Facial reconstruction in South Africa: A Phiwa Update

 

Many of you have followed the journey of our eldest child, Nokuphiwa (Phiwa), as she has made two trips to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery and ultimately got stuck for many months during Covid-19 lock down. If you want to start at the beginning you can go to this blog and then search Nokuphiwa for other updates.

 

With borders closed and international travel almost impossible we decided to try to find a solution closer to home to help Phiwa continue with the facial reconstruction work that is still to be done. While the surgery is “free” in the U.S. through our friends at Global Medical Relief Fund in partnership with the Shriners Hospital in Boston, the cost of accommodation, the legal guardian being away from home and work in Eswatini and the sheer stress related became priceless (and almost unbearable).

 

Our nursing team sent many emails to surgeons in South Africa (the medical system and hospitals here are extraordinarily good), but we couldn’t get anyone to even agree to an appointment. We finally had a “bite” and crossed two international borders for an appointment. We really liked the surgeon and were very hopeful, only to have him decline taking Phiwa on as a patient. His loss.

 

Traveling from Eswatini to South Africa is no easy feat, and requires Covid-19 PCR tests ($60 USD each), Ian, Nokwanda and me to make the 6 hour drive each way with Phiwa and a night in a hotel with two rooms. But we are committed to this remarkable young woman and so we persevered. Finally, we found a surgeon who would see us. We made the journey again a few weeks ago (again) and BINGO! We found our man.  On Tuesday we crossed those same to international borders (again), after taking new PCR tests (again), and on Wednesday Phiwa had her next surgery, but this time it was more fun.

 

How can facial reconstruction be fun? By bringing a friend.

 

We surprised Phiwa, and all the children and staff, by inviting 9-year-old Miriam to join us. She is a very sweet girl who is a good friend to Phiwa and one child for whom we have a birth certificate (160+ of our children are not able to get a birth certificate at this time, which is a big problem). We were able to get her travel documents (like a passport) and shared the great news with all. Miriam, like almost all of our other children, has never left Eswatini. She has never crossed a border, never ridden an elevator and never seen a hotel.  Our goal was to expose Miriam to a larger world, reward her for being a good and helpful girl, and give Phiwa a friend to go through the good part and the hard part of this facial surgery.

 

Miriam listened well and asked Phiwa lots of questions. Phiwa was a gracious and helpful friend who loved sharing her worldly knowledge of how turn on a tv in a hotel and how to read a menu. I tried to see the world through Miriam’s eyes, taking photos were possible for her to share with her classmates when she is back at school. McDonalds was a very new and exciting discovery, complete with a metal faucet that pumps out all the ketchup you can eat. The hand blow dryers in the bathroom were a surprise, but so was the homeless boy sitting on the ground outside of McDonalds filthy, sickly and begging for food. The elevator ride was fun, but not nearly as shocking as the 3-bedroom penthouse suite (!) that the hotel upgraded us to without us requesting any special treatment. When asked about it, they told us that they remember us being there before and they want to support our efforts. I call that a God kiss.

 

We all went out for Italian food the night before surgery and Phiwa ordered what she always does, spaghetti with meatballs. Miriam looked and the extensive menu and saw the words bacon and avocado under the Pizza heading and she knew what she wanted.  I looked across the table and saw that Phiwa was so happy to have her friend there. I quietly said, “Thank you for being so welcoming and helpful to your friend.” And without missing a beat Phiwa responded, “Thank you for getting her a passport”. I almost burst into tears, but alas, my procuitto and rocket pizza arrived and saved the day.

 

The rest of the evening was filled with an extravangant (first time) bubble bath, Cartoon network on a giant tv screen and microwave popcorn. What more could a couple of silly girls ask for before going in for facial reconstruction surgery?

 

The surgery went well. They injected her top lip with fat filler taken from a site on her stomach.  Then they removed tendons from her leg and made a sling to pull her bottom lip up. The goal for this surgery is to have her lips close, which will make speaking/intonation/enunciation easier and will make it easier for her to eat. She was in a lot of pain when she came out of surgery, much more than past surgeries due to the more invasive surgery. The next day she was miserable and it made for a rough drive home, again across two borders. But she is a trooper, with little complaining. As Ian drove, Nokwanda napped in the back seat and Miriam had the iPad to herself, we listened to music. The song "The Blessing" came on and a few minutes into the song I heard a small voice from the back seat singing, "He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you."  I couldn't choke back my tears any longer. I don't know if the Lord sent that message for her, or for me or for us all, but I heard it loud and clear through a tiny voice in the back seat. HE IS FOR YOU.

