Final weekly blog – A farewell, not goodbye.

On June 1^st 2011, I wrote this in my first blog journaling our move to Africa: “Once we move to Africa, 365 short days from today, we hope you will continue to follow our adventure as we begin to bring in abandoned babies, work with orphan headed-households in the community around Project Canaan, grow and export tons of food and so much more.  Of course, that will all be dependent on us having electricity, internet access and a few other basics like fresh water.  You see ... the journey REALLY does begin today. People have asked me when I am going to write my next book.  My answer is that this blog is the next book, and you get to read it as it happens.”

 

One year later – on my blog dated May 31^st, 2012 – I wrote: “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.”

 

Just the words electricity, internet access and fresh water bring up memories of the challenges we have overcome, and how God has provided in each and every circumstance. As I write these words, it’s May 29^th, 2021; we have lived in Africa for 9 years, which honestly has flown by. Today I am writing my 489^th weekly blog (not missing one Saturday in nine years!), but today will be my last WEEKLY blog. This move has had a significant impact on the entire Maxwell family, and we have all LIVED through the highs and the lows, the joy and the sorrow, the reward and the sacrifice of serving the Lord. I thought you, my dear reader and friend, would like to hear the voices of Ian, Spencer and Chloe in this final weekly blog as you have heard my voice a lot over the past ten years.

 

Here are a few questions that we thought you might like to hear the answers to:

 

What has been the hardest part of the past 9 years for you personally?

 

Chloe: “There has been a lot of “hard,” from the stories of each child and the fires, to saying goodbye to my sister Nomsa and people betraying us. The hardest part though, I would say, is being so far away from each of my family members for so many years and figuring out how to manage a long-distance family.”

 

Spencer: “I would say the hardest part (that I have come “a long way” on) would be knowing what I should tell my folks, and what I shouldn’t. For example, if mom starts the call with “we received a new baby that was found in a pit latrine” it’s hard to say that I am struggling with school or a friendship because how does that compare to a baby being found under such circumstances? But at the same time, we are each going through life and have struggles. We can’t say one is worse than the other because not only is it relative, it’s personal. So being able to hear what my parents tell me is going on and still being able to process my own circumstances was challenging, but liberating.” 

 

Ian: “Thinking I screwed up my daughter’s high school years by enrolling her in an international private school in Eswatini. It didn’t work out and she lost a full semester. She ended up graduating from Morrison Academy in Taiwan, that turned out to one of the best decisions we made as parents.”

 

Janine: “The hardest part for me was not being able to “be there” for Spencer and Chloe when I felt they needed us most, but having to try to help from afar. The second hardest was hearing the harsh criticism of people who were telling us from afar how we were doing things wrong and how to do them better.”

 

What has been the best part of the past 9 years for you personally?

 

Chloe: “Seeing the plan unfold and all of the parts working together so well. It surprises me every time, but somehow Project Canaan is more amazing, more developed and more inspiring every time I go home. Also seeing the number of people that have been a part of this crazy journey, even if only for specific times, each person that has played a specific role in Project Canaan being what it is today.”

 

Spencer: “Knowing that even though it’s hard on all of us, we believe our family was called to this mission. We all believe God is in control, which alleviates so much stress in my life- a serious example would be when people ask if I’m afraid for my parents getting bit by a snake. I can honestly respond that I am not worried because if that’s a part of Gods plan, so be it. I know they are protected and are called to this mission, which makes it easier to explain to friends (even those that wouldn’t be on the faith spectrum).” 

 

Ian: “Being in the front seat witnessing God develop a vision. He uses people who are available, to bring wisdom, skills, finance and prayer together to bring the vision to life. From African bush, Project Canaan has emerged to bring HOPE to Eswatini and I have had the privilege to see it all.”

 

Janine: “Feeling the presence of God every day is a wonderful thing and knowing that He is directing our steps is so assuring. Seeing Grace walk, noticing that Miracle can now see, discovering that Holly and Ivy are no longer deaf, watching Phiwa skip into a hospital for reconstructive facial surgery are all proof that Jesus is alive and well and present here.

 

What would you do differently if you were to move to Africa again?

 

Spencer: “I would prioritize internal communication between our family. In the last year we established a weekly family phone call on Sundays that is something I look forward to. Sure, before I could call my parents anytime (before 9pm their time) but having a designated time schedule (even though it may sound “corporate”) is really important in creating a structure for our family to have consistent communication.” 

