| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 28, 2023 WEE WITTLE NEWBORNS RESCUED JUST IN TIME A Granny and Aunt came to us last week with a 4‑day-old orphaned boy named Joao (John, in English). Sadly, Joao’s mother passed away on the 2nd day after his birth. Thankfully, Joao had not lost weight, as he was being nursed by his Aunt who has her own healthy infant on her back.  Aunt holding 7‑day-old Baby Joao and carrying her baby on her back. The Granny was overwhelmed with grief, AND the fact that she now has 5 orphans ages 9, 6, 4, and 2, as well as the newborn to care for. Granny stayed home this week to care for the 4 children while the Aunt brought in newborn Joao along with her own infant. The little one only gained 50 grams in the last 5 days, but the Aunt showed us a clean baby bottle, which tells us Granny is doing a good job with hygiene. PTL! Further teaching was done to make sure the Granny feeds Joao more frequently. Most little ones perish in the first week if the family doesn’t keep the bottle properly cleaned. If the Granny will feed him more frequently, Joao should grow at a steady rate.  Children’s Director Anna weighing Baby Candia as Granny looks on. The 2nd orphan received was a very fragile 1.8kg/3.9 lb. newborn girl named Candia, brought in by her Granny. Social Services sent the Granny to us as the infant’s mother is mentally unstable, and refused to nurse the infant. Our staff and I were elated to see that this tiny little one had gained 200 grams in the last week bringing her up to 2 kgs/4.4 lbs. We told Granny Fatima to keep up the great work, and this little one will grow up quickly. Our infant milk program is essential if orphaned/abandoned infants are to survive. Infants can only tolerate milk formula until they are 90 days old. As they pass 3 months, we get them to eating rice cereal followed by the super high protein Hypo Cereal. This increases their gain weight very rapidly. At present we have 37 INFANTS in our program who would have all perished if not for the help that you provided them. YOUR LOVE GIFTS ARE SAVING LIVES! ON BEHALF OF THESE INNOCENT ONES, WE THANK YOU! SCHOOL DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN! Giving out school supplies to our children is ALWAYS A BIG DEAL. Have you ever tried outfitting 53 kids with school supplies in one morning? Our staff has it down to an art for sure as we completed it in about 2 hours.  Pastor Armando and Brenda handing out school supplies. The children were so excited that they showed up AN HOUR EARLY! They wanted to be the first in line for their new backpacks filled with notebooks, a math set, pens, colored pencils, and other items that gives them the optimum chance to do their best in school.  Monica, 4th grader, and Sandra, 2nd grader, wait in line to receive school supplies. It was supper windy, thus the hoodies. Our children brought in TOP GRADES this year thanks to our tutoring classes. We plan to continue their tutoring to help them EXCEL even more this year, as it really improved their math and Portuguese grades.  Edward and his sister Anna are super happy with their new backpacks that your love gifts provided. YOUR LOVE GIFTS ARE TRULY MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MANY LITTLE LIVES! BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA TEAM |
Monthly Archives: January 2023
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 21, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 21, 2023 A PEANUT IN THE NOSE! Julio put a peanut up his nose last Wednesday night, causing me to be called out at 8:30pm when the foster mothers discovered it. I called the local Emergency Room Director for expert advice, and he came in person to the Zebra House to remove it so we didn’t have to go to the hospital. Making a hook out of a regular syringe needle, he expertly removed the peanut with no trauma to Julio’s little nose. It didn’t even bleed! I could tell this is not the first time the Emergency Room Director has been confronted with such a case. He spoke to the mothers about keeping peas, beans, and peanuts away from toddlers, as they like sticking them in ears and noses!  Julio, peanut lover, on left. Chebany on right, better known as Mr. Aligria (Mr. Happy). The photo shows Julio along with his buddy, Chebany, the day after his peanut fiasco. FYI: Julio will begin pre-school in a few weeks. He is the oldest of the 13 infants we received 2 years ago. How fast they grow up! LEARNING WHILE PLAYING It rained from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday, but thanks to sandy loam soil, part of the soccer field was dry enough to play on by 8 a.m. This time of year, you take what you can get as far as dry places for kids to play. The following videos show our kids having fun while learning. First, they played what we know as “Simon Says” with a Mozambican theme, as this teaches them to listen and follow verbal instructions.  Our children playing “Simon Says” the Mozambican way. https://youtu.be/VgxRrJgDeaQ For me, the counting song that came next gave them the most joy! When I showed them the videos, they laughed with glee, for seeing their own faces and hearing their voices is foreign to them.  