So Far...

So far, my time here has been amazing. I can’t believe that it has already been a week and a half! I'm getting to know the babies and learning their names…some of them are so hard to pronounce! I'm also getting to know all the aunties and uncles. It’s so cool to get to hear their different stories about how they found Door of Hope and about their families. The secretary that works here used to work as a secretary for a law firm. She said that it was really stressful and she was really unsatisfied. She was looking at the ads in the newspaper and saw a job opportunity for a “Born-again secretary”. She called, and since she has been working as the secretary for Baby House 1.

I've also gotten to hear a couple of the babies’ stores. They are so heart-breaking and it helps me to know better the different personalities of the babies better. One baby, who is about 5 months old, was given to the Door of Hope by his mother because she was sick and in the hospital. When she got well, she took him back, but died soon after she got settled back at home. Her relatives could not take care of him, so they returned him back to the Door of Hope. She had already started feeding him unhealthy solid foods and things like soda. It made his stomach grow too quickly and now he has tummy trouble. Also the healthier foods we are feeding him here don’t make him feel as full as he is used to feeling. So, he is fussy and cries a lot. It is so heart-breaking to hear him cry and he is not satisfied until he is being held. There are so many other babies here that need love too, so it is hard to balance the attention we are giving.

Here are the days that I work in June:
13-14, 17-19, 22-24, and 27-28
I don’t have my schedule yet for July, but I will post it as soon as I get it! We only have 2 days off at a time and have to work every other weekend.

This coming Monday (the 15th of June), we are moving to an old monastery called St. Peter’s. Rachel and I will be sharing a room and we will finally get to settle in. So far we have just been living out of our suitcases. They do not have a kitchen that we can use to cook our own meals, rather they cook for us. They make a lot of casseroles and it costs 45R per meal (which is about $6). Rachel and I will still probably come to the kitchen at the Baby House to cook our own meals more often than eating there. St. Peter’s also has a washer and dryer that we can use for laundry. They do not have internet, so we will have to continue to have to come to the Mugg & Bean Café. St. Peter’s is about 10 minutes from the Baby House, so it’s pretty close.

This past Wednesday (the 10th of June) the little babies group got twins-a boy and a girl! They are almost 3 weeks old. They were given to the Baby House in Berea (I am working at the one in Glenvista), which is the one that is most well known that is in the middle of town. It is in a more dangerous area. They came bundled together in a fleece blanket. They are less than 3 pounds each. Right now, they are being kept in the isolation room just because they are so tiny and new. This helps them to be away from so many other babies and people and avoid catching any sicknesses.

There are two isolation rooms at the Baby House. One is downstairs, and the other is up on the main level. The baby downstairs will be 1 year the end of this month, but she looks like she is just 3 months. She is on oxygen and has liver failure. We are throwing her a big party at the end of the month to celebrate her life so far! There is also a room upstairs where the twins are being kept and also another girl who is only 2 months. She is being temporarily kept here because she has HIV. They are caring for her until a more permanent home can be made available.

Another one of our big babies is being adopted on Monday!! Can you believe it? I am so excited that they are getting forever families. The one that is leaving is our most active, so it will be so different without him! He is always getting in trouble and making the other kids cry. He’s a sweetheart, and I'm so excited for him.

The weather has been really strange since we have been here. Winter is the dry season, and it has now been raining for 4 days now…and it’s cold! I think it’s supposed to clear up and the sun is supposed to come back out by next week. When it’s cloudy, it feels a lot colder. There is no heat at the house, so we have been bundling up at night and having heaters on during the day. The babies wear so many layers of clothes…long sleeve underwear, long sleeve shirt, long pants, socks, and jackets with hoods. When the sun comes back out hopefully it will warm up the house when it shines through the windows.

Rachel and I went to the mall on Wednesday to get some things from the grocery store and buy a CD for our car. We got a pack of 3 CDs for just $15! At the CD store when we were checking out, Rachel asked the lady how she was doing. She looked at us funny and asked why she was asking. Rachel told her that we were just trying to be nice. She laughed and said that she was having a bad day, but we just made her day a lot better. We chatted with her for a while about South Africa and her dream of coming to the States. Just before we left, she came and gave us a huge “welcome to South Africa” hug. I have found the people to be so welcoming here and so open. I hope that we can go back and see her again and hear more of her story.

There are two new volunteers here from Virginia named Heather and Maria. They are staying in the tiny volunteer flat with us. They are both so sweet and I am so glad they are here. Heather brought her guitar with her and she has a beautiful voice. She has been playing and singing for the babies, and they all stop crying and fussing and just listen to her. This past Tuesday, after all the babies had gone to bed, we went into the living room and jammed out with Heather on her guitar while Maria, who is a drummer, got a put out of the kitchen to keep a beat. We sang worship songs together for about an hour. It was a great way to unwind from a long day of work.

Here are some things that you can be praying for:
- The 4 babies that are in the isolation rooms: for their health and healing.
- That homes will be provided for the children who have not been placed yet.
- That Rachel and I will be God’s light to the aunties and uncles here and in the city.
- Our move to St. Peter’s on June 15th.
- That Rachel and I, as well as all the other volunteers, have endurance and energy for the days we work.

Thank you so much for your prayers! I can feel them!

This us this past Sunday after we got back from church!

This is one of the paintings in the hallway at the Baby House.

Love you all!