A Belated Happy Birthday!

So I have so pretty amazing friends here in Moz! On Friday I was asked by several if it was my birthday or told happy birthday. I found it strange but also just shrugged if off amongst the busyness as people getting mine and Jannie's (it was Wednesday) birthdays mixed up.
Well, I ate dinner with Aleya and Erin...amazing curry that Erin cooked for us!!! And then as usual (at least for the past few weeks) we headed over to Rebecca's house for some Grey's Anatomy watching! Instead of our normal quiet evening of tv shows all the women from the base were all there to surprise me for my birthday! Aleya so sweetly didn't want me to miss a birthday celebration just because I was in the US for my actual day!
We played the chocolate game! This is something I have been introduced to here...and it is AMAZING! Everyone playing rolls dice and whenever someone rolls doubles of any number then have to put on clothes (usually an apron, hat, mittens...), pick up the knife and fork, and cut off one small piece of the chocolate bar you are all trying to eat! But you only get to eat the chocolate if no one rolls doubles before you get a piece cut off...before someone else starts to rip the clothes off of you and steal your knife and fork. It's hilarious!
Then we had cake and brownies (thanks Sharon and Aleya), tea and coffee and just sat around and had some girl time! It was so fun despite my sickness. I honestly was surprised and blessed by the whole night!
And this is the amazing present everyone made for me...an adorable collage of notes!And a bit closer!
Yep...that's right...I have amazing friends! It was a happy and blessed belated birthday to me!

Transformation...

On Wednesday night (March 24th) I shared at home group (our time each week for our missionary staff to meet together, worship, pray, and receive teaching). One of the things I showed was pictures of Fernanda and the amazing transformation we have seen in her in just a week. Look at the pictures, you can't help but praise God for His amazing work!

This is Fernanda on admit with us (7.36kg or 16.2 pounds).
This is March 17th at her lowest weight (5.9kg or 13 pounds).

This is her one week later after prayer at our Thursday church service and daily prayer by you and me! March 24th (7.33kg or 16 pounds)!

The things our Lord can do are miraculous and breathtaking! Just take some time to praise Him!

Newbies...Ernesto and Graca!

I have 2 new little ones to introduce to you:
#1: Ernesto- He arrived here the day after Fernanda did. In the midst of all the busyness I got pictures taken of him but never got to tell you about him. His paperwork says he is 15 months old. I think looking at his picture you will agree with us that he is more like 3. He is healthy and happy in our Baby House. He is quickly learning to mimic everyone because he arrived knowing no Portuguese (only his tribal language). Tracey the missionary that works in our Baby House has stole his heart, and he is now calling anyone with white skin Mana Tracey. It's quite cute! Just keep praying for his continued adjustment and that he quickly learns to communicate in Portuguese! Meet Ernesto:#2: Graca (Grace in Portuguese)- She came to live with us on Friday. She is almost 8 months old. She only weighs 5 kg or 11 lbs at the moment. She is quite malnourished and is only the size of a 2-3 month old in weight and height. We tried her on regular baby formula first but her body couldn't tolerate it although her father did tell us that is what she was having at home. We have now started her on F75 a simple fortified formula that is better on her belly. She'll have that for a week every 3 hours around the clock, so our tias are again working extremely hard just to feed the babies on time. She has kept this down relatively well although her chest infection is causing her to not want to eat. She is very sick with malnutrition as well as other chronic infections. She has been on treatment for a month now and is still losing weight. This week we are getting her started on other medications as well. So please be praying for no side effects from either medicine, that she continues tolerating the food we give her, and that she'll begin gaining weight. We have added Graca to our daily weights and prayer time at 3:00pm! Please join us in prayer for God's amazing grace over our little Graca! Meet Graca:

Precious Naftal

As I sit under a gorgeous old tree who's branches stretch to cover an entire yard, I find myself asking the Lord, why do some grow old while others die so young? We received the news this morning that 8 year old Naftal went to live with his heavenly Father last night. His suffering has ended; his pain is complete. He is no longer living with tumors attacking his organs. He is whole! He is dancing! He is another boy who has been loved into the hands of Jesus! What a hard but special job we have been given here?
I have many questions floating in my head unanswered, but I also find myself joyful today...joyful the suffering has ended. Joyful that our prayers for Naftal have been answered, not in the way we on Earth hoped for but answered just the same. I'm choosing to praise our God for His merciful ways today. I am reminded of the day Naftal arrived and he was called forward at church to be prayed over. He was so confident that he stood right up and was going to walk forward on his own. I stood up and reached for his hand to walk with him and his face was covered in a smile. He just needed someone to walk with him. He was confident in who is was in the Lord...it was just our job to hold his hand and support him down his path. A path that has ended in his Father's arms!
I do ask that you continue to spend this day in prayer...for Naftal's family who as of 6:30am had not been told the news. His father has spent countless hours the last 3 weeks traveling to and from the hospital to see his little boy. He has daily called morning and night to pray with the tia and Naftal. Pray God is his comfort and strength in his hour of need. Also, please be in prayer for Naftal's older brother who lives here with us that he will be comforted as well and able to spend time with his family and process what has happened. Please pray for Laura and Rebecca the two missionaries that work with Naftal's dorm...for their broken hearts to be healed, for a supernatural understanding of what has happened, for the words to share this information with the other boys and answer their many questions. Lastly, please pray for the tias who so selflessly gave themselves to this little boy in his last days. Pray God blesses them each for their service and comforts them as they continue working in the midst of sadness.
Thank you for your continued support through prayers.


And know in the midst of sadness that Fernanda is getting stronger daily! She now weighs a little over 7kg (15.5 pounds)! She has started TB (tuberculosis treatment) with no side effects! She has not vomited in 2 days! Our God is continuing to heal her! Keep the prayers coming at 9am every morning! We'll keep laying hands on her every day as well...begging our God to show up in bold ways in this adorable peanut!

