Tuesday, a Busy Day

It must have been a very busy day... Phil did not write anything!! BUT, he did send a bunch of pics. :)  Take the time to really look at them, observe the backgrounds and surroundings, then THANK THE LORD FOR ALL YOU HAVE!  

Africa - Sept 6

This was written by Josie:

Another adventurous day!  We didn’t meet with any dignitaries today, but we did drive into some of the poorest parts of the earth.  An elaborate description wouldn’t adequately explain what we saw.  Hundreds of children whose only possession is the clothing on their backs, who have nothing to do all day and nothing to play with and almost no supervision.  Mom’s try to scrape together meals for families and by the look of malnutrition everywhere aren’t able to adequately do that.  Dad’s seem scarce.  Maybe they are out trying to make money, but in a country where there are few jobs that is hard to do also.

By noon we had traveled and met with multiple parties and picked up 4 more children who will be considered foster status for the next three months but will live at the orphanage.  They are all at the orphanage tonight.  Three are boys and one is a girl.  Ages range from 18 mo to 3 years.  It was fun to watch Angelique (the sweetest orphanage worker in the world) move like a whirlwind giving each of them their first baths in a long time.  They each got a fresh change of clothes and a meal of rice and beans.  Two of them seem to have moderate to severe malnutrition.  One of the children lost his lunch after we gave him his first meal in what is probably a long time.  He probably ate too much and his digestive system couldn’t handle it.

Congolese Transportation

We spent the afternoon with Brandon and Kara and locked all the other neighborhood kids out of the house.  Kara cried again but then later in the evening was more warm toward us than she has been the entire trip.  Brandon is happy as long as there are toys in the room, with lots of giggles and playing.  We had decided to bring B & K to our bedroom tonight to help them adjust to their new parents before we get on an airplane for a 30+ hour trip.  After we brought home the new kids we had no choice.

We went into town again in the evening to take the 4 new children to a clinic. I played in the car with my kids and Didier’s girls and Gracie (Angelique’s daughter) and Zephanie (sweet orphan girl, 5 years old).  When we got back home we showed B & K their new “bed” in our room and tried to have them lay down for a while.  They both objected severely.  This was our first “double-cry”.  It is hard to understand what is going through a two year-old’s mind, especially one who has been abandoned before, but I’m sure they are scarred and worried about the newness of the future.  After a late dinner they both fell asleep in our arms and are now out for the count.  They are always much cuter when sleeping than crying.

                                           The Names of God Posted in Judge Phuna's home

What an incredible timewe've had here in Africa! My eyes are filling right now as I think we are leaving tomorrow already. Our hearts have been knit to these precious people. How we love Didier's and Annie and their vision to help the orphans. We so respect and esteem them for their daily sacrifice on behalf of these precious little ones. How they lay their lives down constantly is such a conviction and encouragement to my heart. Godis using them powerfullyfor His glory!

 Guess that makes for a short and sweet blog today.  More tomorrow.