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.

Be still and know that He is God.

Be STILL and know that He is God.

Be still and KNOW that He is God.

Be still and know that HE is God.

Be still and know that He IS God.

Be still and know that He is GOD.

I am not sure which word you put the emphasis on in that scripture, but this week I have used them all to remind myself of the certainty of the promise given in those words.

This week my cousin Kim found out that the love of her life, Paul (father of her three teenagers) had a stage 4 malignant brain tumor that is inoperable.  Only fifty days ago he was “perfectly healthy” and then things changed.  On Thursday, July 26th he went home to be with Jesus.  I have no words to describe this.

Be still and know that He is God.

Yes, Stanly gave me permission to use this photo.

This week Stanly Mduma (one of our farm Supervisors) careened off a cliff when he lost control of the ATV he was driving.  He is father to a new set of twins (Janet and Jackson), a second set of twins and two other children.  Those six were almost orphaned this week.

Be still and know that He is God.

This week I was asked if I ever have fun anymore.  Chloe remembered us having fun when we lived in Canada back in 2006.  Have we become much too serious or has life just changed that much?

Be still and know that He is God.

This week I was asked if I am happy here in Swaziland.  What is happiness?  Am I supposed to be happy?  I am seeking to have the “joy of the Lord”, but I am not sure that “happiness” (as we define it back at home) is something that we will see a lot of here.  Maybe it is semantics, but maybe it is more than that.  Something to ponder in the weeks ahead.

Be still and know that He is God.

This week I learned that more than 50% of all HIV positive adults who are seen at the Pediatric AIDS clinic (because their children are HIV positive and are on treatment), themselves refuse treatment.  Why?  Because they say they “feel fine”.  So they go on to increase the chance of infecting others, shorten their own lifespan and almost insure that their children will become orphans in the not to distant future.

Be still and know that He is God.

Happy 1st Birthday Miriam

This week baby Miriam turned one-year-old and would likely have been just another infant mortality statistic if it weren’t for the discernment of a Social Welfare Officer and the hearts of the women who live and work at the El Roi Baby Home.

Be still and know that He is God.

This week our electric fencing is finally electrified around our house so we will be safe at night, but the water filtration system is still not filtering so we will continue to boil water. 

Be still and know that He is God.

This week Jesus was on the throne, all week, and He didn’t miss anything. He wasn’t surprised by anything nor was he shaken by anything - not Paul’s tumor or Stanly’s accident or the color of the icing on Miriam’s birthday cake.  His plans are not our plans and His timing is not our timing, and sometimes it just plain SUCKS (sorry Mom for the bad language), but I trust Him with my life and the lives of those around me.  I am not saying it is easy or without pain, but it is the truth that I cling to in the darkest days.

Anna and David share Petelyn's boa on Miriam's birthday.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God”.  This week I am thankful for these powerful words.  May they bring you peace.

Live from Swaziland ... this isn't getting any easier with time.

Janine