All Glory be to God- Fernanda Update!

The italics was added in as of tonight:
Today Fernanda gained again- she is up to 15.2 pounds (6.93kg)! I got to see her today and go back to praying over her in person instead of from my bed...and honestly she is "chubby" in comparison to Saturday. Yes...I said it. A malnourished 15 month old that is only 15.2 pounds looked "chubby" to me. Her face has filled in and you can't see her ribs nearly as clearly. I'll snap pictures tomorrow if I can! She started her new medications today as promised...with absolutely NO vomiting! She is still eating EVERYTHING we put in front of her and she is reaching for people and was very upset as I laid her down to undress her for weighing because she wanted me to be holding her! She is bonding...she is growing...she is transforming! Praise God Praise God Praise God!
And...another exciting thing...Erin walked into the Bercario today to see our tias and Mozambican nurse dancing around the room singing praise songs to God! They were holding Fernanda and praising God's name! They can see that when we didn't know what to do we turned to God for help, we trusted in him, and he is showing up in such a HUGE way! It has been an exciting day for our little peanut! Also, I was greeted this morning by an older youth, who wanted to know how I was but more importantly how Fernanda was doing. He is one of the youth who stepped out in faith at church last Thursday and prayed in desperation for this little life. He walked away with a big smile on his face this morning as I told him about the amazing things God has done this weekend! And Erin was able to go tonight and speak to all of our older youth to tell them about God's work. She was very encouraged by their excitement and increased faith in God!!!!
But...Naftal is still having a tough time. He has been diagnosed with malaria on top of everything else going on. Please continued to keep him lifted up in prayer! And Lucas (a little boy who has already been extremely close to death while I've been here) is struggling as well. He has no strength to hold his head up and is refusing food. Please be praying for him as well and especially Laura as both of these little boys are from her dorm! We are still trusting God for the impossible.
Last but certainly not least...we have decided to call a day of fasting and prayer on Wednesday that God might respond to our cries as we push deeper into him. Please join us in whatever way the Lord leads you! We will be spending our lunch together is prayer for little Naftal especially!

So yesterday Fernanda gained more weight...almost 18 ounces actually! That brings her up to 14.4 pounds (6.54kg)! I have not seen her since Saturday afternoon because yesterday I spent most of the day sick in my bed and certainly did not want her to catch whatever I have. But I was told of her weight gain and how much she has changed! She is reaching for people, watching people, reaching for food...bonding to one of our tias! God has transformed her! And we were blessed to get 2 weeks of medications from our local clinic this morning! Community members are required to come daily and wait for hours to get their medication so this was certainly a blessing from God! Keep praying she will have no side effects from these harsh medications please!
The transformation in Fernanda all started with our night of prayer at church on Thursday...youth, pastors, missionaries, children, and tias/educators prayed over her the best way we knew how. Fernanda watched with complete amazement as so many outstretched their hands to beg the Lord for her health and speak life into her! Then Erin started our daily prayer time and you joined in...it is making a difference! God is hearing and answering our prayers...so keep them coming!
Also, I said she has started bonding to one of our tias...this tia has become a Christian since she began working with us and is so dearly encouraged by what God is doing in little Fernanda! Erin told the tias about all of you praying at home on Saturday night, and they were blown away! They can't seem to understand why you would be so worried about this one little girl in Africa...we told them this is what the Body of Christ looks like...this is Christ's Church! What a testimony to what God can do when we have faith in Him!!!!
So keep those prayers coming at 9am (SC time) every day, and I'll make sure and keep you posted on her status!

As for Naftal...please keep praying for his healing as well. He is certainly suffering in pain and very uncomfortable! We as a staff are trying to make decisions regarding his care at the moment. Pray for healing, peace, and comfort. Pray for the tias who spend 24 shifts with him during each of their 4 day shifts, sleeping sitting up in uncomfortable metal chairs. Pray for his father who obviously loves him dearly and continues to visit him and call the tias often! Pray for Laura (as his dorm mother/caretaker) for comfort and peace as well. And pray especially for Steve and Ros (our directors) as they make final decisions regarding Naftal!

Please and thank you for all your prayers!

Updates...Fernanda, Naftal, and RATatouille!

Ok, so let's start with the FANTASTIC news that RATatouille is now DEAD and no longer in our building! YAY, YAY, YAY! Jannie found him dead Friday morning and with the help of a maintenance guy got him disposed of...see I told you I didn't think the other maintenance guy believed us or went after him. Anyway, at least the adventures of Ratatouille are over!

As for Fernanda she put on 60 grams today (2 ounces)!!! I know that seems like just a small amount but it's not losing it's gaining and that's what all these prayers are for! Also, we are giving all credit to the Lord above that she ate EVERYTHING we gave her today. That's right! She drank all her fortified formula, ate all her rice and beans, 1/2 a banana, baby cereal (we switched brands and she seems to like this one better) and even kept down her "ironman shake" as Erin has named it (yogurt, peanut butter, and milk...mixed well!). There was only one vomiting event today...miraculous with all that food! Praise God! And as of yesterday we did get it oked for her to start new medications on Monday. This can be very tough on her little body so, continue praying every day at 9:00am your time SC! We all gather around Nanda here in prayer then as well!

As for Naftal...he is still having a tough time. Steve and Ros (our directors, Ros being a nurse) did get to speak with his doctor today but it seems with no result of changes in treatment. Please keep praying for this little one, for control of pain and comfort...and most of all healing! He is quite the sad little guy at the moment. For now we are waiting on other test results and confirmation of what is really going on. Also being praying for his nurses and doctors for wisdom and compassion! And add us a medical team onto your prayer list as well please...for wisdom as we make decision regarding his hospitalization and care!
Thanks for all the prayers!!! God can hear each one of you!

