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!!