| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 15, 2022 BABY MARCOS GRADUATES TO HEAVEN Marco’s was a fighter from the moment he took his first breath. He gave his all, but couldn’t overcome the suspected e. coli bacteria that got into his system from the toilet. E. coli kills almost everyone who is infected with it, as it is meant ONLY for the large bowel. For 4 days, Marcos was fine, but Sunday he suddenly became too weak to drink from a bottle. My team and I rushed him to the hospital where he was admitted to the maternity ward, as that is where under 30-day-old infants are treated. Even with the best of care, he became weaker during the night. He met Jesus at 2pm Monday. ![]() Marcos, barely 24 hours old, sleeping peacefully. The hospital staff, Social Services, and members from the local government attended his funeral yesterday afternoon. They gave him a very honourable burial, as this is the first infant we’ve cared for who was abandoned in this way. Thank you all for keeping all our children in your prayers. Marcos is with our Lord, and we will meet him again someday in the future. Blessings, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
Author Archives: Kim Hartman
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 11, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 11, 2022 BABY #15 RESCUED FROM OUTDOOR TOILET! A baby boy was born in a remote village on March 9th, his cord was broken (not cut), then someone, we “guess” that it was his mother, dumped him into a nearby outdoor toilet, head first! Teresa, the woman who lived in that mud hut heard the infant crying, and immediately tore the log top off the toilet with her neighbor’s help. ![]() L to R. Estevan, foster Mother for Marcos, and Teresa, the woman who rescued him from outdoor toilet. After pulling the baby out, she immediately tied his umbilical cord, and bathed him to remove the excrement from his body. Teresa doesn’t speak Portuguese or Makua, just Makonde, so she asked Fatima, her trilingual neighbor, to go with her to the village clinic with the baby. The clinic called the Balama hospital which immediately sent their ambulance to fetch the infant and the 2 ladies. ![]() Marcos, barely 24 hours old, sleeping peacefully. This precious little one miraculously survived the night in the maternity ward, showing NO SIGNS of any medical problems 12 hours later. Social Services called me at 10:45 a.m., Thursday, March 10th, asking us to accept the infant into our family. Our Foster Mother, Estevania, was orientating at House #7. She gladly received him as her own. This little boy, now named Marcos, became the 5th infant in that house. ![]() Our staff gathered under the Mango Tree, discussing a name. Marcos was chosen. As that is Portuguese for March, his birth month. On Friday, day 2 of his life, Marco’s has no fever, and only mild inflamation around his umbilical cord. The Balama Doctor placed him on an Antibiotic syrup, and gave us a special antibiotic umbilical cord gel to apply. OUR MIRACLE BABY, MARCOS, needs a sponsor of $40/month to cover his baby formula and Foster care. PLEASE email me directly for more information if you would like to sponsor him. GOD TRULY HAD HIS GUARDIAN ANGEL CATCH AND PROTECT MARCOS. There’s not a scratch on his tiny body after a 6‑foot fall onto his head! Under “normal” circumstances, Marcos should have a badly infected umbilicus AT THE VERY LEAST! OUR GOD IS TRULY AMAZING IN ALL HE DOES FOR HIS LITTLE ONES! GOD’S BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL! BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: MARCH 5, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: MARCH 5, 2022 BABY # 14 JOINS THE FAMILY! TEN MONTH OLD AMBROSIO, orphaned in September 2021, has been cared for by his 2 teenage Aunts in their village, the only women left in this family. He has been in our milk program since last August, when his mother became ill and stopped making breast milk. The father was not to be found. ![]() Baby Ambrosio with 13 year old Aunt, waiting for admission to House #6 These 2 teenagers tried their best, but Ambrosio has had an upper respiratory infection for the last 2 weeks that has caused almost a 1 lb./400 gm weight loss. Without intervention, he was showing signs that he might not survive. Social Services was notified that we needed to bring this little boy into our family. They agreed and a 4 hour search for his adult Uncle was finally successful. Ambrosio’s birth was never recorded, so an adult family member’s testimony was needed so we could organize a birth certificate. On Friday 2 Uncles organized the birth certificate, and Social Services finalized his documents. ![]() Ambrosio with Foster Mother, Zainabo. He isn’t feeling well, as his face tells it all. Ambrosio is recovering well under the watchful eye of our newest foster mother, Zainabo, at house #6. With a high protein diet and all the formula he desires, Ambrosio should regain his weight