As for me I spent the day cleaning my old apartment and kitchen with help from Aleya! Matt and Sheri (a new nurse!!!) will be here Tuesday and are moving into our old house!

Calling all prayer warriors!

I'll start with a HUGE thanksgiving for the thick power of the Holy Spirit that fell on our church service tonight. It was undeniable and humbling...magnificent!

Ok, so to update you...Fernanda has certainly not taken a turn for the better. She has lost weight again today. She lost 300 grams (14 ounces)...that brings her to a VERY small 13 pounds (give or take a bit). She cannot lose any more. We don't have room for any more loss! So we are asking you to pray. God laid it on Erin's heart this afternoon to start praying for her personally daily until she doesn't need it any more. So our missionary team is going to start praying over her daily at 3:00pm. That is the time she wakes up from nap and we weigh her each day. So our plan is to meet in the clinic and lay hands on her. I'm asking that you would stop in your day and stand with us in prayer as well. For all of you in South Carolina...that is 9:00am!
We are trusting and waiting for God to show up in a big way here...in only the way He can! It is an uphill battle for sure. As I've said the medications she will hopefully be taking will be very hard on her. And, it usually is a few weeks or even a month before positive weight gain, appetite, and health start to appear. Again we have no more weight to lose, and she has once again decided to assert her power over food. She knew by smell we had added baby cereal powder to her milk and refused it. She refused to eat the beloved rice and beans from yesterday. She did eat 3/4 of a yogurt, peanut butter, and milk shake (Erin's best guess at getting some food in her)...only vomiting 1/4.
She came to our weekly church service tonight for prayer. Missionaries, pastors, and youth prayed over her frail little body...we prayed that God would fill her with an appetite again, joy, a will for life, peace...I continued to pray that she would just be another example of His amazing power and sovereignty...there have been so many others in the years at this center...we are all trusting God to show His awesome power again in this little life! So I'm asking you to join us all in prayer daily...let's lift up her life, health, and body to our awesome God!

And please keep praying for Naftal as well. The lastest update is confirmation that the cancer has spread to his heart and possibly his second kidney. Their plan now is to do chemo first to hopefully shrink the tumor...and then proceed with surgery. But, there has still been no treatment of his current symptoms. His pain has increased...Laura sent me a frantic prayer e-mail tonight from the hospital saying he was flipping around on the bed in pain and the nurses wouldn't do anything. He is certainly having issues breathing and his abdomen is fluid-filled. Just keep praying with us for healing, wisdom for the doctors/nurses, the tias who are staying with him, Laura and the other missionaries close to him, the other boys in Laura's dorm, and especially his father and brother (who we all prayed over in church tonight as well).

Thank you for all your prayers...just keep them coming!

Our Peanut and the Continued Adventures of Ratatouille!

Let's start with our enemy Ratatouille...last week Aleya had a run in with him that ended in a few of the younger boys wanting to go after him behind our stove with a broom. The only issue is, as I've mentioned before, he is NOT a mouse but a LARGE rat! I think he might turn his head and snicker at a broom...seriously! So yesterday afternoon James (our absolutely fantastic maintenance guy) was hooking up our new fridge!!!! And, his wife Jannie (another nurse I've mentioned a few other times) was in our building as well. She runs a food box program that gets boxes of essential foods to families every other week. Anyway, she was trying to bag some peanuts to make a box for one of our former baby house kids, Julio...and Ratatouille appeared. He didn't run but slowing slithered up over another big 25kg bag of peanuts to hide back in the corner. HE IS SICK!!! THE RAT POISON IS WORKING!!! So here is our issue now...we don't want him to die back there and start stinking. One of the maintenance guys thought we had all lost our minds as we attempted to get him to come back out, take his picture, and somehow kill him. There was much shrieking and laughter to go around. We left a wonderful maintenance guy working on the whole thing, but I have this funny feeling it wasn't nearly as important to him to see Ratatouille dead as it is to all of us...I think he is still back there in his corner behind the food box peanuts slowly dying of all the rat poison he has eaten! So the adventures continue...

Ok, onto our Peanut...yesterday Fernanda continued with her hatred of anything we tried to feed her besides a banana and milk. She is a smart little one. The tias were even hiding the baby cereal and mixing a little into her milk and she still knew it was in there and vomited it right back up. Possibly a power thing...she has no control over anything else in her little life right now so not eating things is something she can control. No good for those of us trying to get her to gain weight! Although...YESTERDAY SHE GAINED WEIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME! We started at 7.36kg (16.2 pounds) about 2 weeks ago although most of that was water weight because of all her edema. Now she is at 6.37kg (14 pounds), but that is 100 grams (3.5 ounces) heavier than yesterday! We have 2 options as to why she gained weight...1- God performs miracles! 2- It's a fake gain and she will have lost even more today (we are only doubtful because of all the vomiting, pooping, and peeing she has been doing). But we as a staff and those who love her are choosing option number 1! We believe in the miraculous for our little ones and especially this peanut who could use it right now.As for other news...she LOVES beans and rice (or at least she did yesterday)! She was whimpering and trying to crawl out of my arms as Erin prepared some soupy mashed up beans and rice for her. She ate half the bowl along with 100ml of milk with no vomiting...until her next feed of baby cereal. We decided today to hide the baby cereal in each of her bottles and give her beans and rice as main meals. Although the text I just got shows just how smart she is because after one sip she knew there was baby cereal in her milk and there came right back up.
She is still having high fevers that are only slightly lowered with medications. She now has taken to laying on the floor where it is cooler to bring down her body temperature. From her lab work she doesn't seem to be septic. Also, her skin is still pealing...just like a snake. This can be attributed to the overwhelming edema she had from her malnutrition or caused by other issues we're looking into as well.For now we are just trying to keep her hydrated and get food to stay down. We are waiting to find out how to proceed and hopefully start her on other medications next week. This will not be an easy task at all because for the first about 2 weeks these medications do more harm than good. They are VERY harsh and cause normal kids to throw up and lose weight. But if we persevere with a great deal of prayers and faith in God...maybe these medications could save this little girl's life!
Just keep praying please!!!! She is quite the fighter, adorable, and so sweet!