 

Ian: “I would have bought a bulldozer. No really… I would have bought a bulldozer.”

 

Janine: “I would get more advice on how to stay better connected with Spencer and Chloe and I would also be more intentional in planning family holidays that were not in Africa.”

 

What do you wish people knew about this journey that they may not know?

 

Chloe: “I am so grateful that my parents said yes, because if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t have 289 brothers and sisters that I love, I wouldn’t have the confidence to fearlessly travel the world and absorb new cultures, and I wouldn’t have the extremely personal example my parents have left to show my children one day of what it looks like to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus.” 

 

Spencer: "I think people would be surprised to hear all the junk people say to us about our mission. The critiques left and right, people sharing how they think we should run the organization, as well as the straight-up ugliness people show us is kind of surprising. Which makes it all the better when people truly support us with words of encouragement!

 

Ian: “The journey over the past decade+ has had its highs and lows but through it all the Lord has given me an inner peace which has filled me with joy in the “high” time and sustained me during the “low” times. This journey is an adventure, every day I get to see some of what the Lord is doing, (just a peek under the tent), and I’m filled to the brim.”

 

Janine: “I think sometimes we make living in Africa look easy, but it’s not. It’s all hard and it’s heartbreaking. We are human. We hurt, we bleed, we feel­­­­­­­ pain and lonliness. But God is with us always and even in our darkest hours He has never left us nor forsaken us. This is the good news of the gospel that we share daily with our Swazi brothers and sisters.

What are you most thankful for about the Maxwell’s moving to Africa story?

 

Chloe: “I am most thankful that I am a Maxwell and that this is part of my story. We only get one life – At 24 years old, I’ve had the opportunity to see the world, understand poverty, truly understand and experience the impact that one person can make and because of this, I believe both Spencer, my 288 brothers and sisters and I can change the world.”

 

Spencer: “Umm isn’t it obvious? That WE were called to this mission?! How many times have we heard “I could never do what your parents are doing” when really, anyone could pick up and move to anywhere to do anything. I am so fortunate that not only did God call my folks to Africa, but that they said YES. My life is forever changed by this project and it has exposed me to things I will carry for the rest of my life. I am also so thankful for all the people that have encouraged our family from the start, and have stayed with us through this process. You know who you are and I can’t thank you enough.” 

 

Ian: “That our whole family said “Yes” when asked about moving to Africa. Our lives would be dramatically different if we had said no.”

 

Janine: “That we did it. Fear did not hold us back. People did not hold us back. We put down our nets and followed him with abandon. The impossible became possible because God was with us at every step, and our children were able to experience it first hand and our children’s children will be blessed because of it.

 

Thank you for taking this journey with our entire family.  Thank you for supporting me each week by crying with me, wiping my tears from afar, joining with me in prayer and cheering us all on from a distance. Thank you to those of you who serve with us every day here in Eswatini, or elsewhere in the world.

 

Thank you to everyone who has sent me words of encouragement about how much you have enjoyed my blog, but also words of understanding of why it is time to take the next step in the way this blog is shared. Nine years ago, as I wrote in that blog before our departure for Swaziland, “It is time to move and serve the Lord . . .” – that declaration still resonates! Every step of this journey has been taken in faith, and it’s time to invite you to share your journey, your experiences and the manner in which God has invited you into this story. There are still stories to be told, chapters yet to be written and it’s time for them to be shared by those who’ve said “yebo” to this call.

 

I promise to write to you monthly in the Heart for Africa Share HOPE blog, so please be sure to sign up for it.

 

I have two final requests, and I hope that ALL of you will participate in both;

1.     Would you take a moment to write an email to me at janine@heartforafrica.org or leave a comment on the social media platform where you read this blog? Please share a favorite blog, story, or why you continued to read this blog for as long as you have.

 

2.     Would you make a small (or large) one-time gift to the children of Project Canaan, which will go towards special needs that arise (like emergency surgery, special staff gifts etc.)? While the blog was free, raising nearly 300 children is expensive! Every gift you make is another step towards raising the next generation of leadership for this country we all love so much.

 

In the U.S. Please click here.

 

In Canada Please click here.

 

Lastly, please know that Jesus is securely on the throne, even in the country in which you live. I have readers from all over the world, and while every nation has suffered during the past 18 months, Jesus is still alive and He is with you always.

