Birthdays and Babies

Birthdays!

Nichols and Danny turned 1 in July and we had a giant party to celebrate! Nichols is HIV+ and his mother tried to suffocate him right after she gave birth. He has started on the Anti-Retroviral Treatment and his health is improving greatly! Danny is not sick but his mother died of a C-Section. They are both living in our 2nd house, along with 4 other lil boys. Sapphira is one of our Tia's (Aunties) that we employ to take care of them. She is a wonderful lady and a some what of a mother figure to me. 

  

These are 15 of the 17 babies/toddlers that live with us in one of our 2 houses. L-R Luis, Hawa, Alicia, Idrussi, Aninha with Antonio, Nichols crying, Quiteria with Gercio, Ricardo, Junior, Abu, Thelma, Danny, Marcelino, and Paulo. 

All of these children have been orphaned, abandoned, or their parents can not take care of them because of AIDS. 6 of our babies have AIDS as well. Currently, all of them are on the Anti-Retroviral Medicines which improves and prolongs life!

New Additions

Junior & Abu!!

2 of our newest additions! Around 9pm July 4th, the Police Station called us to say that they had 2 abandoned children at the Station and they needed us to come and pick them up immediately. Both their mom and dad left them at their grandmothers house. The grandma could no longer take care of them, so she took them to the Police Station with 3 plastic bags of clothes, some tangerines, and a few chocolates. Just like that, Junior and Abu's lives were changed forever. Since the grandmother abandoned them before we got to the Police, we didn't know their names, ages, or even where the grandma lived to ask her those questions. We brought them back to the house, gave them good food, baths, clean clothes, and lots of love. Now they are living at our 2nd baby house, doing great!! 

Moises!!

His name means Moses in portuguese. July 4th, a woman was walking home from work when she heard sounds of a crying baby coming from a trash heap off the side of the road. As she approached, she found a 3 day old baby tied inside a plastic bag! She took him to the hospital and then the hospital called us and asked us to take him in. After 3 weeks in the hospital lil Moises came to live with us. We decided to name him Moises because just like Moses in the Bible was found in basket in the river, our Moises was found in a plastic bag in the trash. Pretty cool to think of the awesome plans Jesus has for him. He is doing great, drinking lots of formula and gaining weight!  

luis

baby luis. my love. 

he's one of the 10 babies that live in our first home here in matola. both his mom and dad died of aids. he was left in the hospital severely malnurished dying of aids. pieter and rika (my team mates) rescued him and started him on the anti-retrovirals (aids meds). 

now he's 3 and healthy and happy and full of mischief.  

welcome to my world here

a taste of what my week looks like 

Mondays - PM - Bible Study/discipleship with Dulce, Sapphira, & Maria (some of the Tia's that work here)

Tuesdays- AM Bead Making Project with Maria and Felismina

Wednesdays- PM Hospital Outreach with Adeliade, Virgina, Ermilinda, Maria, Eva, etc.

Thursdays- AM Bead Project with Maria and Felismina.
                 PM House Church with Lacerda, Cardita, Mataneta, Enucencia, and Mama

Sundays- House Church at the baby house (where I live)- this is where people I meet in the city come to join us. People like Anchura, Elisa, and Elisa's sister.

Gems

so these are the women i have been working with - my gems!

Lacerda- 27 yrs old. Her family runs a little store in the local market. She has a 5 yr old daughter Angela who is the cutest little thing ever! Lacerda is my main friend here in MZ. We are becoming such good friends! She is my woman of peace- she knows everyone and everyone loves her. She is the kindest MZ I have ever met. Since she works at the market I love to go and spend the after noon with her sitting down talking with all of the women that come and do their buying for their meals. A lot of women trust her.  

Cardita- 26 yrs old. Lacerdas sister. She is 6 months pregnant. Her boyfriend left her when she wouldn't get an abortion. She also works at the family market place. She is currently in school studying at what would be the equivelent of High School in the States. I go with her to the hospital for her maternity check ups. She has the gift of serving and hospitality. When Im over at her house, she prepares my favorite dishes and makes sure im well taken care of.

Mataneta- 22 yrs old. Lacerda's sister-in-law. Has a 3 yr old daughter Gabrielle who is always sick with something. Mataneta has lots of secrets. Her husband is cheating on her and she knows it. She is a very broken girl who tries to hide it. But when we are together we laugh real hard!

Dulce- 23 yrs old. Runs our 2nd baby house. She is HIV+ and has a 7 yr old daughter Jessica. Dulce goes to school and is in the 7^th grade. She has a very tender heart and we laugh a lot when we hang out. Her family is very wealthy however when they found out that she was HIV+ they kicked her out of the house. She then lived on the streets of Maputo with Jessica when she was little. Dulce has been through lots of crap living on the streets. But now you would never be able to tell. She is full of life and purpose. 

Felismina- 20 yrs old and HIV+. She has 3 children. The oldest is 5. The middle is 3 and HIV+ her name is Hawa and she is very very sick. Stick and bones. She is now living with us. We can already tell a difference- she is smiling since arriving here! Felisminas' boyfriend just died of AIDS. She is a very sad girl. She has started the bead making project with us. Since she has been making jewelry, she has changed so much for the better!! She is very grateful for her job now. She has mentioned many times that shes very happy to have friends and a job because now she doesn’t just sit at home and think about “life”. Im in the process of getting her registered at a hospital that can properly start her on Anti-Retrivirals (AIDS medicine).