A rough day...

Ok, so it wasn't even all that bad of a day. I just think by tonight I was done...emotionally, physically, spiritually...all of it. I pretty much had a little break down in the nursery tonight when I was attempting to figure out what we should do tonight for Fernanda. To be honest I'm having a tough time coping with all the responsibility I feel like I have in the clinic and doing my best to help out in the Baby House/Bercario as well (maybe some of it self-induced, the responsibility that is). Anyway, for now I'm going to spend a little time in James (the book we have decided on for our Bible study) and then get to sleep. But to update you on our day with Fernanda I'm going to let you read over what Erin has to say: (Erin I hope you don't mind me quoting you...you get all the credit! I'm too tired to type out all of this up!)
"Fernanda started very reluctantly with yogurt today. vomitting it up 2x. She did like my 1/2 of a banana i gave her this morning-well half of that half anyway...then held it in her stomach for 3 hrs and vomitted it up on Meghann (another nurse). I DID give her a no vomitting lecture. she must have heard, understood, and obeyed. Next time, I'll be a bit more specific. We haven't done very well on feeds today and she lost another 30 grams (ounce). I find that anytime the staff changes (every 4 days) she seems to go back to the vomitting for 24 hrs and refusing to eat. Never good for us. We did make it to the clinic today and did all the labs. Praise the Lord (and thanks to everyone praying) they managed to get all her labs done in just ONE stick. Seriously. three tubes worth. She did a chest xray and then we got her ppd (for tuberculosis) done. Her labs all looked normal: malaria-neg(3x now); HIV-neg (that's at least 2x now); complete hemogram (to look for infection)-normal with just slightled elevated platelets; Hemoglobin/hematocrit (to check for anemia)-only borderline low; electrolytes-normal; ESR (check for chronic infection indicative of a bazillion chronic infections but most importantly tuberculosis)-only slightly elevated; Chest xray-pretty normal give or take a few spots. So I took them to our Moz doctor that visits us 4x/week and presented her case-history, symptoms, what i've done since arrival, how she's responded, all her lab results, chest xray, and finally, her yellow immunization card that tracks her weight monthly from birth. She looked it over, did a full assessment and felt like Tuberculosis was our best offender (which I thought from the beginning). So the plan is-wait till Friday to see her results of the ppd TB test, see how she does (which she's had a huge fever all day-NOT helping with the gaining weight thing) and then a-start her on the most powerful oral antibiotic we have, despite the fact that her labs don't really indicate a big infection that shouldn't be responding to the 3 round of pretty powerful antibiotics, all from different classes and broad-spectrum that I gave her and then b-start her on TB treatment, even if her ppd is negative (which it most likely will be if her immune system is so shot from the TB and malnutrition that it can't even form a response to the tuberculin they placed under her skin). Please continue praying for her. TB meds would be great if it's her problem, but even then they are VERY harsh chemotherapeutic like drugs that have very harsh side effects as well....for such a sick little one, they are NO fun! And she NEEDS to start eating better and gaining weight!"
Just keep praying please!

Encouraged!

Yep I said it...today has been encouraging so far, not in every way but in most ways! I woke up early to send a reminder text to our clinic nurses about a consult for one of our diabetics...just wanted to make sure someone would actually be leaving on time to get her there. Then I laid back down to spend a little time with the Lord before heading up to the clinic for our Monday 9:00 medical staff meeting. This is one of the responsibilities I inherited when I became the head of the clinic. So, I didn't have much to go over today and decided I'd just speak with the nurses about scheduling and consults for this week and let everyone else have a break from the weekly meeting. But in the back of my head, I did remember that Ros (one of the center directors and a nurse from Australia) had mentioned maybe coming to try to work things out in regard to the nurses doing follow up on the sick kids they see during the day.
Ok...a little background for you so you can understand why I'm so encouraged at the moment. First, I mentioned last week that the 2 Mozambican nurses that work in our clinic came up with their own schedule to cover 4 nights a week of on call duty. No it's not perfect but a blessing nonetheless! So they each have 2 nights a week, covering Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for me! Second, the issue is that I usually did follow up care. So if there were sick kids seen during the day I went around and checked on them after dinner (making sure fevers were down, malaria symptoms better...). So since I'm only working 3 nights a week that leaves 4 nights a week with no follow up. Ok...now back to the encouraging part...in reference to the follow up. The nurses decided that they would start making a list of kids they saw during the day who are sick (fevers, malaria, any respiratory issues) and going around to find them after dinner!!! This is almost a miracle! From what I have seen there was no real follow up done on anyone except by me...so this is a HUGE step in the right direction for our clinic!!! So they are now working nights (although we are still looking for a permanent person to do 3 nights week) and starting to tackle follow up!!!! Such an encouragement!

