Countdown.....

It's really starting to sink in....it's just over 40 days now until we permanently move to Swaziland.  So much has been done and so much yet still to accomplish!  This has definitely been a busy year for us with mission  classes, Austin's highschool graduation, college visits, Cameron's 5th grade graduation, plays and Bailey's lacrosse...not to mention planning a move overseas, applications, more applications, then more applications!  Yet, God has been so gracious to us and we have been able to accomplish things I am still amazed at!  The chief among those was to hit a financial goal by April 1st that would allow us to go ahead and ship many of our belongings in early April.  We actually hit our goal 10 days ahead of time!!!!  And that was after actively fundraising for only 3 months!  We still have additional financial goals, but were able to commit to our late May/early June leave date. 

It takes 6-8 weeks to ship our belongings, so in order to have some belongings when we landed in late May/early June we loaded 2/3 of all our belongings into a 20 foot container over Spring Break.  (Cameron quite enjoyed having to climb in and over piles of furniture and mattresses to help Mark rope up some loose items!)    We will load the remainder of our items before Mark and Bailey leave on May 30th.   (Cameron, Austin and I will be going to the University of Arkansas for orientation the following week so we will be a week behind.)

 So, we are now "camping" in our townhouse, sleeping on air mattresses and using floor cushions for extra seating.  We will definitely enjoy getting to Africa and sleeping on beds again!  We so appreciate all the many expressions of support, including the use of a washer and dryer, and extra blankets because we packed most of ours!  I know this will be a busy month and a half and truly appreciate your prayers and support!

Build it and they will come.....

Wow!  Much has happened since my last post.  Has it really been so long???  The best news of all that I want to share is the introduction of 4 sweet babies to the El Roi Baby Home.  El Roi is the Hebrew name for the "God who sees". 

Joshua

 

Baby #1:  Joshua was a three-day-old baby boy was brought to us because his mother couldn’t care for him and had planned to “dump” him as soon as he was born.  The child’s father had been murdered months prior to the baby’s birth and a caring Social Worker convinced the mother to bring the child to life safely and she would help find him a home.  El Roi is his new home.

Esther

Baby #2: – Esther was a 14-day old baby girl who arrived a couple of days after Joshua.  Esther’s mother was young and planned to commit suicide in her eighth month of pregnancy.  Again, a caring (and life-saving) Social Worker convinced her to save her own life and the life of the baby.  The baby was abandoned at the door of a man who delivered the child to a local hospital.  The mother is HIV positive and Esther was treated as soon as she was born.  We will know in a few weeks whether she is HIV positive as well, and what her future care needs will be. El Roi is now the home for this little girl.

 

Caleb

Baby #3: Caleb is a baby boy and is 8 months old and only weighs 12.3 pounds.  He was delivered to a local hospital in a cardboard box, by his father who is in the final stages of HIV/AIDS.  His mother had already succumbed to the disease and the father was no longer able to care for him.  Caleb is HIV positive and is being treated with ARV’s.  He has active Tuberculosis and is covered in terrible sores and lesions.  If that wasn’t enough for this little guy, he is severely malnourished and is struggling to survive.  El Roi is now his home.

Levi

Baby #4: Levi  is an 8 week old baby boy who arrived on March 29, 2012.  His mother was raped in South Africa and as a result is HIV positive and while she does not want to have anything to do with the child, the Social Worker encouraged the mother to care for the baby for a time to see if she would change her mind.  However, after 8 weeks she brought the baby to the hospital and left him there.  El Roi is now his home.

Baby #5: Anna is a baby girl, is a month old and has been living in a government hospital since she was found in a pit latrine (outhouse/toilet) just after she was born.  She has been struggling with a chest infection since then and getting treatment in the hospital.  While she has not arrived at El Roi yet, we are praying that she will be released to our care in the hours/days ahead and El Roi will be her home.

As you can see we have much to be thankful for and much to pray for.  The emotional and physical cost to care for these babies is high.  Please join us in praying for Helen Mulli and the others who have been hired to provide 24 hour care at the El Roi Baby home. As some of you may know, Helen was rescued by Mr. Charles Mulli at the tender age of eight-years old and was raised by Mr. & Mrs. Mulli at the Mulli Children’s Family Home in Kenya.  She has grown to be a wonderful woman of God, married Peter Mulli (Charles’ youngest brother, and Kaleli’s Uncle) and is now living at the El Roi Baby Home to care for “the abandoned and ignored” babies who are brought to us.