Sickness Update

Yesterday I asked for prayers for 2 girls who are in the hospital. One of them was discharged and returned to BG today, Praise God! I love answered prayers. The other child is still in need of a lot of prayer because she is being tested for TB and we are praying that she does not have it because she is so small and it would be hard to fight against. We are trusting God for her healing and thank you for your prayers on both of their behalf.

Sickness

After a summer of good weather and good health, sickness has come to Beautiful Gate and it has been pretty nasty. Coughs, colds, diarrhea, vomiting, fevers and pneumonia. Most of the BG kids have thick "nasal discharge" and colds. Last week 2 of our babies (neither of whom are matched for adoption) were admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. One of them was so severely sick that it is truly a miracle that her life was spared. I am thankful for our nurse's quick action and thorough examination of our kids because she caught both cases early. I am really grateful for God's healing hand in their lives so far and will continue to pray for Him to heal them completely as they are both still in the hospital.


As I write about the BG kids, I have my youngest daughter leaning against me and barking like a seal. She has a pretty nasty cold herself and I am praying that she will be able to get some good sleep tonight so she can better fight it. Please pray for her to feel better too along with all of our staff, volunteers and kids. If you are coming on a team in the near future some hand sanitizer would be a good idea to add to your items to pack :)

Love

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my
body to be burned,
but have not love, it profits me nothing."

1 Corinthians 13:1-3


Lord help me to love the way that you love. Help my love to "bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things. (v7)"

Orphans in their Distress

What does it really mean to take care of orphans in their distress???


Is it only providing a place of safety and shelter where they can get their basic needs met? Making sure their clothes are not dirty and torn and that they get 3 warm meals a day. If those are the only requirements, then I'd say that it is not a command that requires a whole lot from us, really only money is required for that kind of care.


As I look around at the kids who live here, I see so much more than those basic needs, but I fear that sometimes the real needs are not being seen. Throw a bit of food their way and that should take care of it right? Pay for a roof over their head and then at least they are not on the street or getting rained on, right?


What about their dignity and their little hearts that are so broken. Dignity that allows them to be treated the same as other kids who have parents. Treated in a way that shows them love and not pity. What about their emotional needs so their hearts can begin the long and slow process of healing? Don't they need people in their lives to just listen to them and hear their story and then they can feel that they have value.


Sometimes people refuse to give their money to Beautiful Gate because they do not see any "orphans." They say they do not see the kind of kids that are exploited on the television; dirty, sad, and lonely on a playground of broken equipment and dirt. They do not get the point that no child should be forced to live that way and because of some people's expectations for "that kind" of orphanage, some children are being denied their dignity so orphanages can get more money. It sickens me.


What if it was your biological child who was orphaned? Would you want more than the basics for them? Would you want someone to love them and listen to them share their hopes and dreams? Wouldn't you want them to have so much more than a roof over their head? If you do not have children, what would you have wanted if you were orphaned? What would it really mean to take care of you in your distress? That is what I think about each day that I watch the children here playing, laughing and crying. Taking care of orphans is a joyful sacrifice of time, energy and resources. It means dying to ourselves daily so we can pour God's love and mercy over His precious children.

Easter fun for BG kids

We have been celebrating Easter for the last few days with the children and staff at Beautiful Gate. Our church left us some money from the children's ministries and wanted us to use them for the kids' Easter party this year. On Thursday, we painted Easter eggs and colored Easter pictures. I had a lot of helpers who helped us get the kids into "stations" so that our egg painting could be a success. The first group was more interested in just playing with the water for the paint sets so we learned a little and gave less water for the other groups. Some of the kids had no idea what to do and others painted with a great deal of focus. The coloring and stickers were a lot of fun for the kids too so they enjoyed their playgroup time on Thursday.

