We just received this email from a charity in Zeeland who was very generous and asked us if we would like to have some boxes send to Africa on a container since we were moving here for 5 years. Then, there was still room in the container so a few churches put a whole bunch of boxes together for the children at Beautiful Gate. It was supposed to be here last week when our Michigan visitors were here, but missed a boat due to paperwork issues. As you can see from the email below, it is still having paperwork problems. We would appreciate some prayers as there are many items in those boxes which Beautiful Gate needs for the children here.
A charity in Zeeland has sent a container to S Africa filled with shoes, medical items, misc. items for an orphanage, and personal items for a family who moved there for 5 years. We are in desperate need of prayer to make it happen. The basics are the S African gov't has been giving us the run around and requiring more and more paperwork. We have and are trying to meet their needs but are running out of time. The container is scheduled to land in Cape Town on the 22nd of May. If we do not clear customs by then, we face the possibility of heavy fines (Thousands) or worse, the destruction of all our items. Right now, we are pursuing both the paperwork that has been requested this last time and looking at all scenarios if the paperwork is not done in time. Back up and back up to back up plans are needed as this has turned quite political. I'm confident that the goods will not be destroyed but the gov't can play this card if they wanted to.
I'm asking to put this in your prayers. I'm hoping for a resolution as early as tomorrow. However, I know that nothing will happen without God orchestrating it. Please ask him to help clear up the red tape.
Thank you for your prayers and please pass this along to friends or church prayer chains as it would be heartbreaking for Beautiful Gate not to receive these needed items. God is bigger than this and He will work this for His glory.
Anita
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Story of Two Women
Once there were two women,
Who never knew each other.
One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.
Two different lives
Shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.
The first gave you life,
The second taught you how to live it.
The first gave you a need for love
And the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent,
The other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears.
One saw you first sweet smile,
The other dried your tears.
One gave you up; it's all she could do.
The other prayed for a child,
And God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me through your tears:
Heredity or environment- which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling, neither,
Just two different kinds of love.
(Author Unknown)
Today at church, Pastor Vern gave a very special message for Mother's Day. He talked about how mother's carry their children in their wombs, but for those who take care of someone else's child, their heart is their womb. Both are necessary for that child and each have been chosen by God for their role and purposes in that child's life.
It touches me to see the joy and happiness of the children here at Beautiful Gate, but they would not be joyful, healthy, and well cared for children without the love and care of their house mothers. Their house mothers laugh with them, sing with them, hold them when they are hurt or sad. They are filling in the gap as God brings a new mother who will continue their love and nurturing for the rest of each child's life. Only God knows the circumstances each mother faced as she had to walk away from her child, or passed away to the next life, but God has brought over 260 children through the gates here at Beautiful Gate so they can be loved and cared for by their new family. First the family at Beautiful Gate and then into the family God has ordained for them. For those of you who are in the process of adopting and are reading this blog, please know your precious baby/ child is being shown love each and every day by their house mothers, the staff here, and by our family as they await their appointed time to become yours.
God Bless You,
Anita
Who never knew each other.
One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.
Two different lives
Shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.
The first gave you life,
The second taught you how to live it.
The first gave you a need for love
And the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent,
The other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears.
One saw you first sweet smile,
The other dried your tears.
One gave you up; it's all she could do.
The other prayed for a child,
And God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me through your tears:
Heredity or environment- which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling, neither,
Just two different kinds of love.
(Author Unknown)
Today at church, Pastor Vern gave a very special message for Mother's Day. He talked about how mother's carry their children in their wombs, but for those who take care of someone else's child, their heart is their womb. Both are necessary for that child and each have been chosen by God for their role and purposes in that child's life.
It touches me to see the joy and happiness of the children here at Beautiful Gate, but they would not be joyful, healthy, and well cared for children without the love and care of their house mothers. Their house mothers laugh with them, sing with them, hold them when they are hurt or sad. They are filling in the gap as God brings a new mother who will continue their love and nurturing for the rest of each child's life. Only God knows the circumstances each mother faced as she had to walk away from her child, or passed away to the next life, but God has brought over 260 children through the gates here at Beautiful Gate so they can be loved and cared for by their new family. First the family at Beautiful Gate and then into the family God has ordained for them. For those of you who are in the process of adopting and are reading this blog, please know your precious baby/ child is being shown love each and every day by their house mothers, the staff here, and by our family as they await their appointed time to become yours.
God Bless You,
Anita
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Bryan's (Scattered) Thoughts!! Warning: It might only make sense to me!
