| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MAY 6, 2023 BABY REGINALDA IN HOSPITAL Baby Reggie, as we call her, has resistant malaria, meaning the oral treatment didn’t stop it, so she needed IV medication treatments for 5 days. This is her 3rd day of treatment, and she is showing progress, but still needs prayer, as her immune system is weak. Her Hemoglobin was only 9.2 upon admission when it should have been between 10 and 12. A Hemoglobin of 8 is considered critical, needing a transfusion to prevent further complications. Reggie is now 2 years old but weighs only 7kg/15.4 lbs. She was born with tuberculosis of the bone. This is a rare disease that was passed to her during gestation by her mother who had respiratory TB. Her mother passed away shortly after Reggie was born. Reggie completed the 14-month TB treatment and is free of TB in her bones. No one knows why, but her body hasn’t shown much growth since then. Please pray for her bones to harden, and that she will begin to grow. She is unable to crawl but can sit up on her own. She is a sweet little girl and a fighter, no doubt about that. The Lord’s healing hand is her only hope, as she needs a JESUS MIRACLE!  2 year old Reggie sitting with Foster Mother Angelina last week just before Reggie’s Malaria started CHILDREN HELPING OUR CHILDREN The COLD weather has moved in early this year with nights around (55F/16C). Our weather went straight from hot and rainy to cold and dry. It is very unusual to see these cold temperatures until late May or June! The people of Balama are used to temperatures being HOT in the daytime, and comfortable at night. NOT SO LAST WEEK, as it has been windy and cold for all of us. It’s time for warmer clothing! Two classes in an Ohio Christian School contacted us in March wanting to raise funds for sweatshirts for our children. The children were learning about handling money and studying missions, so their teacher thought this idea would help them apply what they are learning. Their fundraiser raised $400 which assisted all our younger children under 12. Our teenagers needed adult sizes and were blessed by another donor.  1 of 2 classes of Ohio children who helped fundraise for sweatshirts for our children  2nd Ohio class of fundraisers I TRULY LOVE SEEING CHILDREN HELPING OTHER CHILDREN, as it teaches them the valuable gift of “giving” in Jesus name! OUR HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO THESE WONDERFUL CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS WHO SHARED THEIR LOVE FOR JESUS WITH OUR CHILDREN.  3 of our 1st and 2nd graders wearing their new sweatshirts in early morning cold  Susanna (left) and 3 month old Orlencia held by Head Foster Mother Gilda as they try on new sweat shirts ANOTHER FAMILY OF ORPHANS RESCUED THIS WEEK! Tuesday, May 2nd, found us again giving a helping hand to a Granny with 4 orphaned children. The mother died late last year from post-malaria anemia. Malaria kills red blood cells, and causes severe, life-threatening anemia if not treated with a blood transfusion and a high protein diet. The children’s father cared for them with Granny’s help, but then he passed away last week (cause unknown), leaving only Granny to look after them. She was overwhelmed with grief and had lost hope until someone told her to come to us.  4 Orphans with Granny on Tuesday this week as they came to ask for help She left with a big smile knowing her grandchildren would have food at our weekly give out and warm blankets to sleep under.  Happy doesn’t come close to expressing their joy at getting new clothes and household items when they only asked for food. THANKS TO YOUR LOVE GIFTS, WE WERE ABLE TO OUTFIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
Author Archives: Kim Hartman
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: APRIL 29, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: APRIL 29, 2023 THE REST OF THE STORY ON GRANNY AND THE KIDS On Monday, our driver Mario fetched the entire family of Baby Luisa at their village mud hut. Capena, our office manager and I wanted to make sure that all the children were in good health, and we had new clothing for them once we knew their sizes. Mario told me the little 3‑year-old screamed his head off when they tried to put him into the Land Cruiser, as NONE of the children had ever been in a car of any kind. It was quite a shock to all of them to ride in a pick-up, as you can see by the photo I took when they first arrived wearing the only clothes they had. Granny stated that with the help of the oldest girl (14) she would keep all the children with her.  5 siblings of infant Luisa just as they got out of our truck My staff made sure that the 14-year-old girl understood that if anything should happen to Granny, she was to tell the Village Chief who now has Capena’s phone number. The Uncle has his own family, and will be returning to them. The adults went to the Registration Office, where Granny presented the proper documents. Meanwhile, the children (wearing their new clothes) enjoyed a tasty and healthy meal.  