Today is Maddie's birthday and she is 8 years old.  She was so excited this morning about taking her Hanna Montana cake to school to share with her friends at break time.  We celebrated on Sunday with lunch at Des and Pete's and then afternoon tea in the Matopas.  It was a lovely day all round.  Tonight we will go to Creamy Inn for icecream.  That will really make Maddie's day..  Hard to believe that I have had that little stick of dynamite for 8 years.  She has certainly made all our lives a lot more interesting!!!  Maddie invited her friend Nicky to spend the day with her and the two of them had a wonderful time together. 

A number of our children out at the Village also celebrate their birthdays in September and last week a friend took cake and presents for all the children having a birthday this month.  It was a very special afternoon for the children but especially the birthday kids.  Flora the lady who prepared the celebration wrote in her e-mail to me...It was the most uplifting time for me and I loved every minute of being with them. The twins were delightful! As too, their little sister, in one of the pictures, wearing the ribbon from their wrapping.  Portia was fantastic and guided me through the whole thing. She was so good with knowing all about each child and filled me in on their backgrounds.  I am so grateful to people like Flora Eley who see the importance of making each child feel special.  Flora will do this each month from now on for the children having a birthday in that particular month.

In my last blog I wrote of my sense of well being that all of our children were back with us and doing much better.  Unfortunately that did not last long,  Awakiwe began vomiting on Sunday and we had to take her to hospital yesterday where she was admitted. Because of her status she tends to catch anything that is going around.  She was doing so well so I was devastated to hear that she had taken a bad turn again.  Please pray for her!

The other little ones are all doing well.  I spent some time playing with them this morning.  I always feel refreshed after being with our babies.  They certainly help one keep things in perspective!!

I know I am supposed to be happy whenever someone expresses an interest in adopting one of our children but the thought that one of them may be leaving us is always hard to bear.  Someone came in this morning to see Chanel.  She instantly fell in love with her and if Chanel's older sister is willing to sign her over for adoption then Chanel will be leaving us soon.  My heart is breaking.  I know that I could never take her but at least I get to see her each day.
Joseph is still with us.  He was supposed to go to his Aunt last week but because he was being legally fostered by one of my staff he will have to go court again before we can hand him over.  At first he seemed a bit reticent abhout leaving us and was obviously very shy around his Aunt but he seems to be coming to terms with the situation now and hopefully he will settle into his new home quickly and without any problems.
There is also another family keen on taking 15 month old Liam.  Liam has a 3 year old sister and twin brothers who turned 5 today.  Liam's sister Sera leaves us on the 17th to go to her new foster family and if everything pans out Liam will also be joining a new family soon. 
It's all happening at once and as I said in the beginning I know I am supposed to be happy but having to say good-bye to so many of our babies all at once is going to be very hard.
Little Jacquie finally came out of hospital on Saturday.  She is looking so much better.  Please keep praying for her.  She is still very small for her age and still requires special care.

Whilst I was at the hospital I was able to chat with Jacquie's pediatrician who has agreed to work with us pro bono.  This is wonderful news for us and we praise the Lord for His provision. 

So at last all our babies are back home with us and I have a sense of well-being for the first time in ages.  Thanks to all those who faithfully prayed for me, the minsitry and our children. 

Nothando, Ashley, Jacquie, Susan and Chanel

I had a terrible night last night.  Rebecca came into my room around ten o'clock with a raging temperature.  She kept thinking  things were crawling on her and was terrified of the pillow, thinking it was a person.  She kept asking me who was in the bed with us.  I can assure you there was no-one there except Becky and me!!!

Today is bittersweet for the YFC staff.  8 year old Jospeh will be leaving us tomorrow.  He has been with us for two years and has become a firm favourite of everyone at the Sandra Jones Children's Village.  He is always up to nonsense and in the time he has been with he has broken both arms and currently has a big cut on his head.  He is a bit of a daredevil and is always climbing on things and then jumping off. 

Whilst we are all thrilled that he will be going to live with his Aunt now, his smiling face is going to be missed around the village.

I am thrilled to finally be able to say that at last Nothando is out of hospital and looking much better. She is full of smiles now.   Little Jacquie is still in hosptial but we have been assured that it will only be a matter of days before she is also home with us.  This is Nothando below.

We currently have 5 babies, plus 3 toddlers in our offices and it sure does make for some interesting times.  It is so hard to concentrate when you know that just a few feet away is a baby just waiting for you to come and play.  Awakiwe is back, she has to go to the clinic tomorrow.  She spent some time with us last week and I LOVED having her here.  We would take little walks together each other and she would talk to me in Ndebele and me to her in English but somehow we were able to understand each other.  As you can see by the photo she is a real little character. 

Chanelle is also still with us.  She is eight months old and was staying with me for a while.  She is one of my favourites and I knew that I had to bring her back before she was firmly entrenched in our family and it became impossible for us as a family to hand her back.  Now I have the best of both worlds.  I get to spend as much as time as I like with her but don't have to change dirty nappies and have sleepless nights.

Philip is also still with us.  He is our only little boy at the moment.  He is really spoilt.  It is hard not spoil him....he is just so darn cute!!!