loss within 2 weeks. PRIMARY SCHOOLERS RECEIVE TUTORING Tuesday gave me a good workout as I had to visit each home to make sure the foster mothers were aware of our tutoring schedule for each grade. Setting up the classroom and materials was easy compared to rounding up 25 first to seventh graders! It was the 6th and 7th graders who resisted the most, “duh”, but they all showed up for class these last 4 days. ![]() Pastor Jose and Teacher Pedro with the 2nd and 3rd graders in the afternoon session. The younger students tell me they really like Mr. Pedro, the teacher. Pedro completed his evaluation of the children on Friday, so will begin proper classes on Monday. ![]() Teacher Pedro writing a lesson on the white board for the 6th and 7th graders in the morning session. High school tutors are in the works, as it will take at least 2 teachers to cover their 10 subjects. HELDER HIRED BY BALAMA EDUCATION DEPARTMENT! We don’t know where he will be “student teaching” yet, but pray for a place close to Balama, so he can stay close to us (his family). More details when I have them. ![]() Happy Helder can hardly contain his joy! PTL FOR OUR FAMILY IS GROWING UP AND BECOMING PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS WHO WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: FEBRUARY 26, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: FEBRUARY 26, 2022 BBC LEADERS CONTINUE TO SERVE Carlitos and Daniel are 2 of our BBC leaders who serve by taking food twice a month on their BBC motorbikes to 9 orphans living in a remote mountain area south of our mission station. On a clear day, I can actually see the area they are going to, but getting there by road is another matter. Motorbikes make it easily, where even 4 wheel drive would get stuck in the rainy season since the road floods. ![]() BBC LEADERS, Carlitos and Daniel loading up food for 9 Orphans living in a very remote mountain area. These 2 men made the 40km/24 mile distance in 3 hours yesterday, which is good for that road. Once there, they check on the 9 youngsters, and found them in need of new clothes. Upon hearing their report, I sent them to the market on a clothes-buying mission. Those clothes will be delivered TODAY, provided there is no rain. YOUR LOVE GIFTS AT WORK! TEEN POWER! Each week, our 17 teenagers volunteer 2 hours to help keep our mission’s moringa orchards and soccer field clean and safe. Clearing away all grass, leaving only the sandy loam soil, means snakes can’t hide there! That’s a very good thing since 99.9% of African snakes carry some form of poison. Picking Moringa is a cooking task of the teen girls, so they make sure the “team” keeps it VERY CLEAN! ![]() Teenagers in our program clean up the Moringa orchard this week. Motto of Rural Mozambique: A clean yard, is a safe yard. It’s a task every Balama household performs early each morning. ![]() 17 teens in all, they make a powerful work force. FEBRUARY IS ALMOST OVER. MARCH WILL HOPEFULLY SEE THE REDUCTION OF HEAVY RAINS SO THE CORN AND BEANS WON’T ROT ON THE STALKS. JOIN US IN PRAYING IN A GREAT HARVEST, FOR THE NEED IS GREAT! BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: FEBRUARY 19, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: FEBRUARY 19, 2022 ALFERES ACCEPTED! Today, Alferes leaves for Teachers College in Montepuez, 60km/36 miles from here. This is truly exciting, as he is our 2nd teenager to enter this very worthy profession. Classes begin on Monday! Please keep him in your prayers as he has many adjustments to make. ![]() Alferes accepted into Teachers College! PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS RECEIVE A BOOST Retired Teacher Pedro will begin tutoring our 1st to 7th graders on March 1st. With only 6 days/month of “in classroom” instruction being allowed this year per student, our youngsters need a helping hand. Concentrating on reading, writing, and arithmetic will be the first objective. ![]() Interview with new teacher, Pedro. We are blessed to receive the best, as Senhor Pedro has a stellar reputation as a great teacher. THANK YOU TO OUR SAN ANTONIO DONOR who blessed us with the gift of this teacher! BABIES, BABIES, BABIES! Not all are pictured, but our baby formula program is expanding weekly with an average of 2 to 3 infants. This tiny little girl named GICA (Gee cah) was born on January 21st. Her mother passed away from postpartum complications on January 29th. ![]() Office manager Capena, instructs Aunt Roselda on how to mix baby formula for baby Gica. Gica’s Aunt Roselda adopted her. After trying to feed her a local milk product, she came to us via Social Services for infant formula. The formula your Love Gifts provide truly is the saving grace for these newborns. Thank You to all of you for loving God’s children in northern Mozambique. BLESSINGS BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: FEBRUARY 12, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: FEBRUARY 12, 2022 REGINALDA