| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 18, 2023 CLEANING RICE THE JESUS WAY Our rice is not store bought but comes straight from the rice fields in the hull to our storage barn. It stores without any danger from bugs, as the hull God provided for it keeps bugs from eating it. Processed rice, ready to eat, will only store for a few months before weevils would eat through the bag and attack the rice.  Winnowing the hulls from the delicious rice THE JESUS WAY! https://youtu.be/5NlEUqw8kA8 The widows from our church know how to properly process rice the Jesus Way. This method of pounding the rice to break off the hull is the manual method used here for centuries. This process uses a huge mortar and pedestal method as you will see in the videos. The mixture of cracked hulls and rice is then placed into a special winnowing basket and separated by the women. When finished, we have a sack full of very nutritious rice that heat has never touched. Processed rice has been through machines that not only removes the hull but removes much of the nutrition as well. When visitors get a taste of our rice they are amazed at how nutritious and filling it is. Our children love it! EVERYONE WORKS The handicapped widows and orphans in our area have learned how to cope and are most willing to do what they can to help with our children’s food preparation. This video features Eva, our 22- year-old who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Eva’s gift is helps. She learned from her teenage years how to pound the rice to remove the hull. This little lady dearly loves her rice, so helping to make it eatable is a pleasure to her even though it is hard work. As you watch her pound away, realize the pole she is using weighs 15 lb./7kg!  Eva using her gift of helps https://youtube.com/shorts/o1QY3qHC0Lk?feature=share  Handicapped widow sifting the rice In the video at the beginning of this blog, you will see a widow sifting on her knees, for she has lost 1 leg below the knee. But that doesn’t stop her from being a part of the women’s group that cleans the rice. She just sits or works on her knees to get the job done. DOING WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE IS NORMAL AROUND HERE. BABY HOMES FAST BECOMING TODDLER HOMES Visiting the children in the 2 “baby” homes means getting overrun with toddlers! They do grow quickly, as all are walking except for 4 of the 15!  Assistant Office Manager, Whitey, shows off his strength by loving on toddlers Susana (L) and Fatima ® Our Assistant Office Manager, Whitey, dearly loves the children and of course they love to be held by visitors! When I need a hug, I just have to go for a visit and the many smiling 2‑year-olds provide all the hugs I can handle. THANK YOU FOR MAKING HAPPY FACES ON THE 1000’S OF CHILDREN OUR PROGRAM TOUCHES. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
Monthly Archives: March 2023
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 11, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 11, 2023 CAPENA GRADUATES UNIVERSITY!  Capena receiving his diploma and rose. Our Office Manager in Balama, Capena, studied for 4 years to gain his Business Degree from the University of Rovuma. We are all very proud of him, as I personally know how tough it was for him to take on-line classes, and then go take a FULL DAY OF EXAMS one Saturday each month at the Rovuma University, 60 km/30 miles away. He passed with great scores.  Capena as he graduated from University. One happy guy! Capena is quite an intelligent man who does an excellent job of keeping this program functioning with the constant documentation we are required to produce. PRAISE THE LORD FOR SENDING US CAPENA! BBC FINALLY GETS A FULL WEEK OF EVANGELISM! In March, the rains decrease a bit allowing for more outdoor activities. March is also the month when all the crops are busy growing, so most of the children are in the villages vs. helping their families at their farms.  The crowd keeps growing as Carlitos acts out his story. The photos clearly show the large crowds of children who attend the programs.  Hands go up to receive Jesus! The video is hilarious, so have a good laugh as you watch this village’s best girl runner face off against a village boy in the championship speed race.  