| 2019 FILM RELEASED! THE BUNNY IS HOPPING! Brenda has a traveling day today, so we will have to catch up with her on next week’s blog. For those of you who may have missed it, here’s our new 2019 OU video. Please share with your friends. The film (link below) begins by featuring the beautiful children living in our 5 foster homes. It follows with an overview of all we are doing to bring JESUS to the people in 3 counties. (Click link to see our new video on YouTube)https://youtu.be/M0XCggD68d8 Please show our new film to everyone you know. TOGETHER, WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! BLESSINGS BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
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BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: October 19, 2019
WONDERFUL WEEK WITH OUR CHILDREN
School is out this week for the national elections, so it gave our staff more time with all the children in our 5 foster care homes. JESUINO surprised us by taking his first independent steps, as he is our 2nd youngest, but the last to begin walking on his own. Watch this short video clip and share our joy, as another innocent one becomes an overcomer after a rough start in life.
Click to see video —> https://youtu.be/Xuf5VBcps‑w

Left to right: Jesuino’s development from when he first joined our OU family to now. Your love gifts make this possible.
PIPED WATER COMING TO BALAMA
This week outdoor faucets were installed at each of our foster homes. Our bricklayers built concrete boxes to protect the meters which our carpenters will close with wooden doors this coming week. The water will not be turned on until the system is completed through out the town.

Once working, our mothers will have less distance to carry water, as daily clothes washing for 10 to 13 children takes alot of water. Our 2 neighborhood water wells will always be our reserve water for it is available with just a pumping of the water well arm. Those wells will continue to serve the community.
FAMILY PHOTOS

CAPENA, our office manager, practicing his “selfie” with the children from Victory House.

Another infant, 18 days old, lost her mother this week.
Thanks to your Love and kindness, this little one has a chance at a future because of the Infant Milk Program your Love Gifts provide.

Our children love building blocks and sand boxes.
Each of our homes is equipped with both for their educational fun. Off cuts from our carpentry shop provides plenty of unique blocks for our children to build with. More fun in the sun, as the hot and dry season continues through November.
BLESSINGS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS,
BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: October 12, 2019
2019 FILM RELEASED!
Three minutes of fun in the sun with our children. The film (link below) begins by featuring the beautiful children living in our 5 foster homes. It follows with an overview of all we are doing to bring JESUS to the people in 3 counties.
(Click link to see our new video on YouTube)
Film makers Eric Dry and Dave Deboer, we thank you for making this film possible. Both these men are on our Board of Directors, and truly give their all to help us rescue “the innocent ones” whom Jesus sent us, too. Our staff is awesome and I take my hat off to them for they give 100% of their love and devotion to our children. You will see most of them in this film.

A few of the infants and their caretakers in our Baby Formula Program.
BABIES SAVED BECAUSE YOU CARE
Our baby formula program is essential to saving an infant, for their little bodies cannot process even rice cereal until they are 90 days old. Our weekly formula give out includes mostly grannies caring for their orphaned grandbabies, but also serves malnourished mothers who can not produce breast milk.

Babies often look like this when they enter our program.

But they soon look healthy and happy, like the babies in this photo. ORPHANS UNLIMITED IS ALL ABOUT SAVING THE CHILDREN.Please show our new film to everyone you know.
TOGETHER, WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
BLESSINGS
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: October 5, 2019
BUNNY’S CHOMPERS REPAIRED, SO CARROT FARMERS BEWARE!
After the dentist, Eric Dry and I spent most of my final 48 hours in S. Africa completing a new, exciting video containing our rescued orphans, plus the work our staff, Pastors, and BBC Teams (Bush Bikers for Christ) perform to spread the gospel to all we meet. My part was the easiest, since I only had to help edit and write the voice-over for the finalized film. Eric had the tough job of matching the soundtrack to the correct parts of the film, rendering it into a program everyone can watch, then get it sent to our USA office. All was completed just 1 hour before I had to catch my plane. By next week, it will be ready for all to view.
OUR SINCERE THANKS TO O.U. BOARD MEMBERS ERIC DRY AND DAVE DEBOER (who did most of the filming), for making this film possible. BUSH BUNNY TIDBITS SMILING FACES make our staff happy, for it means our resident children feel loved and well cared for by their foster mothers. Below are a few photos of our children in the Victory House.

