Our Last Days

Right now we are staying in Lilongwe until our flight home on September 4.  The past few weeks have been quite busy and hectic so I’ll try to write a brief update.  Last Saturday our staff gave us a going away party which was a happy yet sad time.  Leaving the nursery, our babies and staff, is difficult but we know that God has another plan for us and them. The thought of going home and seeing our family and friends again makes our leaving bearable. Our caregivers put on a skit that re-enacted what we go through when we take in a child.  Prisca, the first nanny I hired, stole the show by dressing up as an old man who needed a home for his grandchild.  She was quite believable and had us in stitches.  It ended with singing which is always a delight and something we will miss.

Tuesday, the 28^th was the nursery’s one year anniversary so we had a party to celebrate.  One year ago we received Mphatso into our care and now we have 11 babies that are currently at the nursery.  This was our way of thanking our staff for all their hard work in making our vision a reality.  I couldn’t hold back the tears as we all knew that it was the last time we would see one another for quite some time.  As I looked at the babies I realized that most of them would be gone before we came back again. 

We also finished up all of Bridget’s paperwork that allows her to leave with us.  Again we saw God’s hand in all the workings.  She will be coming home with us on a tourist visa as she is still a Malawi citizen.  Before we leave Malawi, we needed to submit citizenship papers to the US Embassy in Lilongwe which would make her a US citizen.  This process takes anywhere from 2-6 months and requires Andy, Bridget and me to return to Malawi once it’s approved to finalize the paperwork.  We arrived in Lilongwe on Thursday to submit her application and were unaware that we couldn’t just walk in and hand the documents to them.  We had been trying to contact the embassy as we also needed to be fingerprinted but we were having no success in getting them to call us back.  They finally called us Thursday afternoon as we were driving into Lilongwe to tell us that the person that does the fingerprints was on vacation and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.  That was a big problem because we are flying out on Tuesday.  We went to the embassy anyway and asked if the man could come in on Monday to fingerprint us.  Well, Monday is Labor Day in the states so since this is the US Embassy they observe US holidays.  Arghhhhhh!!!  The head of security said she would call him and see if he could come in Friday but apparently he was supposed to be going to his village during his holiday so it looked doubtful.  God was definitely working as the man had changed his plans and didn’t go away and would come in to fingerprint us.  Thank you Lord!  We also needed to have all the documents notarized before we could file them and the person who needed to do that was at a meeting and they didn’t know when he’d be back.  Andy returned to the embassy at 1 pm, the man was there, and he was completed by 1:10.  Since the embassy closes at 1:30 on Fridays we had plenty of time to spare J

Our flight leaves Lilongwe on Tuesday, the 4^th, and we will arrive in Seattle on the 5^th.  We are planning to stay in Tacoma until the following week to visit my family and catch up on the last 15 months.  It is amazing to think that we’re going home when it feels like we just left.  Continue to keep the nursery staff and babies in your prayers as this will be a difficult transition for them.  We still have no director but have received word that a couple from the states is also interested in coming and working in our stead.  We can only trust God for their future as He alone is responsible for the opening of the nursery and He will see it through.  Lisa

 

To God be the glory great things he has done

Recent Events

With our time here in Mzuzu winding down we have been busy tying up loose ends and I have failed to update our blog lately.  Here are some of the happenings:

-          August 1, Anna Kamanga joined our staff as a nurse.  Anna had previously worked for the nursery in Lilongwe but her husband was transferred to Mzuzu last month so she asked Ministry of Hope if she could work with our nursery.  This was all the Lord’s doing as she has been a huge asset to the nursery and allows us to leave knowing that the health needs of the babies will be met.  She is a lady with a heart for the Lord and these babies and we are so thankful that she is with us.

-          We received 3 more babies last month.  The police brought us a little boy that had been abandoned at a house in town.  He is about 1 year and we have no information about him, not even his name.  We named him Michael and after some adjusting him and Mphatso are great buddies and together cause lots of trouble for their mamas.  A little baby girl was left at the gate of the Mzimba hospital and again we have no information about her.  She appeared to be about 2-3 weeks old so we have named her Hannah Hope.  Our last little one was a 2 month old boy whose mother died at birth and they named him Masia, which means orphan in Chichewa.  We renamed him Mateyu which is Matthew in English.

-          We are waiting to hear from our potential director who is currently in the states about when she can be in Malawi.  Please pray for God’s direction for her and that doors will open that will allow her to arrive as soon as possible.

-          Our current staff, Augustine, who will act as interim director, Veronica, the supervisor and Anna will be responsible for all aspects of the nursery until a director arrives.  Please pray for wisdom for each of them as they lead the nursery in our absence.

-          We finally received Bridget’s passport and are planning a trip to the US Embassy in Lilongwe on Monday to apply for a tourist Visa for her.  Please pray that all will go well with that appointment.

We really can’t believe that our time is coming to an end here.  Even though we are leaving the nursery physically it will never leave our hearts and minds.  We will continue to be an advocate for the nursery but just from a different location—the U.S.             Lisa

 

Mphatso

I mentioned previously that we were looking for a family to adopt Mphatso as his father said that he could be adopted the last time he saw him many months ago.  We found a family that was willing to adopt him so we have been searching for Mphatso’s father to sign papers releasing him to be adopted.  We finally found his home but he had left his young girls alone (ages 12, 10 &4) saying he would return in a few days but after a month he was still not home.  This week he came to the social welfare office and said that he would not let Mphatso be adopted.  He has apparently remarried so now he has someone who can take care of him. When his wife arrives they will take Mphatso back. Now at first glance this may seem like a wonderful ending to this story as a child should be with their family.  The problem is that Mphatso’s father is HIV positive and his mother died from AIDS.  Because his father is on ARV drugs he is feeling better so has married a woman who will become HIV positive from him, have a few children who will also be HIV positive and repeat the awful cycle that happens so regularly here.  What kind of care will Mphatso really receive in this situation?  We can only imagine.

As some of you know, Mphatso was our first baby and has been with us for almost a year.  He is very special to us and it is heartbreaking for us to let him go to a family that has struggled from the beginning and will continue to struggle.  The wonderful news is that God loves him and is aware of all the details of his life which I am not.  I can rest only because God is faithful and His ways are past finding out.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!   Romans 11:33

           

            Lisa