Dear Friends
Please accept our sincere apologies for the lack of information posted to this blogspot. Our internet access has improved and we shall endeavour to post more regularly going forward.
Our FACEBOOK page is also active Go ahead and "LIKE"... OUR NEIGHBOURS and here you will find most recent photos, news updates and prayer requests.
Prayer requests will now be posted monthly on this blog. If you would like to receive these via email, kindly contact Charmaine at ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Should you require any further information, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
God bless and thank you for your support.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Belinda L. Wilson
The Administrator
Isaiah's Umuzi Wothando
57 Heyman Road, Suburbs,
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
P.O. Box 2361
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263-9-64474
Mobile: +263-777-773719
Alt: +263-712-212378
Email: isaiahs@yoafrica.com
Alt: ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Website: www.ourneighbours.org
Facebook: Our Neighbours
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, November 26, 2011
September 2011 News & Updates
Our Neighbours Ministry Incorporating Isaiah’s Homes of Love
Newsletter : September 2011
The next newsletter at last…
For those of you who receive Martin’s newsletter you will know that the pressure was on me as he mentioned that I would soon be sending out the news of our recent arrivals at Isaiah’s {for the record I’ve been wanting to do this since the arrival of the 2 baby girls at the end of June}. At that time he said we had 3 new babies, yesterday it was 4 and today this number has risen to 5 gorgeous and precious bundles of joy.
My apologies that this newsletter has been so erratic and not sent as regularly as anticipated but our normal day to day duties keep us so busy so that often we don’t realize how fast the months pass… Gosh we are already into the 9th month of this year, & Noma and Pride will be at Primary School next year.
We look back on the last months and we are thankful for all the support we have received, both financial and through provisions for each of the homes and the people we assist. Daily we see testimonies of God’s grace and love and though many of you are not here to see this, we thank you and want you to know that you are a special part of the work here in Bulawayo Zimbabwe.
A number of fosterings for adoption are in process and sometimes this cannot happen soon enough for those families waiting for finalization of their paperwork. Please pray for each family who has come forward and of course also pray for the children being placed into these families.
Please especially pray for Bridget, Rachel, Mthabisi & Matthew.
Since our last newsletter we have seen baby Brandon placed into his new family and are pleased to report that he has not had any medical difficulties, and has settled well into his new environment. Mom, dad and his big sister are loving having him as a part of their family and often bring him over for a short visit. It is always lovely to see these families as they grow together.
Often I get to spend half an hour or so with the babies before heading home and this is a wonderful way to end a busy day at the office. I have often wondered if the children are impacted as much as we are by the work at Isaiah’s and just the other day I received an email of encouragement and it reminded me
"So faith comes by what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ" Romans 10:17. So your ministered love to each child, sets up the foundation for them to ultimately hear the Gospel and respond with their heart, mind and soul.”
What an encouragement for our everyday life.
BABIES HOME NEW ARRIVALS
Arrived 28th June 2011
Blessed Vimbai came to Isaiah's Home of Love as a six month old baby who had been living at a local hospital in Masvingo (235km out of Bulawayo). She was abandoned as a newborn baby along a path leading to a nearby village. Blessed Vimbai is translated as “Blessed Trust” which is a beautiful name given to this precious baby girl. On arrival at the home she weighed 5.8kg and was a healthy and content baby who would smile easily. She has settled well into her new environment.
Together with . . .
Ruvarashe came to Isaiah's Home of Love as a three month old baby who had been abandoned as a newborn in the town of Masvingo (235km from Bulawayo). For the first three months of her life she lived in the local hospital. Ruvarashe is translated as “Flower of Jesus”, again is a beautiful name for this precious baby girl. She has settled well at Isaiah’s, feeding and sleeping very well. She has already started to smile and giggles when played with and given her individual attention. On arrival at our home she weighed a good 5.94kg.
Arrived 25th August 2011
Gugulethu was found abandoned on 13th August 2011 near a Soccer Field on the outskirts of one of the high density areas. She was admitted to Mpilo Hospital and placed into the care of Isaiah’s a few days later, she is estimated to be about 5 weeks old now. Gugu has a fairly light complexion with a slim physique, and seems to be in good health, feeding well for her age. Gugu has already learnt the best way to get attention is through crying, this way you are almost guaranteed to be picked up. Having not had a newborn baby around for a few months you soon forget how small they are when they first come in and how quickly they grow.
Arrived 12th September 2011
Baby Revival arrived at Isaiah’s Home of Love only a few days old, having been given up for adoption. His young mother was unable to care adequately for him but we trust that the Lord will provide a family for this handsome baby boy.
Revival seems to have a little bit of jaundice but with sufficient feeding this should pass. Please pray for him.
Arrived 13th September 2011
Thamsanqa was placed into the care of Isaiah’s having spent the first month of his life at the local hospital’s Special Care Unit as his mother absconded in the middle of the night. Her whereabouts is unknown as the details she gave upon admission are false. Thamsanqa is translated as “good fortune”. His big brown eyes compliment his light complexion.
More BABIES HOME NEWS
Keith successfully had his fused fingers separated in March. The operation went very well with the surgeon doing the operation pro-bona given Keith’s family history, we incurred minimal hospital costs and we are continually amazed by how quickly Keith heals and how easily he adapts.
Baby Talent who was placed with Isaiah’s in June on temporary care was reunited with his mother and her extended family in July. It is always good to see a baby with their family and in all cases this is a priority unless there are detrimental circumstances.
The toddlers are always a hive of activity and full of energy. Their uncle and friend Edmore loves to take them out for walks in the Suburb and this occasionally includes a pram ride to the nearby park where they can play on the swings, climb up onto the train and the tank. Great fun is had by all.