Happy kids at Victory House.

More of our happy Victory House kids. JESUINO and his Foster father, Esteven, 18 months after he almost perished together with his mother in a village birth. Jesuino survived because his grandmother raced him to the Balama hospital as he was suffering from an infected umbilical cord.

Chubby-cheeked Jesuino and his foster father, Esteven. Ten days later he was over his infection and placed in our care, for the elderly grandmother had 4 other orphans to care for and the baby was in need of special care. More stories to come in the following weeks. Stay tuned, for our story never ends.
BLESSINGS,
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: September 28, 2019
A MILE OF SMILES LIT THE WAY FOR OUR FOOD TRUCKS
NEW RECORD: 46 TONS OF FOOD DELIVERED 1 MONTH!
Tired, but happy, our food delivery team returned from the last village near noon on Thursday. THE MILE OF SMILES seen by the team made all the hard work and long hours well worth it.

There is a smile about to break through

Soap is such a fascinating thing, don’t you think?
Most of the children were too timid to smile big for the camera, but Capena says they were super happy to see the trucks arrive in their village. TOGETHER, WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE.
TOGETHER, WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE AN EVEN BIGGER IMPACT. THANK YOU FOR BEING SO FAITHFUL TO GOD’S CHILDREN.
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT US, SO WE CAN REACH OUT TO MORE CHILDREN IN OTHER AREAS.

Happy little boy guarding his granny’s food supply.

Intently watching as food is divided up for the walk to their mud hut

Older orphan girl looks after her 2 younger siblings
BUNNY TAKING A BREAK TO GET TOOTH FIXED IN S. AFRICA
In late June, I broke a tooth, and the only solution was an implant since it is a molar. It is well past the 9 weeks waiting period, and I need to have the crown put onto the implant post.
Bunnies need their chomping teeth, for it is hard to chew carrots when missing a molar. Keep me in prayer as I travel.
ZITO UPDATE
He is back to his usual schedule and healing well. ‘THANK YOU’ seems hardly enough, for your love gifts literally saved his life.
His genuine smile and happy laugh are proof that he is truly feeling better.

Zito and Pastor Armando.

Zito and Foster Father Pastor Armando. Zito sitting on his “3 wheeler” bicycle used for long distance travel.
Blessings,
Bush Bunny Brenda Lange
And the Balama Staff
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: September 21, 2019
FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS MOVING AT RAPID PACE
The hot and dry months are the “hunger months” in Mozambique, (September to November) as water is too scarce to grow anything but the smallest of gardens with left over water from dishes and washing clothes. Since the 2 cyclones hit earlier this year, the lost crops area is estimated to cover over 3,000 square miles (7,800 sq. km). UNICEF has identified and is working to alleviate malnutrition in 160,000+ children under 5 years of age who live in the 2 storm struck areas.

Granny and her 2 orphaned grandchildren receiving your love gifts.
The NORTHERN CYCLONE struck our area destroying many fields in the District of Meluco, where our program supports 515+ orphans.
THANKS TO YOUR LOVE GIFTS, we are able to prevent malnutrition in the 515+ Meluco orphans we support, which includes the Elephant Village.

Orphans looking on as bean ration is measured.
Manuel and his 2 man crew made 3 very gruelling 9‑hour drives to Meluco this week, carrying a total of 13 TONS of life-saving corn for distribution. This next week they will do the October corn and bean distribution to secure the 115 orphans living in the Elephant Village until November. Their last load next week will be to take more corn to the Meluco warehouse for those 400 orphans.

3 older orphans came with granny to help carry their food
Over the last 5 days, Capena and his 9‑man crew distributed 12.5 TONS of corn and beans to 577 orphans and widows in the Balama area. Lord, keep these trucks rolling!
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE SO THAT VULNERABLE CHILDREN HAVE THE LIFE-SAVING FOOD THEY NEED.
ANNUAL FAMILY PHOTO OF OUR HAPPY RESIDENTS
Our family is growing as we now have 48 children in permanent residence. FOURTEEN of these children are under the age of 5, so it does keep our Foster Mothers hopping!

