It's a girl...and a girl!

Many of you might have heard already, but my family has now expanded! I applied to be a foster mother last March through Zimbabwe Social Welfare in hopes of eventually being able to adopt a little girl. This is a very difficult process for a foreigner, but is made easier since I have lived in Zimbabwe and plan on staying for as long as I am given a visa.

An officer came to do a home visit in May, but I never heard anything after that. A friend of mine from the United States is the administrator of an orphanage about 3 hours from Fairfield in a place called Mt. Selinda. One Saturday early in October, we went for a walk. She mentioned that they had twin one-year-old girls at her orphanage. My first thought was,
“I could never manage twins by myself!” Over the next few hours, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. We went to a program church that evening and through the songs and talks, I felt God saying, “You are right. You cannot do this alone. But you can do this with My help, and with the help of those I have placed around you.” My brain had automatically said no, but the Holy Spirit had whispered yes.

Four days later, I drove with Cecillia, our Acting Administrator, and a good friend, Julie, to visit Rumbidzai and Nomatter in Mt. Selinda. We instantly fell in love with our two little girls (now named Abigail and Grace). We were told by the Social Welfare officer that the mother had died giving birth to the girls. The father is still alive, but said he is too old to look after the girls. He brought them to Social Welfare offices when they were just five days old, when they were brought to the orphanage in Mt. Selinda.

I was told that it would be at least December or January before the paperwork was complete and they would be placed in my care. We went back the following Friday and located the father. He consented right away to give the girls to me, which made the process a lot easier. I didn’t realize until we were driving back to the office, however, just how much easier the first steps would be.

The officer asked if I was prepared to take the girls back to Fairfield right away. He did not like their situation at the orphanage because they were not receiving sufficient food and their development was behind. We all watched in amazement as he signed a half sheet of paper giving both girls to me under temporary place of safety. From there he will work on the foster care paperwork, and once they are under my care as a foster parent, he will immediately begin working on the adoption process. Within 2 weeks of initially hearing of the girls, they were making the 3 hour trip back to Fairfield with a very shocked mother!

Luckily, my friends here had thrown me a baby shower (although only expecting one girl!) back in June, so I did have the basics to start out with that first night. It has been one of the hardest but best weeks of my life as the girls get adjusted to their new home. They were far behind on their vaccinations, and this new mom learned that the first day in a new place and over 90 degree weather was not the best time to get them up-to-date!

But God blessed me with wonderful friends those first few days that provided meals when I was too tired to eat let alone cook, who offered encouragement and advice, played with the girls, found car seats and other necessities, and prayed with me. Grace and Abby are eating a lot, sleeping a lot, doing exercises to get them ready for standing and walking, and having a great time playing with all the Fairfield children. I can see improvement even in the short time they have been here.

I had already scheduled a flight home for Christmas for a few weeks and set up many speaking engagements thinking that I would not have a child before January. We could have left the girls at the orphanage until I returned, but decided that the quicker they could get the right foods and assistance the faster they would improve. They will stay in my house with their big sister Nyarai while I am away, with the help of all the wonderful mothers at Fairfield. Nyarai met her little sisters for the first time this past weekend and instantly fell in love. I look forward to the day the adoption process is complete (I am sure this will take a lot of patience and time!) and Grace and Abigail can come meet all of you at home. I am sure you will instantly fall in love with them as well.

I would appreciate your prayers as we begin this journey. I am already discovering motherhood can be overwhelming, especially with twins, but God’s grace is always sufficient for us. If any of you are going through a change or a difficult time, I pray you will also hear God whispering, “You can do this with My help and with the help of those I have placed around you.”

Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

Walk a Mile in My Shoes

Many of the HOPE children have to walk long distances in order to get to school. I am often amazed at how many of them wake up before it is even light outside in order to walk over an hour just to receive a good education. We used to purchase new school shoes for each child once every two years. But when we went to visit the children in school, the HOPE staff often found that their shoes were threadbare after only one year of use.
For many of the children, the school shoes we give them are one of the only pairs of shoes they own. They also grow out of them very quickly until they reach their adult sizes. HOPE is now giving new black school shoes to each of the children once a year to ensure they have a safe and comfortable walk to school each day,no matter how far they have to go!
The school shoes were purchased last month and it has been a busy time driving to all the schools to make sure each child receives their new shoes. The children were so happy when they were able to try on sizes to see which fit best. Many were amazed at how much their feet had grown since their last pair!
Thank you to all the sponsors and other donors who make it possible for us to purchase everything the children need to succeed in their education. Please pray for the 7th graders and Form 4 children (11th grade) as they are taking their big year end exams over the next few weeks.

