Program Update: Milk Program

While Emily was at church camp this summer, the children's minister sent us a picture of her in the middle of the week.  It made our day.  We assumed she was doing good, but nothing compared to seeing our girl's smiling face pop across the text.

I think this update is like that for you.  These are your kids.  We couldn't do any of this without your support.  But you are far away and I am here with them, so here is your update about your kids.

First, this week we were able to help three new families in which the mama died, each one leaving behind a one-month old baby.  By the end of the week, Philip expressed how crazy it was to have three families experience this tragedy in such a short time span.  The local response was, "This is the season for losing mothers."

I wanted to stomp my foot and yell, "NO!  There is no season for that.  It is not okay!"  But I knew what he was saying.  Rainy season brings mosquitoes, mosquitoes bring malaria, malaria brings loss.  No amount of foot stomping from me is going to change that.

This brings the babies in the formula program up to nineteen.  One of the babies new to us this week came a week after losing his mother.  For that whole week the family had been feeding him reconstituted powdered milk, and not the kind designed for a baby's tummy.  The baby was showing signs of being malnourished and his stomach was rock hard, so our ministry leader took him to the local hospital for care (and thankfully he is now at home doing well).  Other babies in the program include three who were found abandoned.  At least two other babies are from families who wanted to abandon their babies at the mother's death, but who have been able to care for their children with the help of formula.  There are also three sets of twins and a set of triplets who are not orphans, but whose mamas needed a little help supplementing their breastmilk.  There are even a couple families who take five or six hour bus rides to come to our town to get the formula.  (It's not that far, but the rains also make muddy roads hard to travel.)

These are your kids and, in some cases, they are alive because of you.  Thank you for looking at hard things and caring.

"If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not he who guards your life know it?  Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?"  Proverbs 24:12

Photo Friday

This.  I've been wanting to capture this sight for years.

 Given the cramped conditions inside the bus, I believe these really are the best seats (even if you have to stand).

 Hauling firewood....

Care packages ready and waiting!  Each of these bags are labeled with a child's name and the month in which he or she gets to open it.  Titus said it best, "I'm looking forward to every month!"

Happy Friday!

Roadside Picnic

Finding a shady spot along the road, we pulled the loaded truck over for a picnic.  (Mike once tried to find local food to eat along the drive and only found goat intestine soup available.  This is why we pack a picnic.)  Our bag of treats from the big city included sliced bread, sliced meat, processed cheese, grapes, apples, and pears.  Of all of that, we have only ever seen apples in our town, so our big city goodies are quite a big deal for us.

And we are not the only ones.

For whomever is in the village or path nearby, we are sure to cause a scene.  On this day it was a group of women and children working in the field across the highway who came wandering over to see us.  Titus scrambled up to his perch on top of the truck.  Philip passed out bread and grapes.  It was obvious they'd never before seen grapes.  I laughed with panic in my eyes as the girl holding Anne on the bike complimented our baby by offering to take her home.  One passerby pulled off the road just to see what all the commotion was about.  After a time, most of our picnic friends returned to their work as word spread and more small children came to get our remnants.  As I gave away apple slices I saw the very thing Africa is famous for.  The children didn't gobble them down greedily.  These little gifts were saved.  Saved for later, saved for sharing.  It never ceases to amaze and inspire me.  No matter how little they have, what they have is for everyone.

Back to work in the fields

Welcome to my playground

These are the worms our neighbor was drying outside her house the night we arrived.  They will be added to sauces for protein and vitamins. 

"It's good for the health," she insists.

You have to admit, there are probably more nutrients in these worms than most items we pull off the grocery store shelves.  Even so, I'm not a worm-eating girl.

The worms drying outside and the bareness of our post-furlough pantry highlight this unique time.  I don't know when I'll ever get the chance to take God's word on food quite so literally. Do I put my energy on storing up like the ant?  Or did Jesus mean it when he said I am free to focus on other things because God knows and provides what this family needs?  Do I bring my food from afar?  Or consider myself warned by the Israelites who ignited the Lord's anger grumbling against what he provided (the manna) in the desert? (Proverbs 30:25, Matthew 6:25, Proverbs 31:14, Numbers 11)
Sitting in a place where toh and termites are standard fare, these are some real questions. 

