A New Life at.....

Dear Family all over the world,

wow, I didn't think it was going to be so scary to post this.

This blog is a very special and close to my heart. I get to make an announcement for the first time….

After over three wonderful years at Refilwe I am taking a huge leap of faith and have accepted a position as a Baby House Manager for Onthatile Children’s Ministries! Onthatile (On-Ta-Tea-Lay) is a small non-profit organization started by an American couple 4 years ago. They currently have a small baby home that is connected to their family home. They have hopes to have foster families living on site as well as a preschool and adding more babies too, to their 5 acre property!
    As of January 1st, I will be officially on Staff at Onthatile here in South Africa. Some of my duties will remain similar to my position at Refilwe such as everyday baby care. In addition, as baby house manager I will be responsible for general overseeing of the baby home, coordinating the babies’ schedules, doctors appointments, social worker visits, and adoptions, as well as overseeing the staff and interns that come through the ministry. I am so excited about this opportunity and trusting that God will guide and use me in this new position for his glory.  

I feel as if I have had to muster up all my courage  to take on this new journey. This  is definitely something I didn’t expect or even a road I thought I would travel but I am so confident that God has been directing my steps. I feel like God has and will continue to equip me as I move forward. I also know that stepping out of my comfort zone will make me rely on Jesus a little more everyday, which can only be for my benefit! I am so excited about this new season of life.

I will be moving into a small cottage about 2 miles away from the baby house and will commute everyday. There will be many weeks of transition as well as trial and error. I will need to find a new church in my area as well as all new routes and short cuts. Please be praying that I can build good relationships with the social workers, the staff at Onthatile, the staff at our local hospital, and with my new neighbors. This  will continue to be a volunteer position and I will  still seek  your prayerful support. I will also continue to work on avenues for fundraising for this upcoming year. I am confident that with the added costs of this new journey I know God will provide the support that I need in all different areas. 

I am so thankful for Refilwe Community Project and what a wonderful family they all have become. While volunteering at Refilwe, I have learned so much about myself and  other people but also about my Heavenly Father. I have built friendships that will continue to grow and memories that I will carry with me forever. I am thankful that Refilwe has been so supportive of me during this transition and has helped in every way that they are able.


You can check out my new ministry at: www.onthatile.org

Thank you so much for everyone who filled out my adoption survey. It has been so enlightening to read everyones responses and different perspectives. It will be incredibly helpful to know how we can help in the adoption process best! People still have a few days to fill it out or send out a reminder to other people before the December 1st deadline!

https://goo.gl/forms/cOG8AP6Q9zkPYfKH3

I will be in America in one week! I am SO EXCITED! I cannot wait to see my family, eat american food, and have coffee and meals with people! If you would like to see pictures and hear stories about my time in South Africa, PLEASE EMAIL ME!

whit.eitzen@gmail.com

Please Be praying for safe travels. I will be leaving RSA on the 28th and Arriving to my parents on the 1st!

Summer Beginnings

Hey Family all over the world,

October has been a very exciting month! We celebrated two Birthdays and two adoptions!
 

Baby EJ and Baby K turned one! We had so much fun celebrating their birthdays! 

EJ loved his cake! He shoved his whole hand into his cake and frosting was everywhere! His thoughts on his presents were less than exciting. Every present put on this tray was quickly thrown on the floor. After two times he decided that he was funny. Im sure all the parents out there know exactly what I'm talking about. haha

Miss K had a somewhat opposite reaction. She didn't care for her cake. She didn't  want to touch it although, she thought it was quite nice when an auntie helped her taste it. : ) She loved her presents. She loved her little Giraffe and baby doll. She didn't want to put her Hello Kitty rattle down.

All the big kids know the song “happy birthday” very well, so EJ and K were celebrated with what I think was the loudest ‘Happy Birthday’ to date!  Sad that our next birthday isn't till January! 