Baby Count as at 15/09/11 :- 19 beautiful blessings from God
9 girls
(Nomalanga/Faith/Nobuhle/Blessing/Jessica/Darlene/Vimbai/Ruvarashe/Gugulethu)
10 Boys
(Pride/Mthandazo/Craig/Keith/Tadiwanashe/Samuel/Christopher/Matthew/Thamsanqa/Revival)
OUR NEIGHBOUR’S NEWS
Cosmos Mobile Clinic — Aug/Sept 2011
Bulawayo and the surrounding areas were blessed with another mobile clinic being conducted by the Cosmos Health Team, which is a medical group that visit Zimbabwe from Australia twice a year to provide free quality medical assessment and treatment to under privileged communities.
Our Neighbours Ministry partner with this Team as they visit various areas over a two week period. In this the team also assist the various homes where necessary, and also hold a mobile clinic at the Baptist Church for those of the community we assist.
Trenance was one of the areas visited again this year and this saw about 300 people ranging from all ages receiving assessment and assistance for the varying ailments.
One of the patients was a grandmother who came along with her daughter and her twin babies. Gogo was not feeling well and she decided to bring the babies along also as they were not gaining any weight. The mother of the babies is HIV positive and although she is unemployed she does try to get “piece jobs” to sustain herself and her two babies. At eight weeks old the babies were already being supplemented with mealie-meal porridge as she had insufficient breast milk for both her babies. The Cosmos Team, after intense assessment, have now discouraged “mom” from breast feeding her babies as the little she is giving them has minimal nourishment value for them, and have instead conditionally committed to providing formula milk for the twin babies for a certain period of time.
The babies have been taking the formula feed now for 3 weeks and there has been a remarkable improvement in their growth and their general health. The little boy gained one whole kg and the little girl gained over 500g.
What a blessing to see the benefits of this mobile clinic—saving the life of two precious babies.
There are many other babies out there who also need such a lifeline and if you would like to make such a contribution, we would love to hear from you.
(One 400g tin of formula milk which lasts one baby nearly three days costs U$6.00)
Contact Details :-
Isaiah’s Babies Home : 57 Heyman Road
Suburbs, Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-230504 (Babies Home)
Our Neighbours : c/o Byo Baptist Church
G.Silundika St / 2nd Avenue, Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-888269 (O.N. Team)
Admin Office : 57 Jason Moyo Street
Btwn 4th & 5th Aves
Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-64474 or 64472 (Admin)
Postal Address for All Ministries
P. O. Box 2361, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
E-mail: isaiahs@yoafrica.com or
martinbarrow@hotmail.com or
ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Banking Details
If you wish to support us by making a financial contribution, kindly email us for the applicable bank details and tax deductible options relevant to your country of origin.
Website
Our website is up and running, if you wish to view this, visit www.ourneighbours.org
If you would like to check out our regular updates - we are also on Facebook. Our Neighbours
Other Newsletters
Should you be interested in receiving Martin’s newsletters for Our Neighbours Ministry and Isaiah’s Homes of Love and/or the Financial Reports, please feel free to email him on martinbarrow@hotmail.com and he will add you to this mailing list.
If you would like to receive the monthly Ministry Prayer Partners Newsletter kindly email Charmaine on ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, simply send an email to isaiahs@yoafrica.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
Thank you for your time in reading of our news.
Luv ‘n’ friendship in the Lord always
Belinda
PLEASE VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO SEE ALL THE LATEST PHOTOS AND STATUS POSTS
Newsletter : September 2011
The next newsletter at last…
For those of you who receive Martin’s newsletter you will know that the pressure was on me as he mentioned that I would soon be sending out the news of our recent arrivals at Isaiah’s {for the record I’ve been wanting to do this since the arrival of the 2 baby girls at the end of June}. At that time he said we had 3 new babies, yesterday it was 4 and today this number has risen to 5 gorgeous and precious bundles of joy.
My apologies that this newsletter has been so erratic and not sent as regularly as anticipated but our normal day to day duties keep us so busy so that often we don’t realize how fast the months pass… Gosh we are already into the 9th month of this year, & Noma and Pride will be at Primary School next year.
We look back on the last months and we are thankful for all the support we have received, both financial and through provisions for each of the homes and the people we assist. Daily we see testimonies of God’s grace and love and though many of you are not here to see this, we thank you and want you to know that you are a special part of the work here in Bulawayo Zimbabwe.
A number of fosterings for adoption are in process and sometimes this cannot happen soon enough for those families waiting for finalization of their paperwork. Please pray for each family who has come forward and of course also pray for the children being placed into these families.
Please especially pray for Bridget, Rachel, Mthabisi & Matthew.
Since our last newsletter we have seen baby Brandon placed into his new family and are pleased to report that he has not had any medical difficulties, and has settled well into his new environment. Mom, dad and his big sister are loving having him as a part of their family and often bring him over for a short visit. It is always lovely to see these families as they grow together.
Often I get to spend half an hour or so with the babies before heading home and this is a wonderful way to end a busy day at the office. I have often wondered if the children are impacted as much as we are by the work at Isaiah’s and just the other day I received an email of encouragement and it reminded me
"So faith comes by what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ" Romans 10:17. So your ministered love to each child, sets up the foundation for them to ultimately hear the Gospel and respond with their heart, mind and soul.”
What an encouragement for our everyday life.
BABIES HOME NEW ARRIVALS
Arrived 28th June 2011
Blessed Vimbai came to Isaiah's Home of Love as a six month old baby who had been living at a local hospital in Masvingo (235km out of Bulawayo). She was abandoned as a newborn baby along a path leading to a nearby village. Blessed Vimbai is translated as “Blessed Trust” which is a beautiful name given to this precious baby girl. On arrival at the home she weighed 5.8kg and was a healthy and content baby who would smile easily. She has settled well into her new environment.
Together with . . .
Ruvarashe came to Isaiah's Home of Love as a three month old baby who had been abandoned as a newborn in the town of Masvingo (235km from Bulawayo). For the first three months of her life she lived in the local hospital. Ruvarashe is translated as “Flower of Jesus”, again is a beautiful name for this precious baby girl. She has settled well at Isaiah’s, feeding and sleeping very well. She has already started to smile and giggles when played with and given her individual attention. On arrival at our home she weighed a good 5.94kg.