On another note...kid updates:
Cleita- is back to her normal self. She is running the Bercario (nursery) again, being a bit whiny but cute as always! All malaria symptoms and issues have disappeared!!! Encouraging!Alberto- our friend with RSV (or at least that's what we think he has), seems a bit better. He is now down to 2 nebulizers a day with no meds in either. They are just to help break up his snottyness. So that's an improvement. Encouraging!Fernanda- is eating her baby cereal a bit better with only small amounts of vomit instead of continuous vomit. And she has not seemed to notice that Erin has fortified her milk with more sugar to add calories. But, I walked in today after having been away from the nursery all weekend and she looks dramatically worse. She is still losing weight...she is down to about 13.8 pounds (having lost 250 grams since yesterday). Remember she is 15 months old. She is still having fevers, went another 18 hours without peeing Saturday, and is all around puny (sleeping most of the time). She has been started on antibiotics for a second time, but after 3 days there is no improvement. Erin is going to bring her tomorrow morning for blood work in the city so hopefully we can figure out what is going on. Please be praying for definitive results, healing, strength, and weight for this little peanut. Here's our peanut as of tonight...Naftal- So at our staff meeting tonight Ros updated us all on Naftal. Apparently the information I received early today about his cancer having spread to one of his heart valves was in accurate. Also the phone call Ros received saying he did have surgery today and has mets (or cancer spread) all over his body is also not true. There is another boy with the same cancer (Wilm's tumor) who had surgery with this outcome. It is possibly the other boy who is in the room with him...so being praying for him as well. But, as for Naftal we are back to square one. Maybe he will have an ECHO (ultrasound of his heart) tomorrow like we were told yesterday and maybe he will have surgery on Friday or Monday? No one really knows...this medical system makes a person feel completely helpless...so this one is not encouraging! That's why I said I was encouraged by most things....

Ok, that sums up my life. Oh and the fact that I have not been sweaty once today and could probably live without a fan...now that is encouraging!!!! (It is 86 in my room right now...that might seem hot to you but for us that is cool temp for 3:30 in the afternoon!!! Praise God it's starting to cool off!)

Just keep praying for our tots please!

Kid Updates...

Ok...so I have spent my day moving my room. I am now living on the opposite end of the building from where I have been living. Aleya and I have vacated our apartment and moved into another so that a new couple that arrives in a few weeks (the wife is a nurse!!!!!) will have a place of their own. But, I just read through Erin's e-mail update on all of our sick kids and thought you should read it as well so you know who to be praying for. So from Erin's mouth...
"-Fernanda has not taken to the breakfast cereal well, very much asserting her authority to not eat when she wants to....which leads to vomitting....alot!!! It started last night and continued all day today. She didn't pee (again) for 18 hrs, but she finally peed before i left at 8pm. At one point in the day she seemed to be getting better and stronger, but tonight she only took 3 spoonfulls of cereal and vomitted 3 times and each times was tons! So now we're behind on her fluids. again. She's still not gaining weight. She's lost 2 lbs since arrival. Most of that was water/edema weight and is a good loss, but by now she should be gaining. Tomorrow she is starting on a super fortified formula with extra calories that will hopefully help. She still has a fever and I've decided that she is definately very sick with some sort of infection and is having trouble not vomitting up her antibiotics which is not helping. Please pray hard for this little girl. She should have gone to the hospital about 8 hrs ago, but I refuse to take her until she absolutely needs to go (And for the record....if we were in the States she would have been there 2 wks ago). The hospital will do way more damage then her staying here and she's only going if she needs: IV fluids, oxygen, or IV medications, otherwise, we're not chancing it as she's just to fragile!

-Cleita PRAISE THE LORD took a turn for the better at noon. This morning she looked like she was on the iffy line of going to the hospital and was still laying in the floor barely moving (as she had been for 3 days). I left and came back at noon and she was "grazing" all over the place, crawling and climbing and begging for water. This evening we couldn't keep her still and she was laughing and smiling and refusing to go to sleep cause she wanted to play. Her last dose of antimalarials was just a few minutes ago, but she'll remain on antibiotics for the next 6 days for her chest infection.

-Alberto is pretty unchanged. Happier and playing more, but still have respiratory problems. At least he only needed one real nebulizer tonight and 2 others simple ones (with just saline) to help liquify his snot. I'll be checking on him and Fernanda again at 10pm to see if they need more intervention before I head off to dream land. Pray he continues needing less and less help and NO nebulizers!

-Naftal surgery was cancelled for Monday as they are too worried about his heart. So they are going to do an echocardiagram to see what's really wrong with it....only took 2 wks to get them to this point. Though they still have not drained the fluid off his belly or given him blood and he's belly's getting bigger and it's harder and harder for him to breathe. On one hand, I'm thrilled at the fact that he's not going to surgery till the fix the anemia and all the fluid in his belly, but on the other hand, they aren't doing anything about it and the tumor need's to be removed and chemo started. It's a catch 22. Please pray for this little boy."

Just keep praying! Please and thank you!

Naftal, Cleita, and Wesley (with a slight Fernanda update)

Ok...friends...I'm back on the prayer request train tonight...
First- Naftal: I got to see him again today. He is certainly not looking better. I could feel his tumor (or the bump jutting out of his side near his kidney that has been diagnosed as a tumor). He is certainly still swollen and abdomen filled with fluid. And today he seemed to be having a bit harder time breathing and jugular vein distention. In other words things aren't looking better. But, surgery is schedule for Monday...just keep praying! Here's a picture of him at the hospital this afternoon...
Second- Cleita: She lives in the Bercario (nursery) and is 9 months old. For any of you who have watched my video she is the EXTREMELY cute baby who is smiling so big! I'm sure you said AWWWWW and giggled a little at how cute she is! Anyway, she has been quite sick for the last few weeks. One thing after another. It started with fevers, then a chesty/snotty flu thing, then a stomach flu...now she has tested positive for malaria. We think we caught it early because she tested negative on Monday when I tested her, but positive this afternoon when Erin tested her. Anyway, please be praying she recovers quickly, all the parasites are removed from her body, and the tias remain healthy and filled with God's strength. They are working so hard at the moment between re-hydrating Cleita, feeding Fernanda (who praise God is doing well on regular formula today but has had high fevers all day...be praying she doesn't get any of the diseases being passed around the Bercario), dealing with Alberto (our 5 month old with RSV...who is on the mend), and don't forget the other crazy toddlers who are always into something! Just be praying!

Third- Wesley: Erin heads with him tomorrow morning to the heart hospital for an ultrasound of his heart to confirm the diagnosis of a VSD (hole between the ventricles in his heart). Then our prayer will be that is closes on it's own before he turns 2...with no other complications!


