Only a week left?!

Ohmygoodness…Rachel and I will be leaving exactly one week from today. Time here has just flown by! Our last 7 days here are packed…tomorrow (Thursday, July 30) through Saturday we work. Then Sunday morning (really early) we are heading to the airport to pick up Heather and Maria from Cape Town and spending the day with them. Monday, August 3, is our last day of work. Tuesday is our packing day and we will also probably hang out at the Baby House a while. On Wednesday, our flight doesn’t take off until 9:45pm, so we will probably finish packing that morning and hang out with our babies until we leave sometime in the evening. I can’t believe this is all the time we have left here!

Since last Friday (July 24), our days have been packed full of adventure and fun. On Friday, Rachel and I went to the zoo with Uncle Colin and our 2 oldest babies who we call Pooh Bear (8 months) and Big Mama (almost 11 months). We had so much fun!! We just happened to pick the coldest day to go, but we bundled them up in snow suits and wrapped them with blankets. They could hardly move they had so many layers on. Uncle Colin was hilarious talking to the animals and to the babies. He adores Big Mama and pushed her around in her stroller most of the day. He would get so far ahead of us while Rachel, Pooh Bear and I stopped to watch the animals and we would have to run to catch up with him. He’s a great man and Rachel and I love spending time with him. We were all exhausted, but it was a great day!

After we got back to the Baby House, we unpacked our bags and started to change the babies in to their pajamas. Auntie Francinah came up to us and asked if we would drive her to the Baby House in Berea to pick up a new little girl…we did not hesitate to say yes. This is the Baby House where there is a hole in the wall where mothers can anonymously place their babies. When we got to the Baby House, there was a little girl bundled up in so many blankets we could hardly see her face. She had been dropped off by the police just a couple hours before we got there. Two of the aunties that work at that house were with us and we prayed over her before we packed her in the car to head back to the Baby House in Glenvista. In the car, we read the police report and our hearts broke, not only for this precious little girl, but also for her mother. She was found by the police naked in a public restroom at a park just hours old. What kind of desperation had overcome the mother to just leave her baby like that? My heart breaks to think about how her heart is broken in not even knowing if her beautiful girl is alive today. I pray that through the horrible trials her mother is experiencing that she will find God and be filled with joy in the way he fills the void in her heart. On the way home, Rachel sat in the back with her and decided that Rebekah would be a good name for her…it did not end up being her name, but Rachel and I still call her Rebekah. She is beautiful in every way- with big red lips, black hair, and flawless fare skin. The small baby room is full, so Rebekah just stayed with us 2 days before she was moved to another home. Words cannot give this adventure justice…God, “keep Rebekah as the apple of your eye and hide Rebekah in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17).

“The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.”

Deuteronomy 10:17-21

We worked on Saturday, then we had the next 4 days off.

On Sunday, we took two of our babies to church! They are two that don’t get to go out much because they are a lot of trouble. One is super fussy and wails if no one is holding him all the time and the other is a little girl who spits up like a fountain. During the service, I was holding the little boy who is fussy and he loved looking around at all the people and just as the sermon started he fell asleep. I was thinking that this was good until he started to snore SO loud. It was hilarious. The lady in front of us turned around and whispered to me, “Just wait until he’s older…it’s only going to get worse.” Haha, so I had to leave and we sat in the cry room. I'm glad I left when I did because his snoring only got louder and he woke up coughing and started to cry and fuss. After church, we went and walked around at the mall and got some lunch. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant and we didn’t even have to order…they knew what we wanted. It’s kinda crazy because we haven’t been there tons of times, but they recognize us and knew exactly what we wanted. From previous conversations they knew that we worked at Door of Hope and were so excited to get to meet a couple of our kids. The little girl that spits up like a fountain only spit up twice the whole time we were out! It was a huge praise!

It’s crazy to me how many people recognize us at The Glen. A lady at church came up to me and said, “I recognize you from somewhere…” and I was like “Oh no…I'm from the States.” But, she had seen Rachel and me and The Glen before and she works in a restaurant that we have never set foot in! Rachel and I also went in DigitalEye the other day to ask a couple questions about printing pictures and they just struck up a conversation about how they had seen us walk by with babies before. We are going to definitely miss all of the friends we have made here at Mugg & Bean and at the grocery store, Pick ‘N Pay. It’s so neat how God is giving us so many opportunities to share about who he is and why we are here. Throughout the time I've been here I've been praying that God would bring me many opportunities to share my faith and build relationships and he has definitely answered my prayers!