Arrived 25th August 2011
Gugulethu was found abandoned on 13th August 2011 near a Soccer Field on the outskirts of one of the high density areas. She was admitted to Mpilo Hospital and placed into the care of Isaiah’s a few days later, she is estimated to be about 5 weeks old now. Gugu has a fairly light complexion with a slim physique, and seems to be in good health, feeding well for her age. Gugu has already learnt the best way to get attention is through crying, this way you are almost guaranteed to be picked up. Having not had a newborn baby around for a few months you soon forget how small they are when they first come in and how quickly they grow.
Arrived 12th September 2011
Baby Revival arrived at Isaiah’s Home of Love only a few days old, having been given up for adoption. His young mother was unable to care adequately for him but we trust that the Lord will provide a family for this handsome baby boy.
Revival seems to have a little bit of jaundice but with sufficient feeding this should pass. Please pray for him.
Arrived 13th September 2011
Thamsanqa was placed into the care of Isaiah’s having spent the first month of his life at the local hospital’s Special Care Unit as his mother absconded in the middle of the night. Her whereabouts is unknown as the details she gave upon admission are false. Thamsanqa is translated as “good fortune”. His big brown eyes compliment his light complexion.
More BABIES HOME NEWS
Keith successfully had his fused fingers separated in March. The operation went very well with the surgeon doing the operation pro-bona given Keith’s family history, we incurred minimal hospital costs and we are continually amazed by how quickly Keith heals and how easily he adapts.
Baby Talent who was placed with Isaiah’s in June on temporary care was reunited with his mother and her extended family in July. It is always good to see a baby with their family and in all cases this is a priority unless there are detrimental circumstances.
The toddlers are always a hive of activity and full of energy. Their uncle and friend Edmore loves to take them out for walks in the Suburb and this occasionally includes a pram ride to the nearby park where they can play on the swings, climb up onto the train and the tank. Great fun is had by all.
Baby Count as at 15/09/11 :- 19 beautiful blessings from God
9 girls
(Nomalanga/Faith/Nobuhle/Blessing/Jessica/Darlene/Vimbai/Ruvarashe/Gugulethu)
10 Boys
(Pride/Mthandazo/Craig/Keith/Tadiwanashe/Samuel/Christopher/Matthew/Thamsanqa/Revival)
OUR NEIGHBOUR’S NEWS
Cosmos Mobile Clinic — Aug/Sept 2011
Bulawayo and the surrounding areas were blessed with another mobile clinic being conducted by the Cosmos Health Team, which is a medical group that visit Zimbabwe from Australia twice a year to provide free quality medical assessment and treatment to under privileged communities.
Our Neighbours Ministry partner with this Team as they visit various areas over a two week period. In this the team also assist the various homes where necessary, and also hold a mobile clinic at the Baptist Church for those of the community we assist.
Trenance was one of the areas visited again this year and this saw about 300 people ranging from all ages receiving assessment and assistance for the varying ailments.
One of the patients was a grandmother who came along with her daughter and her twin babies. Gogo was not feeling well and she decided to bring the babies along also as they were not gaining any weight. The mother of the babies is HIV positive and although she is unemployed she does try to get “piece jobs” to sustain herself and her two babies. At eight weeks old the babies were already being supplemented with mealie-meal porridge as she had insufficient breast milk for both her babies. The Cosmos Team, after intense assessment, have now discouraged “mom” from breast feeding her babies as the little she is giving them has minimal nourishment value for them, and have instead conditionally committed to providing formula milk for the twin babies for a certain period of time.
The babies have been taking the formula feed now for 3 weeks and there has been a remarkable improvement in their growth and their general health. The little boy gained one whole kg and the little girl gained over 500g.
What a blessing to see the benefits of this mobile clinic—saving the life of two precious babies.
There are many other babies out there who also need such a lifeline and if you would like to make such a contribution, we would love to hear from you.
(One 400g tin of formula milk which lasts one baby nearly three days costs U$6.00)
Contact Details :-
Isaiah’s Babies Home : 57 Heyman Road
Suburbs, Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-230504 (Babies Home)
Our Neighbours : c/o Byo Baptist Church
G.Silundika St / 2nd Avenue, Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-888269 (O.N. Team)
Admin Office : 57 Jason Moyo Street
Btwn 4th & 5th Aves
Bulawayo
Phone: +263-9-64474 or 64472 (Admin)
Postal Address for All Ministries
P. O. Box 2361, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
E-mail: isaiahs@yoafrica.com or
martinbarrow@hotmail.com or
ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Banking Details
If you wish to support us by making a financial contribution, kindly email us for the applicable bank details and tax deductible options relevant to your country of origin.
Website
Our website is up and running, if you wish to view this, visit www.ourneighbours.org
If you would like to check out our regular updates - we are also on Facebook. Our Neighbours
Other Newsletters
Should you be interested in receiving Martin’s newsletters for Our Neighbours Ministry and Isaiah’s Homes of Love and/or the Financial Reports, please feel free to email him on martinbarrow@hotmail.com and he will add you to this mailing list.
If you would like to receive the monthly Ministry Prayer Partners Newsletter kindly email Charmaine on ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, simply send an email to isaiahs@yoafrica.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
Thank you for your time in reading of our news.
Luv ‘n’ friendship in the Lord always
Belinda
PLEASE VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO SEE ALL THE LATEST PHOTOS AND STATUS POSTS
June 2011 News & Update
Our Neighbours Ministry Incorporating Isaiah’s Homes of Love
Newsletter : June 2011
General Ministry News
Our Neighbours would like to express sincere thanks to you all for your support through this year, 2011. We regret that as the months have passed we have not been able to keep you all updated with the happenings, we would love to be able to do this on a monthly basis as daily we see and can testify to your support.
We are grateful for you all who have stood by us in prayer, for all who have sacrificed financially so that others in Zimbabwe can be blessed, and for all of you who have encouraged us to continue being those on the ground who are able to help others.