Counting to 13 the fun way! https://youtu.be/voDWBQExL9E These kids are a fun bunch for sure, and it is THANKS TO ALL OF YOU that all those smiling faces are healthy and receiving a fun education. BBC DODGING THE MUD The BBC Teams continue their great work as weather permits. Friday, the early morning rain hit the villages around Balama, leaving lots of mud behind. This is the only day the team missed this week.  Tug-of-war for the young teens. Very competitive! Enjoy this video, as our Youth Pastors continue to bring stories of the life of Jesus to over 1,000 children per day. On average this week, the teams saw 20–30 children receive Christ EACH DAY. It is a wonderful sight as these children are the “good ground” that Jesus tells us about.  BBC Team teaching children to be a leader. https://youtu.be/B91IexBAtAw BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA TEAM |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 14, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 14, 2023 FUN IN THE SUN FOR A MOMENT We finally had a break in the morning rains that kept our kids off the playground. When I opened the playground, it was like turning loose a herd of wild horses!  Happy children enjoy the slide.  Sandra in front came to us as an infant. Now a 2nd grader! The giant slide was opened, and the older children lined up to go down 2 by 2 with BIG SMILES on their faces.  Our preschoolers took over the swing set. The little ones ran to the swings, and it was non-stop action for a whole 2 hours! As they tired of the slide and swings, the older children were given a soccer ball, and sent out with a Pastor Jose to play on a dry part of the soccer field. The little ones were organized into a kickball team which was a bit chaotic. No one cared that the ground was a bit damp, and that the sandy loam stuck to your shoes. IT WAS PLAY TIME! I was so grateful they had those 2 hours, for the rains returned at lunch time, turning the ground into mush where they had been playing. Such is our life during the 4 months of the rainy season. GRAB THE MOMENT, for the weather won’t last! BBC TEAMS DODGING THE RAINS TO BRING CHILDREN TO CHRIST Even though we’ve had multiple rain out days for the BBC Teams in the last 2 weeks, our Youth Pastors are still bringing new children to know Jesus.  BBC team teaching “I love God, and God loves me”. https://youtu.be/0WLUjQ2L24U The two BBC Bicycle Teams work in the villages close to Balama town. They report crowds of 200 to 400 children per village with an average of 15 to 20 children accepting Jesus at each Balama Game Event.  Village youngsters enjoy an intense competition. https://youtu.be/cDZ3r5Uq7kM  Little ones learning the ropes in tug-of-war. The 4‑man BBC Motorbike Team has increased their presence in the District by going to three villages in the same area instead of two. Gasoline is still very limited in our area, preventing us from expanding to our normal 4‑man Motorbike Team. In the larger villages, the Motorbike Team averages 500 to 800 children per event. The smaller villages average 275 to 430 per event. The Motorbike Team is reaching between 800 and 1000 children with the Gospel each day. Salvations for this team average from 10 to 30 per village. No matter the weather, our young men are dedicated to bringing God’s little ones to know who Jesus is. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFUL SUPPORT OF THESE TEAMS! BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA TEAM |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 7, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 7, 2023 HAPPY 2023 FEAST FOR THE CHILDREN Rain and more rain was last weekend’s scenario for Balama. Plan B was a fat frozen chicken for each children’s home along with all the “fixins”. Mud may have canceled the group party, but the children enjoyed their cookies, candy, and balloons, so all was fine with them.  All 7 homes received a feast and goodies on New Year’s Eve Day. THANK YOU to all who provided the Love Gifts that made this possible. Pray for our safety as cyclone season is here and the weather service predicts a possible 5 cyclones ( hurricanes) could bring serious trouble to this country. PLANTING TIME FOR OUR TEENS Our dorm boys managed to get their bean field planted just days before Christmas, when the heavy rains hit. Every teenager in our program must learn Agricultural Skills, as their survival once they leave us will depend on it. No matter what your paid job might be, farming is an essential part of everyone’s life in this part of Mozambique if you want to have nutritious food like corn and beans.  Beans planted just 1 day before the rains began. Timing is everything in farming. EARNING TO LEARN A main objective for our high school students is to teach the value of money. These 3 teenagers, Neto, Maninho, and Eralio, are in our orphan food program. They live with a family member who hasn’t the means to pay their high school fees. They requested assistance which we gave in exchange for a few hours of work. Working for school fees teaches them to earn what they need, and not to expect a hand out.  Working to earn school fees teaches invaluable Life Skills. The teenagers in our orphanage do the same, giving 2 hours a week to help others as a community service. Raising children carries many responsibilities in preparing them to survive on their own. Our staff is doing a great job in teaching these youth what children’s parents teach them in everyday life. THANK YOU FOR MAKING EDUCATION POSSIBLE FOR HUNDREDS OF ORPHANS. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |