The Lord gives and takes away....blessed be His name

Jerusha had called us to let us know that 'big" Esther was back in a hospital in Nakuru with a fever and needing oxygen. The oxygen machine had stopped working and after several hours without oxygen Esther passed away. We felt we needed to support Jerusha and to say goodbye to our special little girl. We hired a car and drove the 2 hours to Nakuru Hospital where we met the family. We drove daddy, mommy & Esther back to their home village which was another hour away. They are a Christian family and had a service in their yard where the whole village turned out to celebrate Esther's life. Jerusha asked if we understood any thing that was being said in the service and we said yes....."Hallelujah and Amen." After lunch, we took Esther up the road and down the cow path to the family field where she was buried. While this was a very sad time for all, we know that Esther is home with Jesus where we will see her again. We were honored and privileged to be apart of her life. Please pray for Jerusha and her other children as they are missing Esther.

More prayer requests

Meet James and his mom. James is a premature baby, born at about 30 weeks gestation and weighs 1.3 kg, which is 2.9 lbs. He started out having a hard time digesting his food, so mom began Kangaroo Care to help, which he loved. This weekend he got sick, requiring oxygen and respiratory support and had to go to the adult ICU for ventilatory care. Please pray for his full recovery and for peace for mommy Hannah.



Daniel is a very sick boy and we are not sure of the reason. Mom is very worried about him and is asking for your prayers.





Slyvester and Slyvia - twins born 2 weeks ago at 28 wks gestation and weighing in at under 2 lbs. They have done remarkably well so far and are not even requiring oxygen. Mom asked when the babies would be ready to go home. We asked her "when was your due date?" She replied "July 4." We answered "yep, right around then!" to which her eyes got very big. She has two other children at home, so this will be a long time to be away from the rest of her family. Pray for patience for mom & dad.

Praise God for answered prayers!

Sandra:
After our last posting and your prayers, Sandra was soon off oxygen and able to go home with her mom. She will have to go for follow-up visits for her heart condition and may need surgery in the future.

Makubwa:
After 2 1/2 months in the nursery, he was finally able to go home. He was about 2 lbs at birth and now weighs just over 4 lbs. Mom had been waiting for this day for so long that she just up and left without saying goodbye to us! But she will be coming back this week for a follow-up weight check, so we will get to see them again.

Ihtisam:
She healed from her lung infection but will continue to need close monitoring and follow up for her heart defect. Please pray that she will stay healthy and grow as she will need heart surgery around one year of age. In addition, she also faces other surgeries for her medical problems. She was able to go home this past Friday but we also will see her again this week at her follow-up visit. It will take mom 4 hours by "matatu" (public transport) to come back to Kijabe. This long journey is typical for the patients seen here at Kijabe as many people come here from all over Kenya and other bordering countries. Kijabe Medical Center has a reputation for good medical care.

Saying hello and goodbye - continued

Meet Ihtisam, who has the most beautiful eyes; smiles and coos when you talk to her but has many physical hurdles to overcome. Please pray that God would give the physicans wisdom as to the the best course of treatment and that her lungs would heal quickly from an infection. Also pray for encourgement for mom and that she will see the love of Christ.

This is a mom from Somalia who doesn't speak any English or Swahili so communication is done through Ihtisam's mom. But mom is good at getting your attention and pointing to what she needs. Ruwaidha had abdominal surgery this past week and has a long road ahead of her.



Little Esther was discharged at a chunky weight of 4.5 pounds. She promised to come and see us when she comes back in May for a follow-up visit. We will miss our friends but we will never forget them as they have touched our hearts. These are miracle babies of God. All praise and glory to Him who loves the little children.

Saying goodbye and making new friends

It has been awhile since our last blog entry. We have been busy saying goodbye to our special little ones and making new friends. Big Esther and her mom Jerusha, came back to see us. They both look wonderful and are very happy. We were visiting in the mother's ward area and told them they could not all go home and leave us without any friends in the nursery. Jackie - Makubwa's mother -said that it was time we made new friends because she wanted to go home. We all had a good laugh! Now we tease Jackie as we spend time with the new babies that we are "making new friends." Makubwa is doing very well and will be home soon. He is trying to live up to his name which means "a big man." He is now 4 pounds! Here is Makubwa holding onto his syringe to help his feeding along.

We want you to meet a new little one....Ann. She is very sweet and her mother loves to hold her and do Kanagroo Care. She was born at 30 weeks gestation and is doing very well. Her mother Mary is a beautiful and quiet person. Mary does not speak alot of English so communication can be difficult but the love of God can always come through.

Baby Sandra is a big girl for us. She came to us from another hospital with difficulty breathing. We are not sure what is going on with her. She made a "big trip" into Nairobi for tests which were not very conclusive. She continues to need oxygen but that does not slow her down from eating!