IS HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL! THANKS TO YOUR PRAYERS, Reginalda began showing improvement last Sunday. Her fever was gone during the day on Sunday, and only returned late afternoon. By Monday, she was fever free! ![]() Reginalda and Foster Mom very glad to be home! The Dr. wanted to keep her until Thursday to be sure her infection was gone. BY WEDNESDAY, she was in such good health, I was told we could take her home! REGINALDA loves the outdoors, so she was very happy to sit in her Foster Mother’s lap upon arriving home. THANK YOU, JESUS for answering our prayers so quickly! TECHNICAL SCHOOL CHOOSES 2 OF OUR TEENS The Graphite Mine (Twigg), opened a technical school just 2 miles down the road from us. Its purpose is to assist young men in learning either mechanical or electrical skills in a 90-day beginner’s course. ![]() Elusio and Ali were chosen to attend the Graffite Mine School to learn Mechanics (blue) or Electricity (orange). At the 2021 Christmas Party, when the Twigg and CIS groups blessed our children with many nice foods, I was told our young graduates could register for the April class, as the January group was full. ![]() Twigg and CIS gifts to our children at Christmas. The School Director called Capena, our office manager, in late January requesting 2 young men to report immediately to the school, as they had 2 slots open up. ELISIO AND ALI were hoping to attend in April, so they jumped at the chance to get in now! The mechanics school wears blue uniforms while electricity wears orange. We are very grateful for this wonderful opportunity for them, as it will take them 1 step closer to developing a much-needed job skill as the Balama area continues to grow. ON A PERSONAL NOTE I’m always telling you stories of abandoned infants, so here’s one for all you animal lovers! An abused female dog was brought to my home by Toto, my “romeo” guard dog. I could count every bone in her body, so BONES became her name. Sharing Toto’s food, Bones quickly gained weight and finally conceived with one of Toto’s sons, Rocky, who also eats occasionally at my house. Bones grew to trust me, but is still terrified of anyone’s hands to this day, including mine. Bones had her puppies well hidden in the woods behind my house, but sadly, the very heavy rains caused all but 1 to perish. I noticed her milk had dried up, and figured all the puppies were dead. Then February 1st, I heard the cry of a puppy in the grass near my front porch. Following the sound, I found the cutest little 3‑week-old male puppy, badly in need of milk. ![]() 4 week old SOCKS! Future guard dog for mission station. It seems that Bones had carried him to where she knew I would find him, hoping I would save him as I had saved her life. I quickly taught him to suck milk from a syringe, and had him drinking from a bowl on the 3rd day. SOCKS is now 4 weeks old. (All 4 feet are marked with white “socks”.) Bones stays nearby, but is content to let me raise her baby boy. Toto is now 9 years old, (ancient for a Mozambican dog), so his grandson, Socks, will be raised as my next guard dog for the mission station. GOD PROVIDES ALL OUR NEEDS AS WE NEED THEM. For that, I am truly grateful! BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: FEBRUARY 5, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2022 BABY REGINALDA HOSPITALIZED Last Wednesday, REGINALDA, 11.5 months old, presented with fever and lack of appetite. Tests showed she has malaria and an infection, origin unknown. She is being treated with broad spectrum IV antibiotics and LOTS OF PRAYER. ![]() Baby Reginalda in hospital. HER LOW-GRADE FEVER is concerning all of us, as it refuses to come down even with the strongest antibiotics available and the anti-febrile medications. YOUR PRAYERS ARE MUCH NEEDED! SHE NEEDS JESUS TO ERADICATE THIS INFECTION AT IT’S ROOT, SO HER HEALTH CAN RETURN TO NORMAL. SCHOOL DAYS ARE UPON US! Our Staff was kept busy this week distributing school materials, fitting uniforms made by our master seamstress, and fitting school shoes for the 63 school-aged orphans living in our Balama homes. ![]() 1st graders deal with their new backpacks that are almost bigger than they are! Small sizes not available. ![]() 8‑year-old Monica, who has an inoperable hole in her heart is now in 3rd grade! She is amazing! ![]() Brenda and staff handing out school supplies to high school boys. For the first time, some of our students will start classes without a uniform, as the fabric in the proper school colors was late arriving in the stores. Thankfully, the school gives a 1‑month grace period to allow all children time to comply. YOUR LOVE GIFTS ALLOW 100’S OF CHILDREN IN 2 COUNTIES / DISTRICTS TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION THAT IS SO VITAL TO A BETTER FUTURE IN THE WORK FORCE. MANY BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 29, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 29, 2022 RUN