The Easter Bunny Comes to Tabitha House!

Yesterday was a busy day at Tabitha House!  A number of years ago when the center was first opened, a missionary named Beth Albright worked with the women.  The group consisted of about eight women and they all attended the church in Sector 30. Yesterday she and her family spent the morning with us and we celebrated their presence. They spoke to the women and reminisced about the early days. We enjoyed apples, cupcakes, peanuts and bread with Nutella.

And then the Easter Bunnies debuted!  Each child was given a set of bunny ears. We originally thought it would be just for the toddlers, but moms wanted them for their infants, and the older children as well. When we finally got a pair on all the children, we gathered them in a big circle. I asked if they knew what the ears were for and one little guy proudly shouted "a rat!"  They had never heard of the Easter Bunny!  So instead of focusing on the baskets of candies and toys the Easter Bunny brings to children in the U.S., we focused on hopping around like bunny rabbits. They were all so proud of their ears, even if they didn't have a clue about the Easter Bunny. I even saw one mom nursing her infant with his little bunny ears on! 

I love the joy that the women and children get from such simple things. Their life is not complicated or filled with extravagances. They are so happy about the little things like bunny ears made out of card stock.

National Women's Day at Tabitha House

Today was one of the best days of my life.  We celebrated National Women's Day at Tabitha House.  For over three hours, we sang, danced, laughed, ate and praised God.  The noise level of the laughter and singing was so high you couldn't carry on a conversation.  The women took turns singing songs, accompanied by one of the women on the bongo drum.  Whenever singing would start, so would dancing and clapping.  Have to say, I've never seen such hip action!  I'm very  happy to know that as I tried to dance, there are no incriminating videos!  I don't even know how they can shake it like they do! 

Several women cooked a huge pot of noodles and I brought spaghetti sauce, bread and cookies.  I'm not sure how many people we fed - the noise had attracted quite a few from around the center (especially children) but I'm sure it was close to 150.

We closed the day by distributing a 50 lb bag of rice to each woman.  That means that at least for the next month they will have food.

You know one of the coolest things about the day?  They didn't want to go home.  They were having so much fun that they just wanted to continue singing and dancing.  But the best for me was being with them.  When you look at all those faces, there is not one woman that I can talk with - they all speak a language very different than mine.  We don't talk with words, but with love.  What an incredible group of women!

Little Bare Feet

There is a little boy that loves to come to Tabitha House to play.  For the safety of the children at Tabitha House, we usually don't let children in the play area unless their mom's attend, and his does not.  He shows up every day and he loves to let me know he's there by coming up and "accidentally" bumping my arm, then gives me a big smile.  He has one blue eye and one brown eye, is a bit feisty, but really needs us so we don't turn him away.  On Monday he kept looking down at his toe and making sure it was protected when he was playing.  I went over to look at it, and the infection was so bad it looked like it might be eating away the skin.  I take a little medical kit with me so I took out some antiseptic swabs and bandages.  I first poured water over it so I could get a better look, but that didn't help much.  I swabbed it as best I could and then put band-aids on, but he doesn't have shoes so it would be a matter of seconds before the bandages fell off and the toe was exposed again.  I was digging in my little medical kit for an ace bandage when I realized that there were about 20 kids all crowding around and leaning in to see what was going on.  I put the ace bandage around his foot to keep the toe clean.  He became an instant rock star!  Every kid wanted to check out his foot and be near him.  I gave a couple of the cleaning swabs to the pastor's wife and she was going to take them to his mom so that she can continue to care for the toe.  If the infection doesn't get any better, we'll send him to the doctor. 

This is life at Tabitha House.  No one likes to see someone suffering or in pain, but every time something like this happens and we can help, the people of Sector 30 see Jesus in action.

Recently a video was produced on the work that I'm doing here.  If you would like to watch it go to http://vimeo.com/61112006  Since the viewing of the video, many  have asked what they can do and what needs we have.  This is a very hard time of year for the people of Burkina Faso to stay healthy.  When we ask those that need prayers for sickness to come to the front, almost the entire room comes up.  We have a real need to buy medicines, band-aids, antibiotic cream, cleaning swabs and gloves, and in more severe cases to send someone to a doctor.  If you would like to help with medical supplies, you can send a check to:
Engage Burkina
3522 Hiram-Acworth Hwy
Dallas, GA 30157
and mark the check for Tabitha House medical supplies.

It's hot season now with the temps somewhere between 106-110 degrees and climbing.  I just think of my friends in Indiana who are dealing with snow and grey days and the heat doesn't affect me at all!