Surprise! She got ya! https://youtu.be/QzDD03hTM1Q Never underestimate a girl! BABY AMBROSIO SURPRISES US ALL! Baby Ambrosio, now 2 years old, is finally strong enough to balance and stand alone! As you can see from his dirty trousers, he is usually crawling all over the place. I was visiting the children in the 2 infant homes, when to my surprise, AMBROSIO STOOD UP! This only lasted for 30 seconds, then it was back to all fours again. Ambrosio joined our milk program in August of 2021, as his mother was not well. She passed away in September of 2021, and Ambrosio was cared for by his grandmother. Sadly, Ambrosio became malnourished under her care, and Social Services requested that we receive him into our family in March of 2022. Even though he gained weight with our great nutrition, he showed no interest in standing or walking. I tell you this so you understand our surprise and JOY when he stood up on his own this week. He’s certainly come a long way!  Ambrosio giving us his “I’m tough” face I am sure he will now quickly gain strength in his little legs as he tries to keep up with the 2‑year-olds living in the same home. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVING SUPPORT OF OUR 51 INFANTS AND CHILDREN. They are receiving the highest quality of care because YOU CARE! BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 4, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 4, 2023 DOUBLE THE FAMILY, DOUBLE THE NEED! Aunt Angelica of Ntete Village suffered the loss of her sister this week, leaving her with 3 nephews to care for! Angelica has a husband and a young child of her own, but now must care for 3‑month-old Jesualdo, as well as Evandro, 2, and Edi, 6. That is a big burden to take on during the “time of hunger” as this year’s harvest is still 60 days down the road. THANKS TO YOUR LOVE GIFTS, Angelica’s additional family members will not go hungry.  Aunt Angelica with her 3 newly adopted sons The food and formula these 3 need is available through our Infant Baby Formula and Food Assistance programs for orphans. I am happy that these 3 boys have an Aunt and Uncle who will raise them as their own sons. The additional food assistance your gifts provide for these 3 little ones, means they will receive proper nutrition at their new home. Otherwise, it would be NO MILK for the infant, and only starvation foods for the 2 little brothers. When we say that every dollar counts towards saving a life, we mean it! OUR SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN GET IT TOGETHER! It is hard to get our ever-growing family together now that school is in session. Every grade level has its own time schedule, so the only time the whole family is available is on a Saturday. With the children having their physicals last Saturday, I took advantage and quickly got them together for a family photo.  Our pre-school and school age children for 2023 I will do the same for our infants and toddlers when the weather is a bit less windy. We left all the infants at their homes until the last minute before their physicals, as the older children took over 5 hours to complete. I didn’t want the wee wittle ones out in the wind that long. THE NEW “HEART TROB” OF OUR TODDLER HOUSE CHEBANY had a rougher start in life than most infants. At 2 weeks of age, he suffered abandonment by his father WHILE IN HOSPITAL for severe anemia that needed an immediate transfusion, severe malnutrition, PLUS TB! I received a FRANTIC CALL from one of the women in our church early on Chebany’s 14th day of life, asking me to intervene. Chebany’s father told the hospital he was leaving Chebany with them and going home. I raced to the hospital, and Social Services met me there. With the infant in such critical condition, there was only 1 thing to do, ADMIT CHEBANY INTO OUR BABY HOME so we could take over his care. Chebany’s mother died of TB (Tuberculosis) when Chebany was only 11 days old, having transmitted it to him via her cough. TB is rarely transmitted from an infant to another person as they don’t cough like adults do. The hospital enrolled him in the TB medication program as soon as it was diagnosed, and he recovered completely with only a few problems during his 12 months of medication. The TB stunted his weight gain a little bit, making Chebany small for his age, but he is a powerhouse on the playground! The little girls in our homes all love him, for he is quite the cutie!  GOD’S OVERCOMER, CHEBANY! His nickname is ALEGRIA (JOY) due to his constant laughter and the big smile always on his lips. CHEBANY, NOW 26 MONTHS OLD, HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART FOR HE DEFINES WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN OVERCOMER! When you’re having a bad day, remember Chebany’s story, for it will put a smile on YOUR FACE! CHEBANY NEEDS A $30/MONTH SPONSOR. Please contact me via email if you would like to sponsor this very active little boy with the big smile and persistent heart. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |