Welcome TWO new babies

Have I said lately how much I LOVE my job?! THIS is what I get to do....

After looking at land and dreaming about the exciting future of HCO, I am brought back to the reality of what we do here. We provide a home for babies who desperately need a home. We love babies in who are in desperate need of love.

This precious boy came to us from the Provincial Hospital down the road from us. He was abandoned there by his mother just days after he was born. He contracted meningitis at a few days old, and then developed hydrocephalus. Our manager, Angie, had known of him for several months and had personally fund raised to get money for him to have a shunt put in. This poor baby had been left alone in a government (aka: horrible, deplorable, disgusting) hospital for over four months, with no one to hold, love or care for him. In hospitals here, a mother or caretaker must stay with their child to feed, bath and take care of them. Nurses do not do any care taking whatsoever. Sadly, our little guy has spent the entire first four months of his life laying on his back, his head simply being shifted from side to side. He was not held, rocked, cuddled, or loved. Not at all. He was only noticed by the few visitors who passed through occasionally,  which is how I first heard of him. Now, this sweet little boy is healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital and is ready to begin his new life!

We named him Silas Jabali, meaning "strong pillar." We pray that this little boy will grow big and strong, and will one day be the strong pillar who will lead others.

Please pray for his continued healing and that he would quickly learn to love and bond. After missing so much in his formative few months, there are lots of hugs and lots of holding coming his way!!

And this is Elizabeth. Sweet Elizabeth has also been neglected during her few short months of life. Though she did have a mother to feed her and meet her basic needs, it is clear that she was missing so much. Her mother has been committed for neglect, after abandoning her a few weeks ago. Though an absolute beauty of a baby girl, Elizabeth is quite delayed in her development. Her muscles are extremely weak. Her poor little legs just flop about. At nine months old, she makes no effort whatsoever to weight bear on her legs. She is a very mellow baby who has obviously had little to no interaction or stimulation. She is perfectly content in any situation, indicating that there are no expectations as to what she wants or expects. She has obviously learned to self-sooth and be content in any environment. She is absolutely precious!

Please pray that little Elizabeth will gain strength in her body and life into her soul. Pray that she will quickly settle in and feel comfortable in her environment, and that she will progress developmentally. For whatever time we are blessed to have her in our home, may she soak up all the love that God has for her.

And, to add to that prayer list, please pray for our aunties as they not only care for the babies in the home, but also these two new precious souls who are in such great need of love and care. These little ones need lots of physical touch and love. Our aunties are more than capable and willing to do this, but they only have so many hands and hours in a day. May the Lord grant them all that they need as they care and love our little ones.