NICU babies.

Monday night around midnight I got a text from a young woman saying she was cutting her wrists to commit suicide.  A bad text.  I called her and tried to encourage her and change her plans. She hung up the phone and it was early morning before I could contact anyone to find her.  By 10 AM we drove and found the young woman. She was lying on the ground in a local homestead and had overdosed on a drug we couldn’t find.  We took her to the hospital (sadly there is no 911 to call, no ambulance and the social workers of the country don’t have transportation) and got her in to the emergency room.  From there I literally walked to the Neonatal unit of the hospital and spent an hour with baby Deborah who is doing MIRACULOUSLY well!  The nurses can’t believe the change in her!  She is off the oxygen.  She is breathing well on her own and the swelling has gone down so much.  The nurses say, “This one will live!”.  I spent an hour with her and fed her a bit, but she was tired and slept for most of the time while I told her about what a fighter the Prophetess Deborah was. 

From there I checked in the Emergency Room again, stomach pumping still in force, then on to the TB hospital to see the mother of our twins Leah and Rachel.

This is a mid-week blog to bring those of you who really care and want to read it.  I really pray that EVERYONE taking the time to read this mid-week post will take the time to give monthly so that we can feed and care for these babies. Even $10 a month can help.  If you can give $100, or $1,000 that would help too. As Nike says, JUST DO IT.    www.heartforafrica.org   www.heartforafrica.ca

Thanks.

Janine

365 days of pain, sorrow and pure joy.

Celebrating 1st Anniversary together.

Yesterday marked the 1^st Anniversary of the El Roi Baby Home opening.  While we had plans to have an event, invite friends and supporters and even bake a cake, we decided that was not the right thing to do.  Instead we sat together and gave thanks.  

Caleb in his cardboard box.

Caleb - the miracle baby.

We gave thanks for Caleb who was delivered to us in a cardboard box at the age of 8-months.  His mother died infected with AIDS, his father was dying of the same and Caleb was also deathly ill with HIV/AIDS. He also had Tuberculosis and was covered in oozing lesions.  With 24-hour medical care, love and prayer Caleb turned the corner from death to life.  Today he is a beautiful, happy boy who takes his Anti-retroviral medication with no problems and loves to giggle and laugh.  He is a gift to us all.

We gave thanks for Paul and Ishmael the twins who were found in a slum outside of Malkerns with no food.  They were 4-months old and weighed approximately eight pounds each.  They were wasting away when they were found, but with nutritious food, love and proper care they have grown to be joyful boys who always light up when someone smiles at them.  They are a gift to us all.

Paul and Ishmael found starving.

Paul and Ishmael one year later.  Pure joy.

We gave thanks for Joseph, the baby who was dropped in a “dry pit latrine” at birth.  There was no human feces in the latrine yet so he landed directly on rocks and lay there for 12 hours before someone found him.  Joseph remained in the hospital for several weeks while the doctor tried to save his life and care for his significant head injuries.  Today he is a very bright, alert, happy child who does not appear to have any lasting brain injuries.  Time will tell, but we give thanks for his health and life. He is a gift to us all.

Joseph's massive head injuries.

Joseph today.  A bright and shining star.

Deborah before being washed.

We gave thanks for Deborah who was found in a black plastic bag under some bushes. She was a newborn and was being eaten alive by bugs and ants. Her mouth, nose and ears were filled with maggots.  After five days in the hospital she came to us and is now weighing in a whopping 5.2 pounds.  She is a beautiful baby who spends most of her time eating and sleeping. Most of her wounds have healed, but there are two scars on her head that likely came from an animal tearing at the plastic bag (the very act that gave her fresh air and saved her life).  She is a gift to us all.

Baby Deborah covered in insect and animal bites.

Deborah at three weeks old. A sweet baby.

As we sat and looked at each tiny life that has arrived at El Roi in the past 12 months we gave thanks for each baby who had been chosen to come to us.  We also became aware that each of us have also been chosen “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) and have been called to serve these babies who have been “abandoned or ignored” (Matthew 25: ). It was an overwhelming and humbling time together.

I asked each Auntie what their favorite part of serving at the El Roi Baby home was and several of them said it was the peace and love they felt towards the babies and the other Aunties. It is a

safe place for them, even when their lives are bad (and often not safe) back at home, they find joy and love at El Roi always.  El Roi sees them too. 

As I reflect back on this past year what I think of most, even more than the babies themselves, is the obedience of the people God has sent to us, even before there were babies.  Annie Duguid from the Watoto Children’s Home in Uganda came to Swaziland for a month to help set up, hire and train our Aunties, even though there were no babies.  Helen Muli quit a very good government job in Kenya and moved her family to Swaziland to help prepare the Baby Home and be trained by Annie, even when there were no babies.  One family in the US decided to start giving sacrificially to the Baby Home on a monthly basis in October 2011 – FIVE FULL MONTHS before we had a baby arrive, and those funds allowed us to bring Annie and Helen to Swaziland to prepare the home and train others.  There are so many other people who will remain unnamed who also did what they knew they were to do to prepare for little people we did not even know.  But the God Who Sees knew them and HE knew that we had to be ready.

Because of the obedience of so many people the El Roi Baby Home was ready and waiting for the first baby to arrive, and on March 1^st, 2012 Baby Joshua arrived at Project Canaan, a “Place of Hope” and lead the charge for 26 others to follow him. 

Yesterday, as we sat and celebrated together I was again humbled by the faith of the women around me.  They serve tirelessly and with joy and love always.  They have faith that can move mountains, even when they feel hopeless themselves.  I give thanks for Helen, Thabile, Gcebile, Lindiwe, Nomsa, Dolly, Mandisa, Gcebile 2, Mona Lisa, Ntom’futhi, Zandile, Maria and Brooke, all who work daily at El Roi.  I give thanks for our volunteers who serve alongside the Aunties and make a huge difference at the Baby Home.