Eagerly eating the first nourishing food they had had in days Later, the family was given cookies for dessert. Even though they had not had packaged cookies before, after a quick lesson their packages were opened and gobbled up quickly!  Fatima teaches the children how to open their cookie packets We presented Granny and the children with new grass mats, blankets for sleeping, and cooking pans with bowls for eating. They proudly show off all of these items in the picture below.  Very happy family with new clothes and household items The 14-year-old told us that they had nothing to eat at Granny’s mud hut. A 10 day supply of food was loaded into the truck so the Uncle wouldn’t have to come in on his bicycle until next week for his first food pick-up. Driver Mario returned them to their village in our Land Cruiser with the 3 year old screaming as the family put him into the truck!! Thankfully, he settled down after the oldest girl put him onto her lap. We now have infant Luisa’s birth certificate and the proper papers from her family so she can legally stay with us, so all ended well. THIS IS A TYPICAL “FAMILY” RESCUE, AS IT’S NOT ONLY THE INFANT WHO WOULD NOT SURVIVE, BUT THE OTHER SIBLINGS AS WELL. YOUR LOVE GIFTS AT WORK DOING WHAT GOD SENT US TO DO. THURSDAY WAS REGISTRATION DAY AT OUR FOOD CENTER All 300 vulnerable children and their caretakers are required to re-register annually in April if they desire to continue in our Food Assistance Program.  Starting at sunrise, our staff checks documents and children receiving at our weekly give out This assures us that the registered children are still living with their extended family member, as each child has to be presented with their birth certificate. It took about 4 hours to attend to all the families this year. As they are cleared by our staff to continue, they happily fetched their food and headed home. PLAYGROUND REPAIRS ARE FINALLY FINISHED The giant slide was the last item to be repaired as it takes lots of courage to climb on top of the “tree house” roof (6 meters/19.5 feet) above the ground. The acid from the leaves of this massive 200+ year old Mango tree had totally eaten the tin sheets. All 10 roofing sheets had to be replaced before it was safe for the children to play on. It was a two day job tearing off the old roof and putting on the new tin sheets, but all is finished.  Tin sheets were totally eaten by tree acids from this ancient Mango tree  New roof keeps all debris from falling on the children The playground only lacks a new coat of paint which will be put on in May by our Artist Teacher Sergio and his helpers. Can’t wait to see what crazy design he comes up with. It was a busy week that kept all of us hopping. Our staff sees it as all worth it when we can use YOUR GIFTS to put smiles on the children’s faces! THANK YOU FOR BLESSING THESE LITTLE CHILDREN. BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US! BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: APRIL 22, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: APRIL 22, 2023 A RESCUE THAT DEFINES WHY JESUS SENT US HERE On Wednesday, April 19th, an elderly Granny walked in with her 5‑day-old granddaughter, followed by the baby’s Uncle. After hearing their story and reading the Village Chief’s declaration, they asked us to please take the infant as Granny cannot not care for her. It was obvious this family is very poor and these 2 were overwhelmed with new responsibilities. The baby’s mother had died shortly after giving birth, leaving them with 5 siblings and the newborn baby. All other family members had died, including the father, in JANUARY, 2023 from an outbreak of cholera in their very remote village about 12 miles/20 km from us. We immediately agreed to take the tiny 2.7km/6 lb. infant girl, named Luisa, as I tried to mentally rearrange our present 22 infants in my head! This child needed a Foster Mother who can handle such a tiny newborn. I called our Head House Mother, Gilda, and she helped me sort it out, for she knows the mothers caring for infants better than anyone. As tiny Luisa slept peacefully after consuming 3 ounces of milk, my staff and I asked many questions to get the full picture of the children left at home. The Granny and Uncle hadn’t eaten all day and were very hungry. I gave them each a bottle of water and a big bread roll. They had never had a bottle of water before, and asked us how to open the bottle! I then knew we were working with people who were very isolated from the modern world. We explained in Makua that they needed to return on Friday with a Declaration from the Village Chief requesting that baby Luisa live with us. I gave them the $7/R126 travel money for a round trip on a minibus taxi from Balama to their village with the return on Friday. We then took Luisa to meet her new Foster Mother, Amina.  (L to R) Granny, Foster Mother Amina with Baby Luisa, and the Uncle. On Friday, we waited, and waited. The Granny and Uncle finally arrived at 2:30pm as they had used the travel money to buy much needed items. I doubt they had ever seen $7/R126 in their entire lives! Starting out on the Uncle’s dilapidated bicycle for transportation, the rear tire exploded part way through the journey, leaving them to walk most of the 12 miles pushing the bicycle. They had brought the needed documents required by law for all orphans, but the date for the father’s death was incorrect and will have to be rewritten by the Village Chief. Knowing more travel money would be used to by other items, the only sure way to get them home and back here on Monday with the corrected documents was to send them with our driver in a Land Cruiser to their remote village. This village is so far in the bush that the first “car drivable road” was built late last year. All 5 children and the Granny will be enrolled in our Food Give Out Program that takes place each Thursday. In order for the Uncle to be able to fetch the food, we bought him a new bicycle tire and tube at the local market. Also, taking them to their village assured us a good look at where they live, and a photo of the other 5 children. Our concern is that some of the younger children may need to come live with us also to lighten the load on the elderly Granny. If something happens to her, the children have no one to live with, as the Uncle said he can’t care for them.  Uncle, Granny, and 4 of the 5 children. Picture taken by our driver when he arrived at their remote village. Our staff will fetch ALL 7 of them, and the corrected documents early Monday morning with our Land Cruiser. That way Social Services can review the entire family history with them, and provide another document needed by all children in our homes. My story ends here, as you must wait along with us for “the rest of the story” as it unfolds next week. I tell you this story in detail so you can better grasp what flexible solutions are necessary to save children in these kinds of circumstances. It’s not always easy, or simple by any means. Pray for all of us this week, that we can sort out the needed Death Certificates of the mother and father, Birth Certificate for Luisa, and any of the other little ones who might come live with us. Social Services requires these documents on each child living with us, so without them, Luisa must return to her Granny. BUSH BUNNY TIDBITS 1. LITTLE AMBROSIO, now 2 years old, is finally walking! This is a great milestone for him, as he came to us in a very malnourished state. It just took more time than normal for him to gain his balance and walking legs. His many brothers and sisters who were already running all over the place, were a great encouragement to him. Ambrosio showing us he can now walk like the other toddlers. https://youtube.com/shorts/CdR7OExIeBM 2. The Granny who is raising our first set of triplet boys, now 12 years old, came yesterday. The boys were in school so there is no picture of them. Granny needed a new cooking pan. Thanks to our New Jersey sponsor for our Cooking Pan Give Out Program, we were able to place 2 brand new pans in her hands as well as two 5 gallon water containers. She left a very happy Granny, and YES, we gave her a hand carrying it all back to her mud hut.  Ancient Granny who successfully raised triplet boys. THAT’S THE NEWS FOR THIS WEEK! Stay tuned for more African Adventures next week with Bush Bunny Brenda and her staff. Blessings to all of you, in Jesus’ name! BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: APRIL 15, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: APRIL 15, 2023 A PASSLE OF PRESCHOOLERS! What do you get when making 7:30 a.m. visits to the children’s homes? A PASSLE OF PRE-SCHOOLERS wanting a ride!  A Passle of Happy Preschoolers! To these little ones, there is nothing better than asking Mama Brenda for a ride in her King Cab. It’s a short 400 yards/meters to the pre-school, and I go very slowly, so they enjoyed a whole 5 minutes of “riding the road” before their daily fun time. They are growing up quickly, as every one of these children came here as infants. Our Bakers Dozen (13), the fast-growing 1‑year-olds, will soon be taking their place. Heaven only knows how I will get all of them into my double cab when they start pre-school. Guess they will have to learn to take turns! That will be a challenge for sure. HOW DO YOU FORGET A 4 YEAR OLD? Seems it’s not difficult when the responsible person doesn’t double check the area. Tomacina, age 4, was forgotten by her Uncle at our Thursday food give out this week. In the 15 years we have been distributing food at our mission base, we have never had a family member forget a child they brought with them. With a hungry little girl on our hands, I presented her with food and a water bottle, which put a big smile on her face. We waited for 2 hours before taking action, as we thought surely the Uncle would return for her. When he didn’t, we took her to our office where she finally remembered she was from Namara Village. Capena called those in Namara whom he knew but found no one who knew the little girl. She didn’t know any family member’s names, so that added to the problem. Fortunately, the village chiefs were in town for a meeting, so Social Services used their influence to get the Namara Chiefs out of the meeting, hoping they could identify her. Praise the Lord that one of the chiefs knew her! He gladly went with our staff in our Land Cruiser to show our driver the way to her mud hut. Our driver reported upon his return that the Uncle thought she had left with a friend from the same village who had brought his children with him. The Uncle never thought to check the area, so the result was one little girl in tears when she realized she had been left behind.  