Week 21

Week 21

Baby A, Baby T and Baby T turn 1 year old

Three of the babies turned 1 year old this past week. They all have birthdays within a week of each other. We had a party this past Wednesday for them and that was lots of fun. I was working in big babies and the party was downstairs in toddlers but we all took turns going down to the party. The kids love birthday parties as they get sweets like cupcakes, candy and chips as well as juice that is not watered down. This time the party took place over lunch and the sweets were lunch instead of just food. They really liked this. It is lots of fun to celebrate birthdays here and in April we have four birthdays to celebrate!

My Baby, Baby M

Volunteers that are at Door of Hope for 6 months or longer usually get the opportunity to name a baby. I have been waiting for my turn and this week Monday I was able to name our newest little guy. He is baby M and one of the most beautiful babies I have seen. I am not allowed to post his name on the blog for privacy reasons. I am so in love with this little one and visit him almost daily to give him some snuggles. He has quickly made the way into the top three on my favorites list. I can’t wait to love him more this month and see how big he grows! I will have many pictures of him to show off when I get home.

Toddler X and Baby M Leave

Two of our girls left us this past week to go to another children’s home. There was some legal stuff that was still happening with the parents and this place will be able to work better with that. It is a very nice home that they went to. We miss them greatly here and are getting use to the new dynamics with two of our babies gone. We continue to pray for their situations and rely on God for the plans that He has for their lives.

Pizza at the Farrs

Brady and Candy and their family had a friend come visit and stay with them this past week. Candy really wanted her to be able to meet us and some of the young adults from their church so she put together a pizza party and game night. It was a lot of fun to play games with 20 or so of us there. We also had some great homemade pizza thanks to Candy. A nice night out of the baby house and meeting some pretty fun people.

Gold Reef City

This past Thursday I was able to go with the Farrs to Gold Reef City. Gold Reef City is an amusement park here in Joburg less than 15 minutes form Door of Hope. I am not a huge fan of big rides so I was not sure about going but decided to take them up on the offer and at least I was out of the baby house. I ended up having a lot of fun and even surprised myself with some of the rides that I agreed to go on. We started off easy with some of the family friendly rides and then went on some of the roller coaster. The park has a fear factor rating that goes from 1 through 10. The first coaster we went on was the Runaway Train, which was rated a 7. It was not bad at all. We ended up riding it twice because there was not line and a smooth ride. Then nearby was the Anaconda, which is rated a 9. There are hills and upside loops and sideways loops and speed. I had watched it go a few times knowing that a few of them were going and was thinking about it. I ended up in the small group that decided to go. The ride ended up being fine. I never got super super nervous about it either. The rest of the day everything was very tame compared to that ride as well. The only other big ride that we went on was the Jozi Express, which is rated 7. We also watched one of the shows. It was a fun day and I surprised myself with what I was willing to try. For some reason things like this and zip lining which I would be terrified to do at home just are not as scary in Africa. Who would have ever guessed!?!

Easter Sunday

Another holiday to celebrate in Africa…Easter! I had a great day here in South Africa celebrating our risen Savior. I was able to go to church At Berea Baptist Mission Church since I had the day off. Then I went to Rosebank market and spent way too much money! Travis and Eric you better appreciate your African gifts because I spent way too much money on you! Andrea I need to get you a little more because of this problem! At the market we first got lunch in a food court area. I went to a Mexican vendor and got a burrito. An Easter burrito! Then we walked around the big market and starting our spending. By the end of our time I was basically out of money but I did get some good deals and got a few more gifts for people back at home. When I got back to the baby house we had an Easter egg hunt for the toddlers. This is something that the volunteers decided to do for them. We got 50 small chocolate eggs to hide all over the yard. The kids were getting their diapers changed when we went to hide everything. We then showed them what they were looking for and sent them out. We put a bucket in the middle of the yard for them to put the eggs in when they found them. The bigger ones caught on right away. The little ones it took more time. Once all the eggs were found, or so we think, we sat the kids down and they each got some of the chocolate eggs. They loved them and were a big mess. My Sunday clothes might never look the same again because of those little hands and lips all over them. It was so much fun to celebrate with them through the egg hunt and reading the Easter story. I have loved celebrating holidays over here but I am getting really anxious to be home and celebrate with family again!

New Schedule (Last one!)

I got my last schedule for the month of April. I will be working in Small Babies and Toddlers. Toddlers is my favorite department so I am glad about that and I have my Baby M in Small Babies that I am able to love on this way as well. I could not have made a better schedule for me! I now know how many days I have to work yet while I am here and how many days I have off.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
31           Off	1               Off	2  Small Babies	3                   Off	4         Toddlers	5   Small Babies	6   Small Babies
7   Small Babies	8              Off	9              Off	10             Off	11  Small Babies	12  Small Babies	13           Off
14           Off	15      Toddlers	16      Toddlers	17              Off	18   Small Babies	19           Off	20     Toddlers
21        Toddlers	22            Off	23   Small Babies	24            Off	25          Off	26   Toddlers	27  Small Babies
28  Small Babies	29 Plane leaves @ 6:55pm	30                HOME!!

Please pray for one of the volunteers, Candice, who had to leave unexpectedly for medical reasons. She has been sick for most of the three months that she has been here and is only getting worse. Her best option is to be home to get everything figured out and have family by her side as she does. We are all going to miss her so much and the rest of my stay will not be the same without her. We do know that she will be better off at home though. Pray that the doctors can get everything figured out and that she can find some relief along the way. We love you girl and are going to miss you something awful.

Less than a month!

Emily