I like to think of this as the jungle gym of food availability.  You see, Burkina is a playground for living by faith.  There is the slide of contentment.  The swings of good works.  And always the jungle gym of food availability.

Photo Friday

I just made this up - the idea of using Fridays to post snapshots from the week.  Sounds fun, right?

First, here's nothing more than a funky red bug......

 These two babies were born just days apart.  At first glance, I see so much cuteness.  When I think about how right now one is falling asleep in her mother's arms as I type this and the other is sleeping in an orphanage, my heart hurts.

We are loving this pop-up mosquito net that can be set up in two minutes flat.

Please pray for our little ones and the unique germs they are exposed to over here.

Nothing but the normal here......

Baby girl's first Fulani friend!

Happy Friday!

For the Joy

We just did another round of hard goodbyes to family, friends, food, and normalcy.  They say it never gets easier, no matter how many times you do it. 

When these pictures came into our inbox, I knew why I was here.

In the center of the first photo you see our very first foster mama, who is caring for baby Sarah.  On baby Sarah's first birthday, these foster parents took Sarah to visit her village.  We did not plant the seed for this beautiful idea.  They didn't ask our permission.  After the fact, we were sent the pictures.  

Can I be dreaming?  

Somehow our work here prepares the way for the church to do what the church does: Love BIG.  All we did was create the space, provide a way, really a small part in this labor of love.

Here is baby Sarah all smiles visiting with her biological father.  

The goodbyes are temporary, the joy is eternal.

Looking back: On the Homefront

The first six weeks of Philip's time in Africa passed remarkably easily for the kids and me. Sure, I had to pick up the tasks usually reserved for Daddy: removing ticks, killing spiders, unclogging toilets, and the whole of bedtime, but that is to be expected.  Even though I was managing our household of four children alone, it seemed like a vacation largely due to the availability of the grocery store.

Easy peasy.

Week seven changed the game.  In week seven the quirky unreliability of our van spiraled down into leaving me stranded.  With four kids.  Repeatedly. At this point all the little stresses that had been manageable piled up and I was left in tears crying, "I cannot do this any more." 

Then I got up off the floor, and kept on doing it.

The glorious freedom in those tears was learning I can be strong or I can be weak, and it doesn't matter either way.  He continues to do His work through me regardless.

Even though we are together again, the lesson remains.  Some days feel strong and some feel weak, but it doesn't matter because he continues to do His work either way.

Our Little Travel Story

"I want to scream and cry and throw up," I whispered to Philip as we awaited the shuttle to the airport.

"Go for it," he replied.  "No one knows us here."

Our travels included the usual fun like Emily and Titus unknowingly delighting onlookers as they slid across the tile floor trying to remove heavy baggage from the moving carousel.  Our ten checked bags and six carryons topped three luggage carts.  You can imagine the scene with Philip and Daniel taking the lead with one loaded down cart, Emily and Titus pushing the second (one child pushing and one directing since the luggage pile was too high for them to see over) and me, wearing Anne, pushing the final cart.  As our parade made its way through the airport I thought, "Yep, no doubt about it, we will cease to blend in from here on out."

All our plans had been made with the purpose of minimizing our time outside the secured area of the airport.  Approaching the terminal we needed, we noticed armed guards blocking the way.  Without missing a beat, we started inching our way back out of the crowd gathering at the blocked entrance. With heightened security awareness we changed our location several times over the next three hours to minimize risks, all the while unsure of the situation and aware of the ever increasing police presence.  Occasionally Philip and the boys would go inside the building to check the situation.  On one such venture they heard lots of whistling, followed by an explosion.  We later learned the trouble was an unidentified bag, which the authorities detonated.  Minutes later, the terminal reopened.

That was the worst part of the travel and it was immediately followed by the best part.  Unfathomable to us, the luggage guy at the airport remembered our family from way back in September-even remembering where we work!  He has literally seen thousands of travelers since then, but he remembered us (and gave us a discount!).

Through the highs and the lows we made it to our final destination full of thankfulness for those who serve everyday to protect the safety of travelers like us.