Our project director Martin Barrow was able to visit Australia in April and share in person the amazing work which continues here in Bulawayo through the commitment of you our sponsors, donors and friends. Martin had some wonderful “coffee & convo evenings” at a few churches, did some great interviews and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all who made these evenings of sharing the great success they were. Through your support our work here continues giving God the Glory for these, His, Ministries. Thank you for these times.
The Babies Home in February seemed quiet for a short bit with seven toddlers moving to their new home in Morningside. It was not long before the next batch of leaders took their places in the Home, and for a short while the toddlers asked of the whereabouts of their older “siblings”. Taking them a few at a time to visit Ebenezer Home they are now more settled and seem to comprehend the move. Our numbers in December 2010 were at their highest with 26 children, 5 of which were “out” in the process of fostering for adoption. After the Ebenezer move our numbers dropped down to 15 children and at this point I reflect back and wonder how in the world we managed to love so many toddlers and babies all in one go. Of course we managed and loved every minute of it !!
Isaiah’s statistics at present show 81 children having come into our care since operations began 2006/2007, 3 “out” fostering are still in progress, 15 fostering have been finalized to individuals/families, 10 are in process of fostering at the first of our Forever Homes, 18 children are in placement at our second and third forever homes, 14 have been reunited with extended families and sadly 5 have passed away. It is encouraging to note we have had another 3 children identified for fostering with the intention of adoption.
Rehoboth, the first of the Forever Homes which was started in partnership with Mind The Gap Africa in October 2008 is now fully independent, and we would like to extend our congratulations to them for this achievement. They are in the process of finalizing fostering for all the children in their care.
Windles, the second of the forever homes continues to provide a loving and homely environment to 10 children between the ages of 4 and 12, seven of these children are girls.
The seven toddlers from Isaiah’s were joined by another 2 toddlers from Sandra Jones Centre at Ebenezer. The eldest girl from this forever home has been identified for fostering. All eight children under the age of 4 have settled well into this new home.
Our Neighbours Team continues to work together with the poorest of the poor in Bulawayo in an endeavour to empower them to self-sustainability. We are seeking to empower both individuals and disadvantaged communities with small business opportunities, chicken and pig-rearing projects. We ask you to continue to pray with us to be able to assist them in such a way that they will sow diligently, harvest and reap the rewards of the labor.
Winter is upon us and many of us have the comfort of warm clothing, jerseys or jackets and blankets to cover up in the cold. Our babies have been blessed with many jerseys, woolen hats and blankets so kindly knitted by folk. There is a great need for more adult woolen hats, blankets and warm clothing which can be distributed to the destitute who attend Soup Kitchen and our Health Information Service. If you are able to assist please feel free to email us at your convenience. ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
More Babies Home News
Now safe in the arms of Jesus
Baby Rachel was discharged from the Hospital at the beginning of June, and her desperate father brought her to our Home asking us to help take care of her. Her mother had died a few weeks after her delivery and he was struggling to take care of her properly. It was clear that Baby Rachel had been very sick for some time because although she was six months old she was the size of a newborn baby. She had spent a lot of time in hospital with her father at her side.
Baby Rachel came into our care on Monday 6th June and because she was so weak she was syringe fed 10ml at a time at almost each waking moment. She groaned a lot in the beginning but these soon became less frequent as she became accustomed to be loved, held and cuddled.
Again the other toddlers were in awe of another small baby in the house, and in particular Nobuhle, Tadiwa and Noma took more notice of our Baby Rachel’s presence. The first night after she had arrived at Isaiah’s Noma sat with the family before dinner and in giving thanks she prayed “Dear Jesus, thank you for our new baby, touch her where it is painful and heal her, thank you for everybody else and thanks for our food, Amen.” Tadiwa loved to touch her tiny hands and head whilst Nobuhle let everyone know there was a new baby in the house.
Sadly Baby Rachel did not recover and passed away early hours of the 11th of June. We are sorry we did not have time to let our newsletter friends know of Baby Rachel’s arrival. In memory of Baby Rachel we share...
It is always difficult to understand why a small child dies – so innocent and helpless and so we share our little Rachel’s fairytale, we know now she rests safely in the arms of Jesus...
“This is a story of a very precious baby girl who was very sick, her mommy was also sick and she died when the baby girl was very small. I think the baby girl was very sad when her mommy died but she knew that Jesus loved her. Her daddy loved her a lot and he wanted her to get better. Her daddy gave her a real cool name – it was Rachel. Rachel’s daddy asked some people if they could help look after his baby girl so she could get better. Now Rachel had lots of people around her who cared for her, loved her, prayed for her, fed her, bathed her and they kept her warm in blankets and laid her to sleep at night in her special bed.
God could see that Rachel was very sick and was struggling to get better so he decided he would bring her into Heaven where she would have no more deep pain. God had a special job for Rachel, even though she was a tiny baby.
Heaven is just like it is on Earth except that there are lots of beautiful things all around – there is no more pain and no more hurt. God’s special job for Rachel was to be one of his precious baby Angels. God needs angels of all ages to care for those He loves on Earth and when He saw just how much Rachel was suffering, he knew he could make her into a beautiful angel to care and comfort other sick babies. Do you know that God has mommy and daddy angels, grandma and grandpa angels. He has boy angels and girl angels and even aunty and uncle angels.
Jesus is holding Rachel in his arms right now and explaining to her how much he loved her and what a special job he has in store for her. There are lots of children all over the world who are hurting and babies like Rachel will be angels to care for those babies and children. I think Rachel’s mommy is also an angel and so she will help Rachel to be a beautiful, loving and caring baby angel.”
Arrival of Baby Talent
Baby Talent was placed into our care at the end of May 2011 and is said to be about 6 months old. He has a gorgeous smile which he willingly shares at the slightest bit of attention, he is a very content baby and is seldom heard crying. He feeds and sleeps well and has settled into our Home where he is currently on a Place of Safety.