Also, a big thanks for those who donated toward mealie-meal at Fairfield Children’s Home last month. We received enough to last through at least next July! I really appreciate the support and the children thank you for their full stomachs:)
Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

From Whom All Blessings Flow

Greetings from Zimbabwe! We have passed the winter season and now the trees are coming out in full bloom. Spring has arrived. It has been a very exciting time here at Fairfield. Our last team for the season was here from Missouri for the last 2 weeks of July. They each came with different skills that really blessed our homes as well as the children and staff.
We had a veterinarian who helped make sure our goats were healthy so they can produce milk for the children. Together the team painted our rusty old container so that it now has a beautiful sun and mountain scene. One of the team members replaced all our broken windows, while others helped him to replace broken handles, electrical sockets and irons.
The entire team spent time forming relationships with our children and helped to fill in pages for their lifebooks so they have a book of memories and pictures from their childhood. Thank you to all the team members for all your hard work and love.
I was fortunate to have some of my best friends visit at different times recently as well. We had such a great time together.
For Kate and Christine, it was their first trip to Zimbabwe. It was a huge blessing to have them meet all the wonderful people who make up my family here. Gogo (grandmother) Lynn came next. The children always are so happy to see one of their official Fairfield grandmothers coming to visit them! My friend Melissa returned for her third visit to Fairfield.
The staff and children were so excited to see her again-especially 2 of our young boys who took their first trip to the airport in Harare to greet her when she arrived.

The children are now all back to school for the last term of the school year. Once again, we were blessed with enough funding to pay for all the fees in full. Sometimes I look at the figures and am amazed that God provides so abundantly to keep over 150 children in school each term between the Fairfield and HOPE children.

We do have one area of urgent need for the children’s home. World Food Program has been providing mealie-meal, our staple food, for many orphanages over the past few years. They have recently stopped this service, which means we will have to source funds for 600kgs of mealie-meal every month to feed our 76 children. At the moment, 600kgs costs $240 which will be very difficult for us to find every month. If any individual or group is able to donate $240 to provide food for one month, we would be greatly appreciative.
Any donation that comes in a multiple of $24 (48, 72, 96…240 etc) will be used in full to purchase mealie-meal for the children at Fairfield. Once we have enough for one year supply, the funds will next be used to purchase cooking oil, sugar, salt, and soap that the children need monthly.
Thank you so much for considering this form of assistance!

Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

Coming Soon!

Hello all, I am very excited about our next team who will be arriving on Sunday. They are coming from Missouri and bringing two of my best friends with them! We are hoping that they will not regret leaving the warm weather to visit us during our coldest month. Last week we received a cold front with frost killing our whole crop of tomatoes. The up side was that the children saw their first icicle hanging from one of our water hoses:)

I am hoping that some of the Missouri team will be able to help me with a very important task while they are here. It is time for our yearly sponsor letters to be written by each of the HOPE children and sent to their special sponsor along with an updated photo. If you are currently a sponsor, be looking for your letter to arrive sometime in August. Some of our HOPE children have moved far away, so if your letter arrives late it just means it took us a little more time make it to their home for a visit.
The Fairfield secretary, Linda, accompanied me to Vumbunu Primary School last week to start collecting some of the sponsor letters from our children. Vumbunu is located at the top of a mountain that can only be reached by a road filled with rocks and ditches. We had to do some careful maneuvering to arrive safely at the top! We were greeted by the new Headmaster (principal) and were asked to speak to one of the 7th grade classes while we waited for the HOPE children to be called from their classes to visit with us. The students wanted to learn all about America, asking questions like “what is our staple food?” and “what sports do we play?” My favorite question was from a boy who pointed to Linda and asked, “Is she your friend?” Linda is both my good friend and young sister here at Fairfield.
There have been a lot of road accidents in recent months here. Please pray for safe travels for the team as they start the long trip here, and for us to have safe travels as we begin the annual trek to each school and home of the HOPE children to get all the letters and photos. If you would consider sponsoring a HOPE child, we have many on our waiting list and would be happy to send you information about a child for you to pray for and support with their education.
Thank you as always for all your love and support-we are all doing well here…shivering at times, but healthy and happy due in no small part to you!
Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