 

My new book HOPE LIVES HERE is now available for pre-order so please be sure to order yours today!

 

In the U.S. you can order it directly from us at Khutsala by clicking here.

 

In Canada you can receive it now as it is available as print on demand on amazon.ca.

Just click here!

 

Live from Eswatini … may the Lord bless you and keep you and give you peace.

 

Janine

 

 

P.S. A few facts about my blog that you might find interesting: 

 

My top 3 most read blog articles were:

 

1.     Just Tears https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2018/04/just-tears.html

2.     7 Babies in 7 Days https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2018/10/7-babies-in-7-days.html

3.     What is a “mushroom Daycare”? You might not want to know. https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2017/06/what-is-mushroom-daycare-you-might-not.html

 

Most of my readership came from 18 countries as seen below:

United States	571,547
Canada	84,698
Russia	21,679
Eswatini	15,132
Taiwan	12,423
Sweden	9,654
United Kingdom	9,412
Germany	6,903
France	6,387
South Africa	6,298
Ukraine	5,257
Kenya	1,140
Netherlands	897
Japan	884
Australia	863
United Arab Emirates	802
Brazil	749
Belgium	735

 

 

I have had 818,493 all time blog reads.

 

Thanks for spending some or all of the last 10 years with me!

Much love,

Janine

Everything is a buzz on Project Canaan (pardon the upcoming pun)

 

Spencer is on an airplane coming home for Christmas! I am still in shock that this was possible, and equally saddened that Chloe is not able to come (quarantine restrictions won’t allow it). During the last eight months we all just assumed that Christmas travel would not be possible, but then it was! And our boy is coming home. I simply can’t tell you how happy that makes us, and the children are so excited to see their big brother.

 

This week we opened our first “flow hives” in our apiary (a location where bee hives are kept) on the farm. What is that you ask? According to www.honeyflow.com “The Flow system is a whole new way of extracting honey from Langstroth-style European honeybee hives. The bees fill the honey cells and cap them off. When you insert the Flow Key and split the honey cells, gravity does the rest of the work, and the honey simply flows into the trough, through the tube and into your jar.”

 

Now Project Canaan really will be a land flowing with milk and honey (and abuzz!), and we will be able to provide our children with fresh honey and also sell it in our gift shop.

We have been working diligently on our tourism program for 2021 and the focus of the tours will be showing people the laying barns, dairy, greenhouse and the new apiary will be a highlight of the tour.  The goal is to inspire and educate people in the field of agriculture as well as display how our woodworking and bead craft is helping us work toward our goal of sustainability. We recently learned that 70% of all tourists coming to Eswatini are from neighboring South Africa and 10% from Mozambique, so we want to be ready to welcome people back to Eswatini when the time is right. Meanwhile we will be able to host local visitors (and hopefully schools and students) who want to come and learn about what is happening right here in the Kingdom of Eswatini!

 

2020 has been a year of complexity, challenge, blessing and favor and for that we give thanks to the One who has been with us at every step. Now we need to finish the year well and I am inviting you to join us in giving thanks by making a year-end gift that will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $175,000! Please help us feed hungry children, care for orphans, alleviate poverty and educate the next generation of leaders.

 

Make a year-end gift in Canada:   http://www.heartforafrica.ca/2020yegivingca/

 

Make a year-end gift in the U.S.:  http://bit.ly/2020YEGivingUS

 

This is our toddler named Treasure. Isn't  she just the cutest  little girl!?

Live from Eswatini  … doing the happy dance.

Janine

Spencer and Jane got engaged!!

Jane and Spencer in Swaziland in 2008

How’s that for a headline?? 

Last Saturday we had the privilege of congratulating Spencer and Jane on their engagement, and we got to do with 200+ of their little brothers and sisters here in Eswatini.

It all started on a Heart for Africa service trip in 2008 when Jane and her family decided to come on a 11-day volunteer trip to Swaziland.  I remember their family well because they lost ALL of their luggage, except for the dental supplies that Dr. Jay Balasz (Jane’s dad) needed to practice dentistry up at the El Shaddai children’s home.  Their luggage didn’t arrive until the day they left, so their whole family borrowed clothes from other people and there was not a single complaint heard from any of them, not even teenagers Jane and her brother Sam.  I have recently learned that since that trip the family only travel with carry-on luggage!