On Monday we hung out at the Baby House and helped Auntie Loyce and Auntie Lucy with some of the chores. Auntie Loyce has been the housekeeper since we have been here, but next month she is going to start working night shift. Auntie Lucy, Francinah’s eldest sister, started as the new housekeeper this past Monday. We helped to hang up laundry outside on the line, fold it, and put in back in the closets. From the weekend, there is always a ton of laundry, so there was a lot to be done. We joined Heather and Maria and they lead music time and we played with the babies for a while.

Yesterday (Tuesday), we picked up two of our babies, a boy and a girl, and went hiking at Klipriversberg Nature Reserve! We walked around for about an hour and a half. It was a workout carrying an extra 12-15 pounds of weight. It was a beautiful day!! Afterwards, we came back to Uncle Colin’s house and ate lunch and played. We watched The Incredibles and rested some before we headed back to the Baby House. Rachel and I love to spend one-on-one time with the babies and every time they come out of their shell and talk more and giggle and smile a lot. It is so much fun to be with them in different environments and get to know them.

That night Rachel, Maria, Heather, Melody, Emily, and I went out to an authentic African restaurant called Moyo’s. It took us forever to get there because we got turned around so many times, but when we got there we were ravenous and excited for some food. While we were waiting for our food, they came around and painted our faces! We all got little flower designs on our faces. Hands down, Rachel got the best painting…we laughed SO hard! It was a lot of fun to get to spend some time with the girls before we all head home this coming week.

I can't wait to see you all in just a week!

Much love,

Katherine

Hello all!

Hello friends and family!! Howzit? (That is something that is said here quite often as a “How are you?”)

I can’t believe that it is already nearing the end of July…time has just flown by. Just two weeks from today Rachel and I will be home! For the remainder of our time here, we have many plans for almost every day until we leave so we can make the most of every minute we have left with the babies, aunties and uncles, and the people in Johannesburg.

I have enjoyed very much being with Rachel in this adventure. She had grown to be an incredible friend. We have shared so many laughs, frustrations, and tears. We have laughed so hard standing over a washer with clothes soaking wet, wringing them out until our hands here numb, over our many coffee dates, and at the funny things our babies do throughout the day. We laugh at the many “oh my goodness, we are in Africa!” moments that we still experience at the most random times. We’ve shared the frustrations of housing situations, driving in the crazy African traffic, and adapting to the different cultures of the aunties and uncles at the Baby House. We’ve shared the sorrow of missing our friends and family back home and have shared tears as we have heard the heart-breaking stories of our sweet babies. We are learning from each other and sharing the incredible moments where God is clearly speaking and teaching us more of his character and passion for his children. Rachel is such an amazing woman who seeks God with all her heart and has a huge passion for loving on people, just has Jesus did when he was on earth. She is an inspiration for me to love without inhibitions or fear. I am so grateful that God allowed me to be here with her for these 2 months. There is no doubt that Rachel and I are going to share these memories forever and we are going to be able to look back and see how God has worked, not only in our lives, but in those around us.



This past Sunday (July 19) we went to Rosettenville Baptist Church with Uncle Colin again and took two of our babies with us! We dressed them up nicely and bundled them up in blankets and jackets. The prior Sunday we went, and it was freezing inside the church, so we were going to be prepared this time. Of course, this Sunday they had the heaters on so high we got really warm. The babies loved getting to see lots of people and looked around during the worship time listening to all the different voices singing. During one of the prayers, a man sneezed behind us, making Rachel’s baby boy jump with fright. It was so funny…we had to control our laughter so we wouldn’t just burst out in the middle of the prayer. The little girl I was holding fell fast asleep during the sermon and didn’t wake up until I started to put on her jacket.

After church, we went for a day of fun at the Glen Mall with the baby girl. We carried her around in a baby carrier. She LOVED being at the mall and getting to spend some time with just me and Rachel. She just talked and talked, laughed, and smiled while we walked around. Her eyes were constantly moving trying to soak in all the sights. When we first got here, this same girl never made a sound and it has been so amazing to watch her open up. It was so fun, and I will never forget the smile she had on her face (I got THE BEST picture; I wish I could post it here, but I will definitely show you when I get home!).

