Rubber Ducky...

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one...You make bath time lots of fun...Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you!"

So this is Luis.  He is one of the older kids in the Baby House, and at the moment is suffering through the itchiness of Chicken Pox.  Mana Tracey (another amazing missionary) decided to give all the itchy critters oatmeal bathes today.  Luis absolutely LOVED it!  

Please be praying for all the little guys.  We have been through quite a lot in the last 24 hours...moving Bercario kids to the Baby House as well as finding several new cases.  Just be praying for no itching, no secondary infections, and a HUGE wall of protection around the very vulnerable kids!

Tiny Cuteness!

Meet Jeremias!  He's the newest member of the Bercario.  He arrived last night at about 5:30 as I was leaving for a missionary dinner.  Needless to say things were a bit crazy but we made it through.  He is now settled in and happy.  He's 2 months old and quite alert and strong for his age.  He weighed in at 4.62kg (about 10 pounds).

He is with us because his mother died when he was about a month old.  His father is living, but lives in a house with 7 other people.  His grandfather was here when he was dropped off, but with work does not have the ability to care for a baby.  Jeremias seems healthy enough...no huge issues as of now.

Please be praying for his transition into the center and for this family.  I pray one day Jeremias will be able to live with them, happy and healthy!  But for now we have warmly welcomed him!

Itchy Little Critters...

 So I just thought I'd show you just what happens when you have a chicken poxes outbreak in a Baby House of 38 babies.  Over to the left is one of the girls, 4 years old, who has the most spots.  She's miserable and itchy but praise God isn't all that sick.


This on the other hand is a little boy who has several other underlying neurological issues and is struggling quite badly.  He is COVERED with poxes and also has pneumonia.  It is taking inhalers and chest physiotherapy (basically manually beating his chest walls to loosen the mucus filling his lungs) every few hours to keep him moving enough oxygen through his lungs.

We are doing our best to keep them all comfortable with ibuprofen and calamine lotion...just take a look at the funny site I found as I ran around trying to watch out for everyone tonight (a HUGE thank you to Sveta and Rebecca for all your amazing help tonight)!

On other news...we now have chicken poxes in the Bercario as well. :-( Two little guys have made a move into the Baby House (included Zito...who just arrived yesterday).  And in the midst of the craziness we said hello to a 2 month old little boy tonight.  I'll get pictures and formally introduce you to him tomorrow!
And this last photo is for you, Erin...and for anyone else who has been here on a "normal" day...just check out how many medications were given out tonight in the Baby House alone.  Out of control!  And now I'm off to bed...keep us in your prayers please!

Meet Ozias...or Zito!

Meet Ozias!  He's 2 years old on Saturday and the newest member of our crew.  For now he is living in the Bercario because of our chicken pox outbreak in the Baby House.  He has 2 older brothers, who have also come to live with us on the center.  They already came today to play with him...they taught him how to climb the playground this morning!  And they call him Zito...so we are now calling him that as well!
He is quite the cutie but has an attitude as well.  He speaks wonderful Portuguese and knows exactly what he wants.  We'll see what he thinks in a few days, since I'm sure he'll quickly grow out of the Bercario room...it's not a very big space for a 2 year old who is used to running wherever he wants in the community.
Please pray for his adjustment.  He has already bonded quite well with the tias, but seems to still be a bit timid when it comes to white people.  Also, thank God for the fact that he is healthy, chubby, and happy!
As for a chicken pox update for you...we are on kid number 7 in the Baby House with chicken pox now.  Some of them are quite happy to continue on playing with an occasional stop to itch...others are absolutely miserable with spots on every inch of their bodies' and one is quite sick with pneumonia as well (not breathing great and requiring intervention every 4-6 hours).  Please keep praying for them, especially for the few vulnerable kids we have...those who are HIV+ or on tuberculosis treatment.  We are all praying for and believing for a wall of protection around them even as they live among all the others!  Pray with us please!

Gumball sized...

Yesterday was HOT...over 110 degrees at 10am HOT.  Seriously these are the days I wonder...God did you really think Mozambique was the best idea??  I struggle through the sweaty hugs even from the kids I love dearly.  And I think the first few days like this are a shock to the system, but it's once they start occurring day in and day out that I really struggle.  Praise the Lord this hasn't happened yet, and I will miss a chunk of this unbearable weather while I'm away in the States!
Anyway, I had a meeting at 2pm yesterday.  During the meeting the wind began to blow.  Not like a nice breeze wind...this was the kind of wind in which you should take cover because the entire sandy playground we live in could be in your eyes at any moment.  Not one stinging grain of sand...the whole darn playground.  Seriously...I'm not exaggerating one bit! ;)

Ok, away back to the point...all of the sudden the heavens parted and the rains came.  HUGE drops fell on our metal roofs.  It was glorious because I was safely tucked away inside.  The screams of all the kids outside went on for about 3 minutes as they all ran for cover.  The first photo was taken off my front porch...puddles/small ponds formed within minutes.  The thunder and lightning filled the air and the "pitter patter" on the roof was more like a VERY loud drum roll you could not even speak over.
Anyway, after a 5-10 minutes of deluge the children's screams started up again and the banging on the ruff got louder still.  It was HAIL...seriously, hail in Africa...who knew??  It didn't last long and the ice metaled within minutes of hitting the burning ground but there really was ice falling from the sky here in Moz.  I have a photo to prove it!

