In the first picture, I am wearing this "
Moby Sling" my sister gave me... there is literally enough fabric to make a curtain or two and it took me a long time to read the directions and figure it out! Many of the Burundian woman ask me if I will carry
Malaki on my back how they do it; we will see! Usually they would do this from a week or two after the baby is born. Many of you have been wondering how big my belly really got this time around (the night before birth is the next picture).
Isai was going picture crazy getting all types of poses! Finally,
Malaki's first friend. This is
Isreal, the pastors newborn son; born just 2 weeks to the day before
Malaki. His wife and I enjoyed being pregnant together... and now are enjoying our beautiful sons together. I must say "How different the cultures can be". As time goes on, we daily are reminded of the
sacrifice we chose to make in coming to Burundi. It by far is the most challenging thing we have come
across here. Having
Malaki and being so far from family and friends, knowing the precious moments you can all just hear about being absent from us. However, the Lord knows... and He is faithful with His calling and cause for us being here. We can only be reminded at the same time the desperate needs that lie here in the midst of all the scared and hopeless children that are longing to be loved and comforted in the midst of their unbelievable stories of despair. To look into the eyes of a young child, and to see things that would cause even adults to loose all hope. Surely they have lived and seen much beyond their years, and this is why we are here... yet being really, really hard at times. There is a purpose. Enjoy the pictures, we love and miss you all. All our love...
We are proud grandparents today of little chicks! Our chickens have been sitting on the eggs for weeks now, and we finally have babies! We also have 3 baby rabbits born about 3 weeks ago! Here are some pictures of Malaki in the last days... first: this was taken hours after his birth (how beautiful he is). Second: yes, Malaki has a huge smile on his face... (they told him Isai was his daddy, and there came the smile). Third: He is holding his own bottle, and so strong. Fourth: the cutest unforgettable streeetch in the whole world. We will be putting some pictures of the baby animals soon! He is almost 2 weeks old now and how time flies! We are doing all the paperwork right now for his birth certificate abroad and also his US Passport. Today was a busy day, as we continue to have more and more visitors... we got gifts like tomatoes, cabbage (5 I think), peas and juice! As we look at Malaki, we are reminding always of how precious life is. Being in the midst of so many broken woman that have lost one to many children at such young ages. Sometimes life is the best remedy for death. I guess sometimes when you loose a child, you loose part of yourself; but also when you birth a new child you find that you get a part of yourself back. Finally, your sorrow can turn to joy and the emptiness be filled with love of the new memories that you get. What can we say, except what a blessing our son is. Enjoy the pictures and look forward to those moments to come. All our love...
The joys of having a child... simply inexpressible.