This precious baby boy was brought into our care as he has no extended family willing to care for him whilst his mother is being treated at a local facility for patients with mental disorders.
Baby Count as at 18/06/11 :- 16 beautiful blessings from God
6 girls
(Nomalanga/Faith/Nobuhle/Blessing/Jessica/Darlene)
10 Boys
(Pride/Mthandazo/Craig/Keith/Tadiwanashe/Samuel/Christopher/Matthew/Brandon/Talent)
Banking Details
If you wish to support us by making a financial contribution, kindly email us for the applicable bank details and tax deductible options relevant to your country of origin.
Website
Our website is up and running, if you wish to view this, visit www.ourneighbours.org
If you would like to check out our regular updates - we are also on Facebook. Our Neighbours
Other Newsletters
Should you be interested in receiving Martin’s newsletters for Our Neighbours Ministry and Isaiah’s Homes of Love and/or the Financial Reports, please feel free to email him on martinbarrow@hotmail.com and he will add you to this mailing list.
If you would like to receive the Ministry Prayer Partners Newsletter kindly email Charmaine on ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, simply send an email to isaiahs@yoafrica.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
Thank you for your time in reading of our news.
Luv ‘n’ friendship in the Lord always
Belinda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Belinda L. Wilson
The Administrator
Isaiah's Umuzi Wothando
57 Heyman Road, Suburbs,
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
P.O. Box 2361
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263-9-64474
Mobile: +263-777-773719
Alt: +263-712-212378
Email: isaiahs@yoafrica.com
Alt: ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Website: www.ourneighbours.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 37 vs. 4 :- Delight yourself in the Lord
& He will give you the desires of your heart.
Newsletter : June 2011
General Ministry News
Our Neighbours would like to express sincere thanks to you all for your support through this year, 2011. We regret that as the months have passed we have not been able to keep you all updated with the happenings, we would love to be able to do this on a monthly basis as daily we see and can testify to your support.
We are grateful for you all who have stood by us in prayer, for all who have sacrificed financially so that others in Zimbabwe can be blessed, and for all of you who have encouraged us to continue being those on the ground who are able to help others.
Our project director Martin Barrow was able to visit Australia in April and share in person the amazing work which continues here in Bulawayo through the commitment of you our sponsors, donors and friends. Martin had some wonderful “coffee & convo evenings” at a few churches, did some great interviews and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all who made these evenings of sharing the great success they were. Through your support our work here continues giving God the Glory for these, His, Ministries. Thank you for these times.
The Babies Home in February seemed quiet for a short bit with seven toddlers moving to their new home in Morningside. It was not long before the next batch of leaders took their places in the Home, and for a short while the toddlers asked of the whereabouts of their older “siblings”. Taking them a few at a time to visit Ebenezer Home they are now more settled and seem to comprehend the move. Our numbers in December 2010 were at their highest with 26 children, 5 of which were “out” in the process of fostering for adoption. After the Ebenezer move our numbers dropped down to 15 children and at this point I reflect back and wonder how in the world we managed to love so many toddlers and babies all in one go. Of course we managed and loved every minute of it !!
Isaiah’s statistics at present show 81 children having come into our care since operations began 2006/2007, 3 “out” fostering are still in progress, 15 fostering have been finalized to individuals/families, 10 are in process of fostering at the first of our Forever Homes, 18 children are in placement at our second and third forever homes, 14 have been reunited with extended families and sadly 5 have passed away. It is encouraging to note we have had another 3 children identified for fostering with the intention of adoption.
Rehoboth, the first of the Forever Homes which was started in partnership with Mind The Gap Africa in October 2008 is now fully independent, and we would like to extend our congratulations to them for this achievement. They are in the process of finalizing fostering for all the children in their care.
Windles, the second of the forever homes continues to provide a loving and homely environment to 10 children between the ages of 4 and 12, seven of these children are girls.
The seven toddlers from Isaiah’s were joined by another 2 toddlers from Sandra Jones Centre at Ebenezer. The eldest girl from this forever home has been identified for fostering. All eight children under the age of 4 have settled well into this new home.
Our Neighbours Team continues to work together with the poorest of the poor in Bulawayo in an endeavour to empower them to self-sustainability. We are seeking to empower both individuals and disadvantaged communities with small business opportunities, chicken and pig-rearing projects. We ask you to continue to pray with us to be able to assist them in such a way that they will sow diligently, harvest and reap the rewards of the labor.
Winter is upon us and many of us have the comfort of warm clothing, jerseys or jackets and blankets to cover up in the cold. Our babies have been blessed with many jerseys, woolen hats and blankets so kindly knitted by folk. There is a great need for more adult woolen hats, blankets and warm clothing which can be distributed to the destitute who attend Soup Kitchen and our Health Information Service. If you are able to assist please feel free to email us at your convenience. ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
More Babies Home News
Now safe in the arms of Jesus
Baby Rachel was discharged from the Hospital at the beginning of June, and her desperate father brought her to our Home asking us to help take care of her. Her mother had died a few weeks after her delivery and he was struggling to take care of her properly. It was clear that Baby Rachel had been very sick for some time because although she was six months old she was the size of a newborn baby. She had spent a lot of time in hospital with her father at her side.
Baby Rachel came into our care on Monday 6th June and because she was so weak she was syringe fed 10ml at a time at almost each waking moment. She groaned a lot in the beginning but these soon became less frequent as she became accustomed to be loved, held and cuddled.
Again the other toddlers were in awe of another small baby in the house, and in particular Nobuhle, Tadiwa and Noma took more notice of our Baby Rachel’s presence. The first night after she had arrived at Isaiah’s Noma sat with the family before dinner and in giving thanks she prayed “Dear Jesus, thank you for our new baby, touch her where it is painful and heal her, thank you for everybody else and thanks for our food, Amen.” Tadiwa loved to touch her tiny hands and head whilst Nobuhle let everyone know there was a new baby in the house.
Sadly Baby Rachel did not recover and passed away early hours of the 11th of June. We are sorry we did not have time to let our newsletter friends know of Baby Rachel’s arrival. In memory of Baby Rachel we share...