Just keep praying please! As for me...for the second night since I got back and started work I'm not on call!!!! Our clinic nurses have started covering the phone and staying here on base...praise God!!! Just pray for wisdom for them and peaceful, restful nights for me!

Thank you to all!

Naftal...

Ok, so I got away from the center for a few hours today to go with Laura and see Naftal. Here is how he is looking (maybe the worst picture of me ever-since I planned on a shower but that fell through after a situation in the clinic...but I want you to have a picture of him to pray for him!).He is now on the surgical ward and we found out this morning that there is another complication. He has a "problem with his tricuspid valve" in his heart. I put that in quotes because that is all I know. I don't know what the problem is, if it was caused by what is going on now, or if he has had it since birth. Anyway, this is going to complicate the anesthesia for his surgery. One of the doctors that works with us and sees our kids 2 days a week at the clinic was going to do his anesthesia consult today and check things out for us (it's all in the people you know here...otherwise we would never figure anything out)!
So, that is what we know for now...Wilm's tumor, right kidney, tricuspid valve problem, surgery monday, chemotherapy to follow....
As for what I saw today, he is certainly swollen. Laura says his feet are better than yesterday, but his face is VERY puffy. His belly is FULL of fluid...think end stage kidney patient with out of control ascites if you're a nurse/medical. Otherwise, think about to pop he is so full of fluid in his abdomen. Other than that they say he is anemic...distinctly possible if you ask me...but his chart wasn't there so I couldn't do any snooping. So who knows what they are doing about the anemia.

Things to pray about:
1-Healing for him of course would be number one!
2-The nurses just forgot to do his blood draw last night for lab work. So please be praying they would find things serious enough to do their jobs well and look after him.
3-For the tias who are staying with him. They switch off every day and apparently the nurses have started to get upset with them and say that one needs to just stay all the time because that's how it works if you are a mom. These ladies do love our kids here but have families of their own. Just pray the nurses understand why they have to switch and they are switching just to go rest but instead to work or take care of their own families.
4-Thanksgiving for Naftal's family. His father has gone to see him every day except one when he didn't have enough money for transportation (he didn't realize he could ask and we would give it to him). That is a miracle! Today he even came to the center, picked up his big brother, and brought him to see Naftal as well. The father volunteered to stay with Naftal for a night and let the tias go home (something unheard of). But, the hospital won't let him because only women can stay on the ward with children. He also calls the tias every morning and night and prays with them on the phone for Naftal. I cannot explain to you how abnormal this is and how much of blessing it is for us to see him so worried and involved and with such faith.

So for now we are standing in faith that God will heal him. He is scheduled for surgery on Monday. Just keep praying...that's all we have to do and remembering he is in God's hands!

Oh Mozambique...and prayer requests!

First let's go with prayer requests because I could really use them:
#1- For divine wisdom and grace to continue running the clinic and overseeing the staff.
#2- Extreme thanksgiving for the improvements we have seen in Fernanda over the last week! She is starting real formula today, just pray her body can take it and she continues to get stronger every day!
#3- Thanksgiving for all of Jannie's (another nurse) help in the clinic...there is no way I would be even partly sane if it wasn't for her. Also, thanksgiving for those God has placed around me here to support me and love on me (you know who you are) <3!
#4- For Naftal a little boy in Laura's dorm. I introduced you to him when he arrived so Laura could see him because she was still in the States. Look for that post in November if you want to read up! Anyway, he has been diagnosed with a Wilm's tumor. This is a childhood form of kidney cancer. Their plan is to do surgery on Monday to remove the tumor and then start chemo therapy. So please be praying for him, the tias who are staying with him, the nurses doctors and anyone else at the hospital who is caring for him. I have such a hard time trusting the medical system here, but it does bring me peace to remember Naftal is His child!

Ok, now back to why I entitled this post "Oh Mozambique". I thought it was time I explain to you why it takes so long to get simple things done here and why I spend many of my days frustrated.
Here's the story of what happened yesterday...
First lets start with Monday. We had decided that even though Erin was getting in late from 5 days in Swaziland that she would go with Wesley (an 11 month baby who mysteriously started with a heart murmur a week ago) to his consult at the heart hospital. We had her a ride there and Jannie had talked to the guy in charge of transportation and arranged someone to pick her up. It was my job to go confirm with him about 8/8:30 yesterday morning. So my day started there. When I got over there he say...that is going to be difficult one of my drivers is sick and Domingos (the medical driver is in the city already). I said...I know that...that's why I need you to send someone else. He just looked at me like...well...I can't do anything about it. So I knew one of the drivers had to go to ShopRite on the weekly run about the time Erin would be finished...so I said well he is going to have to drop everyone off at ShopRite, go pick Erin up, and go back and get them. That's our only option. This is completely normal...you plan something and when it comes down to it it won't happen! So at least I solved that problem relatively quickly and Erin was happy to be picked up and get her grocery shopping down all at once (even though she had to carry Wesley around with her)!
Then I spent my morning covering Erin in the Baby House/Bercario with Fernanda and Alberto (who we think has RSV...a viral chest infection that can easily put babies in the States in the hospital) to check on. Next, I had a meeting with Ros (one of our directors) who praise God had a schedule the nurses had worked out so that they are covering 4 nights a week. So, that leaves me with Wednesdays and every Saturday/Sunday. Only God could have made that come together...so I'm so very thankful for that!!! Then I was called and spent the next hour and half trying to get the maintenance men to fix the leaking roof, clogged up sink, and leaking sink (leaking is an understatement...the water pours directly on the floor whenever it drains) in the apartment Aleya and I are moving into this weekend. (Not that I have anything packed or have even thought about moving over there...oops!)
Next came figuring out the consults for today. There were 2. One is a neurological consult for a boy in the baby house...6 years old. The other is blood work for one of our diabetics. It took over 4 (ok if you count of all of it...probably more like 7) hours for us all to make a decision, get transportation arranged, make sure everyone understood what they needed to do, and clear up all confusion (which there was MUCH of). I'm telling you I will never understand how things that should be so simple become so complicated here.
Last, I went to go find my boy who got stitches in his head last week to get them out. It was already time for me to be leaving to go to dinner with some of the other missionaries, something I had agreed to knowing I would need time off the center. After I got his stitches out my plan was to go grab my stuff, drop something off in the girl's area they needed for the consult situation, and go meet everyone. Well, then one of the nurses in the clinic asked me if I was going to stay and help with the 3 last patients we had left to see the doctor (it was 4:30 at this point and the nurse gets off work at 5). All I could think was it shouldn't be that hard for 3 patients to be seen in 30 minutes. But, I just gave up, called and told the missionaries to leave for dinner without me, and headed to drop the things off in the girls area. Along the way, Aleya asked me what was wrong and just broke down and cried. I think it was disappointment, stress level, exhaustion, and culture shock all rolled into one. Aleya is a champ though, she hugged me and made me feel better and we were both on our way back to work.
Ends up at 5 they were already finished with the patients! Yep, that's right. So, disappointed I went to spend some time in the Bercario and love on the babies...they always make me feel better, give me a few good laughs, and get me back on track!

