Moments Like These...

Many times in a day I wonder...why am I here again?  I always come back to one answer...because I sent you.  Right, but at some moments that doesn't make anything better.  When I'm tired, HOT, annoyed, frustrated, unable to get my point across in my second language, struggling to understand this foreign country I live in...basically when I'm acting like a child who is throwing a fit, toys flying at a hundred miles an hour out of my crib...those are the moments, "I sent you," doesn't help a thing.  But, there are other moments.  And those are the ones when I might have trouble comprehending but I know that I know I'm where I'm suppose to be.  In the last 2 days this has happened twice....
#1- There is a little boy in the Baby House named Wesley.  You may remember he was the first kid I ever carried around on my back in a capalana (like a Mozambican mama) because he cried his first 48 hours here at the center.  So we have a special bond.  I don't get to play with him that often, but still his gentleness and ability to go with the flow is adorable.  Anyway, Monday night I went up to check temperatures and give out meds in the Baby House at midnight.  I found Wesley with a VERY high temperature and had to give him a cool bath to bring it down.  Everyone else was sleeping, tias included.  So I snuck him into the bathroom, got the water ready, and him undressed.  Then it hit me...someone told me he cried through his entire cool bath earlier in the day.  And if he cried when he was wide awake and it was hot outside, he is certainly going to cry now when I yanked him from a sound sleep and the air is cool.  So I slowly eased him in and ended up basically with the top half of my body in the bath with him.  He clung to me whimpering, but I kept the crying under control.  Then I started to sing...Sancturary if you know that song.  And he calmed down and eventually gave in to sitting in cool water at 12:45 in the morning...poor little boy.  But right then, I knew that I knew...this is where I'm meant to be...for moments just like this...to love and care for a sick baby.
#2- Yesterday I was on in the Baby House with Aurora (our Mozambican nurse).  When I came in she looked a little sad but I didn't get a chance to ask her what was up.  There were too many kids to check on and fevers to control.  Eventually we got to talk.  She told me that her nephew (40 years old) had died in the night.  He was HIV+ and had been battling sickness for the last month or so.  She had spent most of her holiday time caring for him.  From what I gathered he did go to a clinic this past weekend and they did a lumbar puncture.  They determined he had a cerebral infection but sent him home.  At this point I was livid.  No oral medications were going to help him...he needed to be admitted to the hospital and given IV antibiotics...but this didn't happen.  Aurora had been with him all of Monday evening but left to go home about 10pm (because she had to be in to work at 7am).  He passed away around midnight.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he would have for sure made it in the hospital but he certainly would have had a chance...and just maybe he would still be alive to care for his 14 year old daughter and his aging mother (Aurora's sister...who has already lost 3 sons, this is the 4th).  But, what can you do when you're faced with a story like this.  We held Aurora, and we prayed.  I struggled to pray in Portuguese so she could understand me...but even struggling and being so frustrated with his medical care...I knew that I knew I was meant to be there...for moments just like this...to support and comfort a woman I love and respect.
So there are though times when fits are being thrown, toys flying...but there as also times where I clean up the toys and put my big girl pants on because I for a moment realize..."I sent you"...is the perfect reason to be here.

Visualize this...with picture evidence!

Do you remember having chicken pox?  Of if you're a parent, do you remember your kids having chicken pox?  It's terrible.  You're itchy, grizzly, with high fevers, and just all out miserable.  Oatmeal bathes help in the moment.  Calamine lotion is more of a patch, not a fix.  And there are never enough cuddles to go around.  Well...as of today we have 23 kids in the Baby House with chicken pox currently (several already went through it in the weeks past)...that leaves us with 14 who are running circles around the itchy ones.  There are no couches for them to lay their heads on and watch movies all day.  They don't have a mom each to cuddle them and tell them it will pass.
Instead we have a Baby House...37 1-5 year old living together in one house.  5 tias (or aunts) who look after them.  3 missionaries who are working double time to give enough tlc to just get them by.  And some very tired nurses who are spending their days taking temperatures, drawing up medication, and making sure the sickest are on the mend.  All 37 critters who want attention all the time.  Those who aren't sick are bouncing off the walls because they aren't allowed to leave the Baby House...as not to contaminate the rest of the center.  Those who are sick are laying in cribs and on mats on the floor, wide-eyed and whimpering, looking for compassion.  And on top of all that, until today it has been about 110 degrees out and their fevers have been on average 103.5 (some much higher).  I'm not even sure you can visualize it...just imagine if your 2 children had chicken pox at once and multiply that by 12!  Here's picture evidence (can't even start to do it justice).