 

The next surgery will be a much bigger and scarier surgery where they will need to remove the eyeball that has melted to its lid, redirect a tear duct that weeps out of her eye brown and reconstruct her eye socket and left side of her face. Phiwa told us at dinner that she is very afraid of that surgery and she fears the pain that she will feel. Again, without missing a beat Miriam responded, “Don’t worry, you’ll manage the pain”. 

Next week will be my last weekly blog on Saturday mornings. I will still contribute monthly to the Heart for Africa Share Hope blog, but I won’t be joining you for coffee every Saturday morning. If you have been moved by Phiwa’s story and are in a position to help us with all of our children who need medical attention, I am asking you to dig deep and give generously today. Miriam herself had a severely broken tibia and fibia from a bike accident earlier this year, and she knows pain. This week alone we had two children who needed surgery to fix serious umbilical hernias and these all cost money.

If you can give, please do so today.

 

Click here to give in the US.

 

Click here to give in Canada.

 

Live from Eswatini … I am so proud of my brave girls, Phiwa and Miriam.

 

Janine

Practicing real love

 

This morning I read a scripture that spoke to me and gave me the theme for today’s blog. It was 1 John 3:18 which says,

 

“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.

This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.

 It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism,

even when there is something to it.

For God is greater than our worried hearts

and knows more about us than we do ourselves.”

 

This week was a week of practicing real love at the Project Canaan children’s campus. I will share four stories and will start with the hardest one.

 

We received a call about a home filled with 16 children (ages 3-11) who were covered with scabies.  A quick Google search finds a description that reads, “A contagious, intensely itchy skin condition caused by a tiny, burrowing mite. Scabies is contagious and spreads quickly through close physical contact. The most common symptom of scabies is intense itching in the area where the mites burrow. Scabies can be treated by killing the mites and their eggs with medication that's applied from the neck down and left on for eight hours.”  

 

 

This Swazi home did not have any access to medication and the wounds were starting to fester. The children were suffering and we were asked to assist. I asked our nurse Anthony to pay them a visit and assess the situation. He returned with photos and a report that was not only shocking, but heartbreaking, sending a text that reported a “the kids have a hygiene-related parasite infestation. They are desperate.” This particular home should have access to government care and treatment, but after not being able to get help for three weeks, they called us because they knew we would help. We want to practice real love for those children next week with antibiotics, ointments, lessons in bathing, cleaning clothes and house to try to rid them of these vicious mites. You’ll learn how you can help at the end of the blog.

 

We received two new babies this week through Social Welfare, the first two of 2021. The first little boy came from the young mother I wrote about in last week’s blog. We have named him Prosper with Jeremiah 29:11 in mind. It reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This little boy and his mother needed this scripture spoken over them.  He was born by cesarean at 34 weeks and weighed 5.5 pounds and the mother wants nothing to do with the baby. The mother was taken to ICU, but has recovered and has been discharged to an uncertain future. We were able to practice real love by giving Prosper a loving home and hope to be able to practice real love by assisting his mother next week.

 

 

The second child had been in the hospital suffering from malnutrition for a couple of months. His mother lost two other babies and was not mentally stable enough to even feed this little guy. The doctor and social worker worked hard together to try to find him a safe place to live with family, but their attempts were unsuccessful, so he was placed with us where we are blessed to be able to practice real love to a child who has never known love. He is now a happy and healthy 4-month-old and we will call him Mandla. 

 

 

Lastly, Ian and I had the privilege of taking Nokuphiwa and Nokwanda to South Africa to get a surgical assessment from a plastic surgeon with the hopes of avoiding future travel to the U.S. as Covid-19, border closures and cancelled flights seem to have closed the doors to U.S. medical assistance for the future. Not wanting to put her care on hold any further we are pursuing options in South Africa, where the private healthcare is some of the best in the world. Getting this young lady across the border required no less than 3 full days in Mbabane trying to get a medical visa from the South African High Commission as well as Covid-19 tests for $56 USD each. NOTHING is easy here, but we persevered and got everything needed to cross the border. Practicing real patience is sometimes the key to practicing real love.