FAST, PLAY HARD! The rainy season leaves us few dry days, but our children are taking advantage of every minute. Hard rains hit on Monday, but by Tuesday, the playground was dry. It is amazing watching our youngest sharpening newly learned play skills each week. ![]() First graders having a “co-ed” soccer game to release all that pent up “rainy day” energy. From the toddlers to the preschoolers, all are staying happy and health as they “chase the balls” during play time. ![]() Watch this video of our 3‑year-olds having a “ball”! —> https://youtu.be/4CN-3rFWjxU We only have 7 children in the 3- to 5‑year-old age group right now, but look out, because the 11 toddlers turning 2 years old this year will soon be in the mix! Watch as Baby Juma shows off his “dancing” skills learned from watching others. —> https://youtu.be/8iy5IagnFb8 ![]() Adelaide and Chebany having a sandbox chat! ![]() Capena having some fun time with our toddlers at house #6, the Zebra house. HOUSE BURNS, LEAVING 2 ORPHANS WITH THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS. These 2 youngsters, ages 11, and 9, were part of a Child Headed Household run independently of our help by their 18-year-old brother. Over the Christmas holidays, their mud hut caught fire, leaving them homeless. Social Services requested our assistance as the children were left with nothing. ![]() Two orphans from Child Headed Household now able to live with their aunt after their hut burned to the ground. The 18-year-old teen found a place to live, but the 11-year-old boy, and his 9‑year-old sister were not so fortunate. THANKFULLY, a “family search” located an Aunt who agreed to share her mud hut with them, but she had little food to spare. THANKS TO YOUR LOVE GIFTS, our staff was able to assist them with emergency food and clothing, and placed the 3 of them in our Thursday food give-out. THE HANDS OF JESUS REACH THE “LOST AND DESTITUTE” BECAUSE YOU CARE. THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US AT ORPHANS UNLIMITED. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 22, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 22, 2022 PLAY HARD WHEN THE SUN SHINES! Our children are doing exactly that in these photos and videos. ![]() Daily Praise and Worship is a favorite with all our children. Preschoolers showing off with their energetic rendition of “God Is So Good”, Deus e tambom in this video. –> https://youtu.be/Coo8xS0q5lE We had an all-night rain storm in Balama on Monday that had us standing in water. But sandy loam soil dries quickly, signaling “PLAYTIME” for all our children who have an abundance of energy after being cooped up for a day. School starts at the end of the month, so in their minds, there is no time to waste! Sandra, 1st grader, shows off her skills at the Moz version of “Jacks” in this video —> https://youtu.be/eh44hbeSk64 ![]() Preschoolers share the swings as soon as the rains are gone. Click on the photo or this link to see Little Santos, on left, as he pushes his schoolmate for a higher swing. https://youtu.be/gc9fEJ8D2‑E ![]() Primary schoolers have a quick game of soccer. YOUR LOVE GIFTS KEEP THESE CHILDREN HEALTHY AND HAPPY. THANK YOU FOR GIVING TO THE LORD’S WORK AT OUR MISSION STATION. Blessings, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: JANUARY 15, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: JANUARY 15, 2022 ELECTRICITY COMING OUR WAY Electric hook-ups are scheduled for February 2022 for any home that is properly wired. Two electricians have worked long hours since January 3rd to wire all 7 of our orphan homes. House #7 is due to be completed today, meaning that we are by ready when the juice is hooked up. ![]() Electricians wiring House #7, the Leopard House. It’s an exciting milestone for all our staff, as nighttime call-outs for sick children will be a bit easier with lights in their rooms. TWO OF OUR YOUNGEST, NOW ON THEIR FEET! Chebany began to take shaky steps this week, and Baby Gilda makes her debut by standing independently. How time flies as our “baby houses” are becoming Toddler Homes. ![]() Gilda in middle standing independently for first time. Adelina, 3, on left, with Maezinha, almost 2, on right. See Chebany learning to walk at this YouTube link. —> https://youtu.be/tn_5A0SZI5M Rains knocked out most of our outdoor games for the older children this week, but that’s the rainy season way. ![]() Foster Mother Cecelia entertains our youngest while their Foster Mothers prepare lunch and wash clothes. Note: Exam results for our 2 young men who tested will not be out till next week. Helder, our Teacher Graduate will do his first job interview next week. Please keep him in your prayers, as he is a bit nervous. With many “Duck Days” ahead through February, we thank you for your prayers that all will stay healthy. (A duck day is a rainy day, as only the ducks are happy!) MANY BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |




