We are preparing and giving out this many medications every 4-6 hours...out of control!

 

But I'm surviving!  Keep praying!

What a day!

I don't even know if at 2:00am having just returned from the Baby House if I can even put this day into words...but here's to trying...
It all started with a phone call...wait, scratch that...it actually started with yesterday's blog post, the new arrival, the 18 cases of chicken pox, and my late night hand over of another nurse's responsibility while she is away for the next 5 days.  With all that on my mind I went to sleep, alarm set for 6:40...just enough time to get up and go take our new friend's blood sugar before his breakfast and before meeting Aurora, our Mozambican Baby House nurse.  But in reality I couldn't sleep...I wonder why??  Oh right...18 babies with chicken pox, a boy would could seize again at any moment and may or may not be diabetic, knowing the next 5 days will be tough to say the least, and my brain was doing a great job of remembering all the tons of things that need to be completed before I leave for the States.  The last time I saw the clock it was 2:45.

Well 6:40 came and went...I however did not hear my alarm or get out of bed.  OOPS!  At 7:17 however I got a phone call on my land line...yep, we still have those here!  It was Aurora.  Today was her first day back from a month of holidays.  Things were relatively quiet when she left.  And she walked in this morning to probably 2-3x the normal amount of meds prepared for the morning in our fridge and 18 kids with chicken pox and raging fevers.  She had been waiting for me to come in and tell her what the heck was going on.  Well, I had planned on doing just that but as I said...6:40 came and went.  So I RAN up to the baby house grabbing our new arrival on the way.
10 minutes later blood sugar was taken and I was in the Baby House giving meds with Aurora.  Let me just stop and say...that woman is an absolute gem.  She LOVES the babies.  She LOVES the Lord.  And, I have missed her with my whole heart!  I'm SO excited I have a few weeks with her before I go home!
Anyway the day went on from there...Aurora prepared milk, prepared meds, gave meds, weighed kids, helped out with everything.  These are all things I would have needed to do had she not been back today.  And to be perfectly honest I would probably still be up there.  Because what did I do all day, I took temperatures...seriously I probably took over 100 temperatures today.  Every time I turned around there was another little oven clinging to my leg needing to be stuck in a cool bath or given some magic ibuprofen.  I never found the time to go home and get my camera...hence the lack of spot covered children pictures.  But I do promise to take some tomorrow as I'm just the support and help for one of our new nurses, Rebecca, this weekend.  I'm actually excited to be around and just get to love on the miserable bundles of spots.  Did I mention there are 20 of them now...yep 2 more joined the ranks.  There are only 6 now who have remained unscathed (Latifo, Adilson, Wesley, Marta, Manuel, and Lucia).  As I said to my Mom...ABSOLUTE CRAZINESS!
What else happened today you might be wondering...as if 20 cases of chicken pox, tons of high fevers and itchiness is not enough?  Well, I continued to check in on our new arrival...the medication we started him on was making him groggy so we have hopefully rectified this, and I'll be keeping a close eye on him over the weekend.  Um...I helped out with some communication in the clinic...putting my brilliantly terrible Portuguese skills to use.  I will say I made it through 3 telephone conversations without having to pass the phone to someone else.  That I am proud of!  What else??  Oh yes, I dealt with a finger that got caught in something...just a bit swollen...will be good as new by Monday!  Also, one little stinker started with respiratory distress and presented with pneumonia and a temp of 103.8 (39.9)...gave us a bit of a scare...but all is better now.  And if you can believe it that's not the highest temperature I saw today.
I finally finished up my normal daily things at 9:30 tonight.  God bless Rebecca for giving out meds for me and for cooking me dinner!  Again, I would still be up there if it wasn't for her.  By 10:30 I was back up there to give out some more ibuprofen and check temperatures...because that's my only job these days.  Then I went back at midnight...turns out three of the boys had spiked fevers again (one of them was up to 40.3 or 104.5)...I gave them all ibuprofen and Tylenol (paracetamol) and 2 of them got to have bath time with Mana Meghann at midnight...which no one was really happy about.  This was only after one of them had a dirty diaper that he proceeded to wipe ALL over me when I pulled him out of bed.  Disgusting!  After bath time, came the daunting task of attempting to put them in the cloth diapers they wear.  I'm sure tomorrow morning I'll get made fun of...but it was dark and I did my best!  No one else was volunteering to get out of bed and help me!  Oh well...you live, you learn right?!
So that was my day...I'm sure other things happened that I can't even remember at this very moment.  But for now I'm going to bed.  I'm exhausted, and I have to get up early again to see off one of our missionaries, Heather, who leaves for England in the morning.  Please continue to pray for us, the children, and the tias.  Each time I went in there tonight one little miserable boy was crying...I'm not sure he has fallen asleep yet.  He's in bed with the tias, but still won't stop crying. 