 

Only one adult was allowed into the Doctor’s office due to Covid restrictions so I took the lead on this appointment. The surgeon was SO kind and SO informative that I left knowing more about Nokuphiwa’s medical condition and needs than I had after two years of reports from the medical team in the U.S. That is not meant as a slight to them, I was just really happy to be able to ask a million questions that I hadn’t been able to get answers for. The bottom line is that this surgeon is not our guy, but he is referring us to a hospital in Durban where there is a multi-disciplinary team that would be best to assist us for the next many years of surgery. The surgeon was personally calling the head of the department who was also his professor. Nokuphiwa’s case will need to be assessed by the multi-disciplinary team and they will need to “approve” her as a patient. If and when that happens they will make a long-term plan that will include; finishing her lips so that they close and hopefully become more functional, constructing a nose from her forehead and rib cartilage, constructing a left ear also from rib cartilage, closing the tear duct above her burned eye and hopefully giving her a prosthetic eye that is so real looking we will hardly know it’s not real. I felt that this surgeon was practicing real love as he wanted to go above and beyond the call so that she could get the very best possible care and outcome.  That is what our goal is too.

 

 

Would you like to practice real love today and help a child in need? Here are a couple of ways you can do it right now. You can become a monthly sponsor either Prosper or Mandla and pray for them by name as they continue to heal and grow.

 

Child Sponsorship in the U.S.:  https://www.heartforafrica.org/HOPESTARTS/

Child sponsorship in 🇨🇦 Canada:  http://bit.ly/hfahopestartsca

 

OR you can make a donation to our Emergency Medical fund to help us provide the urgent care that those 16 children need to rid them of scabies.

 

Medical care gift in the U.S.: https://www.heartforafrica.org/Emergency-Fund/

Medical care gift in Canada: https://heartforafrica.ca/emergency-fund/

 

You can also practice real love today by calling a friend who might be lonely or sending an overdue email or dropping a food pack off at a neighbor’s house who might just need to feel some real love today. Who can you show real love to today… right now? Don’t delay. You will be blessed by doing it.

 

Live from Eswatini … practicing real love to our dogs by bathing them in ringworm shampoo!

 

Janine

Nokuphiwa surgery update – things did not go as planned

If you don’t know who Nokuphiwa (Phiwa) is please start by reading this blog from just one year ago https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2019/03/nokuphiwa-no-koo-pee-wah.html Phiwa was badly burned when she was only a few days old and did not get any medical intervention until last February when we sent her to Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston under the care of the Global Medical Relief Fund and in to the loving home of our dear friends, the Habelow family.

Phiwa did not have any family who could travel with her so we asked a young lady who had just graduated from University in Eswatini and was working in the front office at Project Canaan to go with her as guardian.  A pretty big ask.  Her name is Nokwanda Fakudze and we had known her for many years and had come to trust and love her.  When I asked Nokwanda if she would be willing to take a young girl, whom she had never met before all this started, to the US for several months of extreme surgical intervention, and she said yes.  None of us had any idea where this journey would take them or the people who have come to know and love them both.

Phiwa’s first few round of surgeries was to take skin grafts from her thighs and release her lips (really, it was to create lips).  Her lips had completely burned off as a newborn which impacted her ability to speak (impossible to enunciate without lips), eat and do other things we take for granted by having lips. Those three surgeries were successful and then she came back to Eswatini.

In November 2019 Nokwanda and Phiwa made their way back to Boston for the second major round of treatment and surgery.  Phiwa has a whole in the front left side of her skull that is the size of a golf ball, in fact you can see her heart beating through the skin.  We all assumed that the doctors would want to fix that first, but we learned that they couldn’t do that because of how taught her skin was, so that is why the lips became the first priority.

In November they put a port in her skull so that each week they could inject fluid that would expand her skin, stretching it so that when they did the cranioplasty the skin could be pulled over top of the hole. (I am writing this in layman’s terms so that you can all follow – surgeons please forgive my simple explanation of a very complex surgery). After three months of head expansion yesterday was the big day for the big surgery!  The plan was to take a half thickness piece of skull from another part of her head and insert it in the hole at the front of her skull.  If I understand correctly, both sites would eventually grow the bone back to full thickness. Once the hole was filled then they would take the expanded skin and stretch it over the left side of her head where she had no hair because of the burns. She would get a new hairline on the left side giving her hair all over her head.  How cool is that?

You can't have too many fun hats.