It is always difficult to understand why a small child dies – so innocent and helpless and so we share our little Rachel’s fairytale, we know now she rests safely in the arms of Jesus...
“This is a story of a very precious baby girl who was very sick, her mommy was also sick and she died when the baby girl was very small. I think the baby girl was very sad when her mommy died but she knew that Jesus loved her. Her daddy loved her a lot and he wanted her to get better. Her daddy gave her a real cool name – it was Rachel. Rachel’s daddy asked some people if they could help look after his baby girl so she could get better. Now Rachel had lots of people around her who cared for her, loved her, prayed for her, fed her, bathed her and they kept her warm in blankets and laid her to sleep at night in her special bed.
God could see that Rachel was very sick and was struggling to get better so he decided he would bring her into Heaven where she would have no more deep pain. God had a special job for Rachel, even though she was a tiny baby.
Heaven is just like it is on Earth except that there are lots of beautiful things all around – there is no more pain and no more hurt. God’s special job for Rachel was to be one of his precious baby Angels. God needs angels of all ages to care for those He loves on Earth and when He saw just how much Rachel was suffering, he knew he could make her into a beautiful angel to care and comfort other sick babies. Do you know that God has mommy and daddy angels, grandma and grandpa angels. He has boy angels and girl angels and even aunty and uncle angels.
Jesus is holding Rachel in his arms right now and explaining to her how much he loved her and what a special job he has in store for her. There are lots of children all over the world who are hurting and babies like Rachel will be angels to care for those babies and children. I think Rachel’s mommy is also an angel and so she will help Rachel to be a beautiful, loving and caring baby angel.”
Arrival of Baby Talent
Baby Talent was placed into our care at the end of May 2011 and is said to be about 6 months old. He has a gorgeous smile which he willingly shares at the slightest bit of attention, he is a very content baby and is seldom heard crying. He feeds and sleeps well and has settled into our Home where he is currently on a Place of Safety.
This precious baby boy was brought into our care as he has no extended family willing to care for him whilst his mother is being treated at a local facility for patients with mental disorders.
Baby Count as at 18/06/11 :- 16 beautiful blessings from God
6 girls
(Nomalanga/Faith/Nobuhle/Blessing/Jessica/Darlene)
10 Boys
(Pride/Mthandazo/Craig/Keith/Tadiwanashe/Samuel/Christopher/Matthew/Brandon/Talent)
Banking Details
If you wish to support us by making a financial contribution, kindly email us for the applicable bank details and tax deductible options relevant to your country of origin.
Website
Our website is up and running, if you wish to view this, visit www.ourneighbours.org
If you would like to check out our regular updates - we are also on Facebook. Our Neighbours
Other Newsletters
Should you be interested in receiving Martin’s newsletters for Our Neighbours Ministry and Isaiah’s Homes of Love and/or the Financial Reports, please feel free to email him on martinbarrow@hotmail.com and he will add you to this mailing list.
If you would like to receive the Ministry Prayer Partners Newsletter kindly email Charmaine on ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, simply send an email to isaiahs@yoafrica.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.
Thank you for your time in reading of our news.
Luv ‘n’ friendship in the Lord always
Belinda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Belinda L. Wilson
The Administrator
Isaiah's Umuzi Wothando
57 Heyman Road, Suburbs,
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
P.O. Box 2361
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263-9-64474
Mobile: +263-777-773719
Alt: +263-712-212378
Email: isaiahs@yoafrica.com
Alt: ourneighbours@yoafrica.com
Website: www.ourneighbours.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 37 vs. 4 :- Delight yourself in the Lord
& He will give you the desires of your heart.
Monday, April 19, 2010
April pics of our little treasures (Pt 2)
Bridget visiting (being fostered)
Wethembekile
Tadiwanashe.JPG)
Sibusiso
Shamiso
Samuel.JPG)
Rachel
Prince.JPG)
PrideApril Pics of our little treasures
.JPG)
.JPG)
Nomalanga.JPG)
Nobuhle
Mthandazo.JPG)
Mthabisi
Maureen
Junior.JPG)
Jessica
Faith
Daniel.JPG)
Craig
Christopher.JPG)
Caleb.JPG)
Blessing
Amanda2010 - Delayed Postings
Dear Friends
We sincerely apologise for the delay in postings to our Blog - this is due to limited broadband access and dial up connections do not allow us sufficient time to load info.
We are working on this problem.
Should you wish to see latest pics of the kids, refer to Facebook page "Belinda Wilson Armstrong".
Luv 'n' friendship in the Lord always
Belinda - Sis'Bee
We sincerely apologise for the delay in postings to our Blog - this is due to limited broadband access and dial up connections do not allow us sufficient time to load info.
We are working on this problem.
Should you wish to see latest pics of the kids, refer to Facebook page "Belinda Wilson Armstrong".
Luv 'n' friendship in the Lord always
Belinda - Sis'Bee
Saturday, June 20, 2009
May / June Update including childrens Pictures
Dear Friends
Another month into the year and as I begin to think of what I can share I am in awe of just how amazing God's blessings are for not just me but for all of us at Isaiah's, also incorporating Rehoboth and Windles. The song I'm listening to right now says "There is none like you..." It's so true God is just amazing and there is None like Him. How many times do we fail Him and yet his Grace and Mercy are sufficient for everyone of us. Let us begin in giving thanks to God, let us give Him the praise as we worship Him, "Almighty God for there is None like You Lord", and if there is only one thing I do in this newsletter, let it be to give God the Glory for all within His Ministries !