Lord give us grace, compassion, and wisdom!

18 and counting

We're up to 18 kids with the chicken pox and 2 others are on the maybe list.  I can no longer claim that the most vulnerable have been spared...but I can beg for your prayers.  We have two little guys who eyes are almost swollen closed and who are miserable with high fevers, lung issues, and lots and lots of spots.  We have several others who are just struggling with fevers.  Please keep them all in your prayers...and especially the nursing staff who is working over time to prepare all the medications and get them given out on time not to mention taking temperatures and trying to make sure their lungs are not affected!  Also keep Tracey and Valerie (the two missionaries who work in the baby house) in your prayers as well.  They are doing their best to show compassion and mercy to all these little ones in their time of need.
Also, as of this afternoon we have a new 8 year old living with Tracey.  I would ask your prayers first for all of his medical needs.  We have already had to deal with one emergency tonight which hopefully medication will stabilize and may be bringing him to the city tomorrow for a consult.  Second, please be praying for Tracey and her tias as they attempt to deal with all of his behavioral issues as well.
May God be our joy and strength in this time of busyness and stress...

16 Cases and Counting

That's 16 my friends...not 16 kids and counting, but instead 16 babies have chicken pox currently.  That makes a total of 24 who have had or have spots.  Many of them are just spotty and itchy.  But a few are feverish and fewer yet have high fevers that are difficult to control.  There were more oatmeal bathes today (thanks Tracey for being amazing) and many applications of calamine lotion!  We have had to start using a separate container to hold all the ibuprofen to be given out at breakfast, lunch, and bed time.  It's all a bit chaotic I have to admit.
There is one HUGE thanksgiving in the midst.  Not one of our HIV+ kids has started with spots during this time.  I am claiming this as supernatural protection.  Just maybe they won't get it and if they do it will be after all the others so we will have extra time to spend watching over them.  Praise God for his protection over them...may it continue!
Just keep the prayers coming...for protection for the little vulnerable guys; healing for those who are itchy; fevers to disappear; tias to be renewed; missionaries (Tracey and Valerie) to be full of love and compassion; and for the nursing staff to remain refreshed, wide-eyed, and wisdom filled!  Thanks for joining us on this adventure.

Church!

So many of you think of church as a boring time of sitting in pews, standing, kneeling, singing...or maybe an exciting time of worship in a huge auditorium.  Whatever your norm is I can promise it's starkly different to what church looks like for me.  All I can say is, it's full of children, loud, a time of dancing celebration, and sweet intimate prayer time...really all I can do is show you!  This was church this past Sunday with some of the cutest kids in the world and the great big loving God we serve!