 

Saving Babies

I just returned from four days in the bush with some amazing people.  There is so much to tell about this vision trip, but one event bears telling by itself.  We were visiting a place where pastors are trained and then placed in villages where a well has been dug.  The team brought hundreds of pillow case dresses for the girls and the time had come to distribute them.  We were in the area where the pastors-in-training and their families live.  There are long rows of single rooms (12 x 12) with an area to cook outside and each on the pastors and their families live in that one room.  Saying that it is primitive is an understatement.  As the pillow cases were being sorted someone pointed to a woman and said she was the one that recently had twins.  Several of us made our way over to see the new little ones.  I asked to hold one and the first thing that struck me is that I could feel every rib and bone.  We were then told that the babies were five days old and since the mom’s milk had not come in they hadn’t had anything to eat for five days.  The babies were five days old and had never eaten!  I looked at John Arnold who was the leader of our trip and said that we couldn’t let these babies die.  Can you imagine – for five nights the mother and father of these two little boys had listened to them scream for food, and how the mom must have felt because she couldn’t produce any milk?  The grandmother was the one who was telling us this so we asked where we could buy formula.  She took us to a pharmacy not far from the school and the woman there told us that we should let the babies die because no one in the area had enough money to buy formula to feed the babies.  We told her that we would buy the food and where was the nearest pharmacy where we could find it.  When we walked back to the home of the twins we decided that John would drive to the village with the grandmother and father and that I would stay and pray until they returned.  The mom sat with one baby and I with the other in their little one room living space.  It doesn’t have a door – just a curtain which had been pulled back and I caught sight of two of the women from the team out of the corner of my eye.  I called for them to come and help pray with me.  One of them was a nurse, Vickie, and as we stood there with our minds and emotions reeling, she said that we should try pouring water on a rag to see if the babies were strong enough to suck.  Karen, the other woman with us, went back and brought a clean bandana she had.  We tore it in two pieces and poured water on them and put it the babies’ mouths.  Both started sucking right away.  It was the first liquid they had received and you could tell they were enjoying it.  It took about an hour and forty-five minutes for John to return.  We didn’t want to give them too much water so that they wouldn’t be hungry when the formula arrived, but those little babies were craving liquid.  John returned with a one-month case of formula, two bottles and a prescription for the mom to help stimulate her milk to come in.  One of the team members paid for everything.  Vickie mixed up the formula and explained to the grandma, mom and dad how to prepare it.  When the grandma and mom put the bottles to the babies’ mouths, both started eating right away.  We left for the evening planning to return this morning as we left the compound.  I dreaded to stop and check on them for fear they hadn’t made it through the night but when we walked up we were greeted by the grandma with a huge smile.  For the first night, the babies had slept all night without screaming from hunger!  We prayed for the little family one last time and started our journey back to Ouagadougou.

It is so totally impossible to comprehend a situation where someone has to watch as their babies starve to death because they don’t have the money to buy formula.  As a mother I can’t imagine the emotions of watching that process.  For these two little boys, we were there at the right time and had the resources to spare their lives.  The timing wasn’t by “accident” or coincidence.  As remote as the school is and with the few visitors they receive, only God could’ve come up with the plan. 

This is a hard country and starvation happens frequently.  But today, two little boys won’t starve to death and the joy of that is indescribable.

Oh Glory!

Today, Pastor Iousef, the pastor of the national church in Sector 30 gave the morning devotional at Tabitha House.  It was a very powerful devotional.  At the end he asked if there were any women that wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts.  Five women came to the front of the room – some with joyful faces, and some with determined faces because they know the resistance they will face from husbands and families.  It was an incredible moment!  Today, five women that might not have heard the Good News if Tabitha House didn’t exist are now a child in God’s family.   As I sat and watched, I kept thinking about us being in this tiny spot in the world called Burkina Faso that most people don’t even know about, but God does. He is with us and He is smiling! 

Rocking Horses

It’s hard to imagine a child in the U.S. that doesn’t have a toy and doesn’t know how to play.  In Burkina Faso it is rare for a child to have a toy, and if you hand them one, they don’t know what to do with it. 

When we opened the play area for the children of the women who attend Tabitha House, we had several small soccer balls, a plastic toy train, some wooden shakers, a couple of wooden puzzles, some Play Dough and two crudely made banjos. The soccer balls were of the most interest until these arrived:

Through the generosity of donors, and the incredible craftsmanship of John Arnold and his apprentice, Joanna Gregg, two of these rocking horses were presented at Tabitha House several weeks ago.  The pictures do not do them justice in terms of their quality.  When John delivered the rocking horses, all of the women came out to see them.  Trying to decide who was most excited – the moms or the children – was hard to tell.  The moms couldn’t wait to put their children on the rocking horse and give it a try.  Most of them, adults and children, had never seen anything like this, and they love it!   There is never a moment when the rocking horses are out that there isn’t a child on it.  Many times, we have to go out to referee turns.  Not only are the horses fun but they help to teach the idea of sharing.  Fortunately when I’m out there trying to direct the kids, there is a little girl that is probably 5 years old that is my self-appointed helper.  She is so sweet, and very motherly.  She’ll  watch me for a minute to see what I’m trying to do and the next thing I know she’s got the little ones lined up and waiting their turn for the rocking horses.   When the day ends, the children bring them inside to make sure they are protected for the next time.  No one asked them to do that – they just realize how special they are.  You know those times when words can’t express the feeling?  – This is one of them.  There aren’t words to thank John, JoAnna and the others that helped for making these for the children.  

