FROM: BUSH BUNNY BRENDA, Brenda Lange DATE: December 28, 2013
TRIPLET RESCUE A 5 DAY CHALLENGE
On Tuesday, 24th, I received a call from the Balama Doctor, saying he urgently needed baby formula, as the hospital had none. I had no idea until I took it to him, that a mother had come in from 15 miles away carrying 12 day old TRIPLET GIRLS, each weighing 4.4 lbs. The uncle had brought her in on the back of his bicycle, for the husband seemed uninterested in helping. The mother’s breast milk was minimal due to her malnourished state. I immediately offered our only available widow’s house for her to live in, as the Doctor told her these cute little girls have little chance of survival unless she stays in Balama town where formula and medical help are available. She stated she has 4 other small children at home, with 2 of them being twins. We explained that the whole family can come and stay for up to a year, to get these little ones strong and healthy.
Her mother, uncle, and 2 other relatives arrived, and agreed she needed to stay, but she feared the wrath of her husband if she left without his permission. We took her whole family back to her village in one of our trucks to present the idea to the husband, but he could not be found.
She agreed to send a message to us on Thursday, as we told her we’d return for her family if he agreed to let her come.
On Thursday, late afternoon, the message was that he had never returned to the house, and she was still afraid to leave. I made the decision to send supplies to her on Friday, 27th, knowing her milk formula would soon run out. Five miles out of Balama, our truck was met by a heavy rains, dropping 1.5 inches in next 2 hours. On slippery clay roads, the only thing you can do is find a flat spot and SIT till the rains stop. Otherwise, the truck could easily slip off the narrow, single lane road into a ditch of fast running water. The road to the triplets village was now flooded and unsafe for travel. Our truck had to return without visiting this family.
Saturday, the sun peaked it’s head out so I dispatched Manuel, my best off road driver; Dominica, our Women’s Pastor, and a guard in our 4 wheel drive Land Cruiser to take supplies to this mother and see if she would come with us. I was SUPER RELIEVED when Manuel called saying she wants to return with our truck. LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS and her family stated they would deal with the husband when he returned, and she was to go with our staff for the safety of the babies. Before they could leave, the husband showed up, and agreed to come with them to Balama to see where they would be staying. He had been with his “2nd wife” for 5 days, so he got an ear full from me and Social Services when he arrived in Balama about responsibilities of being a good father.
Anyway, what is important is that the babies are safe, along with her 7 year old twin boys, and girls 10 and 3years old. I don’t have all their names as it has been a very hectic day getting them settled, but I did get photos!!!!
LITTLE FAMILY WATCHES OVER SLEEPING TRIPLETS
Just 1 hour after this family arrived, I was called to rush baby Jorgina to the hospital (Baby Jorgina and family are next door neighbors to the triplets). Baby Jorgina was vomiting, having dysentery, along with a very high fever and rapid respirations. The Doctor met me at the emergency room, and we spent an hour stabilizing her for dehydration and pneumonia. PTL the hospital just received a shipment of medicines, so they are back in business. With a baby in the hospital, you must have 2 mothers to sit with her at all times (so one can take a break), as well as bring all your own food and supplies. It’s quite a job to organize all this and get them settled into their hospital room.
While at the hospital, the staff told me that they were out of food for the patients. The doctor confirmed this when I asked, so back to the barns I went to fetch corn , beans, and firewood, as the patients had nothing to eat. The Doctor was too shy to ask, so I told him when that food ran out, CALL ME and I’ll bring more. He was quite taken by surprise when I stated: “Helping those in need is one of the reasons Jesus sent me here”. THAT got his attention, and I could see him thinking about it, so I was thrilled.
It’s now 3pm, Saturday, and all is finally calm around here. I can’t tell you how happy we are that these triplet girls are finally safe in our care. Without our formula and intense assistance and training, these tiny bundles of joy would not make it to 30 days of age.
QUIET PLEASE.…BABIES SLEEPING!
BEAUTIFUL TRIPLETS, SOUND ASLEEP
Thank you to my many friends on Facebook who followed my daily postings and prayed for these triplets all week. When an event as intense as this one happens, I will post it on both my Brenda Sue Lange and the Orphans Unlimited Facebook pages. If you’d like to get these postings via one of these FB pages, please send me a friend request.
PLAYGROUND DONATED BY ICM EMPLOYEES IN KANSAS
We were super blessed when an e‑mail arrived a week ago stating that our prayers for a playground had been answered by the wonderfully generous employees of ICM in Wichita, Kansas. Each year these men and women give their boss, Dave, a “gift” by donating to one of his favourite charities. We have been super blessed by this gift, and wasted no time getting started on the platform that will support a slide and 4 swings.
All this must be handmade from concrete as much as possible, as the termites try to rule our area. Anything made of wood that goes into the ground will be totally consumed within a year. Eric will help us put on the finishing touches for the swing mounts and the see saw when he returns from RSA in early January. In the meantime, our construction crew is dodging rain storms while building the main support pillars.
This construction crew is having a great time working between rain storms.
P.S. Was a good thing we had our Christmas party last week, as it poured on Christmas Day, making any kind of outdoor activity impossible.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!
Bush Bunny Brenda and the Balama crew