Very regularly we sing a song in church that is entitled...Do a Miracle in Me!  I absolutely love it and the impact it has on our children.  Just read and imagine 350 children singing this unto the Lord!
Como Zaqueu eu quero subir  (Like Zacchaeus I want to climb)
O mais alto que eu puder  (as high as I can)
Só pra te ver, olhar para Ti; (Just to see You, look at You)
E chamar sua atenção para mim.  (and call your attention to me)
Eu preciso de Ti, Senhor  (I need You, Lord)
Eu preciso de Ti, Oh! Pai  (I need You, Oh Father)
Sou pequeno demais  (I'm too small)
Me dá a Tua Paz  (Give me your peace)
Largo tudo pra te seguir.  (Everything to follow You)
Entra na minha casa  (Come into my house)
Entra na minha vida  (Come into my life)
Mexe com minha estrutura  (Mess with my structure)
Sara todas as feridas  (Heal all my wounds)
Me ensina a ter Santidade  (Teach me to choose holiness)
Quero amar somente a Ti,  (I love only You)
Porque o Senhor é o meu bem maior,  (because the Lord is my highest good)
Faz um Milagre em mim.  (Do a miracle in me)

I wish you could all experience this!

Exciting Siting!

This is sort of a blast from the past...but I was encouraged!  You may remember that several months back I was helping a little community boy who had burned his arm when an oil lamp had fallen in his house and the oil had spilled on him.  For a long while he was coming to the center every other or every third day to have his dressing changed and wound cleaned.  He faithfully came, smile on his face.  Each time I would dry the tears from his eyes after I had scrubbed his wound before sending him home with an apple or whatever I could find that day.  It's his faithfulness and courage in the face of pain that hasn't left me.  Well this Sunday at church he came bounding up to me.  He immediately pulled up his shirt sleeve and smiled!  This isn't the best photo but here he is on Sunday!

God is good and does use all things for the good of his children!

To see where this all started...check this out and this!

Thanks one more time for your help Dan...I know God has huge plans for you and your family!

Warming Up!

It's warming up around here in more than one way.  The weather is HOT...not just warm...HOT.  It's over 100 degrees most days, but praise God the rainy season is upon us and gorgeous thunder storms are cooling down the nights!  I can't help but think of South Carolina in the summer...minus the air conditioning of course.

But, in other news all of our new little ones are warming up to life here.  Their personalities are starting to shine.  They are constantly smiling and giggling...it's SO cute!

Check out Ozias (Zito)...this is him with his brother, Edson, the other day.  I told you his brothers LOVE him.  It's so adorable!

And here is Horacio!  He thinks I am absolutely hilarious now.  We spent over 30 minutes playing with a little towel, and he had me rolling in laughter!  Love him!

 And here are our little peanuts...so cute and cuddly!  Just thought they would make you smile!

Mãe de Fernanda!

Today I was working in the Baby House.  And something absolutely miraculous happened in the midst of all the other things (I'll update you in a moment).  Tracey (the missionary in charge of the Baby House) came up to me and said..."Guess who is outside??"  She looked super excited and then went on to tell me that Fernanda's mom was here to see her and her brother, Pai!  If you don't remember when Fernanda was brought to us, close to death from malnourishment, her mother was in the hospital and her grandmother was not able to care for them along with her children.
Fernanda's mom is now out of the hospital and just getting strength back enough to walk.  She braved public transportation and the crazy streets of this country to come see her children today.  It was Pai's birthday on Saturday and today Vella (his dorm mom) had decided to have his party.  So he got the best present possible...he got to cuddle in his mom's arms for this birthday!

I wasn't around when she came to see Fernanda, but I can't imagine she recognizes anything but her eyes.  She has experienced a miracle and is completely transformed.  She is a happy, healthy, rambunctious little girl now!  And today she got to share her gorgeous smile and loving hugs with her mom!

My prayer is that their mom will continue to improve and one day very soon the family can be reunited again!

As for other news...8 (maybe 9) of the babies now have chicken poxes.  Tomorrow is going to be a very itchy, fever filled day.  Be praying for them and us as we walk through this time together!  Pray there are no complications or secondary infections, fevers are controlled easily, and there are plenty of arms to cuddle them and comfort them!

Our New Peanut and her Adorable Big Brother

Meet the newest members of our Bercario (Nursery).  The little peanut is Silvia, and she is one month old. She weighed in at 2.94kg (about 6 1/2 pounds).  Other than a slight fever that made all of the nurses a bit nervous yesterday she is very healthy and happily gulping down all her feeds.  The gorgeous 2 year old is Silvia's older brother, Horacio.  He is only in the Bercario for now because of our chicken pox fiasco in the Baby House.  And, I'm sure in a few days he'll be ready to be running around and will be driving the tias crazy, but for now he is darling.  He loves is little sister SO much.  It is nothing short of adorable.  Whenever she cries he brings her passy back to her and if he can't get her to calm down the tias said he just sits by her pouting.