Ok...now maybe you have a glimpse into the frustration and the length of time it takes to do anything around here. Absolute craziness most days...it takes grace, wisdom, understanding, and more grace...only God could have called me here and only God can get me through!

Now it's a new day. It's almost 11 and I still haven't gone up to the clinic. I actually slept until 9:15 (a miracle!!)!!! But...here I go again...

Life's Question...(and Fernanda update)

Ok, we'll go with Fernanda first this time although I know you are all dying to read about "Life's Question". You'll just have to keep your curiosity in check while I tell you about my dear little one, Fernanda. I called her "our little peanut" to Aleya last night...I think it's appropriate! Ok, so we prayed hard for pee, and it came a few days ago. Then we prayed hard for poo, and it didn't come so soon. Aleya gave her suppositories...but with no success. Praise the Lord she finally had a dirty diaper last night...that's after over 96 hours of being here with us. Other than that, she is taking her feeds better...out of a cup like a big girl (and barely throwing up any!!!). She actually showed interest in what the other babies were doing today...I watched her turn her head and reach her arm out toward them! I don't think I can explain to you how big of a step that is. Usually she watches everyone without moving her head...only her eyes move following you across the room because moving her head takes too much energy. But today she was interested!!! She is still VERY weak and VERY sleepy...I wanted her to go from lying to sitting today on her own (just to see if she could)...she tried but couldn't. :( It made me sad, but it just means we have something to work toward. Today we also started her on some skin treatment because the skin on her legs is damaged from lack of blood supply due to her malnutrition. Hopefully we will see improvement in that as well over the next few days! Please keep praying for her. She is still not out of the woods yet and there are tons of long hard days of care left before she's a normal kid again, but I'm trusting we will get to see God's grace and love transform her! Also, be praying for our tias...they are amazing women who are doing there best for this little girl! And one other prayer note...Alberto (the other new baby in the Bercario) has a pretty yucky chest infection. We have given him a few nebulizer (breathing treatments) today, and he seems a bit better tonight but prayers are always helpful!

**And RATatouille...we have put out mouse poison. Some has disappeared...hopefully into his belly. She has eaten one of Aleya's avocados fresh from the market...much to our dismay. Last night he had great fun in the peanuts in our building being stored for our biweekly community food program. But poison has disappeared so maybe his play times will be short-lived...stay tuned!

Ok...back to "Life's Question". A very good friend of mine posed this question to me about himself while I was home. But, I feel like answering it for yourself is relevant and telling no matter where you are in life. If you have not seen the movie Marley and Me or read the book, you should stop reading now and go fix that problem. You have to have a reference point for this one. So here it goes, answer this...am I John Groger or Sebastian Tunney? Am I Owen Wilson or Eric Dane (Dr. McSteamy for all you Grey's fans out there)?
Think it through. It's a huge question (especially for guys but relevant for girls as well). Do I want to chase after a dream of seeing the world, making a different, succeeding in a career and be blessed by the freedom and adventure that comes along with it? Or, do I want to grow as a person in a great marriage with wonderful kids and be blessed with the ability to settle down somewhere?
There is not a right or a wrong answer here. And, I am not saying you have to do one and not the other. I'm just asking you to think of which you were made for. God made us all for something different. He has placed desires in our hearts and knows where we will end up. Are you sold out and ready to run after what God has for you even if it doesn't take you down the road you expected (or others expected of you)? Yep, I said it was life's question...that means just by definition it is not simple, easy, self-explanatory...but instead exciting, a bit stressful, thought provoking, and in the end maybe life-altering!!!
Well, I have no answer for you at this moment. Obviously you see where I am now. Seeing the world, living on the other side of the globe, trying to make a difference by sharing our Father's love, but where did I see myself...a Jennifer Grogran settled down, having babies (not quite yet of course), raising them, and loving a husband! We'll just have to see....

And I have some VERY VERY VERY exciting news to end with...my mom is coming to see me for 2 weeks in May!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :0 :) :0 :) Yep...I'M EXCITED!

