New Arrivals

So after blogging last week I realised that I didn’t really write much about exactly what I’ve been up to. It’s just that I feel so strongly about what’s going on in this world that maybe sometimes I get a bit carried away and miss what’s slap bang right in front of me. The little girl I wrote about last week is just going from strength to strength- or should I say smile to smile. She laughed out loud for the first time on Wednesday. I felt so humbled and blessed to have witnessed it. She now smiles a lot, she laughs, chatters away, interacts with the other babies and toys and now is even making attempts to start crawling. It truly has been a miracle. The pictures below show just how much she has changed in a little over a week. It’s not just her smile that is visibly different- you can see in her eyes now there is life and a desire and a will to fight. I know so many of you have been praying for her so thank you so much! God has truly answered our prayers! Hallelujah!

More exciting news comes in the form of not one, not two but three new arrivals at the village. We picked up a three month old gorgeous little baby boy up from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. It was such an amazing experience to go and collect our new arrival. When I picked him up for the first time I instantly felt drawn to him. I instantly felt that he was so desperate to be loved. I prayed over him and sang some songs and I felt the power of God flow from me to him. The connection I made with him that afternoon will never leave me and I hope and pray that before I leave that I can play a big part in his development both spiritually and emotionally. It truly was a special moment- one I’ll never forget. Then Robbie and another volunteer picked up his 12 month old brother on Friday afternoon. He was in so much distress when he arrived. Tears were streaming down his checks, it was quite an emotionally draining moment- I really struggled to keep it together. There are 9 months between the two siblings meaning that the mother got pregnant again as soon as she had the first little boy. Then just as the 12 month year old arrived a 6 year old little girl arrived. She seems to be quite happy although her English is not too good but hopefully she should settle in well and get to know the older children quickly. She has been put in a house with another 8 year old girl so hopefully they should get on well and for a special bond. All the other children can’t wait to meet the three new arrivals and make them welcome. They are especially excited to meet the 6 year old as that’s another recruit for the football and cricket matches!!!!! Please pray for these three new arrivals that they would feel as though they are at home and for the house mothers that they would make a deep and lasting connection with the new children.
Thursday brought the celebration of a birthday- any excuse for a party! We had cake, “chippies”, marshmallows and lots of fun! As always we sang happy birthday, blew out the candles and opened the presents. The afternoon is always such a special time as sometimes we forget that we can’t predict how many more birthdays the children will have so each one must be made a very special occasion. I took my camera with me (I rarely go anywhere without it!!!) and took so many photos- the kids absolutely adore having their photo taken as you can see from the pictures below…..

The older children have dance lessons once a week after school and they had their big performance last weekend. They performed brilliantly with so much passion and enthusiasm. I felt so nervous for them as we sat and watched all the other acts before it was their turn. The way they came onto the stage however soon dissolved my nerves. They just looked so exited and confident. They were amazing! Most of the children have such a good sense of rhythm- they really felt the music and that just shone through. Bias set aside they easily got the biggest clap of the night. I incidentally didn’t just clap- I screamed, whooped and clapped as loudly as I could whilst fighting back tears of joy. As with out new little arrival I feel already I have such a strong and deep connection with each and every child. I felt so proud of them and what they have achieved against all the odds. The love of God really shines through them and I feel just so privileged to be part of their lives……..