Up Late

It's nearly 2am and I can't sleep. I spent the earlier part of the night reading and praying, and now my mind is in too many places for me to sleep.
I've already planned out my class and work schedule for next fall.
Maybe I'll be able to crash into bed soon. I just have so much on my mind.

For the record, everyone here at CoL is doing well. We've had a lot of sick babies, but all are responding quickly to treatment. I'm still fighting a cold, but it's not so bad. Might be better if I got more sleep. :)

Halfway Already?

Today is my "halfway done at Cradle of Love" day. I'm not sure quite how to feel about the fact that I'm halfway done. I feel like I've been here for a year...I'm starting to get to know the ways of this country. I feel comfortable here. I have friends here. I am involved in an amazing ministry here.
But at night I still dream of home.
I plan to take full advantage of these last 4 months of this chapter of my life. When it's over, I will be glad that I was blessed with this opportunity and encouraged to make a difference in the world.
I know it's possible for one very human person to make a big difference for God. At Davona's birthday party in December we tried to count the number of babies she has taken care of since she got married. The count fell awfully close to 300. Three hundred! I think we as humans too often limit our dreams. We don't realize that if we truly give our lives up to God, He will use us in ways more miraculous than we can imagine.

Please keep me and CoL in your prayers.
Thank you and may God bless you!

Things We Need

I've received some e-mails from people asking what kinds of things Cradle of Love needs. Honestly, our biggest need is money. We have to pay salaries, Social Security for our employees, electricity, food expenses, fuel, propane, etc.

I've come up with a list of items that Cradle of Love needs right now. These are all small things that can be mailed.

Please do not send candy for the children. You can, however, send candy for the staff and volunteers.

1. Nappy pins (we use cloth nappies)
2. Plastic nappy covers (in small, medium, and large). Preferably the kind that snap together at the sides.
3. Baby nail clippers.
4. Color ink cartridges for HP psc 1410 D All-in-One printer. I believe the cartridge code is HPC93528.
5. Bath soap for babies in bars. Not liquid.


Other not-as-needed but still much appreciated items:
1. Envelopes (any size will be useful)
2. Petty Cash Voucher slips.
3. A poster that shows the human body and names the parts.
4. A map of the world.


Thank you all for your love and encouragement and prayers!

January 13, 2009

I haven't put any pictures up lately because the internet is too slow. I'll keep working on it.

Many of you read my post about Quinn's and Molly's deaths. Two days after Molly died, we lost another baby, Joshua, to pneumonia. He was HIV+. A week later, another child died of pneumonia. She was back under her family's care, but it was still hard to know we had lost her. Her twin will be returning to CoL. Most of our children have recovered from malaria. We still have a few fighting pnuemonia and bronchitis, but they should return to health quickly. Thank you to everyone who wrote encouraging notes and who prayed for CoL and me during this difficult time. God is good, and He is still blessing us.

Davona and her family are gone on holiday to Mombasa, Kenya, for 8 days. This means I'm in charge! So far the week hasn't held anything too out of the ordinary. We were supposed to get a baby girl yesterday, but she hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully she'll still come this week. Two new volunteers came on Sunday. They are bright bubbly girls from the Mid-West.

I'm fighting a chest cold. I've had a sore throat for 10 days and I've been coughing a bit the last couple. It doesn't help that I haven't slept much the last 2 nights. I've been sleeping at Davona's house because I'm taking care of her adorable little dogs. I haven't slept well, partially because I'm sick, partially because it's a new place, and partially because the dogs woke me up at 2:30am for some unknown reason. And I also have to blame myself a little because I've been staying up until 10pm watching movies. Davona has a TV and I'm taking full advantage of it!! Usually I'm in bed around 8pm, so 10pm is pretty late for me!

I went to the pool last Sabbath afternoon with a good book and read for about 3 hours, taking the occasional dip when I got too hot. I've never gotten burned at the pool, so I only applied sunscreen to my face, as usual. Well, I got burned! Go figure. I turned a very nice shade of red on my stomach, chest, and upper legs. Thankfully I was laying on my back so I didn't get burned there. I had an interesting time trying to explain my burn to the nannies. They don't understand that it's a burn and that it hurts. It doesn't hurt much anymore, and I think I'll be lucky enough to come away with a tan from the experience. But for the record, I don't condone tanning. In the future I will wear sunscreen and limit my time in the sun. If I remember.

I have received 2 Christmas packages in the mail. THANK YOU to those who contributed! It really brightened my month! Rumor has it that there may be another package on the way. I am so blessed to have people supporting me from back home!

To those of you who pray for me regularly, THANK YOU. I really need it and I really appreciate it.

On January 24 I am halfway through with my time in Africa. I'm torn between being excited to return home and being sad about leaving.