I think those of us who understood the surgery were nervous about it – it just seems so crazy that surgeons could do such a thing.  But the Lord has protected this child for so long we knew that He would continue to do so.  All of the big kids at Emseni did a video call with the girls the night before surgery and Ian prayed over her for peace, joy and safety. But here's the thing about Phiwa – she is never sad, scared, angry or in a bad mood. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still a kid, and can be stubborn about things, but really, she never complained about her skin expansion, never cried from pain and I often comment that she might not be human.

Yesterday as they went in to the hospital she was skipping and singing (see video below). WHO SKIPS AND SINGS when going to have cranioplasty?  Only Phiwa.

We had a video call with Nokwanda, Phiwa and Eileen as they headed to the hospital and both ladies are so good and sending me updates.  Then I got this one from Eileen:

“Dr. B just came out.  He is very happy with how the skin expansion went.  She now has a hairline that goes all the way to the bad ear and back.  He says there is still a section on the back of her head that needs hair.  That will be a small skin expander next round with which he will finish her scalp and construct an ear.  They did NOT put a new piece of bone in her skull - thought it was too risky during this one.  If the skin replacement leaked it would not allow the bone to heal well enough. He said they added another layer of very healthy skin over it and feels she is protected.  We might get out tomorrow since they did not do the bone.  Check up on Monday and/or Wednesday of next week.  Then, in two weeks or so (I am going to ask for March 25 so I can be here in-person), we will have the consult planning meeting to map out her next year.”

What the heck? They didn’t do the very surgery that we thought she was getting her head expanded for?  I was so disappointed, but Eileen was not, she knows that they would only do what was best for Phiwa.  What I do know is that God’s plans are not our plans, but they are always better, so I will rest in that promise.   

May I take this moment to say thank you again to Nokwanda, who really is a Super Woman in my books, and the blanket that she is wearing in the photo below is really her cape. Thank you for your love, your selflessness and your kubeketela.

Elsa and Super Woman save the world.

The girls will come home next month and we will be really excited to have them back.  We will know what the next round of treatment will be after a meeting in a couple of weeks.  We do know that future surgeries include an ear, a nose and hopefully an ocular implant to replace the eye that is sealed shut and non-functional.  Unfortunately, the Habelow’s have moved to Florida, and while they have very generously and graciously kept their apartment rented for the girls to live in during these months, we will need another host home for the next round of surgery. If anyone knows a family or perhaps a retired couple in the Boston area who would be blessed beyond measure to host a very special young gal, who might just be an angel in disguise, please let me know?

Live from Eswatini … thinking about my girls in Boston.

Janine

A new kind of January?

Typically, Ian and I travel to the US/ once a year, in October for fundraising events and Board meetings. But this year we were invited to a very special event at Sea Island in Georgia in early January so we headed west and started a busy year of travel. We were honored to be able to speak at the AWAKENING 2020 and to spend time with dear friends AND, a bonus visit with Spencer!

Jan & Ernest Taylor with Jean and Jerry Eickoff

Spencer in the Canadian seat at the G8 Summit table at Cloister.

Then we headed up to Boston to visit Nokuphiwa (Phiwa) and Nokwanda.  Phiwa is here in the US for her second round of reconstructive surgeries to repair the burns she sustained when she was only 2-days-old.  She is here with Nokwanda, her faithful friend, big sister and guardian. They are in the US for four months while Phiwa has the skin on her scalp expanded through weekly injections of fluid that will allow enough skin to stretch enough to eventually cover her scalp once they do the crainioplasty in early March. We enjoyed taking the girls to see “Star Wars” (don’t judge), out for a great seafood dinner, and of course, ended with a trip to Target for whatever they needed (including introducing Nokwanda to “Cherry Garcia” Ben & Jerry’s ice cream).    

From there we traveled to Nashville where we had a two day “off site” meeting with our Heart for Africa US staff.  It’s always fun to get together with this team of people whom we love dearly, and it was a chance for us to share our vision for 2020, discuss plans to help feed more children and have a good belly laugh or two.  This year we added Hannah Gaddis to the team and she will be leading our Hunger Initiative 2020 (stay tuned for more info next week).  We also hired a Marketing Coordinator, whose name will be familiar to many of you … Maggie (Taylor) Lian!  Maggie’s mom, Donna Taylor, worked at Heart for Africa for many years and we are thrilled to have the next generation on the team.

Yesterday we came back to Atlanta to meet with some amazing women from Easter Seals who will help us think through and design our home for disabled children. Then it was home to pack, enjoy a quiet evening (did you know that you can order pizza and it is delivered to your door? We need THAT in Eswatini!). 