Our annual Balama ‘family photo’.
Keep the school-age children in prayer as they are in the final 2 months of this school year. Many will be taking final exams by end of October.
HOUSE #6 NEARLY FINISHED
The finishing work on all our orphans homes takes time.
Building concrete kitchen sinks, eating tables, clothes washing areas, bathrooms and the septic tanks that go with it all takes longer than raising the house walls. Our team completes 1 phase, then has to let the cement dry and “cure” before the next phase can be done. It is a tedious job, and time consuming.

Final phase is painting it all in bright colors.
But we are happy to announce that ALL cement work will be completed this coming week, leaving only the doors and widows to be mounted and screened before the inspectors can be invited to come. At this time, we have requested the inspectors come as soon as possible after the elections which take place in mid-October.
If all falls into place, we will be able to open house #6 in November. TWO Foster Mothers have been hired, and are now in training at our other foster homes. Four children are in waiting for this home, and are now living in a temporary house nearby with one of our foster mothers.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE!
BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: September 14, 2019

L to R. Mighty Mildo, Snuggles Santos, and Amazing Armando.
OUR 3 MUSKETEERS: IF YOU SEE 1, THE OTHER 2 ARE NOT FAR BEHIND
‘MIGHTY’ MILDO, 3 years old, is the ringleader for 3 of our youngest boys living in the foster home called “The Lion House”.
Mildo’s mother passed away shortly after his birth, and his father had long abandoned them. That left baby Mildo in the hands of his fragile grandmother. After 1 trip to fetch baby formula for him, “Granny” asked us to please care for Mildo as the 27 km (16 mile) trek from her village was too much for her.
Mildo, now a happy, healthy, toddler loves to shake hands with me when I visit to show that he is a big boy now, just like the older boys in the LION HOUSE!
‘AMAZING’ ARMANDO, 21 months old, whose mother also died just after birth, was left with an Aunt since his father had abandoned them during the pregnancy. The Aunt lived over 25km/15 miles away, AND had a newborn of her own. She was unable to care for both infants, so Armando came to live with us. He’s still a bit shy around me, but relates well with the others in the Lion House.
‘SNUGGLES’ SANTOS, 18 months old, is quite in love with “Mama Brenda”. He comes running on his short little legs to give me a big hug when I visit, which is a great boost to my morale.
Born on Good Friday in 2018, Santos lost his mother after he was born at home in the village of Ntete (N‑tet‑y). The family didn’t have a name for him, so I suggested Santos in honor of his birth being on Good Friday.
Santo’s father was overwhelmed with grief from the loss of his wife, and suddenly becoming the only caregiver for his 4 older children. A newborn was beyond his ability to handle.
Santos has lived with us since he was 3 days old. His grandmother lived with us for a while, helping to care for him. Her family requested she return to their home village for the 4 older children desperately needed their grandmother. When older children are suddenly orphaned, it is a tragic emotional loss to them. A grandmother’s nurturing love towards the older children can really help them overcome a lot of their grief.
Santos is quite the little character, and his family visits him when they can.
ALL THREE OF THESE CHILDREN ARE ALIVE BECAUSE OF YOUR LOVE FOR VULNERABLE BABIES.
JESUS SENT US HERE TO SAVE THE CHILDREN WHO OTHERWISE HAD LITTLE CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.
OUR ENTIRE STAFF SAYS “THANK YOU” FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE. WE LOVE THESE CHILDREN AS OUR OWN. WE ARE A JESUS FAMILY!
BLESSINGS,
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: September 7, 2019
ROLLIN’, ROLLIN’, ROLLIN’. KEEP THOSE TRUCKS A’ ROLLIN’
That‘s our “theme song” for the 4 weeks of September, as we attempted to feed each orphan with not only 1 hand out this month, but 2!
Why? It is national election time for Mozambique in mid-October, meaning all distributions must be done in September. DOUBLE DUTY THIS MONTH, for it takes 2 weeks to distribute to all the orphans in Balama District. That means 4 weeks of go, go, go!
GOOD THING GOD MADE THE BUNNY AN EARLY MORNING PERSON!

