Beauty From Ashes

We visited the orphanage from the first day again.  When we walked in the children remembered us and were very happy!  They all wanted to be held and hold a hand.  They would gently stroke my hair or my skin.  One little girl was very possessive of me!  She would grunt at others and squeal if she thought another child was going to steal me.  

I learned "Nalingi yo" which means "I love you" in lingala.  The children would smile and laugh.  We brought some foam mattresses for a couple of beds that had only slates and new underwear. 

These twins may look healthy, but their bellies are very extended and the staff is in the process of treating them.

 This little boy (above) got hurt, after I consoled him he didn't want to leave my embrace.

 This little girl (above) wanted held a lot, she was sweet :)

The children loved to get their photo taken....they would say "photo, photo?".

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -  

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, 

the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Isaiah 61:1-3

A view of the beautiful city!

Handmade children's clothes for sale right outside the orphanage.

Second Day at The Orphanage

Today we visited the second orphanage the Pebble Project helps.  Dr. Marion and Ety do so much good for these children!  And because they are Congolese they understand every aspect and seem to be trusted by the orphanage staff.

After another dust filled journey we arrived in the early afternoon.  As we entered the side street leading to the orphanage people had to move the items they are selling so we could drive through.  We arrived at the big blue metal doors.  As we entered, the bright blue walls shone and the smell was overwhelming.  Some of the children were away attending a school.  The children who remained were eating their lunch which consisted of mashed up rice mixed with water.  They all had their cup, eating quietly.

This little one is loving to play with her food!

I saw a girl who was there from our last trip in 2013, I learned her name, Omba Jeanne.  She is the girl in the pink shirt on the right (below).

2015

 

July 2013

The little girl in the front (below), Marie, has special needs.  She was so happy and smiled so much.

 Mama Nelly is one of the main caretakers.  She has a log of every one of the 89 children, their name, age and when they entered the orphanage.  She is very organized, hands on and is willing to work with the GOF staff.  When I asked them about Della they remembered her. 

Mama Nelly (right)

While Becky and I were with the children we saw so many with great needs.   How do I put into words what I felt.......

These kids just want what every kid wants: love, someone to hold there hand, give them high-five, show them how to zip and unzip a zipper, count to 10.  They want to feel they are special, that someone cares for them.

I know the GOF's Pebble Project is a start to fulfilling those needs through so many like Dr. Marion and Ety and all the others.  But there's so much more that is not being met.

Through it all what surprises me the most is the children are smiling and playing........they somehow find the joy in the midst of their life. 

Leaving the orphanage.  The blue and yellow bus in the public transportation, also called "Spirit of Death".

 

We ate a traditional Congolese meal of chicken, french fries, rice, fufu, fried plantains, mayo, ketchup, hot sauce and vegetables.

Day one of the Orphanage

We started our day off with breakfast at Patachoulle and a GOF meeting.

Typical back street on the way to the orphanage.

This is Dr. Marion and Etienne "Ety", the in-country program director (also our man when we came to get Della in 2013).

Here are a few of the babies.

Here is Moies, he's 4 months old and 5.73 lbs.  He had just been hospitalized for 2 weeks due to severe malnutrition.

More babies

This is one of the Mama's, Josee.  (Not to be confused with Della's foster Mama Josee)

I had the privilege to hold Joel while the staff was shown how to use a nebulizer for breathing treatments.

There are over 80 children that live here.

Rebecca Siegrist passing out stickers to the children.

A view of the trashed filled street right outside the orphanage walls.

Tomorrow we'll visit the second orphanage.  It's hard to put into words what I've seen.....but, pulls at my heart harder than anything I've ever felt.

"Your doing WHAT?!"

That's the question I would have asked myself 4 years ago.

God is crazy!  In a couple of days my good friend, Rebecca, and I are going back to my daughter's birth country in Central Africa.  Going on a "missions trip" (along with adopting a child) is not something I thought was part of my life story.  I was (and still am) comfortable, happy, saved by Jesus!  It was easy to gloss over the verses that said to me "care for the orphans", "if you have a lot, give a lot because it isn't really yours, God gave it to you",  and "I love you, I know what's best for you, TRUST IN ME".  But, I have learned not to box God in, not to assume what my purpose is in life.  I have learned not to believe that I am not special enough or strong enough to do those type of things....those type of "things" that others are called to do.  I really don't have the energy for 5 or more children (one of whom has special physical needs), I don't have the money to help support 200 children more than 6,000 miles away, or the time to leave my family when I run the household.  But, my weaknesses are not stronger than God's strength.

When I remember standing in front of children who I felt craving my love, the love of one stranger.....I can't forget that feeling.  I touched & kissed them, I smelled them, they are real....and they are still in that orphanage.  The one that has dirty concrete floors, that smells worse than a barnyard.  The one where there aren't enough beds, food, medicine, clothes, and caretakers.  The one where children die from simple preventable malnutrition.