And finally that's little Susan above...she was also very ill but now blooming.  Susan has a terrible temper and wants everything done NOW!  She can really make herslf heard when she is not happy about something.  It's a cry that can wake the dead.

Well that's about it folks.  Time to pick up my daughter from Des' and then go home and cook supper. 

As per usual it has been some time since I last wrote on this blog.  I can't believe how quickly time flies.  There is so much happening and whilst I think to myself each morning that today will be the day when I will update the blog invariably something else happens to prevent me from doing it.  Yetserday I went to Botswana to try and buy an inverter for the house.  We do have a generator but with the load shedding becoming longer and longer it's becoming too expensive to run the generator.  So now we will use the inverter most of the time and the generator just to cook.  Having said all that the trip to Bots was a waste of time and I ended up buying a cheaper and better inverter right here in Bulawayo...murphy's law!!!
We still have two babies in the hopsital.  Even the doctors aren't sure what is wrong.  They have both had so many tests but each time they reveal nothing.  Many thanks to all who have been praying for our precious babies.  Other than that all our children out at the village are much better.  At this point in time there are no runny times, bad coughs, headaches etc etc etc...praise the Lord.  It sure has been a difficult few weeks and we all need a breather.
I'm back!  I just spent half an hour playing with Awakiwe.  She is one of our newer children and is two years old.  She came to us because she is an orphan and her grandfather was unable to care for her.  She was in hospital for malnutrition,  Awakiwe is a great kid...always happy and has the most infection laugh.  I gave her a caramello bear and she hadn't a clue what to do with her.  I guess it's the first time she has ever eaten chocolate.  She wasn't overly impressed.  Go figure!!!  That's not such a bad thing because unfortunately Awakiwe is HIV positive and therefore sugar is not good for her.  Liam our one year old also had a chocolate..he loved his and then wolfed down Awakiwe's.  Little piggy!!  It's always refreshing to spend time with the little ones.  Helps keep things in perspective. 
Well that's all folks.  Chat to you tomorrow..I hope!!

I am feeling much better today.  A big thank you to all those who have been praying for me.  I have been very much aware of the Lord's presence in these past few days.  Also many thanks to all those who have given so generously in order for us to pay the staff their July salary.  What would I do without amazing generous friends who are prepared to partner with me in this work.  I CANNOT do it without you!!
God news is that little Jackie, our smallest baby, is now home from hospital.  Unfortunately she is HIV positive and therefore has not been thriving as she should.  However she is a sweet contented little girl and hopefully with some extra care we will be able to get her weight up.  Please pray for her and for the mothers who are caring for her.
Nothando is still in hospital and we are waiting for the doctor to see her.  Hopefully she will be released today and then we will have all our babies back with us. 
Because of the extra pressure put on us over the past few weeks we decided that we should not take any more children for a while.  Everyone is very tired and needs time to catch up!! Having said all that we have had to take three small children were badly beaten by their grandmother and have been asked to take a 4 month old little girl who was abandoned in South Africa.  Family and friends will remember this little girl who they visited whilst they were at the hospital.  My sister Kerri fell in love with her. 
Making the decision on whether to take a child or not is so so hard.  I know we can give the children the love and care they need but in doing so it just adds more and more pressure on to my already overworked staff.  What to do?  God please grant me wisdom!!

My brother-in-law Geoff has just given me a gentle reminder that it has been more than a month since I lasted posted on my blog.  My apologies.  The last six weeks have been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride.   The highs were certainly the opening of the Sandra Jones Children's Village and having some of my family and friends there to celebrate with me. It was the most amazing day.  We had a huge crowd and our teenagers outdid themselves with their singing and dancing.  The afternoon tea was amazing and the  cherry on top of the cake (pardon the pun) was the incredible cake my sister Kerri made for the event.  You really are an amazing sister Kerri.  (More about the opening in the next blog)
Since then however there has been a series of lows which have left me reeling and feeling pretty depleted.  Obviously having to say goodbye to the my family and friends was really difficult.  When we have to say good-bye in Ziumbabwe it is never for short time and I imagine it will be a good 12 - 18 months before I see them again.  Since then we have had to put four of our babies into hospital with a serious bout of vomiting and diarrehea .  And then three of them ended up with pneumonia.  It has been dreadful watching them all go down so quickly.  On top of that one of my dear friends and a strong YFC supporter was viciously attacked on Tuesday night and passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning.  And after all that I still have not been able to pay salaries which were due last Monday due to a serious shortage of cash. 
Ii was good to be able to share my feelings with my pastor from Australia this morning and as he prayed for me over the phone I was very conscious of the Lord's peace settling over me like a soft,warm blanket.  Thanks Daniel!!  Your timing was perfect.
If you were to ask me now "what can you do for me" my answer would definitely be "PRAY" ...for our babies, for finances, for the YFC staff and for me personally -  for the Lord's protection and strength as we face this onsluaght from satan.
Finally I am reminded of some words of wisidom given to me this morning..."whilst the mountaintop experiences are wonderful, it is in the valley that we truly grow.'   So..... I will choose to stay in the valley if it will draw me nearer to Him!!