No one could have imagined that 12 years later we would be living in Africa, and that a "chance" meeting through a volunteer trip to Swaziland would end in marriage. God's plans are SO much better than ours!

Painting a roof together in 2008

Spencer and Jane remained friends, and with the invent of social media they were able to stay in touch over the years.  Spencer’s education/life journey took him from Canada to the US, back up to Canada and then on to Spain to complete double Master Degrees (International Business and Marketing Management). 

Team photo - were you on that team??

Through his travels and long distances their relationship grew and it became clear to everyone that they were in love. Jane came to Swaziland for Christmas a couple of years ago and we got to know, and enjoy this beautiful young woman.

At Christmas 2019 Spencer told us that Jane was the one for him and he wanted to propose to her in June. We had a family trip planned to Cape Town to celebrate Chloe’s graduation and Spencer invited Jane to join us, with plans to propose at the Spier vineyard the day after we arrived. He even spoke to Jane’s parents secretly and invited them to fly in to Cape Town and surprise Jane after the proposal was complete.  We were all very excited about the plan and looked forward to a grand celebration!

Then COVID-19 hit, and plans had to change. Last Saturday Spencer invited Jane to his apartment in downtown Chicago and popped the question.  He had arranged to have the Balasz’s, Chloe and us on a ZOOM call to share their big news (even though we were all aware of the plan), but it was a wonderful surprise for Jane.  

Ian and I had a surprise of our own!  We joined the zoom call from the children’s campus and after we congratulated the happy couple, we asked if they would like to tell the kids?  They said yes, and so we turned the computer screen around for them to see 200+ children gathered to hear the big news!  Following Spencer’s announcement, the children performed a dance to the song “HAPPY” from the “Despicable Me” movie and then Rose and Gabriel presented them with a congratulatory banner and Christine and Shalom presented Jane with flowers from Khutsala, virtually, but they are being shipped to her in Chicago!  Below is a very short post (due to Blogger restrictions), but you can see the whole seven minute performance on my Facebook page from this past Monday.

Jane is finishing her Master degree in Clinical Psychology and starts her year-long practicum in June.  What an interesting time this is for that particular area of specialty, with children traumatized from the effects of COVID-19, social distancing and school closures.  The Lord certainly chose the right person for that role and we know Jane will thrive in this field.  Spencer is working in a consulting position in Chicago and will start his “real” consulting job with EY Advisory in Chicago in July.

We are so very happy for this young couple and thrilled to join the Balasz and Maxwell families together.   May the Lord bless their time of engagement and preparation and give them a life time of love and happiness.

Next Sunday is Mother’s day and our church service will be LIVE on the Heart for Africa Facebook page at 9:00 AM  EST.  Please invite your mother to join you for church on line, and join us in celebrating all the women who serve as Mothers/Aunties/Gogo’s to our 261 children. Don't forget to shop at www.khutsala.com for a beautiful Mother's Day gift that also supports our children.  We have MANY new bright and colorful new products!

Live from Eswatini … this mother’s heart is full!

Janine

Thoughts from 30,000 feet in the air - what is the truth?

CTV Ottawa with Egg Farmers of Canada CEO, Tim Lambert

On October 16th Ian and I left the comfort of our home in Africa and headed to North America for a month-long journey to build awareness of what is happening in the Kingdom of Eswatini, the developments on Project Canaan and to raise money for the project to continue.

We have flown 26,000 miles (42,000 KM), visited 14 cities (sleeping in 14 beds), driven 1,200 miles (2,000 KM) in rented or borrowed cars, spoken to hundreds of people, answered a million questions,  eaten too many good meals and braved the snow/slush/blizzards of a Canadian winter.

The highlight of our trip was, without doubt, spending time with Spencer and Chloe. We got to see Chloe’s new student housing at Brock University and meet many of her close friends, and then got to witness Spencer graduate from Queen’s University (Smith School of Business) with a double Master degree in International Business and Marketing Management).  I am very proud to announce that Spencer was hired by EY (formerly Ernst & Young) in Chicago, and will fulfill his dream of becoming a Marketing consultant there.  We are so proud of both of our children.

Having two grown children studying marketing, we often find ourselves discussing our past lives in the marketing world, learning lots of new things from them and observing what hasn’t changed at all. The question of “The media vs. The message” came up the other day, and it made me reflect on our 30 day journey. Were people responding to the media (Ian and me) or to the message of HOPE that we were sharing.