7‑ton rolling out at 4 a.m. for Meluco orphanage.
IN THREE LOOONG DAYS this week, (4:30 a.m. pull out time), our 8‑man team distributed September’s life-saving food in 14 villages to 396 orphans and the 201 widows who care for them.
Using only our 6‑ton truck, Capena and his faithful team loaded and unloaded 10.2 TONS of CORN and 2.1 TONS OF BEANS throughout the western part of Balama District. It’s a lot of work with those sacks weighing 132 lbs. (60 kg) each!

Corn bags weigh 132lbs or 60kg. Grannies divide it up so orphans can carry smaller amounts.

Orphans and grannies. The reason Jesus sent us here.

Loading up for Balama hand-outs

Grannies and Aunties line up to receive beans.
7‑TON TRUCK WITH 3‑MAN TEAM BUSY HAULING LIFE SAVING CORN TO THE 515 MELUCO ORPHANS
Pulling out at 4 a.m. means the 7‑TON TRUCK arrives at the Meluco Food Warehouse by 1pm the same day. Six local men assist with the unloading which completes their long day. Supper and a good sleep finds our 3‑man team on the road EARLY the next morning, returning to Balama by 1pm with a load of orphan supplies they fetch on their return in a little town called Montepuez. Our motto is to ‘make each trip count going and coming’ to stretch your love gifts as far as we can.

Sharing Jesus with widows and orphans
FOLLOW THE BUSH BUNNY ON INSTAGRAM!
bbbrendaorphans is my Instagram name. Interesting photos will be posted as things happen, so you can get an EARLY PEEK at what is going on in Balama.

For those of you not on INSTAGRAM, know that if you “follow me” EACH POSTING comes directly to your smart phone, so you don’t miss out on what is going on!
BUSH BUNNY TIDBIT FOR THOSE WITNESSING TO NON-BELIEVERS
God is like Air. You can’t see it, but it is essential for life. You’re dead without it.
BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU!
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: August 31, 2019
ZITO FINALLY IMPROVING AFTER JESUS STEPPED IN
LAST WEEK I told you about Zito’s enormous left thigh swelling which began on Thursday. I was very concerned by Friday, calling in the doctor, who feared the infection had restarted and his sutures might burst under the increased pressure. The Balama doctor said a consult with a surgeon was not possible until Monday, so my staff and I took it to the next level.
We laid hands on Zito and prayed fervently and specifically, demanding the swelling, heat, and any infection to leave Zito’s leg. No immediate change was seen, but we kept thanking Jesus for his healing powers, and went home.
SUNDAY at dawn, I went immediately to check on Zito, and found that Jesus had taken care of it! HIS LEG WAS TOTALLY NORMAL in size and no heat was present. His fever was gone, and so was his pain!!! I WAS OVERJOYED AND DID A LITTLE DANCE AS I THANKED JESUS FOR HIS MIRACLE POWERS.
I was so, so grateful for Zito’s healing that I called the doctor on Sunday, and he came out to see it for himself. He was AMAZED, and stated: “Looks like we don’t need the surgical consult after all!”
I told him about our prayer meeting for Zito and he just smiled as he left.

Zito today. Pain free and healing quickly.
‘THANK YOU JESUS’ SEEMS LIKE SO LITTLE TO SAY, BUT OUR HEARTS ARE BURSTING WITH JOY AS I WRITE THIS! Zito has continued to improve throughout this week.
FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS KEEP US ALL HOPPING BUT EVERY CHILD ON OUR LIST NOW HAS FOOD!
MONDAY found our team leaving pre-dawn for Kwe Kwe Village, serving 166 orphans and widows, over 32km (16 miles) from Balama. It is a program that takes 7 hours as the going is tough even though the roads are better than last year.

Orphaned girl comes personally to receive for her siblings. Granny too old to walk the several miles to distribution point.
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY we prepped for 3 big food give-outs that would serve 702 orphans and widows in 3 locations on Thursday and Friday.

