Saving Babies, Continued

In February's blog called "Saving Babies," a team led by Herb Buwalda of Clay Church happened upon two little babies that were literally starving to death.  They had gone five days without any nourishment when we happened upon them in Pondue.  With the help of Vickie Nevel and Karen Grant, we were first able to give them some water, and then when John Arnold returned with formula he found at the next village, they had their first meal.

This past week-end their father graduated from the school at Pondue.  Here is how his little babies look now:

 Isn't God wonderful?

Seeing Others Through God's Eyes

Yesterday, I was reminded of the difficulties we have of accepting people just the way they are.  There is a boy who loves to come to Tabitha House even though his mom is not one of our members.  It's hard to guess his age - maybe 14. His limbs flail, he has difficulty walking, and when he speaks his words are incoherent. I happened to be outside yesterday when he arrived. The other kids are either scared of him, or mock him. They poke him, then run and laugh when he tries to come after them. He lives in "survival" mode so if something is taken from him, he retaliates.

As he was coming up to the Center, the kids were screaming, laughing and taunting him. One of the women grabbed a switch and yelled at him to leave, acting like she was going to hit him if he didn't. In their defense, he can become very agitated and aggressive, but who can blame him when he's treated that way? 

I went out to him and brought him to where all the kids were sitting and coloring. I gave him a page, a crayon and showed him how to color. None of the kids wanted to be near him until I sat down next to him and  then they all moved in close to us and continued coloring. (Being the closest to "nasara" - white woman - is evidently very important!)

This boy breaks my heart. He has the most beautiful smile and behind his defenses, a sweet spirit. I happened to notice that flies were all around him. It was sickening when I discovered why- he had open sores on his knees and elbows from falling and that's what the flies were drawn to. I cleaned them up as best I could, slathered his sores in antibiotic ointment and put a bandage on the worst area.

I guess it's the same wherever you go - its hard to accept people who are different. I can't judge the women in Sector 30 who shoo him away with a switch. He can be aggressive and mean. But when you pay attention to him he beams with that sweet spirit. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all see each other as God sees us and treat each other with that kind of love?

Death Touches Tabitha House

On Monday I was told that husband of one of our women had died.  He had been very ill so they took him to the hospital and soon after he passed away.  Because the house they live in is rented, his body could not be returned to the house for proper mourning, but was immediately taken to the cemetery and buried.

This morning before we started our activities at Tabitha House, we all went to visit and mourn with her.  She is a young woman from the Muslim faith.  When we approached the house, there were two elderly men sitting on a bench outside.  Following the lead of the women, we all knelt down and in unison the women paid their respect to these family elders.

We walked inside the small courtyard.  Only several could fit in the small house.  Suzanne (the pastor’s wife) motioned that I should go inside with her along with one of our older women, Tene.  We took off our sandals and entered a tiny room.  On the left side a mat was laid out and two women were sitting on it.  On the right side of the room, there was a piece of cloth on the floor and I was invited to share it with three other women.  We filled the small room – it would have been difficult to get another person inside.  Across from me sat the woman who lost her husband.  She covered her face with her pink headdress.  As soon as she could contain herself, she got up to greet the three of us.  When she came to me I stood to give her a hug.  African women show little emotion and hugging is certainly not part of their culture.  So it was to my surprise when she hugged me tightly and didn’t let go, her body shaking with sobs.  I prayed quietly in her ear that God would hold her close and take care of her little family.  We stood for a long time – hugging, praying, crying.  It was heart rending to hear and feel the pain she was going through.  We gave her a gift of money from Tabitha House and left.  

As we walked back I thought about what her life will now be like.  She has two small children and they will be alone in the small hut.   It will be up to her to find a way to feed them, and she doesn’t have a job or income.  She will find out if there is a relative that will take them in and perhaps return to her home village.  She might stay, but it will be very, very difficult for her as it is basically impossible for a woman in Sector 30 to find a job.  

In our devotion this morning, we talked about Nicodemus and his quest for a “new life”, an eternal life free from death and pain.  Living in Burkina Faso has given me a whole new perspective on the importance of that promise.

Books, Coloring Books and Pillowcase Dresses

In the last several days at Tabitha House I’ve discovered something I didn’t expect.  The children LOVE children’s books and they LOVE to color in coloring books.  Several teams brought a number of the books and crayons with them but I’ve hesitated to get them out.  I knew there were little ones that liked to look at pictures in books, but had no idea how excited they are to have a book read to them (even in English!) and to be able to color.  And they color very well!  There is no distinction between what a boy should color (e.g. trucks and cars) vs. a girl (Little Mermaid) and what colors girls should use vs. a boy.  They are just excited to color.  We had to have several discussions about sharing the crayons and only using one at a time because we had a couple of little hoarders, but for the most part they were very good at sharing the crayons.  At the end of our day I had them line up and display their pictures and then we would applaud their work.  My theory is that the best years of a child’s life in Burkina Faso is the two years when they are tied to their mom’s back.  After that, there is usually another baby on the way and the child loses that one-on-one attention from their mom.  They are assimilated into the “pack” of other children.  It's not that their moms don't love them anymore, but her attention and energy is spread in many different ways.  They crave attention, so having them display their coloring projects was as exciting to them as winning an Oscar or Emmy.  Thank you teams for the coloring books and crayons.  They are a huge hit!

And for all those who made pillowcase dresses, check out this sister act.  The girls love the dresses!  And guess what?  So do their moms!

On Friday, one of the women at the center had a little baby girl, after having four boys.  On Wednesday we will go to visit her and see the new baby.  A woman from one of the team churches made adorable little quilts for babies.  They are very light weight and are as cute as can be.  We will take a quilt and a baby outfit (one my little granddaughter quickly outgrew) to the new mom.  The other women will bring small gifts as well.  Thank you so much for the quilts and baby clothes.

A local jewelry maker named Zumana is coming to the center and teaching the women how to do a better job with their jewelry.  Several team members recently brought Modge Podge and that has given the beads a new shine.  The women really enjoy making jewelry from the beads made from magazine pages.  Thank you for the Modge Podge and for all those who are so supportive of the work at Tabitha House.  

Next week we will begin soap making.  A teacher is secured and the materials purchased.  Our hope is that the women can sell the soap locally. 

This picture is work happening in the children’s area.  The darker squares are chalkboards and can be used for children to practice their homework on the days we do not meet.  There will soon be an overhang so that the kids are always in the shade.  Several teams made this possible, and we thank you for such a great area for fun and learning.

The dolls have been remodeled to better reflect the modern day woman at Tabitha House and they are adorable!  We have several team members working on a website where you can purchase some of these items.  In the meantime, please let me know if you are interested in any of the product and we will send it to you via teams.

I only have a little over four months left here in Burkina Faso and there is still so much work to do.  I’m so thankful that God put me at Tabitha House and I know He has great plans after I leave.  It’s such an awesome privilege to be a servant of God!  Many thanks to all of you who support that ministry in SO many ways.  You make life much, much better for these wonderful women and their families.