Our Neighbours Ministry inc. Isaiah's Umuzi Wothando (Isaiah's Homes of Love)

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 Government School in their area.

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 Early Learning Centre Pre-school where they have both settled so well.

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 Junior School and then High School, where does time go?

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

Dear All

Please find below a slightly out-of-date update about Isaiah's Home of Love for anyone who is just hearing about this ministry. Please see below for our email contact details.

Isaiah’s Umuzi Wothando (Isaiah’s Home of Love) is a project established in March 2004 to assist abandoned babies in Bulawayo Zimbabwe, and the surrounding areas. It is a faith-based community initiative. Our vision is to see abandoned babies being integrated into loving families and communities, to the glory of God.

Isaiah’s Umuzi Wothando (IUW) is located at 57 Heyman Road, Suburbs, Bulawayo, and currently cares for 18 babies/children. Rapid expansion occurred late in 2007 after we obtained our full registration with the Department of Social Welfare. We have cared for 33 babies/children since our home opened, with 13 already fostered to be adopted by loving families, and another 3 of our current kids are to be fostered/adopted soon. One of our girls is in the process of being reunited with her family soon, and unfortunately 2 of our babies have passed away.

The mission of IUW is to lovingly care for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of abandoned babies in this home, and to help facilitate the fostering and adoption of these babies to good families. We believe that the low levels of fostering and adoption currently can be increased by raising greater awareness of the plight of abandoned babies, and by encouraging a high level of community involvement in this project. We have seen this already.

The need arised, unfortunately, because a number of babies are abandoned by their families. Some babies are left at the hospitals by their mothers soon after childbirth, while others are left in the bushes.

In the last seven or so years the number of abandoned babies in government hospitals in Bulawayo has increased significantly, due to both the number of abandoned babies and the lack of available places at orphanages. The growing number of orphans in Zimbabwe, contributed to by the HIV/Aids epidemic, is a significant factor in the creation of this scenario. The economic situation has also greatly impacted on the ability of the ‘extended family’ to care for orphans.

What a privilege we have been given to care for these adorable babies.

Wherever possible we will assist babies/children to stay with their family (often their extended family) or community. With a little assistance from us 2 babies who were referred to us already have been able to stay with their families when they didn’t see how that was possible.

We are also partnering with another organisation to establish homes for those babies that aren’t fostered and adopted (or reunited with family), and other orphans. We believe that this project provides a holistic approach to orphan care. Where babies aren’t able to be reunited with family, fostered or adopted, they will progress from our babies home to the home for orphans where they will live in a family-type environment.

Our first home, Rehoboth, has already began, and we had 8 children move to this family. The house parents want to foster and ultimately adopt all of these children, praise God.
We believe that God has guided us to show His love and care to these babies, and given us the above-mentioned vision and objectives. We have seen His hand of guidance and provision in many ways in the development of this project. To Him be the glory.

If you would like to find out more information about the Home, or support this project in any other way, we would love to hear from you. Please come and visit us our Home at 57 Heyman Road in Suburbs or contact the Home on telephone +263 9 230504. At our town office, Martin Barrow can be contacted on +263 9 64472 or Belinda Wilson on +263 9 64474, email addresses are martinbarrow@hotmail.com and isaiahs@yoafrica.com, alternatively belinda@isaiahshomeoflove.org.

Our Neighbours Ministry inc. Isaiah's Umuzi Wothando (Isaiah's Homes of Love)

Monday, April 19, 2010

April pics of our little treasures (Pt 2)

April Pics of our little treasures

2010 - Delayed Postings

Saturday, June 20, 2009

May / June Update including childrens Pictures

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Baby Nobuhle - Update 2 from South Africa

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

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