In some ways the trip was disconcerting because it seemed that people looked at us as Super-heroes having given up a life of luxury to serve the poor, but nothing could be farther from the truth, and the truth is what we were trying to share.

The truth is, we were called to serve the poor and the oppressed, and there is nothing that gives us more joy than to do that.  The truth is that I was homesick for 30 days and can’t wait to land in Johannesburg in a few hours (we are on our last, 15-hour, flight).  We will stay overnight (the border from South Africa to Eswatini closes at 10PM so we have to stay in SA) and then get up in the morning, grocery shop and then make the 5-hour drive home, with hopes to see the children before they all settle in for their dinner and evening routines.  The truth is, I miss our little ones.

Thank you to my dad's family for coming and supporting us.

It’s not an easy road to travel, but one that I wouldn’t change for anything, but it is hard to straddle between a world of abject poverty and despair to the a land of riches and plenty, especially when many who have plenty still think they are poor.

I am thankful for everyone who came to meet us, greet us, hear us speak, share in our joys and our tears, made a financial gift and/or prayed with us.  You were all a blessing to us and we are leaving North America encouraged that there are some people who DO care about “orphans and widows in distress” (James 1:17)

Canadian friends Leslie and Fraser Wilkinson

Tuesday is my birthday and I have the privilege of sharing it every year with three of our children:  Rachel and Leah turn 7-years-old (their mother died years ago after a long fight with Tuberculosis) and Maxwell turns 5-years-old (he was abandoned on a railway line and came to us with the name “Maxwell” on his health card!). It will be a day of fun, lots of cake and pure joy and I can’t think of anywhere I would rather spend my birthday.

Today I am going to make a bold ask of you the reader. Would you consider making a donation in honor of our birthdays?  We have a year end matching gift of $50,000 right now so any donation you make will instantly be doubled. Many of you knew Rachel and Leah’s mom and perhaps would give $7 for each of the twins or $70 or $700?  You could give $5.00 or $50 or $500 in honor of Maxwell or his very name?  And I will turn 56-years old, so perhaps you would like to give $56?  Or $560?  Or even $5,600?

Click here to make a gift in the US.

Click here to make a gift in Canada.

Every dollar that you give will be matched and go directly to helping us feed more children, rescue more babies, employ more people and educate the future leaders of Eswatini. HOPE – that is what we are all about.

Thank you for being on this journey with us.

Live from 30,000 feet above the earth … on our journey home.

Janine

Oh, how times have changed.

Yesterday my firstborn child turned 25-years-old. It’s hard to get my head around the fact that I am the mother of someone who has been alive for 25 years, but it’s true.  Our family is together in Barcelona this week to celebrate with Spencer, celebrate our family and have a nice holiday together. (If you don’t know how or why we came here please read last week’s blog at https://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2019/06/who-would-do-that.html).

Last night we celebrated his birthday on a rooftop patio that had the famous La Sagrada Familla Temple in the background (which made for epic photos and an evening that no one will ever forget).  Spencer had friends from his first Master degree program at Queen’s University in Canada fly in from all over the world (where they are living now), a friend from his high school days in Georgia arrived and another 70+ friends from his Master degree program here in Barcelona.  There was great food, great music and great conversations with young people from all over Europe, getting ready to start out in the world as adults.  I was fascinated, stimulated and thoroughly enjoyed my time with them all.  Suffice it to say Ian and left the party at midnight as “the kids” went on to other venues. 

Ian reminded me that when Spencer was small, he didn’t like the house parties that we had back in Ontario. The music was too loud, there were too many people and he would either go upstairs and put himself to bed or head over to the neighbors house where it was quieter.  Oh, how times have changed.  

While looking for photos of the birthday boy I came across this photo of Spencer’s 11^thbirthday, taken in Swaziland during our first family visit in 2005. Never in a million years did I think that photo would kick off a lifetime of service in the tiny Kingdom of eSwatini, that has now become our home.  Oh, how times have changed.

Spencer's birthday in 2005 - our first visit to Swaziland as a family.