On Monday, Auntie Veronica never showed up for work and she later called to let us know that she was in a wreck on the way to work. She and her husband were fine, but they were pretty shaken up. It was a much busier day without her help. She came to work on Tuesday and her back was a little sore, but she was feeling much better than she did on Monday. Praise God for his protection!

After work on Tuesday, we were invited to have dinner with a local volunteer, Jay, and her family. They cooked us an Indian cuisine feast! We started off with butternut soup and salad and then were served chicken curry, prawn curry, macaroni salad, and rice. It was all so yummy! We really enjoyed spending time with Jay, her sister Pria, her brother, Shawn, and her mom and dad. Jay’s father is the CFO (chief financial officer) of Coca-cola in Africa and the Middle East…so, needless to say, their house was beautiful!! They also own a local pizza place that Rachel and I have gotten take out from a couple times. It’s called Debnairs Pizza and it is SO yummy. They have invited us to their restaurant on Saturday to make and eat pizza with them! I'm so excited to get to spend some more time with them!


On Wednesday, Auntie Veronica was off, so we worked with a girl from South Carolina named Melody. She is living at the volunteer flat at the Baby House with the girls from Virginia. She is really sweet and we love working with her! It was a great day! We got to take some of the kids out for a walk to feel the sunshine and get some fresh air. We had the most hilarious music time yet. Several of the aunties and uncles were all dancing around and being really silly and all the kids were just sitting in bumbo chairs just staring. A couple of them kept falling asleep sitting up in their chair…it was a good laugh. I've attached a video of the crazy music time…

Wednesday ended wonderfully as I rocked 2 little girls to sleep. This is one of my favorite things to do at night before we put them all in bed. The 2 little ones I was holding were crying, so I just talked to them and rocked them until they were fast asleep.


Rachel and I are SO EXCITED about tomorrow (Friday, July 24). We are going with Uncle Colin to the Johannesburg zoo! We are also taking “Big Mama” and another little boy that we call “Pooh Bear”. It should be so much fun! While we have been here, we haven’t seen any elephants or giraffes, so I'm really hoping to get to see some. I'm also excited about getting to spend a little extra time with Uncle Colin. He tells us a lot of stories about growing up on his dad’s vegetable farm, about his late wife, and about all his children. So, I can’t wait to just walk around spending extra time with the family that I have found here. Big Mama should be a handful…she is beginning to stand on her own a lot and is thinking about walking. Rachel and I are definitely taking 2 strollers (they call them “prams”) and a huge baby bag to last the day.

So, I'm looking at my calendar, and we have only 5 more days scheduled to work! Our days off are filled up with taking babies out, so we will have plenty more days to spend time with them. I will be home in less than 2 weeks and I cannot wait to share stories and so many more pictures with you all!

Much love!
Katherine

Prayer requests:
- Continue to pray that Door of Hope can find a social worker and a new manager.
- Pray for our children, that they will continue to be healthy.

Praises:
- 6 of our 12 big babies have been matched with families and will be going in about 2 months! Several of the small babies have been matched as well!

Howzit?

Hello from Door of Hope!!

Here is a picture of the Baby House where our 30 children live!

There are 12 in small babies, who range from birth to 3 months, 12 big babies, who are 3 months to 1 year, and 6 Starfish kids who are 6 months to just over 1 year. The Starfish program is a small, separate group of kids who have developmental delays or special needs that requires them to have a lot of extra attention. They do all types of physical therapy throughout the day and take them for swimming lessons once a week. Just recently, the Starfish program received an 11 month old girl who had cerebral palsy. She came in with one leg crossed over the other and her arms crossed across her chest. Her muscles were so tight that they could not move her from this position. Through a couple days of therapy, they got her legs uncrossed. Along with this, her shoulder was also dislocated. She has now been sent to hospice, so pray for her healing and that she can find some comfort. The Starfish program has seen a lot of improvements and growth lately! Three of their six kids are walking! One of the girls who is a little over a year is getting adopted on Monday by a family who specifically asked for a child with special needs!

Here is a little peek inside the big babies’ rooms. There are 4 beds in each room. Right now, 2 rooms are girl rooms and 1 room is for the boys. One of the rooms is set aside as a “mixed room” if we ever get any more boys.