Yesterday, I rented 2 bouncing houses for the kids to play on during playgroup. Hours and hours of fun were had and naps were skipped!!! I love watching the kids laughing and playing for hours. Bryan cooked up some hotdogs and Margie, Karen and Terp helped me peel oranges, cut hotdog buns and make juice for the kids. At 11:45 we rounded them all up for lunch at the preschool and all of the volunteers and even the maintenance guys helped us carry plates of food over to the kids for their little picnic lunch outside. They ate pretty well and were super excited to run back down to the bouncy houses again. We were given 2 free bouncy houses to celebrate Christmas so it seemed that having bouncy houses for Easter would be a good way to celebrate and judging from the laughter and smiles of kids, volunteers and staff...I'd say it was.

Today at 3 pm we will be reading the story of Easter to the kids and explaining why we celebrate Easter and what it means that Jesus rose again. It is not an easy thing to explain to children who are all 6 and under, but we need to try to lay a foundation of truth in their lives. Then we will let them hunt for some eggs and candy and enjoy the rest of their Easter Sunday! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend and I am thankful tomorrow is a holiday in Lesotho so we can rest after a full weekend :)

As you can see, I wrote this on Sunday but could not get the pics right away, so I am posting it today. Sorry for the delay.

Update and UNICEF donation

Today was the 4th rabies vaccination for my girls and they are SO thankful that they only have one left. So am I because watching their fear for 24 hours before each shot is not something my mom heart can handle well. On a very positive note (for my kids' sake) the vet was able to acquire a vaccine for the cats so we have not had to put them to sleep. My children are so relieved about that and are happy. They are still pretty sad about Gatsby, the cat who had rabies, and are making plans to make a little memorial for their cat. This is really their first "pet" to have died so this is a bit of a new experience for them.


At Beautiful Gate, we just got a shipment of new toys and therapy supplies donated through UNICEF. I am super excited about some of the items and look forward to the progress some of our special needs kids will make with more specialized therapy items. Thanks to the Haven team who replaced the floor in our therapy room (thanks Art, Keith and Tyler) and to some donated funds from our friends Meghan and Brent, we are able to paint the floor this week and have a new fully functional therapy room by next week. We also have 2 volunteers who are interested in helping Lindiwe with therapy so the room will be used often.

We also got some new playground equipment for the playgroup children. We have 2 water tables, a tiny climber for 1 year olds and 2 new bigger play sets. Our Chaplain, Ron, is going to help put the play sets together, but it will take a week or so because it has been raining for 2 days and is suppose to rain for 3 more days. One of my favorite purchases are the triangles with mirrors. They are like 3-D pads that can be laid on the floor and the babies can see themselves. I have never seen so many smiles (or so much drool from kissing the mirrors) before giving the babies mirrors to look at. I loved watching them and seeing how they pushed up on their arms so they could see themselves better. Amazing how such little things can really add so much to the development of babies.

Shadow of the Almighty

Darkness, death, fear, cancer and miscarriage – these words were swarming through my mind over the last week and even last night. Friends and family who are walking through the valley of the shadow of death and who are living in fear of what is next. I see staff who have buried more family members than I think I even have, one right after another. I hold children who do not know the love of a mother or father. My heart is full of heartbreak for these losses. Sin is such a horrible and wicked reality.

Now, I need to lean on my Father. I need to trust that He knows what He is doing and that His plan will bring perfection at the right time. Maybe some of these losses are better to be faced now, than what would have happened in the future. I just don't know. It does not make walking through today any easier for everyone who is hurting though.

As I tried to fall asleep with all these thought on my mind, God began stirring my thoughts. The Holy Spirit brought to my mind some new thoughts. Why am I afraid? Why don’t I have faith that things will work out? Then the first few verses from Psalm 91 played over my mind:

91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler^[a]
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.

 

I need to sit under the wings of my Heavenly Father. Sin and darkness are all around and it is not an actual war that I can see, but it is a spiritual war. I still feel a heaviness inside my heart, but I am looking up and I am trusting God because He is my refuge and my fortress.  He will cover my family, friends, and our staff and children at BG. He will cover me when I am tempted to worry or despair.