I will start with some sharing of Rehoboth. It's hard to believe that a year ago we moved the initial Mpilo group of children to the first of our orphan homes. Early in April, the Rehoboth children were a special part of the wedding celebrations of Mark and Dorcas and they now enjoy their "dad" living with them in Ilanda. Initially Mark and Dorcas felt God call them to be the house parents of this home, however their love for the children grew rapidly and they soon felt they should rather move to adopting all the children. Rehoboth are steadily working towards being fully sustained and will eventually become their own independent home. The fostering and adoption process has already begun on some of the children and we ask you to pray with us that the processes of "family tracing" go smoothly without any hitches, all in the best interests of these children. We have also recently done xrays for the process of age estimation and now feel more comfortable knowing their ages are more accurate rather than just assuming age according to size! This process will also assist when trying to enrol the children in private schools.
The children are generally all doing well. Precious continues to thrive being the big sister to all the boys, and of course Godknows being the big brother. Precious and Nhlanhla have both settled well at their new school with both children being awarded the "merit sash" within the first few weeks. Proud daddy Mark shared how touching this was, thinking that sometime back someone had once considered these children worthless, yet here they are now out-shining others ! Munaso joined Godknows, starting "big school" this year whilst Mathew and Panashe joined Nkosi at Early Learning Centre. Kuda also loves going to school (KGVI) and is making good steady progress all the time.
Little Nkosi is struggling at the moment, he was diagnosed towards the end of last year with a hole in his heart and was placed on the waiting list for a Heart Operation in South Africa. This past week his little heart has been racing rapidly and he has had very high fevers. On Sunday morning as we began to pray for Nkosi and the many others within our congregation I felt God's spirit speak to me, I felt reassurance that just as God performed a miracle with our baby Noubhle, saving her when she was abandoned, and then healing her, I felt God say I can do the same for Nkosi. Memories of first meeting Nkosi in Mpilo flashed through my mind, seeing him grow to the sturdy chap he is, I believe God will work another miracle in Nkosi and with faith and belief we will stand here to testify his grace, love and mercy again. Please continue to pray with us for his healing and if necessary for his heart operation that needs to take place.
The second of the orphan homes, Windles, is up and running smoothly, managed by our partners Mind The Gap. Private tuition was given to most of the children and we are happy to report that all of them are now up to speed with others of their age and this term saw all of the elder ones being enrolled at the
Towards the end of March, the eldest boy child Emmanuel went missing, he was last seen playing in the garden with his "scooter". Investigations began with search parties setting out in all directions, neighbours had seen him playing in the area, however sadly we did not see the return of Emmanuel. Instead it seems that Emmanuel chose to run away and looks like he is back living on the streets with his older brother. It is most likely that the story he originally gave us of his grandmother who lives in Harare sending them to Bulawayo to find his family was fabricated, and this event had Ben planned as he notified a friend from church that he would not be there on Sunday. We will not give up praying for Emmanuel's return Home and would like him to know that he is Welcome back home at anytime.
Gertrude was very close to Emmanuel and for the first few weeks seemed very lost without him. She seems to be settling now, realising that he maybe isn't coming home anyday soon.
Kimberely is doing well and enjoying being at school with the other children her age.
Silethemba, or Sibhekitemba as we often called her, underwent a successful hernia operation at the end of April. She is well on the road to recovery and is now free from her stomach pains. Her little sister Thembie is a "live-wire" always dashing about the house or garden giggling and laughing.
Angela is doing well and her health seems improved of late. We thank the Lord for this. Angie and Thembie are loving being at the
Tinashe continues to amaze us with the progress he has made, in six months he is now walking on his own, even at times he runs after his siblings. He now feeds himself and remains clothed at all times. He has begun pre-school at the Jairos Jiri Centre and his house mother Bridget and the caregivers are now beginning toilet training with him. It seems that Tinashe's seizures are triggered when he gets a fright or by sudden noises, so we pray that God will overcome these for him.
James has become more confident in himself and not so shy, he has settled well at school and is making good progress.
Cynthia too has settled well into school, she is a very confident child full of energy and stories.
Let us remember to uplift these children, thanking God for their good health and education.
So now to our Babies at Isaiah's... some of them not so little anymore...
Our most recent addition, Skippy Isaiah...
We introduced a 6 week old puppy to the Babies home with a two 
fold plan, one as security and two so that the children can slightly overcome their fear of dogs from a relatively young age. Needless to say, at this point neither one has been accomplished ! The toddlers are still petrified and Skippy hasn't been much of a threat to anyone as we have recently had intruders on the property. Please pray with us for protection of the children and the staff at the home as well as the property there. I am certain that soon enough the children will get used to Skippy being around, and simply just wanting to play with them.
Nomalanga started her first day of preschool at Early Learning Centre and it seems she loves the whole school idea. When I collected her at mid-day with all the other children, it felt like I had missed a whole period of her growing up - she has suddenly become a little girl, and no longer the toddler who used to cling to me around strangers !! When I asked her about school, she commented "it was fine thank you. What did you do ? I drew a picture and played with other children." Before we know it she will be enrolling to
Pride has taken another leap from baby talk to making his own little sentences, the most common of which is " Sis'Bee - uSkippy kalumi " Now that means Sis'Bee - Skippy won't bite me ! How I wish he said that with some certainty. Pride loves to sing songs of praise, jumping and dancing about as he sings. His siblings are in temporary care at our Northend Home until we can find a suitable place for them with someone who can take care of them during the day.
Bridget also loves to sing and dance and like Pride she has also begun talking in short sentences. Her favourite is to sing "Halleluia" waving her hands in the air. She has been quite a few times with Mrs Ncube to church and it amazes me how children learn from those around them ! I often look back on Bridget's baby photos and see how serious she used to be, hardly sharing a smile and now it doesn't take much to make her smile. One of her other favourite things to do is going in the car, make sure if you have to leave the home she is somewhere inside as she can surely scream the sky down if she isn't allowed to go with for a ride !
Amanda always amuses me with her mischevious smile, she always seems to be up to planning something in her mind and once her mind is set on something you can try by any means to distract her without much success. Mimi is a very easy-going girl, quite happy to play by herself, she is a quick learner however has quite a strong will.