When I drive into the area where Tabitha House is located, there is usually a bunch of children waiting, yelling “white woman!”  They all want to shut the door for me, carry anything I’ve brought, and do the secret “Tabitha House” handshake.  It’s a simple high-five, low five, fist pound and hand explosion and then a big hug.  I don’t know how many times in a day I do that with them, over and over!  It amazes me that such a simple thing gives them so much happiness.  What I’ve also realized is that they like to make designs in the dust on my car.  There are little hand prints and drawings all over it when I leave.  If you are a clean-freak that doesn’t allow your children to touch the windows of your car – this is not the place for you!  

One of the women has three month old twins.  Lately, she hands me one of them to take care of.  The women know I love to hold the babies and be grandma-Dee Dee.  It makes me very happy that they finally feel comfortable enough to do that and realize that I am there to be one of them.

If you have a moment, we have several prayer requests: We have a woman whose husband just died of Aids, and she is HIV positive.  She was provided the money for initial testing on Monday and then we’ll find out what treatment is prescribed and go from there.  She didn’t have food, so that was also provided; In Burkina Faso, parents have to pay for their children to go to school.  We have about ten children that are not in school due to lack of funds; When we have prayer time for the women that are sick or have sickness in their family, it is usually half of the group that we are praying for.  During this time of the year, many of the children have bad colds, coughs and respiratory problems; And finally, we are in the process of researching micro-loans for sewing machines.  Betty Arnold gave us a fantastic idea – bring in a tailor to teach two or three women on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Tabitha House is closed.  When the women are properly trained, advance them a micro-loan of a new sewing machine.  As they begin to sell the items they sew, they repay the loan which in turn finances the next woman to have a sewing machine.  As you can see, there are many things to pray for.  Thank you for thinking of us.

 

Beauty and Dignity

It’s impossible to imagine the bleakness of Sector 30 – the area where Tabitha Center is located.  The houses are made of the same sand and dirt as the ground and they fade into one drab color.  The poverty is overwhelming, so there is nothing apart from the basic items that help them survive from day to day to add color.  In our devotion today we were talking about I Peter 3, and the importance of inward beauty.  We spent most of the morning talking about what that meant while we made paper flowers as a reminder of that inward beauty.  It took the women almost 3 hours to make their flower.  These women use their hands for pounding grain, washing clothes, building fires, and making food.  Most do not know how to use scissors, write their name, or draw.  The flowers were made of eight squares of red and pink paper that we folded into petals.  It was not easy for them, but they had a blast working at it!   Here’s the finished product:

Today was an affirmation in the importance of dignity.  I started bringing bread with me because I know that not every woman and child had something to eat that morning.  In a situation like Tabitha House where the women are so poor, they are usually treated as children who must wait until someone of authority comes and puts something in their hands.  I feel that is demeaning– they are grown women and should be treated as such no matter their status in life.  Monday was the first time I brought in bread.  I broke it into pieces and invited them to come up anytime during the morning when they were ready for some.  At first no one moved, just sat with puzzled faces.  Finally one woman went to the table to get her piece.  After that all the women rushed to the bread.  This reaction is why many feel they have to hand items out, but if you’ve always been treated as children it’s hard not to react like that.  Today was the second day.  Instead of all rushing up at once, they took their time and picked up a piece whenever they were ready for it.  My hope is to always treat them with dignity and love, and today proved that they will rise to that when given the opportunity.

As I was driving out of Tabitha House, one of the women stopped me on the road and handed me a letter to read.  Since she does not know how to read or write, she had a friend write it for her.  She regularly attends Tabitha House and is a very quiet and withdrawn woman, always siting in the back away from the other women.   When she gave birth to her baby about three months ago she had complications and had to have surgery, which forced her to quit her job.  Her husband has been in Fada for about 6 months now (probably went there to find work) and has not sent her any money.  Her neighbor has been giving her what little she can to eat.  The letter was a request for help.  As I watched her I could tell that asking for money was embarrassing and something she didn’t want to do. I gave her a hug and a kiss in hopes that she wouldn’t feel bad and then gave her the money I had left in my wallet – 8,000 cfa which equates to about $4.00 but a small fortune for her, and asked if we could give her a ride home.  She wanted to go to the main road where there are stands of food and merchandise so that she could buy food.  That is where we dropped her off.  Looking back at her I kept thinking:  Can you imagine being left alone in such a destitute place with no money to buy food?  This is a very hard country.

Burkina Faso is alive with soccer!  They made it to the semi-finals and will play Ghana this evening.  Our neighbors set up a TV in the road so that friends can come together and watch the game.  The TV is small, so they all have to scrunch in to see the screen.  They started partying around 10 a.m. and who knows when it will end tonight!  When Burkina Faso scores, you can hear the roar of cheering all over the city.  It’s nice to have something to cheer about!