It was gumball sized I promise you!

Pure Joy!

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

~Romans 15:13

This is my pray for you and for these little ones who already seem to understand his hope more than any of us!

 

Francisco Pequeno!

Wesley!

Alfiado!

 Luis!

Augustinho!

Lena!

I hope you are smiling now as He smiles of over you!

Splish Splash!

What do kids do?  Yep...you got it...they play!  Always, everywhere...they play.  With anything and everything...they play!

And on a HOT sunny day what better to play with than a pool of cool water?!  Just take a look at the fun that can be had if you give kids water?!







Yay...splish splash!

This particular day I went up to take some pictures and just enjoy the fun from afar.  I ended up waddling back to my house like a duck, water logged, smiling, and full of joy!  No little kid will allow you to stay dry when they are soaked!  So much fun...and it's only the start of summer!

Sweet Boy!

It's no secret that I LOVE children, babies and toddlers in particular.  Well, the last weekend I was working something absolutely sweet happened that I have been meaning to share with you since then.  I was in church on Sunday morning with all the babies.  There was a wedding that morning so our normal dance area was covered with chairs for the wedding party.  When things are out of the ordinary with the babies it is always a bit chaotic.  So, this time was no different.  Keeping the babies contained to a new area was almost impossible.  I spent most of our worship/dance time trying to coral everyone and make sure we didn't lose somebody.
I had noticed but not really registered that Ryan, who is 5 and lives in Tracey's dorm (a transition house that kids live in for a year after they leave the Baby House before they live in the other dorms), was holding Dionisio's hand quite tightly (if you remember he's the one that blamed me for biting him not long ago).  I kept on dancing and coralling without really paying attention to Dio or Ryan.  Ryan even kept coming over near me and looking up at me with puppy eyes.  I thought he just wanted to be held or Dio said he wanted me or who knows...I kept on dancing.
Then, I looked down and what is little 5 year old Ryan doing?  He put his hand on Dio's face and said to me..."He's hot".  Quietly, sweetly..."He's hot".  I looked down, touched Dio's head, and realized he had a raging fever.  39.1 C raging fever to be exact.  I took him off to the Baby House and after some ibuprofen he was back to his normal self.
But, these are the moments I realize children have such a sweet innocent nature.  These are the moments I realize why my whole life I've been drawn to them and dreamed of the day I will have my own precious little ones to love and care for.  These are the moments I realize that all those dreams of having my own children have turned into me having about 40, at least for now.  These are also the moments I know why I'm here, because who else would stoop down to the their level, have compassion, and listen to the little sweet, concerned voice who is saying, "He's hot" in the middle of church?  These are the moments I don't feel the need to question the Lord, but instead turn to Him in thanksgiving for sending me here.  These are the moments life makes sense!

Moving on up!

 Movin' on up...to the top.  Ok not really to the top, but two of our littlelies have moved up to the Baby House from the Bercario (nursery) in the last few weeks.   Kids are constantly growing.  All of you parents out there know well that no matter how much you sit on them they keep getting taller and more and more independent.
 
Cleita was the first to make the move.  She is now almost 18 months old.  It's hard to believe when I arrived she was a tiny 3 month old baby.  Now, she is holding her own among the 36 in the Baby House.  She is still just as adorable as always and is quite good at stealing the tias attention.  Definitely loved by all, the other kids included.
This week the Baby House gained one more.  Manuel 2 has been making visits to play with all the kids for a few weeks now.  But because of the chicken poxes he has now moved up.  We didn't want him to be exposing the bercario twins (still quite young) if he didn't have to be.  The Baby House kids haven't had a kid as little as him to play with in quite awhile...he is their life sized doll as I'm sure you can imagine.  One of the tias nicely said to one of the girls the other day...Manuel 2 isn't a doll, and you are not a tia.  Please put him down.  Hilarious!  But all in all he's adjusting quite well despite his horrific chest infection that developed Friday.
It's sad and yet exciting to watch these little kids grow up and move up!  What a blessing to live life with them?!

Spreading...

So I'm still believing in God's ability to stop the spread of chicken poxes through the baby house...but in the mean time we have 2 or maybe 3 new cases today.  And can I just rant a bit that I spent last night only leaving work in the baby house at 7:45pm (when it started at 6:30am) to be back at 10pm, 12am, and 2am to check in on our kids with chest infections, give nebulizers, and make sure everyone was still breathing.  Seriously, not a joke at all!
Things seem just a bit calmer today although 2 new little ones (Luis and Vasco) have chicken poxes and maybe a 3rd (Adilson).  Cleita is still VERY itchy and whimpering pretty much constantly, and Alberto's breathing is still TERRIBLE.  So we could use your prayers.  Sheri is working this weekend and certainly has her hands full.  Please pray for no serious side effects/secondary infections to develop.  Pray for our HIV+ kids who have been exposed and those who are already quite sick with other things, like tuberculosis.  Pray for our tias who will be dealing with sick, whiny, itchy little kids.  Pray for our nurses, Sheri, Sveta (just arrived from Russia), Rebecca (gets here Wednesday), Jannie, and myself as we attempt to train up the 2 new girls in the midst of chicken poxes.  And pray for the missionaries who work in the baby house...may God give us all strength, love, and wisdom to keep going!