While we were busy in the US, the Project Canaan Academy School year started with 187 children in attendance!  The kids were SO excited to go back to school, and we are so thankful for Amber VanWinkle and incredible group of teachers.

In addition to that excitement, we welcomed our 260^th child last week. His name is Dillan and he was born on March 27^th, 2018.  We are thankful for his life and thankful that we get to play a big part in his future.

Ian and I hop on a 16-hour flight back to Johannesburg tonight and then make the 5-hour drive home in the morning.  These trips don’t get any easier, but we enjoy the time we get to spend with friends and family and are thankful for the team that keeps everything running smoothly at Project Canaan while we are away!

Live from Pete & Julie Wilkerson’s couch … we are going home today!

Janine

Something has shifted

Photo credit: Bryan Throgmorton

A few months ago I was contacted by a Pastor in the US who wanted to know if we would like a 30 foot high cross planted somewhere on Project Canaan.  They were going to give it to us for free and come and install it, so I said “YES!”.  I didn’t think much more about it until Monday when I realized that Pastors Bill and Carol from Christian Cross Ministries would be here on Friday and we needed to choose a place for the cross.

I met with a few people to get their thoughts and then Bryan and Allen started to slash their way through the bush up a mountain to find the “perfect spot” for the giant cross.  Nothing is easy here, nor was that climb, but once they reached the desired spot Denis and his team went in and cut a path, carried the 550 pound (250 KG) steel cross up the mountain and prepared for the “planting” on Friday.  It was just one more thing on my list of things to do, and I was thankful to have a team of people to do all the heavy lifting (pardon the pun).

It was another hot and sunny day in eSwatini as we made our way up the mountain and then something changed. This “to do list” item became a profoundly important moment in time, ten years after we first stepped foot on the land.  

We are building a traditional Swazi homestead at the bottom of the mountain where our children can continue to learn about their culture, cook over an open fire, sleep under a grass roof and even grind maize. The cross is located above where this homestead is being built and  as I thought about this, I had a sense that something shifted. It’s hard to explain, but it was as if another declaration was being made over the land. We officially dedicated Project Canaan to God in 2009, but putting this cross up, with the blue sky shining and our Primary School children, teachers, volunteers and maintenance crew in attendance went beyond the words “powerful and moving”.  The Swazi homestead represents a new beginning for our children and perhaps this tiny Kingdom and the cross is a reminder of what a new beginning really is all about for all of us.

Painting of the Swazi homestead courtesy of talented Melissa Trivisonno!

I have no idea why God chose Ian and I for this task, but words cannot express how my heart feels knowing that we are fulfilling the calling that He has on our lives. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I were not here.

Speaking of how my heart feels, let me give you a short Nokuphiwa story that will bring you joy!  (If you don’t know who she is please read last weeks blog at https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2019/03/nokuphiwa-no-koo-pee-wah.html ) 

Nokuphiwa has not gone for surgery yet, and is still having testing done and meetings with various doctors. This past week she was invited to an event for children who have been burned, hosted by the Boston Fire Department in conjunction with Shriners hospital.  The kids were learning to paint and when she came out of the building she proudly showed everyone her very first painting.

“What is it?”  I asked. 

I was told that she painted a dolphin diving in the ocean, and written in the clouds is her name.  Think about that for a moment. Here are a group of children, all who have been burned, gathering for an afternoon of painting, and this child from the deep bush in Swaziland paints a dolphin swimming in the ocean.  It is as profound to me as the cross on our mountain top. 

Something has shifted, or maybe it's just me.

Live from Swaziland … I stand in awe of His goodness and mercy.

Janine

Nokuphiwa (No-koo-pee-wah)

Nokuphiwa and her BFF Mona Lisa - sweetest photo of all time?

I have never met someone like Nokuphiwa. She is the little burned girl I have mentioned in a few blogs in the past couple of months and I would like to officially introduce you to her today.  She was burned in a house fire when she was only 5-days-old and has suffered with no treatment until today, and she is now 8-years-old. (If you want to read more about Nokuphiwa’s burn story go to https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2018/12/update-on-burned-girl.html)

Nokuphiwa left for Boston this past week where she will receive reconstructive surgery at Shriners Hospital in Boston, in partnership with our friends at the Global Medical Relief Fund.  She was accompanied by Nokwanda (from hospitality department at Project Canaan) and Barry Hickman (our friend and husband of Canadian HFA Board member, Carol Hickman) who flew all the way to eSwatini from British Columbia, Canada to escort the two gals to the US as neither had been on an airplane before.