Ooh and Ahh

Our last month at Fairfield has been hectic, but we have emerged on the other side in much better shape than we started! A team of college students arrived in the middle of May ready to start digging. The team was led by my friend from seminary, Patrick Hutto. They dug up our old water pipes that were too thin to carry water to the four children’s homes at the end of the row, and replaced them with bigger ones. The children and mothers were dancing with happiness when everything was in place and the water flowed through all the way to the last house.

Just a few days later, we welcomed two teams from Indiana who had both raised funds to help with projects at Fairfield. One team was led by Dr. Mike Rynkiewich, my professor from Asbury, and his wife Teresa. The second team included Bob, Midge and Emily Greising who are members of the FOSA board that funds the orphanage. Both teams worked quickly and finished one project during their first few days. We needed a row of hedges along the road that will protect the houses from dust and also give privacy so people can’t see directly into the children’s bedroom windows.

The second project was to paint two of our children’s homes on the outside and one on the inside. They are now a nice bright blue and green. The teams had help from some Zimbabwean soldiers learning to become professional painters, which made the workload a lot lighter. This left time for the team to help with the children’s life books and sort our container so we know what clothes are available for the different age groups.
The children also really enjoyed popping corn kernels off the cobs with the visitors to get them ready to grind into their staple food, sadza.

We welcomed another baby boy to the nutrition program this month. His name is Ngoni and we would love your prayers for his health to improve. He has a loving mother who is doing everything she can to help him gain weight, so that is already a step in the right direction!

It has now turned cold here, especially up in our mountains. I can see my breath in the mornings and have put extra blankets on the bed.
I don’t handle the cold very well, so after a year of living within the Zimbabwean borders, I am heading for a week of sunshine on the beaches of Mozambique with friends. Someone was generous enough to donate their beach house to us for FREE…it is a tough life I live. If you start to get jealous though, remember it would take over $2,000 and 36 hours of travel time just to give my mom and dad a hug…so Mozambique will have to work as 2nd choice for my vacation destination:)

Wishing all of my American friends a very happy 4th of July in a few weeks! Say an extra loud “ooh” and “ahh” on my behalf when you watch the fireworks.

Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

May HOPE update

Hope you are enjoying the spring weather (or fall if you are in my part of the world). The children have just finished their April holiday and are heading back to second term this week. During April, the Assistant Administrator and I traveled to do some home visits and stopped in some of the rural clinics along the way to tell them about what the HOPE program offers. We had just graduated quite a few children from the nutrition program, so there was room for new children.

Within a week, we had 5 new children referred to us. One, named Eunice, was very sick and had been admitted to the hospital. When we went to visit her, we were shocked by how thin she was, which made it difficult for her to keep warm. Eunice has now started some different medical treatments and joined the HOPE nutrition program. She was discharged from the hospital a few days later and came to visit us this Monday to collect her eggs, peanut butter and bananas. Although she is still very thin, we were surprised by how much stronger she seemed in the short time since we had last seen her. Please pray for her continued full recovery.

Two other children referred to us are girl twins. They are just over 1 year old and their mother was having trouble making sure both of them had enough to eat. The doctor said they were both very malnourished. The family lives very far away, outside of our usual boundaries for helping children, but we decided that the mother could travel to us once a month and collect food instead of once a week. We will do a home visit soon to see how the girls are doing. Although they were both tiny, their smiles were so cute and we are happy to have them as new members of the HOPE family.

The children at Fairfield were very excited this month when our favorite dog “Honey” gave birth to four puppies.
When the children were at the old orphanage, they used to be terrified of dogs and would throw stones at them. This in turn would scare the dogs and they would try to bite the children, perpetuating the cycle. Now that the staff at Fairfield has helped the children learn to be kind to Honey, they are really enjoying playing with her four new puppies!

We have had a lot of birthdays and weddings this month, which means a lot of parties! Some of the staff went to a wedding in the capital city of Harare and had a great time. Nyarai and our two youngest babies, Tadiwa and Tafadzwa, were able to go as well. Now it is time for the parties to end and everyone will be back to school and work.


We have our first team coming this week from Mississippi. Two more teams from Indiana will be joining us at the end of the month. All the staff and children are excited to meet these old and new friends soon. We are happy that they will be working on some very important projects to make the home a better place for the children to live.

Hope you all have a very happy May!
Janine

Fair Exchange

Hello all! March has passed by too quickly… hard to believe it is already time to update the blog again! It has been a relatively quiet month here at Fairfield. We have settled into a good routine, just in time for it all to change again as the children end their first term next week and will have the month of April off from school.


The Fairfield staff has been able to make a good number of home visits this month to see different children in the HOPE program. Some were graduating from the program, so we would be visiting for the last time (officially:), while new children appeared to take their place. God has a good way of providing us with just the right number of children at all times!

Cecillia (assistant administrator) and I went to visit a little girl named Sekai (meaning “to laugh”) who had been on our nutrition program since she was a small baby. We found her healthy and happy, so she was now allowed to graduate from the program. During that same visit, however, we also stopped by to see Sekai’s 2 siblings at the primary school. The principal called in a little girl named Rosemary whose stomach bulged from malnutrition. So within a few minutes of graduating one, we were able to accept another. The doctor confirmed she needed additional nutrition, so one of her family members will be collecting her food each Monday.

A similar situation happened with our education program. We went to visit one of our “sons,” James, who had finished his high school education last year. Since he had been in poor health, we decided to go and see him at his rural home. We found James with his relatives. His health had greatly improved thanks to the right medications, and since we saw he was now in a good home situation, he was also officially graduated from the HOPE programs at the age of 18.

Just a few days later, we noticed a young boy coming to collect food for our new child Rosemary. When we asked him why he was not in school, he said he had passed his Grade 7 exams with very good results, but no one in his family had money to send him to secondary school. This often happens because secondary school is so much more expensive than primary. After a quick trip to the local school to secure him a place for next term, we dropped off our new “son” Wongai (meaning “to thank someone”) near his home. I watched him walk away through the rearview mirror of the car, so happy with himself for his good luck. God had placed him in the right place at the right time.

Unfortunately, I keep forgetting my camera lately (getting old!) so the pictures in no way correspond to the stories this month-they are just pictures of some seriously cute kids:)
I am looking forward to Nyarai’s return on Friday. She has been busy with all the work of her first semester at college, so I am sure she will be happy to come home and rest for a while.

Hope you all have had a good month as well!
Janine

Happily Ever After

Most of you know that I have had a “daughter” living with me for the last year or so named Nyarai. I met Nyarai during my first trip to Zimbabwe in 1998 when she was 5 years old.
God has taught me so much throughout my relationship with Nyarai, so it is only fitting that as she begins college this week, I share the end of her story at Fairfield Children’s Home.
I am sure, however, that this is just the beginning of many other stories as she begins her life as an adult.
(I have been given permission from Nyarai to share this information with you)
Nyarai was brought to Fairfield when she was just a few months old by her great-grandmother. She had always been told that there were no other living relatives and that by now her great-grandmother would have passed away. We often told her that although she may not have blood relatives, she had so many people who loved her and accepted her as family.
She would never be left alone. But still, Nyarai said that before she left Fairfield, she wanted to see her home area for herself and know without doubt that there were no relatives left.
So two weeks ago, four of us set out to find Nyarai’s home area: Mr. Mufute (administrator), Mrs. Mabvumbe (assistant administrator), me and Nyarai. The only clue we had from her file was the name of a school near where the great-grandmother lived about 40 minutes away from Fairfield. We stopped at a house near the school and asked if anyone knew of a family from long ago with Nyarai’s last name. God was on our side, because the family knew exactly where we should go and even sent a girl with us to guide us. Five minutes later we were sitting in a kitchen hut greeting a woman with very kind eyes. She listened to our story and we asked if she had any information for us about the great-grandmother or her relatives. She smiled and said, “The woman you are speaking of passed away 10 years ago. I am married to her son. We knew of a baby girl named Manyara who came here with her mother before the mother passed away.”
Our administrator said to the woman, as others now began to enter the hut, “This is Manyara , your daughter. We have raised her and now we have brought her home.”
The women came over to where Nyarai (a nickname for Manyara) was sitting on the floor and hugged her and welcomed her into the family.
Then a little old man was called and stepped slowly into the hut using a cane. This was one of Nyarai’s great uncles. He also accepted her into the family and they all thanked Fairfield for raising her so well. When I went to snap a photo of Nyarai and her uncle, we noticed they had the exact same nose! She has 2 great uncles, a great aunt and many cousins. Before we left, Nyarai was given a chicken to take home as a welcome gift. She hopes to go back for a visit soon.
One week later, she received her high school exam results…she had passed 8 subjects! After 3 days of looking for the right place for her to continue studies, she finally decided on a Fashion Design course in town. She moved into the dorms there and has started classes, but is only a 15 minute drive away when we want to visit.
My house feels very empty and quiet these days. I remember walking her to preschool down the long dirt path. I remember showing her the swing set and new houses being built for Fairfield when she was 9 years old. I remember the day she blew out the candles on her 12th birthday cake and how she used to hum the tune to “Dawson’s Creek” that we watched so often together. I don’t suppose she remembers all those things, but hopefully on these first nights away from home, she will remember that she is well loved always.
Pictures from top: Nyarai trying on a pair of shoes at preschool in 1998, Nyarai on far left receiving her first Bible in 2002, me and Nyarai in 2005, Nyarai ready for high school 2007, meeting her family in January 2011 with Mr. Mufute, college dorm with Mrs. Mabvumbe in February 2011, My cousin Tiffany and me with Nyarai on my back in 1998