Chicken Poxes :(

So if you get my monthly updates, you know that chicken poxes has been spreading around the center for the last month...if not longer.  Well we've done our best to contain it but to our extreme disliking it has hit the baby house and bercario.  For now we only have 2 little ones who are covered in dots and itchy and our prayer is that it will stop there.  Pretty much none of the baby house kids have had chicken poxes.  The last time it went through the baby house was over 2 years ago and pretty much all the kids are different now and have never been exposed.
Please join us in prayer for the little guys that their cases would be light with no secondary infections.  (The worry for younger kids and those who are immunocompromised is that they will get secondary infections...pneumonia being the most common and serious.)  Pray that Cleita and Alberto heal quickly and the chest infections they have already started with are quickly resolved.  May God be their healer and protector!

Perspective

Today I went to Shoprite.  This is the very westernize grocery store that we shop at.  For the last few months my schedule has not allowed me to go as regularly as I used to.  But today I sunk out (thanks to Jannie covering Baby House for me) to get some shopping for myself and grab a few extras for our 2 new long-term missionaries that arrive tomorrow.
Anyway I was riding along just looking out the window and listening to some worship music thanks to a friend sharing their ipod with me and it hit me...I've lost perspective.  I had forgotten what life is like outside the walls of the center I live in.  I had forgotten about the HUGE issues that face this country and it's people.  The sites and sounds had grown mundane and normal.  Somehow I had put up blinders and was moving along doing my day to day work without considering His plan or His people.  I had forgotten.  I almost started crying right then.  Seriously, what have I been thinking?  I've gotten very good at checking things off my to do list, loving on the babies when I find time, chatting with the tias when the chance arises, and hanging out with my friends here when I have time off...but somehow in the midst of all the daily work I lost my perspective.
Where do I go from here is what I'm struggling with now.  But I feel like admitting you've lost your way is the first step.  Somehow Hillsong's "Eagle's Wings" describes where I'm at today...
Here I am waiting, abide in me, I pray
Here I am longing for You
Hide me in your love, bring me to my knees
May I know Jesus more and more
Come live in me, all my life, take over
Come breath in me, I will rise on eagle's wings
I feel as if I'm waiting...waiting to gain perspective again, waiting for Him to take over, waiting to rise with Him to the place I know I'm meant to be.

Clemson World!

I think it's no secret that I LOVE Clemson.  I love the town.  I love the color orange...or I bleed orange more appropriately.  I love the Tigers.  I love football.  I love all my friends (and am jealous of them) that get to spend their weekends tailgating and cheering on the Tigers.  I love Tillman, Bowman, Death Valley...all of it!  I firmly believe "there is something in those hills"!  Whatever "it" is binds us graduates to each other.  It sucks us in and we never want to let go of the people we became there, the fun we had, the things we learned, the feelings we felt!

So in the midst of missing 2 football seasons, living on the other side of the world, and experiencing things I never thought I'd see needless to say live among, I have not lost my love for Clemson.  And just a few days ago I heard the amazing news that I am going to be in Clemson World!  If you aren't a Clemson person this is our alumni magazine.  I am pumped can I just say...PUMPED!  All of that to say...

Clemson, it's the place we have learned to call home, the place where we can come to feel young again, and the place where we will always have a family who knows and understands what college is about for all of us who will forever bleed orange.  
I wrote this quote for a friend who was graduating and still firmly believe every word of it!  I miss you Clemson!

Bed Bugs :(

Yes, I have bed bugs.  I didn't even know what a bed bug was...something they had in the olden days...jokes...something I have in, on, around, my bed RIGHT NOW!  I woke up the other night and realized something had bitten me on the bum.  And lets backtrack...I've been complaining the last several weeks that I was waking up with strange bites all over my torso.  It wasn't until today that I put 2 and 2 together.  I pulled up my comforter and found TONS of black bugs that looked just like this...(google's answer to the "bed bugs" search)...

Absolutely disgusting!  My sheets are in the wash on the hottest it will go and my mattress is outside after being sprayed with insect killer...airing out.  I might just be sleeping somewhere else tonight because of the fact that I've now discovered 1000's more bugs...dead and alive under my bed.  Serioulsy Africa?!  That's all I have to say for now...Seriously Africa?!

Monthly Updates!

Today I sent out my October monthly update.  If you did not receive it and want to be added to the list, please e-mail me at meghann.s.glenn@gmail.com or post a comment with your e-mail address.  I'm trying to go through my list and revise after a year.  I'd love for you to be getting more pictures, stories, prayer requests/thanksgivings, and being introduced to our newest children if you want.  All it takes is an e-mail!  I look forward to hearing from you!