Being the Operations Manager at Beautiful Gate has brought many joys, tears, good times, and hardships. It is amazing to notice the "swing" of emotions from one day to the next. There are so many things that I do in one day. Some decisions are small and easy, and others are large and tough. I really have to keep the "big picture" in mind at all times. I also have the pleasure of watching people's eyes "open" to the world that they live in when they visit here. Having groups come to visit has really become one of my favorite things. We just had Vern & Diane and Vern & Mary (from Haven CRC, our home church in Zeeland, MI) visit for about a week. This visit was a complete blessing from God for our family. We have been in Lesotho for 5 months now and our family has been through some ups and downs. There has been homesickness, laughter and many adjustments since coming here. But seeing someone from "home" and getting to know them so much better than when we were in Zeeland was great!
Side Note: Why is it that you need to move 1/2 way across the world to get to know someone better, when they lived just down the street when you were "home"????
Our kids (and us) quickly adopted Vern & Diane and Vern & Mary into our "new family" here at Beautiful Gate. It was amazing to see how quickly our kids bonded with them and "chatted their ears off". I hope that they get some good relaxation on the plane ride home.
We now have a few days to "catch our breath" and then we will be welcoming 16 people into our house for over two weeks. We have a group of 12 college students, 2 professors and 2 children coming to stay with us here at Beautiful Gate. The students are social work majors and will be learning a lot about the people and culture of Lesotho. I can't wait to show them around and watch the reactions of the students to a completely different culture.
I can now say that I have officially become an expert driver in Lesotho. I don't have to concentrate on driving on the left side of the road or think about which side of the steering column that the blinker is on! :) But, we are still waiting for our car to arrive from Durban (13 weeks so far, but who's counting). But, the great news is that I won't have to worry about learning to drive it when it arrives! :) This is really teaching me patience! (not my best fruit of the spirit) And, I am also starting to adjust to the "way things work" here too.
Well, I had better get back to helping the children at Beautiful Gate! Maybe I will have something "deep" and insightful on my next post.
Have a blessed day!
Bryan
Side Note: Why is it that you need to move 1/2 way across the world to get to know someone better, when they lived just down the street when you were "home"????
Our kids (and us) quickly adopted Vern & Diane and Vern & Mary into our "new family" here at Beautiful Gate. It was amazing to see how quickly our kids bonded with them and "chatted their ears off". I hope that they get some good relaxation on the plane ride home.
We now have a few days to "catch our breath" and then we will be welcoming 16 people into our house for over two weeks. We have a group of 12 college students, 2 professors and 2 children coming to stay with us here at Beautiful Gate. The students are social work majors and will be learning a lot about the people and culture of Lesotho. I can't wait to show them around and watch the reactions of the students to a completely different culture.
I can now say that I have officially become an expert driver in Lesotho. I don't have to concentrate on driving on the left side of the road or think about which side of the steering column that the blinker is on! :) But, we are still waiting for our car to arrive from Durban (13 weeks so far, but who's counting). But, the great news is that I won't have to worry about learning to drive it when it arrives! :) This is really teaching me patience! (not my best fruit of the spirit) And, I am also starting to adjust to the "way things work" here too.
Well, I had better get back to helping the children at Beautiful Gate! Maybe I will have something "deep" and insightful on my next post.
Have a blessed day!
Bryan
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Learning a little culture
On Saturday, we took Laury, Vern, Vern, Mary and Dianne to Teya-Teyaneng (to the locals it is called Ty). The Bosches and Meyaards had been there 5 years ago and wanted to find the weaving place they had visited then. Bryan courageously drove us up a very bumpy road that was going to take us to the weaving store. We were beginning to get a little nervous that the road was leading nowhere when we saw a building that looked familiar to Dianne. The woman who worked there gave us a special tour and we were able to watch a Basotho woman weaving a wall tapestry of 2 zebras. Her hands worked amazingly fast and Faith especially was in awe of her as we just purchased Faith a weaving loom for her birthday in February. Then the Basotho woman took some goat fur and brushed in out, got the spinning wheel, and turned it into yarn. All 3 of my kids were mesmerized. I don't think they even blinked during her demonstration :)We then walked through a barn like building to where they dye the yarn. They use salt and vinegar and chemicals to dye the yarn. When I asked if they used natural dyes, she told me that they tried but the color does not last. She was very willing to show us around and answer our many questions.
Then, we headed for Kome to see the cave dwellings. There are 5 cave houses there and families are still living in these cave homes despite the modern dwellings all around them. There are two families who are descendants of the first cave dwellers who reside in these cave homes. They allow tours to come into their home and see what it is like. The first one was absolutely tiny and we were all shocked when she told us that 4 people live/ sleep in that home. It was extremely dark despite the bright sunny day and very cramped with a twin bed and a small table with a double burner propane stove and some pots and bowls. Where they find room for 4 people to sleep is unimaginable. I couldn't even stand up straight in the house and it was dome shaped which made it even smaller around the edges of the house. We really enjoyed hearing about the cave dwellers and it was neat to share in some more of the Lesotho culture.
