Blessing the Babies

The baby room is a busy place at Noel.

So, I'm sure you could all guess where most of us spent hours every day. :)

Well, maybe not hours. But, we certainly all found our time to cuddle the precious babies at Noel.

There are so many of them, and there are so many needs in this room. But, there is also so much love to give and get back in this room too!

And, some of my favorite pics are when our team and these babies are face to face, talking and cooing at each other. These babies need this kind of contact so much, and I love seeing the expression in their eyes as they respond to the love.

It always amazes me how God just draws each person to a certain baby, who basically becomes their own by the end of the week.

I know that has happened for me on both trips to Noel, and now Vestine and Louisa are forever in my heart. They are prayed for daily. They are missed dearly. And, they are squeezed and loved and sung to every day while I'm at Noel!

And, this wasn't just me. Every single person on our trip became attached to a baby or two.

And, I can't help but think God does that for a reason...so that in a small "baby" way, they can attach to a smiling face, and feel loved, knowing somehow they are KNOWN individually.

We were also able, once again, to have a true impact on their lives, through generosity of all kinds.

Two sweet patients of the doctors on our trip crocheted baby hats, and the mamas LOVED putting the hats on all the babies!

There were many sweet babies modeling the onesies from The Hills VBS, along with some adorable bows that we passed out to the whole room!

And, many of you (especially kiddos from The Branch VBS!) raised funds for formula for the babies. We were so happy to go shopping for cans and cans of formula, with more coming EVERY month for these little ones!

So many helped to shop, load, unload, and pack away the formula, all with huge smiles on our faces, as we recognized what a wonderful thing this was for the little ones we all loved.

Sara, who was diligent in finding out which local formulas offered the most calories and nutrition was happy with the results!

And, so were the Noel staff!!

Then, one of my favorite baby projects was the new baby mobiles.

Just weeks before I left for Rwanda, I had the pleasure of speaking to my mom's Ladies Bible Class about the work we are doing in Africa.

I guarantee you I was more blessed than they were, because following my time of sharing, they fed me lunch AND worked hard on these baby mobiles that we were planning to bring to Noel.

My friend, Stephanie, was the creative mastermind behind these mobiles, and helped me to come up with a plan on how to make each one.Then, these sweet women cut and traced and ironed, getting them all ready for packing!

When we got to Noel, we realized some tweaking must be done for the mobiles to be hung like we had hoped. So, that is when "the boys" got to work designing a new system for hanging them.

After all the different people spent time designing and working and hanging, the end result was AWESOME!

I can't even TELL YOU how much I love these mobiles.

The color they add, the stimulation they bring, and the happiness they share...

Probably the only thing I love more than the mobiles, are the faces that lay below them.

They were all amazed and entranced by the flowing circles above them, and I couldn't hold back the tears as they kicked their legs, flapped their arms, and even cooed and talked as they saw them for the first time.

AMAZING TRANSFORMATION. And, all with some fabric circles and ribbon. And, lots and lots of laboring love. :)

Blessing the babies was so much fun. Those little faces and smiles are so addicting.

Many of us are in constant prayer for the future of these little lives, and we beg you to join us. At this point, they are so overwhelmed with the number of babies at Noel, they have had to turn little ones away for the first time. It breaks my heart. These little ones deserve so much more. They deserve to know the love of a family. They deserve to know they are special and created for big purposes in life. We're praying hard for all of that and so much more.

God, bless these babies in all the ways You know they need it most. Thank you for allowing our teams to be changed by their sweetness, and reminded of Your love for each one of them. You see them, and You know them. And, we trust You.

It's the Simple Things

It's really strange to look back at my first visit to Noel, and see what "stuck out" to me then. In the midst of many needs, there were some simple things that seemed like a big deal to me.

This picture that I took in January:

And, the girl pictured in it...broke my heart.

She didn't want her picture taken. But, as I took pictures and showed her, she warmed up to the idea.

What I noticed besides her sweet timid smile, was the bed she was sleeping in.

She didn't have a pillow to lay her head on.

She didn't have a clean mattress to keep her healthy.

She didn't have a room to sleep in that made her happy.

What I didn't know then, was that our good friends at The Point Foundation had already made plans for some amazing improvements in the girls' bedrooms. And, I am so happy to say that they now have new bunks, and brightly colored painted walls, along with new sheets that our Visiting Orphans group brought back in January.

So, thanks to the generosity of so many, we were able to just add some simple things to their rooms that we pray make their life happy, healthy, and more comfortable.

First item on the list: PILLOWS.

I don't know why this was such an important thing to me. Maybe because I'm a pillow person. I sleep on two every night and they are just the perfect balance of softness to make me sleep comfortably. I can't imagine being 14 or 16 and not having a pillow at all.