Sibusiso is growing well however seems to lack self confidence. At times he can be very sensitive and clingy. His latest trick was following Maliki into the Pantry and as soon as she turned her back he would sit down waiting for treats or rewards ! Once or twice she almost locked him inside as she hadn't noticed him closely following behind her. When Sibu, as he is known to the other children, laughs - everyone laughs as he has a very cute giggling chuckle.
Prince has developed a character which says "stop me if you think you can!" and he is up for any challenge, he loves to climb and if you don't keep an eye on him he will be on top of the furniture and almost up the burglar bars of the windows. On the other hand he has a very loving character however seems to think that in order to kiss a baby you have to be almost on top of the little one. He is very sensitive when the babies cry and he tries to calm them by patting them on the head or chest, usually a bit harder than they like so as a result they land up crying more than before, when all he is trying to do is pacify them.
Caleb is crawling all over the place, however not prepared to take the next step yet - he believes he can get wherever he wants to on his hands and knees so why stand up and walk. He will be one year old next week and by the looks of things he is going to be quite a tall boy. He loves to crawl all over anyone who decides to sit on the floor and play with the babies and his latest fascination is holding a cellphone to his ear and babbling away. If music is playing he will stand against the furniture bobbing up and down, his own dance to the beat.
Mthandazo is 9 months old now and still struggling with his squint eyes. He is fascinated with watching his hands and it's probably because everytime he tries to focus on them he sees more than one hand in view. His latest trick is "rocking the chair he is in" by swinging his legs up and dropping them down, it doesn't matter which chair he is in he will get it to rock ! It is quite funny to watch how he amuses himself by the motions.
Daniel is beginning to move about on his stomach, pushing himself up into the crawling position, ready to go. Daniel laughs a lot and is generally a very happy baby, a fairly fussy eater but a good sleeper, which is probably why he is the size he is - don't they say babies grow in their sleep !
Faith like Daniel is 7 months old, she loves to sit and play on her own with brightly coloured toys that make a noise. Though Faith has a rather sad looking face, it brightens up when she does share a smile.
Shamiso loves attention now and does not like to be left to play on her own, when she is happy she is very happy but when she's grumpy she can be very grumpy ! She is about the same age as Faith and Daniel though has been sitting for a longer period.
It's hard to think back to when Craig was six weeks old and struggling to even drink 50mls.., It is amazing and awesome what prayer can do for a blessed little soul as this - Craig was annointed at church one day, six months ago and from that moment on he has made incredible progress. He has "chipmunk cheeks and little dimples" which are a striking facial feature of this little boy, he is a placid baby who feeds and sleeps well.
Our little miracle girl Nobuhle continues to do well - she is picking up weight, though is still little compared to the others of her age. Her TB treatment is going well as she receives her daily medication, sometimes though this can cause oral thrush which is very uncomfortable for her, thankfully this is easily treatable. Despite the individual attention she received during her recovery time she is quite content to sitting watching everyone around her. She loves to spend time on the weekend with Granny Joyce, who all the same loves having her around as much as she can.
Nobuhle and Jessica recently had their first hair cuts - both girls had lovely curly locks however these were beginning to look untidy as the back locks were thinning out. It did not change the beauty of these two little girls, both now six months old. Jessica is a week younger than Nobuhle however sizeably bigger, she is very alert and her lovely big brown eyes attentive to everything which moves around her.
Blessing, who is two weeks younger than Jessica, rolls and moves about wherever she is placed. She is quite active and it doesn't look like it will be long before she is crawling about the place. She has a very sensitive skin which sometimes leaves her face looking blotchy and dry, this however is easily treated with plain aqueous cream. Blessing, like Nobuhle, is a small but content baby.
The youngest of our babies is Mthabisi who is 5 months old now. He is going to be a big boy, he feeds very well and sleeps well too, often because of his size he is thought to be much older than he actually is. When Mthabisi is awake he is quite demanding of attention and has learnt if you want attention then you just have to keep crying, one way or another someone will pick you up, even if it's just to keep the peace !!
Isn't it funny how quickly babies learn, particularly the art of manipulation and we often under-estimate their intelligence !
Our once "newborns" have fast become toddlers and as they grow they do demand more attention - we'd most greatly welcome "Volunteers" who can spend time with these little ones particularly developing their motor-skills. You needn't have a degree for such a task as this, you just have to have that little bit of time and love to give. Believe me when I say the reward is yours from these little ones !!!
If you are interested you can call the Matron at the home and we can arrange a suitable time for you and for the children. The busiest times of the day of course are early morning (7am-9am) when breakfast is being prepared, feeding and then bathing, lunchtimes (12pm) can also be hectic, and early evening when some tummy's are empty but others energy levels are bouncing.
There are many "needs & wishes" at the home, ranging from groceries to cleaning materials, to garden tools and even minor maintenance jobs. If anyone has a handy-man hiding in your cupboard please let them out and direct them to our Home. Our old and rusty tin roof needs a coat of paint, and the walls would love one too if anyone has "paint-connections" or would love to take on this task. Our recently finished store-room has "shelving shells" which need some inner planks - if you have anything suitable for this, or know someone who could provide strips of wood, we'd greatly appreciate it. Seems such a waste only having the shells, and a home across the road has very kindly stored some of our donations and now that the room we built is secure we'd love to unpack these onto these shelves, just as much as they'd love to have their store-room emptied of our stuff.
As this update/newsletter draws to an end, we are sad to say that just as the children were getting used to him, Skippy has gone missing ! We do not know if he may have wondered down the driveway and gotten out of the gate or if he has been "lifted" to a new home. Nonetheless we are all very sad so where ever Skippy is we hope and pray he is ok.
We trust you, our friends, are all well and thank you for your continued support, encouragement and prayers. If anyone is interested in becoming more involved, drop us a line or give us a call and we will help as best we can to place you in the area you see you want to help. If you feel something has been placed on your heart, feel free to share it with us and if you don't mind we'd love to share it with others. Until our next update, remember to give God the thanks and praise He deserves for his Mighty work within us.
God bless, Luv and friendship always
Sis'Bee
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