Horacio is 26 months old and only weighs 8.8kg (about 19 1/2 pounds).  His hair is slightly discolored, and he has certainly been lacking some major nutrients.  We're very hopeful that after a few weeks of 3 meals a day, some extra calories through milk, and multivitamins he'll be looking much better!

These two precious children are living with us because their mom is  unwell.  Their father brought them in because he can't work, care for them, and for his wife.  I do pray that one day when they are older, healthy, and strong they'll be able to move back in with their family.

I do ask that you join in our prayers for their adjustment to center life, that they would bond and form relationships with other children, tias, and missionaries.  Pray that Silvia's fever was nothing serious and will be treated by the antibiotics she is now on.  Pray that Silvia and Horacio grow up knowing the love of their heavenly Father.  And pray that their bond as brother and sister remains strong even after Horacio moves to the Baby House.

Proclaiming a Miracle!

So today I'm proclaiming a miracle!  I woke up this morning and the first thing I thought about was...I should look at my passport to see when the next time I have to be out of the country is.
***Side note- for all of you wondering.  With the visa I have I have to be out of the country every 30 days.  So this means some times I just drive about 2 hours to the nearest border, stamp out and then back into Mozambique.  Other times I actually go out for a rest.***
Well, in my head I had remembered I would need to go out of the country again very close to the time I'm leaving to come home (Thanksgiving week).  This morning however I discovered...this would have been true only after I went out of the country on October 20th.  OOOOOOOPPPPPPSSSSSSS!  I big, could cost up to $100 a day oops.  So, today is November 3rd; day 13 of me being in the country illegally.  That's a fine of $1300 if you can't do the math.
My heart was racing, mouth getting dry.  If you don't know me well, I don't do this type of thing.  I'm a planner.  I'm obsessive about dates, times, meetings, getting things done the right way.  I'm a rule follower...don't color outside the lines kind of girl.  So I was stressed.  I headed next door to ask another missionary who had gone out of the country with me last time to check her passport, just to make sure I wasn't reading wrong.  No such luck.  We had gone to Swaziland on September 20th...therefore I should have been out of the country October 20th.
Next came the mad dash to figure out how I was going to get to the border.  About 25 phone calls later and an hour or so, Tracey (who is amazing!) had volunteered to drive me, the hospitality truck was free, and Sam (Praise God for her!) was going to go through the border with me in case something happened!  Next I got the best and worst case scenario pep talk from Steve (one of our base directors).  Here's what he said...best case- you'll walk right through, they won't even notice, and you'll be back asap...worst case- they'll hold you at the border, make you pay a HUGE fine and you can try to argue your way out of it if you want.  But, they cannot arrest you and they cannot confiscate your passport.
With this we headed off.  I was nervous to say the least, but also knew that in Mozambique nothing is a sure thing expect that everything is unpredictable...and today I knew that might work to my advantage!  So we make it safe and sound to the border.  With a prayer and smile Tracey lets Sam and I out of the car.  We walk straight up the counter...I was hopeful for a line so the border officer would want us all out and not really be paying attention...no such luck.  I put my passport on the counter and looked a Sam quite worried.  She says a little prayer...that included something about the woman's great hair and cute earrings...mainly to make me laugh I think...and next thing we knew we were stamped through and walking out of the building!!!!
What an experience of favor from the Lord.  Tonight I am so full of thanksgiving.  I can't help but remember the many times in my life my mom has said...God always protects those who are forgetful (or something like that).  Usually it was in reference to me leaving my purse somewhere in a store or restaurant, and it still being there when we got back after I'd remembered it.  I never liked hearing it then, but now I'm SO grateful for His protection!
Also, some days I still wonder why I'm here.  Usually this is when things are tough, I'm frustrated, or just can't see the difference my presence here is making.  Today I am reminded that God wants me right where I am.  I received a HUGE smile of favor today and for that I am full of thanksgiving and renewed in my want to serve!