Tomacina back with her Granny and siblings in Namara Village. Praise Jesus, it all ended well! Tomacina was reunited with her family after 6 hours of turmoil. Our staff will do their best in future to be more watchful of the little ones, making sure they all leave with whom they came with. FIX-IT TIME, AS THE RAINY SEASON FADES OUT We’ve had more sunny days in the last week than we’ve had all rainy season, put together. It was a JOY! So on Friday the 14th, I closed the playground, and had our carpenters and brick layers do all the small fix it jobs that were needed to keep the playground equipment safe. The major job was the 2 swing sets that years of swinging kids and weather had worn out. It now has new supporting beams that in 7 days will be ready for use. Have to give the cement pillars a chance to dry and harden before they receive the stress of lots of happy kids swinging to their hearts delight!  Bricklayers cement-in the new swing mounting beams. WE LIVE AS A BLESSED FAMILY BECAUSE YOU CARE. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO SO THAT WE CAN BE THE LORD’S HELPERS TO THE CHILDREN OF THIS AREA. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: APRIL 8, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: APRIL 8, 2023 ELEVEN PRESCHOOLERS ON THE GO! Two days of dry weather and our soccer field was ready for players! The eleven preschoolers lost no time in doing their warm up exercises so they could kick their ball around.  Preschool kids doing their warm up exercises. https://youtu.be/hghakCGtyKg We have 3 shy ones in the group, but with a bit of coaxing, they soon began to play “bounce the ball” with me while the others kicked the ball all over the field. These 3 to 5 year olds have more energy than anyone can fathom. Before their soccer coach could stop them, they had chased the ball to the far end of a 100 yard/meter soccer field! (See the videos and share their enthusiasm!)  Preschool kick ball team chasing the ball as fast as their little legs will run. https://youtu.be/r1hZydc57Lo They were having so much fun chasing the ball, (and we were laughing so hard while they did it), that it was hard to keep a straight face when telling them where the boundaries are. They actually did do better the 2nd time around, keeping the ball inside the area we had marked. They are a sharp bunch with great potential for sure! CHOOSE ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND YOU WILL FIND THAT KIDS ARE THE SAME WHERE EVER YOU GO! ART AND ENGLISH—MIXED TOGETHER MAKE FOR A FUN TIME OF LEARNING We have a new face among our helpers here at the base. Sergio, a Christian, came here looking for work, as he heard we liked murals painted on walls. I told him there was a much better use of his talents at the moment.  Sergio, our fantastic new Art and English teacher, whom the children really enjoy makes learning fun! Art, Music, and English are Sergio’s strong points, so we are putting them to use. He agreed to hold Art/English lessons each Saturday for all our school aged children.  4th to 7th graders learning English with Sergio, the new teacher. He challenges our children in drawing/coloring and then spends part of the class teaching them simple English (numbers, alphabet, etc.). Both of these subjects were points I had hoped to achieve with the children this year. God knew my heart and sent Sergio to fill the void. I sat in on the English class for the 5th to 7th grades and found out those kids are super sharp!  Listen as one of the boys speak whatever number Teacher Sergio points to. https://youtu.be/71d_3W1wmhE YOUR LOVE GIFTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THESE CHILDREN. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: APRIL 1, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: APRIL 1, 2023 THIS IS NO APRIL FOOLS! TWO INFANTS JOINED OUR FAMILY THIS WEEK BABY BOY, Almeda (baby number 20), 5 months old, came straight from the hospital to us on Monday after receiving treatment for malaria. His Granny was not feeding him properly before and during his hospital stay, even though we had provided all that was needed. The Malnutrition Doctor observed this and asked us to accept him into our program as he felt Granny couldn’t care for Almeda. The family didn’t object as they realized the baby would perish if left in Granny’s care. There was only an Uncle remaining in the family, making it a necessity that the infant come live with us. Almeda is mildly anemic, but with a good high-protein diet and lots of love, this 5‑month-old little one will soon grow strong. He had not gained any weight in the last several months but managed 600 grams since coming to us this week. His current weight of 5.25kg/11.5 lbs. is a big improvement! A normal weight for 5 months is from 7 to 9 kg/15.4 to 20 lbs. Almeda now resides with our newest mother, Amina, in the Zebra House (House # 6).  Baby Almeda with Foster Mother Amina BABY GIRL, Madelina (baby number 21), is just 2 months old. This little orphan was living with her elderly Granny who struggled to care for her.  Baby Madelina is very upset with her Granny The mystery of 6 weeks of poor weight gain since this orphan joined our program was finally solved at Thursday’s weigh-in. A family member came with Granny and revealed that Madelina was being fed the 7 days of milk in 4 days and then was forced to survive on 3 days of sugarless Kool Aid! (Flavored chemical water) With this starvation diet, it is a wonder the infant is still healthy! As I held Madelina while we sorted out the details of her staying with us, this tiny little thing consumed three bottles (2 ounces each) over the next 2 hours. I instructed her foster mother, Felicina, to feed her on demand but in small amounts, as 2 ounces is all she can tolerate right now. MADELINA IS A SCREAMER!! Our foster mothers know that screaming and continuous crying causes an infant to burn calories and lose weight, which we are trying to avoid. Babies who have been starved often panic when they awaken and are hungry, fearing that no one will feed them. Their screams are acts of desperation. In a few days, Madelina will learn to trust Felicina by realizing the milk will keep coming. No need to panic!  Baby Madelina (2 months old) with Foster Mother Felicina. BOTH THESE INFANTS NEED A SPONSOR, so get in on the fun of having a distant little one to pray for. Please email me if you would like to be a $40/month sponsor and tell me which infant you would like to assist. TODDLER UPDATES When visiting the baby/toddler homes, I keep my phone camera ready, as the 14 toddlers living there are growing faster than weeds in a corn field! FRANCIANO, 15 months old, came to us as a wee little infant, and HE JUST STARTED WALKING! See the cute video of him as we imagine him saying, “No help needed, I got this”!  Franciano doing his best to balance on a slightly slanted surface https://youtube.com/shorts/wDTplKdfQ5w?feature=share QUISTON, now 3 years old, is terrified of cars. Why? He had health issues as an infant, and associates cars with going to the Doctor or even worse, the Hospital! This photo shows him finally trusting me (without crying) to take him to the pre-school in my King Cab. I want to teach him that car rides can go to fun places too, for he loves the swings at the pre-school playground! Anselmina, his pre-school buddy, has no such fear, and loves to ride in the car. She has been a big help in getting Quiston to trust me and car rides.  Quiston and Anselmina in my King Cab. Their playground is just a few feet away at our Learning Center OUR FAMILY IS INCREASING IN SIZE, AND WE THANK YOU FOR MAKING THESE SPECIAL MOMENTS POSSIBLE. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 25, 2023
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 25, 2023 IT’S ALL ABOUT BABIES TODAY It’s a BIG happy family that lives in House 6 (the Zebra House) and House 7 (the Leopard House). The many infants and toddlers are flourishing and growing rapidly as they learn how to relate to one another through play. The local visitors who were supposed to come today had to cancel, so I quickly snapped a group shot of this big family in their colorful clothing at the spontaneous mother’s meeting we had this morning.  Eleven foster mothers and our Children’s Assistant Director under the covered playground by the infant homes. Any meeting with the mothers must be done at their home, as they now have 17 children from ages 2 months to 4 years to care for. You may ask “Why 11 mothers?” In order to give each of the mothers a break from caretaking, we need enough mothers to care for the children plus continue the clothes washing, meal preparation, and going to the market. It’s a bit easier now that the children are growing up and can play independently. It was a fun time this morning with Capena catching me holding Susanna, who decided she must sit on my lap.  Brenda with little Susanna in her lap. Fatima, Children’s Assistant Director in the background. I am sharing a few snapshots of our fun time with them on Friday. Thanks to our visitors’ cancellation, Capena and I could just relax and join in the fun with the children. It was wonderful!  Baby Joao sleeping, with Fatima, far left, and Little Gilda in the middle, along with 3 of the Foster Mothers.  I received a phone call while there, so Ambrosio took his Foster Mother’s phone and imitated me. FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, FOR HELPING THESE CHILDREN HAVE A FUTURE. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 18, 2023
| 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 |
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 |