This past Friday (July 10), we went out to lunch with Auntie Veronica and her daughter Nikki. We went to The Glen and ate at The Ocean Basket and afterwards went to Milky Lane to eat ice cream. Rachel, Nikki, and I got feesh and chips (some type of fish…I think heike and French fries) and Auntie Veronica got prawn, which is like JUMBO shrimp. It was really weird because it still had its eyes and antennas on it…I couldn’t watcher her eat it…it looked too alive. Auntie Veronica was all dressed up and seemed to be really grateful for the extra time we wanted to spend with her. She was a lot quieter than usual, but we had good conversation and had fun getting to know her daughter. We drove her back to her home in El Dorado Park which is about half an hour away. We drove past 2 huge shantytowns, which are small shacks built by the government that sit right on top of one another. It was crazy to just see acres and acres filled with these types of houses and the extreme poverty. Auntie Veronica has to take 2 taxis (which hold up to 14 people and are more like a bus system with stops) to work every morning, and it takes her a little over an hour to get to work in the mornings. It was so good to spend some extra time with Auntie Veronica in a different environment and to just sit and talk.

On Monday, Rachel and I did night shift with Auntie Betty and Auntie Esperance. Night shift is from 6pm to 7am. We didn’t get there until 7:30, but there were still tons of things to do. Each of the 12 big babies gets fed twice each night and the 12 small babies get fed 3 or 4 times each night. Along with the feedings and nappies changing, we had to change the water in the sanitizing buckets where we store the bottles, rings, tops,

and caps, sanitize the toys, wipe out the fridge, and make 144 bottles for the next day and night. There are 4 different formulas to make: infa 1, infa 2, infa-soy 1, and infa-soy 2. Some of the babies just get 4 bottles of 175ml, while others get 8 of 50ml. We have a chart hanging in the kitchen that helps us to know the types and number of bottles that need to be made for each child.

It was a lot of work…I have no idea how just 2 aunties handle all that work every night. We were completely exhausted in the morning and came back to Uncle Colin’s house and slept and rested for the remainder of the day.

Uncle Brice is the supervisor for big babies. He works Monday to Friday from 8-5. He is trained as a pediatric nurse, so he is very knowledgeable about keeping our babies healthy. He is from the Congo and has been working for Door of Hope for a year now. His wife just moved here about 3 months ago and owns a beauty parlor. You can tell that he loves the babies and the older ones always turn and look when he walks in the room. Two or three times a week, Rachel and I help Uncle Brice make purity for our kids’ lunch. We cut up butternut squash and potatoes, cook them, and then mach them until they are really smooth. Other times we cook rice and squash and combine them to give to our two oldest babies. Our favorite thing to make is apple and banana purity. The kids like the fruity stuff the best because it is sweeter than the vegetable combination. Uncle Brice also has an obsession with our cameras. He LOVES to take pictures and sneaks up on us often, taking our picture. This is how the picture of Rachel and I making the purity came about. Uncle Brice has a huge passion for Door of Hope and prays everyday during devotions for the ministry and for the babies. Throughout the day, every time he changes a nappie, he prays for that particular baby. Uncle Brice makes a ton of funny noises that gets the kids, as well as Rachel and me, laughing and smiling.

Heather, one of the volunteers from Virginia, brought her guitar and often sings and plays for the babies. They love it! We put them in the bumbo chairs so they can all see Heather. They all just sit and watch her, listening close. We get out bells for some of them and they shake them. We usually do this right before bed time, so it is a good way for them to unwind and begin to get sleepy. It was so funny the other night, because one of our boys was raising his hand like he was moved by the music. He kept his hand up for a while and we all laughed so hard…I guess you had to be there to see it in person, but it was hilarious.

In our group, the oldest is a girl who is almost 11 months. The aunties and uncles call her “Big Mama” because she is so huge. She is 10kg and hardly has any hair. She is on medicine for TB which causes her to gain a lot of weight and have gray hair. When she first came in, she was really malnourished, but now she is definitely well fed. She is our grunter. She grunts all the time and has the highest-pitched scream ever. She definitely demands a lot of attention. She is growing up so fast! When we first got her she was doing the army crawl, but now she is crawling on all fours. She can pull herself up and walk when her hands are being held. She is starting to stand a little on her own. Yesterday, she was zooming up and down the hall with a toy on wheels. She was squealing and laughing so much. I think she is going to start walking soon!!

This is a picture of Rachel and I’s bedroom. It’s really nice and the sun shines in it during the day, so we hang out in there a lot on our days off. Sometimes we eat dinner in our bedroom sitting close to the heater to keep warm because the rest of the house does not have any heaters. Uncle Colin is so sweet to let us stay with him. The other night we came home from work and he was making us dinner. We cooked carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, cabbage, and butternut. It was a lot of work, but we enjoyed spending time cooking and eating with him.

Here is a picture of Auntie Veronica, me, Auntie Loyce, Rachel, and Auntie Bebe:

Can you believe that we only have 18 days left?! We will be home in a little over 2 weeks! It’s hard to think about not seeing our babies everyday and for a couple, it’s really hard to let go because they are not in very good situations where they may be going back to their families who have previously treated them badly. I came across a song on Rachel’s computer called “Hold on to Jesus” that says “Hear me dear Jesus, rock this little one to sleep. Keep her close when she’s scared; give her grace when she’s weak. I know she’ll stumble, but I know she’ll make it through if you hold on to her just like you say you’ll do. Hold her Jesus, she’ll hold on tight to you.” This is a beautiful prayer that I will be praying often for all our babies. Also, (thanks to the flip book Mom made me!) Psalm 17 says, “Keep [insert baby’s name] as the apple of your eye; hide [insert baby’s name] in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do [him/her] violence, [him/her] deadly enemies who surround [him/her].” God has each child in the palm of his hand and he will not lose his grip.

Much love to you all and I can’t wait to see you soon!!

Good Morning!!

Last Wednesday (July 1), Cornee, Sam, Melody, Rachel, and I went to Soweto. Soweto is an overcrowded township that is stricken with poverty. The streets are lined with shacks made with aluminum siding by the government and they refer to them as “informal settlements”. It was really sad to see the poverty and the state of their houses…it gets so cold here at night and surely their houses do not provide enough warmth. I was reading in the newspaper just this morning how a man (who was already ill) was found in his shack dead because of the cold and he didn’t have enough blankets and clothing to keep warm. It broke my heart to see this condition also knowing that most of the kids that come to Door of Hope come from Soweto. Soweto is also the main place where the protests and violence of Apartheid took place. We visited the Hector Peterson museum that walked us through the events of Apartheid. It was a very informative day, but my heart was heavy with what I learned and saw.


This past Saturday (July 4), Rachel and I took out two of our kids for a day of fun! After we have been here a month, we can start to take out babies that are older than 4 months, so we took out a 4 month girl and an 8 month boy. We had to pack a baby bag, take a driving test, and show that we can put in a car seat. In the baby bag, we had 4 bottles, purity with a bowl and spoon, 2 bibs, 6 nappies, wipes, bum cream, a towel, and their charts…it was a big bag. So after we passed all the tests, we headed off to the Glen Mall for lunch. We fed them their bottles and purity while we waited for our food. It is so crazy how many questions we got about the kids…if we had adopted them, where they came from, where we come from…It was really neat to get to tell people about the Door of Hope and why we are here. We even got to give our waitress the phone number of Door of Hope because she has always wanted to work with children at an orphanage. The kids were so good and were constantly looking around with wide eyes taking in all the different people and places. After we left the mall, we came back to Uncle Colin’s house to read books and give them their last feeding. They were pretty tired from the day, so we got them back to the Baby House and got them ready for bed. It was such a fun day and Rachel and I plan on taking out kids as much as we can!


On Sunday, we went to church with Uncle Colin to The Baptist Church of Rosettenville. We got there an hour early because Uncle Colin leads a prayer meeting before the church service to pray for the pastor and the different prayer needs of members in the church. After that, we stood at the entrance of the church and he introduced us to almost everyone that entered. Auntie Margaret, who works in small babies, was there with her family. It was so good to meet them because she talks about her family all the time. There were so many different kinds of people that made up the congregation: Africans, Whites, Indian, Oriental…it was so neat to worship with so many different nationalities. This church has an English service at 9, a French service at 12, and an African Languages service at 2. It does an awesome job of trying to reach all of the community that surrounds them. I cannot believe we just have one more Sunday off before we come home!


This week we worked Monday through Friday. It has been SO good! All of our babies are healthy, so the whole family is back together and we are back on our normal schedule. The schools here are on winter holiday for 3 weeks, so we have had a lot of volunteers come through. We have 2 really sweet girls that have come every day this week named Alexis and Shari. They sometimes come on the weekends too. They are so helpful and really fun to talk to. I've had fun getting to know them more this week. On Wednesdays through Fridays last week and this week there has been a group of 16 middle to high school students coming from 12-2. It is so overwhelming to have them all in the house at once, but they get a lot of stuff done! They clean windows, bathrooms, the kitchen, help with the laundry, mop the floors, vacuum…the house sparkles when they leave. They also help with the feeding of the big babies and play with them. When they leave, the babies cry because they are all not being held and getting one-on-one attention…but we quickly distract them with music time or taking them outside.

I have realized this week just how big some of our babies have gotten and how much they are changing! One of our boys that is 6 months is really behind developmentally because he was born really pre-mature. Just this past month he has started smiling and looking people in the eye. He has started talking a little when he given one-on-one attention. He has really bad eczema and his skin is slowly getting better.

One of our little girls, who is 5 months, used to hardly ever make a sound- she was always so quiet and unresponsive to people and toys. She rarely even cried and smiled. Over the past week and a half she has become a chatter! She talks so much, even when she isn’t being held or given attention. When she smiles her whole face lights up…her nose scrunches up, her eyes sparkle, and she usually lets out a high giggle. It’s so awesome to be a part of these kids lives for 2 months and get to see them growing up.

Last night, we went to a Thai restaurant with some of the volunteers to celebrate Cornee and his time here. It was so yummy…it might be my new favorite food! We got Cornee’s email address and plan on keeping in touch with him. After dinner, we went to Milky Lane and got some marvelous ice cream! Pray for safe travels as he leaves at 7:30pm (1:30 NC time) and as he starts back to work on Monday.


Tomorrow (Friday), we are going to lunch with Auntie Veronica and her daughter. Rachel and I share the same schedule with Auntie Veronica. It is so neat to see how our relationship with Auntie Veronica has changed since we got here. At first it was really hard and we butted heads a lot. Auntie Veronica is an intense woman and likes to have things done her way…and quickly. Rachel and I struggled to do things in a way that pleased her. Rachel and I pray every morning on our way to work and many times the focus has been on healing our relationship with Auntie and teaching us how to love her. It is so cool to see how God has given us an amazing friendship. As we have gotten to know her, we have formed a great team and she calls us her “new daughters”. I am looking forward to meeting her daughter and getting to spend time with her tomorrow!

This morning I was reading Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by David Crowder and God really spoke to me. The chapter was on Psalm 146:

Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
…
The LORD sets the prisoner free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!

At the end of the chapter, Crowder writes, “Salvation life is the sweetest of living. The psalmist begs us here to pursue such soaring life, to pursue such a heavenly God rather than remain fixed on the ground, living as unredeemed humans. Read again how the psalmist attempts description of the indescribable mercies and savings of God. Read as he calls us to someplace above the gray, through the clouds to a place where there is hope and healing, where justice and mercy rule, where the King of Creation cradles the widows and the orphans and the fallen, where the blind see and goodness is champion. This is our God. There is no love greater or more beautiful. I would stop you in the street to tell you this.”

God has been teaching me lately to make the most of every opportunity that I am given to proclaim the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:2-6). Reading this passage this morning renewed my passion to proclaim the great love and grace of Christ. I pray that Christ fills me with boldness to be light in darkness and that I will proclaim the gospel clearly.

So…something funny happened this morning. We tried to do some laundry because we haven’t done any since we moved here from the Gospel Resource Center. We couldn’t exactly figure out the washer and could never get it to do the spin cycle…so Rachel and I had to squeeze out all the water from our clothes and hung them outside to dry. It will probably take several days for out jeans and jackets to dry. We opted out of doing our second load until we can ask Uncle Colin to teach us how to use the washer. Our fingers were numb…if anything, it was a good laugh. I am definitely thankful we have dryers in the States.


Here is my July work schedule:
2-3, 6-8, 11-12, 16-17, 20-22, 25-26, 30-31

Our last day working is August 3.

I will be home in 27 days! Our time here is going by so quickly!


Prayer requests:
-Russell is now permanently back home in Virginia. Pray for him and that the administration can find a replacement soon.
-Continue to pray that Door of Hope can find a social worker.
-This week they will be matching up several babies with families!! Pray for guidance.

Praises:
-Baby House 1 in Berea has opened!
-One of our boys got adopted this past Monday and a girl from the Starfish program is leaving this coming Monday!

Happy belated birthday Sarah Callahan!!!! Much love!