We drove back to Maseru and went through Lancer's Gap which is a scenic hill that shows a great panoramic view of Maseru. It was very neat to see the city from the gap and gave me a better grasp of where parts of the city are in relation to one another. We really enjoyed our day of learning about weaving, cave dwellings, and also just enjoying the views and scenery in Maseru ans Lesotho. It was good to have friends here too to share it with us.
Then, we headed for Kome to see the cave dwellings. There are 5 cave houses there and families are still living in these cave homes despite the modern dwellings all around them. There are two families who are descendants of the first cave dwellers who reside in these cave homes. They allow tours to come into their home and see what it is like. The first one was absolutely tiny and we were all shocked when she told us that 4 people live/ sleep in that home. It was extremely dark despite the bright sunny day and very cramped with a twin bed and a small table with a double burner propane stove and some pots and bowls. Where they find room for 4 people to sleep is unimaginable. I couldn't even stand up straight in the house and it was dome shaped which made it even smaller around the edges of the house. We really enjoyed hearing about the cave dwellers and it was neat to share in some more of the Lesotho culture.
We drove back to Maseru and went through Lancer's Gap which is a scenic hill that shows a great panoramic view of Maseru. It was very neat to see the city from the gap and gave me a better grasp of where parts of the city are in relation to one another. We really enjoyed our day of learning about weaving, cave dwellings, and also just enjoying the views and scenery in Maseru ans Lesotho. It was good to have friends here too to share it with us.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Michigan visitors, yeah
Today Vern & Dianne Meyaard and Vern & Mary Bosch from our church in Zeeland, arrived in Lesotho. They are here for about a week and it was so good to see familiar faces and give them all a hug. I told them that it almost doesn't feel real to see someone from home. I am so happy they are here because I have been missing home pretty badly for a few days now. We enjoyed a nice big dinner and then we would have spent some time talking, but they were overtaken by my children. Elijah was busy telling one of the Verns all about what he has learned in school and showing him his collection of Magic Tree house books and Jigsaw Jones books. Faith was having Dianne read a Christmas blizzard book and then one chapter of one of her Puppy Puzzle books. She said my mom usually reads one chapter a night to me..."how many days are you going to be here?" And at the same time both of them were chattering away, Mercy went and grabbed a few books of her own and showed them to Vern and Mary. I think my children have been missing their grandparents quite a bit so they held in everything they have been wanting to share and then let it all loose in a 2 hour period. I can't even begin to quote all the crazy things they were saying, but Bryan and I had a huge laugh over our kids, especially Faith who is usually more shy.
So after we had them brush their teeth and get in bed, the adults were able to get more talking done. We were able to share about our time here and about the time they were here 5 years ago. So much has changed and developed, yet so much is still the same. I am looking forward to tomorrow when they will have more time to play with "all my kids" aka my 3 and the 50 other kids here at BG. We got to introduce them to several of the kids today, but they will have lots more time to hold babies and play with kids. We are excited to share our journey with them and know that they will be blessed by Beautiful Gate.
So after we had them brush their teeth and get in bed, the adults were able to get more talking done. We were able to share about our time here and about the time they were here 5 years ago. So much has changed and developed, yet so much is still the same. I am looking forward to tomorrow when they will have more time to play with "all my kids" aka my 3 and the 50 other kids here at BG. We got to introduce them to several of the kids today, but they will have lots more time to hold babies and play with kids. We are excited to share our journey with them and know that they will be blessed by Beautiful Gate.
Monday, April 25, 2011
A Walking Partner
One thing that I have always loved to do is take a nice walk either by myself or even better, with a friend. It seems to be the perfect way to work out any stress I have, give me a chance to enjoy God's amazing creation, and listen to or talk with a special friend. I have been really missing the companionship that I once shared with my walking partners in Zeeland (Rachael, Chris, Jaclyn, and Dianna). Today, Donna, a volunteer from Australia, and I went for our first walk and it was just what I needed.
She took me along her walking path which is about 50 min to an hours walk at a fairly quick pace. We walked through a lot of the back roads to the northeast of Beautiful Gate. I had no idea there were so many people living in that area of Maseru as the paved road ends and we have never gone that way. We walked along a dirt road and passed many children and adults who were sitting or standing outside. Most of the houses were made of cinder blocks with tin roofs held in place by large rocks.
One thing that struck me today was the friendliness of all the people we walked past. They were eager to say hello and smile. We would greet many of them in Sesotho and they would answer us in English (it seemed as though they were as eager to practice their English as we were to practice our Sesotho.) Before coming here, I had been told of the dangers of being alone in Lesotho and while it is true that there is crime in any big city and we are in the capital of Lesotho, I am surprised at how friendly and close this community is. When we were walking through their neighborhoods, they smiled and made us feel welcome. I love the Basotho people and am blessed by their joyfulness.
