| TRIPLETS SURVIVE A WILD ENTRANCE! The pregnant mother went to the village hospital as she began her labor. Shortly, a tiny 1.6kg/3.5 lb little boy was born. To the amazement of the nurse on duty, there was another unborn infant sitting crossways that could not enter the birth canal. Balama’s ambulance rushed to the scene to take her to the regional hospital for a C‑section. However, the regional hospital realized there were 2 more infants to deliver, so this young mother was rushed to the state hospital in Pemba. Miraculously, mother and all 3 infants survived!  Mother holds a baby boy, and Sister holds 1 boy, 1 girl. All born 1.6kg/3.5 lbs. A week later, Social Services received them in Balama, placing them in our infant formula program. All 3 are holding their weight after the first 3 days, but they are far from being at a “safe weight”. Please keep all of them in prayer, as their Mom is also weak after this ordeal. It will take some time for her to overcome her anemia even with vitamins. The father came to fetch the 2 women and 3 babies in the photo after fueling up down the road. It was a “hold your breath” moment as he tied 1 infant onto his chest, then had the 2 women load up, each with 1 baby tied onto their backs. They were back 3 days later using the same transport, for it is required that all infants weigh in to receive more formula. Pray for their travel safety as well! Updates to be given as they develop. ROUGH START THAT ENDS WELL Saying we had a rough 2 weeks of food buying since June 1st would be putting it mildly. RAIN STORMS WITH HIGH WINDS hit us both Mondays! First, it isn’t normal for heavy rains to hit us in June. Second, the June 1st rain was tolerable since we were only buying beans and had them all under the roof of our corn barn, PTL! This June 1st rain lasted only during the early morning, so except for wet ground, it didn’t even delay the Children’s Day Party. June 7th was s different story! A beautiful sunrise was whisked away by high winds that pushed heavy rain clouds over our area by 6 a.m. (We start at 5a.m.) As the light rain began, Manel and I remembered the “ERIC IDEA” from 5 years ago when rain hit us during food buying. The 2 of us raced to our base, grabbing 10 tarps, rolls of rope, and the 7‑TON TRUCK!  Food buying in the rain. The photo shows the emergency tarping method that our Assistant Director taught us to use during bad weather at the barns. Tying the front of the tarps to the roofing beams, we use our 7‑ton truck as the “anchor”. It gives us the ability to continue working, although at a slower pace. The 2 tarps placed over the weighing area just behind the 7‑ton truck were RIPPED OFF the weight-room roof by the high winds during this storm. Thankfully, the trucks waiting to unload at our weigh-in spot were all tarped, so the corn stayed dry. We PTL that the storm passed in about 90 minutes, so we were able to finish our program for the day.  Up the corn staircase, and throw it on top! The bag weighs 60kg/132lbs. And they make it look easy. The Balama staff thanks all of you for your prayers for our safety and the fact that 132 TONS of corn and 108 TONS of beans are all safely in their prospective barns. More food fun coming in July!  Corn Barn after June buying. More to come in July. BLESSINGS BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