So, we handed out pillows to all the oldest kids. And, oh the SMILES we got in return.

They were beside themselves with joy over the simplest of things.

It might be small and simple. But, it is a luxury in their life that they deserve.

It was so cute to walk into the very oldest boys' rooms and see them making their beds and showing off their pillows. One of the Rwandan friends who was walking with us told us these boys never make their beds, but now they are proud and want to make it look nice. So, so sweet.

In addition to the pillows, we also had all the older girls spend the day with us, making their own pillowcases.

Well, actually, we never meant for it to be the whole day. And, my American way of rushing to the next thing made me want to shut it down and move on after the first couple of hours. But, Tara so gently reminded me that they never get to do this. They never get an entire day to color and doodle and visit with their friends, all while creating a piece of art that will decorate their bed and show others what is important about them.

So, it was a full day of creating. And, I'm glad we got to be a part of it. :)

In addition to their pillows and pillowcases, we also wanted the girls to have a cute room they were proud of. So, we gave them some paper lanterns, sparkly flowers, and posters for them to use as they wished, along with some crafty items they can use later to add even more!

Once again, such smiles and laughter. It was priceless.

And, the last thing we did for the bedrooms, was actually something we added after being there for the first week. We quickly realized that every single bed in the whole orphanage could benefit from a plastic mattress cover.

So, thanks to some really good friends who ran all over Dallas shopping for these, we were able to cover every single bed in the orphanage the next week!!

This was a really big deal for the health of the children, and was just another way that YOU, our awesome donors, made a HUGE and significant impact on the lives of these kiddos.

...because it's the simplest of things that make the biggest statement to these children: they matter to so many people!

Play is their language...

...and toys are their words.

That quote is from my days of grad school. And, it's one I've thought of often through the years of being a mommy, a teacher, and a caretaker of children in different ways.

It's true. The primary way that children communicate their thoughts, feelings, or fears, is through their play. They learn how things work, who they are, and what life is like, as they play. They learn how to interact with others, and get to dream about life beyond their playroom walls through their play.

So what happens when children don't have that outlet in their lives? They aren't stimulated, they don't grow and develop in the same way, and they don't have a voice for what they feel or think.

Now, America has this wrong in many ways too. We have, once again, gone to the extreme and given too much to our kids. Too many toys, that have too many buttons, and do too much of the "playing" for the kids. It takes away their voice and their development in much the same way, actually.

But, when you're taken back to the basics...and you watch a child play who has really never played before...it is powerful.

And, we saw this quote come to life in new ways while in Rwanda.

They got to explore, and create, and learn.

And, my favorite moments were when I could remember the donors sweet smiles as they gave, reflected on the faces of children at Noel, as they received.

So many friends and family, community groups and church Bible classes helped with the effort of bringing developmental toys to Noel, and we are so thankful!

Claire is one of those donors who I wished could have been there to see the smiles and the LIFE her toys brought.

Instead of asking for gifts or receving the trip her grandparents had already promised for her thirteenth birthday, she asked for developmental toys and supplies for the children of Noel.

Amy and I got to go shopping with her before we left for Rwanda, and it was SO FUN to see all the things she purchased being used to bless the lives of these kids.

And, these gifts will continue to change their lives, and improve their development forever!

Other items, like these exersaucers, given by another generous donor, are literally changing LIVES, making these sweet babies stronger, physically and emotionally, as they experience their world in whole new ways!

This little boy, Fabrice, had tuberculosis when we were here in January. You can see from the atrophy of his leg muscles that he is weaker than he should be for his age. It is our hope that daily exercise in these little Go-Pods will change his life for the better.

Meeting these developmental needs was one of our very favorite efforts to be a part of, as we watched it bring INSTANT change in the hearts and minds of these little ones.

You could just SEE their face light up as a new toy would challenge their minds and bodies to do things they don't usually get to do. And, over even a week's time, the caretakers were starting to see it too!

We've already had reports since we left that the caretakers are using the toys to facilitate more play time and interaction with the children, and we are just thrilled to hear this news! This is an important change in the lives of these kids, as they grow and develop, and it is vital to their health and happiness too!

Another wonderful opportunity we had was to bring MUSIC to Noel! Carol, who was an amazing part of our team for two weeks, led a sweet music class with the children, where they got to play instruments, follow rhythms, and join in singing.

It was so sweet to watch them respond, and to enjoy playing and learning at the same time!

These drums were one of our very favorite purchases from Lakeshore! They were definitely a "big hit" with the kids too! :)

So, as you can see, we are so very thankful for the way so many of you contributed to this trip. You are changing lives for the better, allowing these children to learn and grow in the way they do best: by PLAYING!! And this is only the beginning of the fun!