RATatouille! (And Fernanda update)

Ok...so yesterday I was filled in on the fact that we have a problem in our kitchen...never a good way to start your time back in Africa. Let's start with the fact that Aleya's mom has been here visiting for a little over a week and apparently she was met her last morning (yesterday) in our kitchen with a guest who was running across MY food shelf. I'm not going to quote her but I think Aleya called it a mouse last night. Well, we discussed poison and traps and the fact that someone would need to buy those for us at the store SOON and I mean VERY soon! And then we would definitely need a boy of some sort to dispose of this creature for us...we live with 300 boys so that shouldn't be too difficult.
Well, tonight I tried to walk into our kitchen. I say tried because I did not succeed after I was greeted by RATatouille as well. If you have not seen Ratatouille, it is an adorable Disney movie that I would suggest for all ages. I loved it but now that I have my own RATatouille I'm not nearly as fond of it. We do not just have a mouse living in our kitchen. We have a RAT...it is HUGE, I mean the size of a good novel at least. It is FAT! I mean seriously does he really think he is a chef and can eat all of our food. I think NOT!
...Stay tuned for more adventures with RATatouille...

Ok, that's all fun and games (well sort of), but here is a little update on our friend Fernanda. Yesterday morning she was not doing great. The tias were only able to get her to eat 70mls and 80mls of her first 2 feeds of the day of which she needed at least 100mls to be on track for fluid intake for the day. Well, Erin did the next 2 feeds herself and was able to get 115 and 105 into her. Praise God! The only issue we had at that point was that she had not peed in 18 hours. Erin brought her to Home Group (our missionary group time for worship and teaching each week) and the team prayed over her. By about 10pm when Erin went up to check on her again the tias had gotten her to take 100mls on their own and she had peed (first time since 4:30am)!!! Praise God for answered prayers.
Today she has taken her feeds ok. She did vomit one time after a feed but her urine output is better. She is certainly not out of the woods yet and most of the other kids in the Bercario (nursery) are sick with a cold and fevers. Please keep Fernanda, the nursery tias, and the nurses in your prayers over this weekend. I'll be sure to keep you posted on any other details.

Changes, Changes, Changes...

So I've been here 4 days and I couldn't start to tell you all that has happened. Anyway...let's start with the changes that occurred while I was gone:
~A crew of older Baby House kids moved over to Tracy's dorm...it is a transition year for them before they move on to the older dorms! Don't worry I'll see a lot of them, but they won't actually be living in the Baby House any more. So, that was Arsenia, Jose, Albertina, Ryan, and Rosa. They are definitely looking grown up as they come running out onto the playground by themselves (a tia following close behind).
~Edsan and Catia went home. I wrote about these twins in my last monthly update. But while I was away their mother returned from South Africa and wanted them back. So just be praying for a smooth transition for them. They were doing so great when I left...their personalities shining and their health status MUCH better than when they arrived! Pray that continues!
~Wesley and Francisco (in the Bercario or nursery) are both standing on their own and taking steps if they are holding on to something! They are growing up so fast!!! Here is Wesley showing off his new talent!
~Lucia will be saying goodbye to her small Bercario (nursery) home on Thursday. She is moving into the Baby House for her second birthday! It's definitely time. Her skin is looking great, she's talking more, and needs friends her age to interact with and learn from! I for one am excited for her. I'm sure it will be tough at first because from morning play dates to a full time living situation is a transition...but it will be good for her! Be praying for her!That's it on the goodbyes/fun news from those we already love...but we have 2 new friends!
~Alberto- He is a chubby, cute, laughing 5 month old (as of March 1st). He is not doing so great at sitting yet...but did I mention he was chubby...I mean chubby to the full extent of the word! So, his belly gets in the way of any sort of sitting position. Other than that he is just great...he's a drooler and loves to spit up (typical 5 monther)...but we love him and it's fun to have another small baby around to cuddle with! We also have his sister here with us who is 4 and living in our girl's area, they look exactly alike. There mom died soon after his birth and the dad is having trouble taking care of both kids on his own. But, he's happy and for now we love him! Meet, Alberto:~Fernanda- Today we welcomed Fernanada into our family. She is 15 months old and weighs about 16 pounds (7.36kg). She has kwashiorkor, for me this is one of those diseases you learn about in nursing school but pray you'll never really see. Basically this means she is dangerously malnourished. The top of her body is skin and bones but the bottom half is full of fluid to the point of causing skin breakdown from bad circulation. I worked with Erin today as she taught me all about how to treat a baby like this. We have started her on rehydration fluid for tonight...it's every hour, so I took the first 2 hours, Erin did the next one with the tias, but now they are on their own for the night. Please be praying they understand the gravity of this situation and work diligently to feed her on time...it takes a lot of patience and time. Tomorrow morning she will start on a special formula because her body can't handle normal food or even formula at the moment. She is also on 2 antibiotics, multivitamins, and de-worming medications. Her malaria test is negative along with a few other tests we did...but looking at her weight she was doing well until a certain point when she just plummeted...so be praying we as a team can figure out what happened and get the problem corrected. Just pray she gets stronger each day by God's grace; the tias have the strength, patience, and diligence to work with her; we have the knowledge to continue to treat her; and her mom who has been in the hospital since December begins to get stronger as well. God can do all things! Meet Fernanada:

I think she has eyes like Dino...it's a blessing to have those expressive eyes back among us!

She was not very excited at all about the scary white people (Erin and I) touching, examining, poking, and messing with her.I tried to get a picture of her legs (for all you medical minded people out there)...it's hard to see but they are so swollen she can't straighten out her toes...they are curled under. I'll try to get another in the next few days.She does like to be held and hugged and she spent an hour with me today tied up in a capalana just taking in the world. I think once she's healthy again she'll be quite smart and joyful!

A note on the bright side...as of today we have a full Bercario (nursery) for the first time since it opened! It was made for 8 and Fernanda makes 8! We as a team have been praying for the babies that need to be there to come...here they are! And, for now it's midnight and way past my bedtime. I'm still waiting on the text that a 13 year old and his educator have made it back to the center with some stitches in the cut on his head...but I have to get some sleep! Be praying for us all, the medical staff is VERY shorthanded and we only have 4 more weeks with Aleya (my roommate, friend, and fellow nurse)! Again I say, God can do all things...and know your prayers keep me going day after day! God bless you!