I am often asked, “how many babies can the El Roi Baby Home hold?” and that is a question that I can’t honestly answer.  Some weeks we get two babies.  Some weeks we get none.  My prayer is that we never have to turn a baby away. The Labakhetsiwe* Toddler Home is being built now and we will move all the 2-year old children there when it is finished.  We give thanks every day for all that has been provided.

Live from Swaziland … I am celebrating life!

Janine

* means “The Chosen Ones” in siSwati.

Saturday morning with Deborah ... and a new blog on Wednesdays

 

It's Saturday morning and I have just decided to hang out on my yellow chair with Deborah. She is not eating well yet and her body is still healing so TLC (tender loving care) is what she needs the most right now.  With that in mind, that is all I am going to say in this weeks blog.

For those of you who don't know, I have started a new blog that is called "Wednesdays with Nomsa" and it will be posted every other Wednesday.  You can read the introduction to this new journey at http://wednesdayswithnomsa.blogspot.com

Live from Swaziland ... I'm in my big comfy yellow chair.

Janine

My Father built a crib for Baby Deborah 46 years ago - she was born last week

I don't believe in coincidence, but every now and then I find myself shaking my head and wondering, “what are the chances of that and what does it mean?”.  I will try to explain how I experienced this in the past few days.

On May 23^rd 2011 I posted a blog called “My Birthmother was 15-years old when I was born” (http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-birth-mother-was-15-years-old-when-i.html) and it has been the most read blog over the past nine months until this past week.  It’s my personal story of how my birth-mother got pregnant at the age of 15 years, but how God’s plans for my life were made even before she knew she was pregnant. El Roi (The God Who Sees) had the perfect family ready to adopt me and when I arrived in this world and Bernice and Russell Willis brought me in to their family to love and care for me as their only child.

On Tuesday, February 12^th I felt compelled to write a mid-week post called “It’s Tuesday night: Newborn dumped, a baby dies and mother tries to commit suicide” (http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/02/its-tuesday-night-newborn-dumped-baby.html) and in only three days it surpassed the total number of reads of my May 23^rd post.  It is the story of a tiny baby who arrived in this earth last week, unplanned and unwanted.  The premature baby was put in a plastic grocery bag, the top was tied and she was left under a tree to die.  But El Roi saw her there and His plans for her life were very different.

On February 13^th, 2005 my dad, Russell Willis, passed away and to this day I miss him terribly. He was buried on February 17^th, 2005 and for those of you who have lost a loved one you know that the days between the passing and the funeral are intense, emotional and look to God more than we might on another normal week.  This past week I have thought a lot about my dad as I remember his life and his love for my mom and me.

What am I talking about?

Yesterday, February 15^th I had the privilege of bringing the little baby who was left in the bag under the tree home.  She has been named Deborah (from Judges 4) and she is a fighter.  She is only 1.9 KG (4.3 lbs) and has a nasty/angry wound on her backside so she requires much one-on-one care and a very clean environment to get her strong and healthy quickly.  Ian and I decided to bring her to our house, which is only a seven-minute walk from the El Roi Baby Home.  The Baby Home currently has 26 babies and we are short staffed so this seemed to be the most logical and practical solution to provide love and care for this little one. 

When we arrived home I was making a plan in my head of what I needed.  Of course Helen had things prepared for me to take to the house:  bottles, clothes, diapers (although we have to leave her diaper-less to have the wounds heal), towels etc.  Brooke came and helped attend to the wound and give Deborah her first round of oral antibiotics and then we had her alone. So tiny, so bruised and scratched and yet so perfectly made.

Then the question was where would she sleep?

When I was a little girl my dad, Russell, made me a crib for my baby dolls.  It stands about 24” high and is about 35” long – just perfect for a little girl and her babies.  I haven’t kept a lot of childhood stuff, but I remember deciding to keep that crib so that if I ever had a daughter that she would play with this special crib made by her Grandpa.  Chloe did play with it for many years.

When we moved to Swaziland the question was asked if we should ship the crib, especially now that Chloe was well past that age :).  The answer was yes, they can use it at El Roi when the babies are bigger.  Christmas 2012 I pulled the little crib out of our shipping container and had it in the living room when all the babies were up for Christmas dinner. I planned to send it back with Helen that night, but alas we had many babies and many things to move that night so the crib stayed.  It sat at the back door waiting to go to the Baby Home for weeks.  Finally it was moved in to Spencer’s room to get it out of the way. 

Ian's hand size compared to Baby Deborah's hand

Yesterday I used Spencer’s bathroom to get baby Deborah cleaned up and medicated (thank you for sharing Spencer :).  And when I turned around to bring her out to the living room, there was the little crib that my dad had made for me, literally 46 years ago in Northern Ontario, Canada.  And now it was with me in Swaziland, Africa so that a little baby who seemed to be unplanned and unwanted had her own perfect size bed.

Coincidence?   God’s perfect planning?  Either way, the thought brings me to tears as I see His hand on my life and the life of this little baby whom He has brought to us for such a time as this.  Take a look around. He has done things like this for you too. Don’t miss them or think they are just coincidence. I believe they are a part of a master plan and I am in awe of the Master Planner.

So glad Ian saw her holding on

Thank you all for your prayers and for those of you who have committed to financially supporting us on a monthly basis. Thank you for being a part of the story and the lives of so many lives who were planned and wanted, even when circumstances might have seen to be otherwise.

Live from Swaziland… I am enjoying watching a tiny baby sleep.

Janine