Elderly widows receive food at Mango Tree church

The widows raising orphaned grandchildren now depending on the grandchildren for their age is showing.
OVER 13 TONS OF FOOD were distributed during this week, bringing smiles of JOY to the 868 orphans and widow who received our assistance for the first time this year.
Hard work, but well worth it. TOGETHER, YOUR LOVE GIFTS AND OUR TEAM ARE KEEPING CHILDREN HEALTHY AND HAPPY.
ERIC HEADS HOME AS I WRITE
It’s been a very prosperous week with my long list of “TO DO ITEMS” for Eric now fully erased.
It was a wonderful 9 days with him working on computers, doing BBC program filming, repairing our broken truck, (including a training session for our mechanics), and too many “odd jobs” to mention.

Super talented Eric Dry flew to RSA today. His gift is “helps” in many different ways.
Eric is a “jack of all trades” and was essential in helping us build this mission station. Now he helps us keep it maintained when the job is too big for us to handle.
His talents are much sought after, as he had other missionaries waiting for his help this coming week.
THANK YOU ERIC AND THANK YOU JESUS FOR ALLOWING HIM TO GIVE US ANOTHER HELPING HAND.
BLESSINGS,
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: August 24, 2019
ZITO OUT OF HOSPITAL, BUT BATTLES RAGES ON
After 3 weeks of 4 very strong antibiotics, Zito’s doctor released him with prescriptions to cover the next 14 days with strong oral antibiotics. After arriving home Tuesday night, (3 days post closure of his knee incision), Zito spiked a high fever, and his leg began to swell near his knee where the worst of the infection was located.
Our Balama doctor doesn’t normally make house calls, but he didn’t want Zito anywhere near other sick people since he is very vulnerable right now. Zito has had 2 visits by the Balama doctor in the last 48 hours, and will be taken personally by him, and our staff to see another surgeon at the Regional Medical Center in Montepuez on Monday (30 miles/60km away). Will post his progress after the Monday consultation.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR HEALING PRAYERS COMING, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER YET!

Zito glad to be home and outside, even though cool weather still hangs around.
A BIG THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN SO GENEROUSLY TO HELP ZITO IN THIS VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION.
YOUR LOVE GIFTS PRESENTLY TOTAL $9,820.
HIS HOSPITAL BILL WAS $11,600 UPON DISCHARGE, SO WE ARE CLOSE TO GETTING IT COVERED.
My staff and I met with Zito yesterday, and explained the seriousness of the situation. We gave him a crash course in how to pray specifically against any new infection, AND GIVE THANKS TO JESUS FOR HIS HEALING! We then laid hands on him with specific prayer against any infection trying to raise its head up again. I firmly believe that Jesus may be the only healer who can resolve this problem permanently, since man’s ways are not working as well as expected.
TUANE FOOD GIVE OUT A BIG SUCCESS
Now that the Bible Conference is over, it is full steam ahead with the food distributions. HAPPY GRANNIES and AUNTS raising over 200 orphans converged with force on Tuane Village yesterday to receive their first gifts of 2019.

Grateful Grannies and Aunts awaiting food hand out for orphans.

Older orphans help out their Grandmothers by fetching the beans.

Older orphans come with village women because their grandmothers can’t make the long walk.

Number of pieces of soap tells us this happy Granny cares for four orphans.
ERIC DRY RESCUES THE BALAMA TEAM
Eric, nicknamed the BUSH BEAR by his children, lived here as a full-time technical support missionary for 10 years before returning to RSA. I can do the major building projects, but it took Eric to do all the fine construction work, as well as get us running smoothly during those initial years.
SEVEN YEARS LATER HE RETURNS TO RESCUE US! Bringing parts unavailable in Moz. he analyzed and repaired our long-distance Land Cruiser that is having bearing problems in the 4 X 4 transmission. His 9‑day stay is very welcome, as he happily helps us rectify computer problems, changes out old solar panels, and many other “odd” jobs that are beyond our staff’s capabilities.

Eric Dry returns to fix whatever needs fixing.
We asked, and God answered by sending the one and only BUSH BEAR TO BALAMA! His birthday was August 23rd, his first day here, so God gave him a treat by giving him a trip to see us!
BLESSINGS,
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE
AND THE BALAMA STAFF