Last night we had SO MANY people come up and express their interest and thanks for what our family is doing in eSwatini. They had heard many of the stories from Spencer about big dogs and snakes, to firearms and break-ins, to burnt babies and wild monkeys – all from a proud son talking about his family with pride.  Near the end of the evening one of Spencer’s friends told me about a conversation they had, during a holiday in Mallorca, Spain, when Spencer was talking about his little brothers and sisters in eSwatini. The friend said that he was moved when Spencer spoke of the little ones because his eyes lit up and he got emotional when talking about them. He could see how special those children really are to Spencer.  Yes, I cried when he told shared that story with me. 

NDCA Primary school in Newmarket, Canada

Spencer, we are so very proud of you and all that you have accomplished, but more importantly for the person you have become. I can’t wait to see where the journey of life takes you, but always know that God has a plan for your life and you will always have us cheering you on from the sidelines!

My favorite Spencer photo - Murphy, our dog, liked to keep his face clean at all time

Live from Barcelona … celebrating family.

Janine 

Tattoos and tears

Let me start this blog by telling you that I have made many epic parenting “fails” in the 25 years that I have been a mom.  I won’t shame myself or bore you with those details today. I would also say that we have been pretty strict parents, and Spencer and Chloe might chime in here, but it’s my blog, so they can’t, but we said “no” to lots and lots of things they wanted, especially tattoos.

Spencer was the first to want a tattoo.  I don’t like tattoos. Well, it’s not that I don’t like them, I have seen lots of tattoos that are really cool, it’s just that I didn’t want them on my child and I would give all the reasons why I didn’t want him to get one “it’s permanent, you can’t erase it, you’ll never get a job with a tattoo (even though he wanted it on his rib cage), etc”.  In the end, we left it at “when you are 18-years-old you can do what you want with your body”.  And he did.

Next, it was Chloe.  My daughter wants a tattoo??  Same arguments were made, same conversations, and at the age of 18 she got her first tattoo.  In fact, Ian and I took her to a tattoo parlor in Cape Town and watched it happen. She chose to get the word “Agape” written in Greek on her foot.  Not so bad, if you have to have a tattoo.

In the past seven years there have been a few others, on both Spencer and Chloe, each time they would tell me they were getting another tattoo and send me a photo asking if I liked it.  Trying to be a loving and supportive mom, I would tell them yes. In fact, they both got really cool tattoos with a world map, which helps them tell their personal stories, in short, when someone asks them “where are you from” or “where does your family live”.  A map on your body that includes eSwatini/Canada/Taiwan and the US is very helpful. 😂

And then this happened.

A few weeks ago Chloe asked me to send her photos of cool African trees.  I didn’t ask why and took photos as I walked around the farm. Then she told me that she was thinking about getting another tattoo. I smiled and asked what kind of a tattoo? 

A tree in our front yard

Here is what she said, “I want to have a cool African tree that represents Swaziland, my experiences and how they’ve shaped me and helped me to grow to be who I am now. I want to include a heart because my heart is in Swaziland and our home there will always be a constant for me, and I also want something that represents Heart for Africa and how incredible Project Canaan has grown to be over the past 10 years. The roots on the tree represent my uprooted lifestyle, but that a big part of me is still in Swaziland.  Overall, I want a tattoo that shows how Swaziland and Heart for Africa have shaped my life and helped me grow, and that I want to continue to support you guys till the end 😀.”

That is where the “tears” part of this blog title comes in.  While I know that both Chloe and Spencer FULLY support the work we are doing here, I also thought that deep down there might be some resentment or regret of the life that they used to have.  The “normal” life of middle class teenager living in Canada or the US that was taken away from them when we decided to pack up and move to Africa (and get them 233 brothers and sisters).   But here she was custom designing a tattoo that represented her love for us, for the mission and for the complicated journey that she has been on.

Chloe sent me a photo of the design, then a photo of her tattoo. I showed Ian (who has more of a visceral response to tattoos) and he said, “Wow, that’s a really cool tattoo.  Who’s arm is that?” 

I paused, didn’t answer, and he looked closer and said, “Is that Chloe?  Well, it IS a really cool tattoo”. 

Yesterday I asked Chloe if I could write a blog about her tattoo and the journey, and it was her turn for tears.

Tattoos and tears – just a couple of things that I love about my darling girl who I will be seeing next week as we join Spencer in Barcelona for his 25^th birthday.  I am so very proud of both of our children and that adults that they have become, tattoos and all.

Live from eSwatini … I remain rooted in love.

Janine

PS - Chloe's tattoo story happened before she saw our 10th anniversary theme of "Rooted in Love". HOW COOL is THAT?!