After being there God has lit a fire under me!  And I pray God rekindles that fire into a raging inferno!   I am scared and nervous, not because of where I will be physically, but because of what I will experience emotionally.

I am not going to wait for someone else to take action.  I might mess it up a little, but God doesn't call perfect people to do great things, He uses epic failures.   

Speechless

Speechless is how I have felt since doing a fundraiser this past March for the children who live in the orphanage in Africa where my daughter lived.  How do you sufficiently say "thank-you" to people who selflessly helped to raise more than $16,000?

The 200+ people who attended the fundraiser event, and the many more who donated even though they couldn't be there, was very overwhelming and encouraging.  I partnered with my good friend, Rebecca Siegrist who has adopted two boys from the same country as our Della.

This success certainly was not due our skills as fundraisers..... as we have never done anything like this before.  Even more encouraging is how the children at the orphanage have improved:

60% of 87 children were moderately to severely malnourished in March 2013.  Six months later 100% of the children at the orphanage have seen an improved nutritional status. Six children have progressed from severely malnourished to moderately malnourished and six more children have gone from malnourished to within normal weight ranges. Improvements continue daily and, in total, the kids at the orphanage have gained 49 pounds and grown 24 inches. 

You can check out more specifics here.  

God is amazing in how He brings things together for His purpose and glory!

 

Thank-you, Jesus!

We've a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks, thank-you Jesus!  Along with asthma, Emma has been diagnosed with Vocal Cord Dysfunction, or VCD, which is triggered either by asthma or stress or a combination of the two.  To explain it simply, when some people have stress they might throw up, or shake.  In her case her vocal cords close causing her to cough and not breath well until they reopen which can last a few minutes or many hours.  It can be so severe a trip to the ER is required, which is what we have had to do twice in the last year or so.  There is no medication for VCD, she'll have to learn to control it through relaxation techniques.

We made the very difficult and "last ditch effort" to keep Emma in school by moving her to another Elementary school that is newer (less than five years old) but more than twice as big as her old school.  The first week was a little rough, but by the fourth day she made it the whole day!  She has had NO asthma attacks, only the VCD.  We were elated to say the least!! And hopeful that it might work.  So, it seems she is allergic to something at her old school.

Some people might think the following is a coincidence, but I know God planned it:  at this new school, in one of Emma's classes, another girl has been dealing with the same coughing issue as Emma for the past 4 months.  Because of this, the teachers and nurses are used to the "interruptive" coughing and noises. So Emma can stay the whole day even if she is having VCD symptoms.  She has quickly made lots of friends and really enjoys the classes (once she can figure out where they are in the building).  I have never seen her smile so much and so big!

Della's cast has come off and she is also making great progress!  She can walk much better with her walker now that her foot is straighter.  She also has even more movement in her weaker leg which is amazing to us!  She is very persistant with her physical therapy and her leg is healing very well.

First cornrows in her hair - took mom 2 hours

 We celebrated Eli's 9th birthday, he's our second oldest.  He requested an ice cream cake with raw cookie dough.  All the kids made him drawings for his birthday :).

Josey

Wyatt

We are thankful to have a "break" from physical issues for now.  Now onto the continued planning of our fundraiser for the orphanage Della lived at in Africa. We have a silent auction planned with services and merchandise of all kinds like an antique tobacco basket, quilts, gift baskets, photo sessions, meals, etc. :

 

Silent Auction Fundraiser March 22

 

Here we go!!  I am so excited to announce we are having a silent auction to raise money for Global Orphan Foundation's "Pebble Project" (see more info here).  My friend, Rebecca Siegrist, and I feel called to do more for these orphans.  100% of money raised will be used to provide food and medicine to 2 orphanages where my daughter and her boys lived.  Our hearts were heavy after the news that out of the three orphanages our adoption agency works with in Africa, 5 children died of starvation the week after we came home with Della last July.  There are over 13 million orphans and abandoned children in the DRC.  In the DRC, 10% of children die before the age of one.  Nearly 30% of children under the age of five suffer from undernutrition.  We feel called to help feed these children so they will have a chance at life.

I know this problem might seem too big, what difference can we really make?  Well, here's how you can help:

Will you be willing to donate something for our auction?
If you own a business, a good or service from your business would be a wonderful item for us to auction off.  If you don't own a business, maybe you could make a "theme basket" (examples--movie night basket with various movies and popcorn, etc; spa basket with a gift card for a manicure and pedicure and some nail polish, etc.) or donate an antique.  Be creative!  

Will you come out to the silent auction/fundraiser and bid on some of the items?  

Will you take an evening and give some money towards a cause that is bigger than yourself?  This past Sunday in church, our pastor stated these statistics...if you make more then $20,000 a year, you are rich.  If you make more than $39,000 a year, you are filthy rich.   So, rich friends...I am going to ask again will you come out and support the Pebble Project's vision to feed and raise up strong children in the DRC?