I am looking forward to many many more walks through my neighborhood and hope that over time, we can make some new acquaintances. Donna and I both seem to love a good walk and a good talk and I am thankful that God has provided her as my new walking partner. So it is with a thankful heart that I say goodnight to you all :)
Anita
She took me along her walking path which is about 50 min to an hours walk at a fairly quick pace. We walked through a lot of the back roads to the northeast of Beautiful Gate. I had no idea there were so many people living in that area of Maseru as the paved road ends and we have never gone that way. We walked along a dirt road and passed many children and adults who were sitting or standing outside. Most of the houses were made of cinder blocks with tin roofs held in place by large rocks.
One thing that struck me today was the friendliness of all the people we walked past. They were eager to say hello and smile. We would greet many of them in Sesotho and they would answer us in English (it seemed as though they were as eager to practice their English as we were to practice our Sesotho.) Before coming here, I had been told of the dangers of being alone in Lesotho and while it is true that there is crime in any big city and we are in the capital of Lesotho, I am surprised at how friendly and close this community is. When we were walking through their neighborhoods, they smiled and made us feel welcome. I love the Basotho people and am blessed by their joyfulness.
I am looking forward to many many more walks through my neighborhood and hope that over time, we can make some new acquaintances. Donna and I both seem to love a good walk and a good talk and I am thankful that God has provided her as my new walking partner. So it is with a thankful heart that I say goodnight to you all :)
Anita
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Our first African Easter
He is Risen.... Praise the Lord, Christ is Risen!!!
Happy Easter everyone! We had a very nice service at church this morning to celebrate Christ's gift to us. His death and resurrection are the reason we are here. He tore the veil and allowed us to be drawn closer to God and therefore be privileged to hear God speak to us. He died for us all, the abandoned kids here at Beautiful Gate, the mothers and fathers who chose to give them up, and the caring staff who love and tend to their needs each day. He died for us even if we have not chosen to love Him back and accept HIS GIFT. Such selfless love is unimaginable, yet necessary and we thank you Jesus.
Today, our family and Laury hid eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, and dum dum suckers for all the kids. It rained all weekend so we had to borrow the preschool and split the older kids and younger kids up into two groups. The little kids went first and were just so cute. Most of them found a dum dum sucker, took off the paper and sat on the floor eating it. They did not want to look for anything else because they were so happy to have the sucker. My kids and Laury pretty much had to finish finding things and then we made a bag for each kid to take home. The older kids were ready and they knew what to do. They were done in no time and were super excited for their bags once we split it all up evenly :) It was very special to see their smiles and hear them talking excitingly.
Bryan's family has always made Easter a special day of fun family time for my kids so it was great to pass on that fun to about 35 kids. The other 15 are babies and not able to participate this year. Hopefully they will have their own families to celebrate with next year! All in all my kids got to decorate 56 eggs this year because we also wanted to make an Easter bag for each of the staff who were working today. It was a great way to spend our first African Easter. One funny thing was that I associate Easter with spring and it is fall here so I have to remember that there won't be any tulips or daffodils blooming this time of year :)
Happy Easter everyone! We had a very nice service at church this morning to celebrate Christ's gift to us. His death and resurrection are the reason we are here. He tore the veil and allowed us to be drawn closer to God and therefore be privileged to hear God speak to us. He died for us all, the abandoned kids here at Beautiful Gate, the mothers and fathers who chose to give them up, and the caring staff who love and tend to their needs each day. He died for us even if we have not chosen to love Him back and accept HIS GIFT. Such selfless love is unimaginable, yet necessary and we thank you Jesus.
Today, our family and Laury hid eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, and dum dum suckers for all the kids. It rained all weekend so we had to borrow the preschool and split the older kids and younger kids up into two groups. The little kids went first and were just so cute. Most of them found a dum dum sucker, took off the paper and sat on the floor eating it. They did not want to look for anything else because they were so happy to have the sucker. My kids and Laury pretty much had to finish finding things and then we made a bag for each kid to take home. The older kids were ready and they knew what to do. They were done in no time and were super excited for their bags once we split it all up evenly :) It was very special to see their smiles and hear them talking excitingly.
Bryan's family has always made Easter a special day of fun family time for my kids so it was great to pass on that fun to about 35 kids. The other 15 are babies and not able to participate this year. Hopefully they will have their own families to celebrate with next year! All in all my kids got to decorate 56 eggs this year because we also wanted to make an Easter bag for each of the staff who were working today. It was a great way to spend our first African Easter. One funny thing was that I associate Easter with spring and it is fall here so I have to remember that there won't be any tulips or daffodils blooming this time of year :)
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