The time has arrived....

I have an official date that Bea comes to live with me... it is on her 5th birthday!! ... November 1st!!! A week 'n a bit... 

I have started taking her out on 'dates' ... she is so overwhelmed at first but, thank God ... it always ends up in joy and laughter!! :)

I acknowledge this is going to be a challenging journey ... she has never spent any part of her life outside Gentle Hands loving care ... she has never had a mother and I have never been a mother ... but since this door has opened up, I realise I have never wanted anything more in my life.  

I'm out with you ....
but I'm still not too sure about all this!

But I do like cupcakes, so you may be okay!!

Warming up to a friend ..... after an hour of softly softly!!

And then.... friends for life!!

Manila traffic..... means long long taxi rides to and from anywhere. 

I am going out with you... again.... but I'm still not so sure!

And I do not like elevators!!! 

My very first swim.... 

And no, no, no!!! I am not getting in!! However, fun you make it look!! 

Oh! It is fun!! 

At the end of the day...... I just pray I am good enough for her! 

Surprise!!! For you.... for me!!

I am to be a mama ... a mum!! a mom!!! a mummy!!!! 

I am utterly and completely overwhelmed ... I had no idea this is something that would happen ... I thought that door was so very closed!!! I came to Gentle Hands as a nurse only ...

... and then a month ago, out of the blue, Charity asked me if I would consider fostering a little girl called Bea (pronounced Baya)... 

Wow! I fell in love with Bea on my first trip to Gentle Hands. There is always one that captures your heart! She was THE ONE!! 

... and suddenly I'm being asked if I would be her Mama!!! ... oh, how my heart swooned ... my mind never had a chance :) 

My first encounter  ... two and a half years ago! 

.... And my heart for her has never changed....

Before I knew our future! 

I hope to give Bea the kind of life my parents have given me ... a life filled with love, of encouragement, and of unconditional support ... a life that has given me the confidence to always follow my heart. A life that has brought me here today.

I could not have asked for anything more. They will be my forever role models.  

I hope you will continue to follow me in my 'Gracious Journey' ... as a nurse, as a missionary ... and now as a mother! 

You never know what lies ahead ... even when you think that road does not even exist, it can suddenly appear!! I am a testimony to that, this day. 

Manila's Monsoon Mario

The torrential rains started on Thursday night ..... and did not cease until late into Friday night. The longest 24 hours for 'over 150 thousand' families ..... and the hardest weeks and months ahead ..... as the clean up and rebuilding commences. 

I have always loved the rain .... nestling in the warmth, the dry ..... such a good excuse for a 'couch' day .... but there was no joy in it this time. As I sat and listened to the constant battering on the tin roof, I knew it meant only one thing .... suffering.... the loss of homes, possessions, livelihoods ..... and lives. The feeling of helplessness..... is quite overwhelming. 

Rain will never sound the same again. Not here anyway! 

How much can one nation endure? How many times can it recover from such disasters? The poor get poorer, the sick sicker ..... life is so very unbalanced at times..... 

Pray...... xx

Life as I know it.......

It has been a while.... 

After an incredible, fun-filled, heart-filled 3 week holiday in England and France with my family and friends, I returned... the transition from one to the other is ... well, a little challenging ... but, thankfully, only for a few moments. I miss 'my other life', I will always miss it, but a day back is a life lived.... 

While I was away, Gentle Hands accepted a baby being discharged from hospital after recovering from a rat eating his nose and a couple of fingers..... there is usually an appropriate medical term to cover most illnesses and injuries... not so in this case. 

He is 18 months old, weighs 6.4kg, and cannot even crawl. But he has learnt to smile. And with the most sparkling eyes and widest smile you can ever imagine, you just know he will overcome his adversity. 

The other day we went to pick up his sister... a 4 year old ... who was still in this unsafe place. 

She was so very tiny, at just over 10kg .... the weight of a 'western' 1 year old! 

But they are now safe. It is never too late. They have the chance to grow, to be loved, to live a life .... and to be given a forever family that will continue the work that Gentle Hands has started...

My heart bursts when I see their joy...... the resilience of children continues to astound me .... they live in the here and now.... they do not worry about their future, they don't dwell on their past. Oh, if we could only be more child-like.....

Our journey to rescue

The home........

And inside......

The neighborhood.....

Tough love.... someone has to be strong enough to be an advocate for the children....
Thank God, Charity is that someone. 

In safe hands......... as we journey back 

And we get our first smile..... 

She meets her brother ...... after several weeks.
She was so unsure and wary, as she remembers her last sight of him.

But then ...... 

He was absolutely mesmerized...... I have never seen anything like it!!!

Play...... so healing

Chest X-ray...... she is a very special child. She amazes me.....

Constantly, amazes me..... it has been only a week!

To pull a child from her home; all she has ever known, her mum, her community .... wrecks me.... but sometimes there is no other choice..... and, as I watch this little girl and her brother go from strength to strength .... I am left with no doubt that it is the right and only choice. 

What breaks me is that the parents are also victims..... of the system, of life, and of the world as I know it.