The Busiest (Best) Day of the Year

My eyes pop open as soon as the sun begins to filter in at 5:15AM. I feel well-rested, considering my favorite bedtime is 9PM (no one makes fun of you in Zimbabwe for going to bed at 9PM-or even 8!). I hop out of bed and do a few stretches, enjoying the peaceful time before music starts blasting throughout the house (I live with an 18-year-old, so what else can I expect). I take a deep breath and open my bedroom door to the mayhem, as this morning, I have not one, but 3 teenagers moving up and down the hallway. Benji and Chipo arrived last night from their rural area to get ready to leave for boarding school today.
The electricity cuts, (surprise, surprise) so Nyarai heads out to cook chicken over the fire for Benji and Chipo’s lunch while they are traveling. I stay inside and start the rice on our small gas stove, and then boil water for baths, and more water for baths, and even more water for tea. By 7, I see Cecillia (our assistant administrator) walking past on her way to the office to start gathering the school supplies. By the time I arrive at 7:30, she and Peter (our administrator) are already in full swing. Papers and bags are flying around the office, as the Fairfield children line up (or form a mob, let’s be honest) to receive their school supplies and books before heading off to school.
Peter packs the combi bus full of boarders and their luggage and heads off on the 2 hour trip to Marange School, where some of our children attend. Cecillia heads off to Hartzell Primary and Secondary to pay fees for the Fairfield children. I use guilt and begging to convince Linda (our secretary) to come with me to all the other schools, even though she is on leave from work (she graciously accepted, thank you Linda). We pack Benji and 2 other students in the car and zip off toward St. Augustine’s (why can’t everyone go to the same school?!). It poured the rain last night, so we move slowly up the steep, muddy mountain (who builds their school on top of a mountain, and why?). We stand in a line to pay fees, we stand in a line to pay teacher incentives, we stand in a line to collect Benji’s mattress.
Now the car heads back down the mountain toward Tsvingwe Primary and Secondary Schools. At one point while concentrating on the deep, muddy rivets in the road, I look up to see that a bus has become stuck in the mud and abandoned in the middle of the road a few feet ahead. We’ll have to somehow turn around and go the long way around (this requires all my thinking skills, and I think my jaw is permanently clenched shut). We finally reach the primary school. Papers and bags fly again as all the HOPE children are given their supplies to start the year-same scene at the secondary school.
It is now late afternoon as we make our way back to Fairfield. Peter and Cecillia arrive back home just after us. We have forgotten to eat all day and suddenly realize we are very hungry-and tired. The first day of the school year each January is the busiest day of the year, but we will all sleep well tonight, knowing that all 74 of the Fairfield children and 100 HOPE children are happy, healthy, and exactly where they are supposed to be. Good night my friends…and thank you that at the end of every line, I had enough money to pay, and for every moment I almost felt overwhelmed, I knew that one of you out there had sent up a little prayer for us over here. What would we do without you?