When I first heard about Nokuphiwa I knew that we had to do something to help, but was very uncertain about how to do it without disrupting (or frankly, scaring) our own children who have already been through so much.  Together with our amazing staff, we worked on a plan (read past blog above) and brought her to live with us back in early December.

Within a single day she was the pied piper of Project Canaan with almost all the children loving her immediately (some of the older boys took a bit longer to see past the scars to her heart), and soon loved by all.  Allen, one of our Sr. Supervisors said, “She is like a Princess who finally found her people”.  And what a true statement that is.

Nokuphiwa is pure joy.  She cares for the underdog and scolds a bully.  She dances and sings like no one is watching, but everyone is!  Honestly, it is as if she doesn’t know she was burned. She is perfect, and beautiful and confident and made in His image, and she knows it. She is not ashamed of how she looks and is quick to take off her hat for photos so you can see her full smile (with no lips). 

Nokuphiwa is missing a piece of her skull that should be protecting a main artery in her head. You can see her heart beat through the skin on her skull. The Doctors in Boston have also identified a “leak” up above her where her eyebrow should be. While Nokuphiwa RARELY cries, when she does, that spot “leaks”. They did a CT scan on Friday to assess her skull issues, and also they are looking to see if the leak is from a mis-directed tear duct?  The whole in her skull and the leak are the two priorities for now. Then further plans will be made.

I have been very careful to not post photos of her face for her privacy sake, but I am going to do so today so that you, the reader, can see where she is starting her surgical journey and you will be able to follow along and pray with us for her. am also posting a video that was sent to me yesterday from Nokwanda. It brought me to tears (again).  But I only cry tears of joy for this little girl because SHE IS JOY.

The first thing I want to show you is Nokuphiwa singing a song yesterday.  Nokwanda sent it to me last night and it’s Nokuphiwa (who didn’t want to learn English, but seems to be learning it) singing “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me”.  I am posting this so that you can see her joy, her authenticity and her personality. I don’t think I would be singing “God is so good” as an 8-year-old if I had been living with a burned head for all of my life. Would you?

  

Now … you HAVE to read this next part!

The girls are being hosted by our friends Eileen, Joe and Eric Habelow.  When I asked the Habelow’s for the “BIG FAVOR” of hosting two strangers for 3-months while one of the strangers (and a child) underwent life-changing/life-threatening surgery, they prayed about it, talked to their Pastor to get support from their church and then said yes.  THREE weeks before the girls were to arrive at their house, their pipes burst while they were out of town at the Superbowl and it “rained” in their house for days before they got back (to Boston in the dead of winter). They got home to 3.5 feet of water on the top floor and bottom floor of their house and the house looked like a rainforest with water pouring out of ceiling lights, walls and ceilings.  EVERYTHING that they owned was destroyed by water, EXCEPT for all their photos albums and sentimental items. The only wall in the house that was not wet was the one that housed the electrical box, which saved them all from electrocution when they walked through the house testing lights switches. 

In the past three weeks they found a new home to rent, bought furniture, set up house and met Nokuphiwa, Nokwanda and Barry at the airport with more joy and love that can be imagined.  Tear are pouring down my face as I type that. We have done video calls from their house and their car and I just can’t stop crying tears of joy over all that I am seeing happen.  And she hasn’t even started surgery yet! 

Serving God is not easy, but the blessings that come with it are “exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask for or imagine”.  Just ask Eileen and Joe! 

Special send off service last Sunday at church

Praying for the girls before they left

She insisted that I take a photo of her with the RCMP moose that Uncle Barry got her

FAREWELL!!  See you in May!

I LOVE the way she laughs so hard

Their first time seeing snow!

What are you being asked to do today? Who are you supposed to help? Who are you supposed to be a blessing to?  Please don’t hesitate – just do it.

Thank you Barry Hickman for coming and being the escort for both Nokuphiwa and Nokwanda. Thank you Nokwanda for stepping up to be the guardian for this 8-year-old girl from “deep Swaziland” for the next 3- months of grueling surgery.  Thank you Eileen, Joe and Eric for hosting the girls for the next 3-months, for taking them to Doctors appointments, CT scans and Chinese food. 

Live from eSwatini … I LOVE my life.

Janine