When the day gets hot sleep with a plotted plant. silly cat

I am excited to announce that Miss AB is with her forever family! God has been extremely kind with this situation since a year ago we were thinking she would need to go to a forever foster family! I am proud to say that she not in a  foster family but  legally adopted by a beautiful local family! Her mom is a pediatric nurse who is so sweet and loves pink just like her daughter. Her daddy is in the  police force and can scare all the monsters in her room and slay all the dragons for his princess. They sent a picture the next day and AB had cute Princess Elsa shirt and a smile. It makes my heart so happy. It has been a pleasure to love this little girl for the last 2 1/2 years.

Walking into her new house with her mommy!

Saying good-bye to her friends

Little EJ had a really rough start in life. Probably one of more traumatic stories I have had to hear. I am so thankful that his story didn't end on that day but he has thrived into a rambunctious 1 year old. He is now in the arms of his wonderful parents and brother (5) from Denmark. The pictures from his adoption are so sweet and precious. He rocked the plaid shirt : )

Reminder: 

 Dont forget to pass along my adoption Survey! My goal is to get another 15 people to fill it out before December 1st! It is completely Anonymous and will help us in the baby homes prepare our kids better for their futures and come along side parents to support them the best we can! The responses have been wonderful so far and very insightful. You can email the link, Post it on Facebook, Twitter, You can even rent a large billboard and post the link if you wanted to. lol That last option might be a little much. Thank you so  much for your help!





https://goo.gl/forms/Okz7oYnSwB5uGlt22

REFILWE has a Calendar!!!!!!!!!!  

Only Two Days Left to Order! The Calendars are about R200. Which ends up being around $14.50 plus it will ship to your door before Christmas! It is a great gift and has a lot of great pictures from Refilwe and around South Africa. Quick and Order one now! (pssst I have a few pictures in in the Calendar!)









https://www.givengain.com/cause/2671/campaigns/17416/


Also, the end of the year is coming up! Would you Pray about committing to support me for 2017? There is a few ways to do that.

-Support me Financially either with a one time gift or monthly support. Every Little bit Counts!
-Let me know you are praying for me! Prayer is so powerful!
-Ask me about my Needs list for 2017.  I would be more than happy to email it to you
-Have Coffee with me while I'm in America! (or if your in SA too) Time of Sharing, Encouragement and Prayer is so necessary while im home.  I love catching up with people, a lot happens in a year! Ill be in America For the whole month of December 2016!

Even though it is Summer I found a Gingerbread Latte

He loves his Lovie

Bye to little AB

This is Hans

Hans is from Holland and Volunteers at Refilwe helping with Repairs on Fridays. I had a 2 hour conversation with him about his life. Its pretty incredible. The earliest date he mentioned was 1944 but he was a little boy then so im not sure exactly how old he is but, he is about as wise as they come. He is the first person I have ever met (at least that i remember) who was in Europe during WWII. His Family went into hiding in this cottage for 10 months hiding from the Nazi's. His Dad was captured but he escaped before he was taken to a working camp. He hid in Holland till the war was over. I dont remember how long that was however, he said his dad was gone for a long time.  His mom, Baby Sister and himself stayed in the cottage and it saved their lives! He has pictures, paintings and drawings of this cottage all over his house. It was captivating to see how much it meant to him and his family. Every year he goes back to Holland and any family that is around gather to the cottage and retell the story. Apparently the cottage is now owned by the government and houses underprivileged kids from the city to the country on school holidays.
He misses his wife dearly who passed about 4 years ago. He showed me the white roses she planted and some of her things are still around the house too. I definitely had one of the moments where I thought "wow, I hope one day I get to have a husband who loves me this much" Im not trying to be sappy about it just was a rare thing to see these days and it  was truly beautiful. I wish I could have known her.

Zoo Trip

Lemur

Hi Family all over the world,


Thank you so everyone who supported our zoo trip we had a wonderful time!

Funny stories from the day:
It was  7:15am and there are 7 aunties running around trying to get everything ready. Can you imagine trying to get 9 babies under 3 out of the house and the number of things that must be in place? At once point there were a few of us laughing in the kitchen because it seemed crazy that we needed our whole team just to get everyone out the door. But we definitely did.

The first big animal we saw were giraffes.  They were in their house and something must have startled them because they pranced out and 4 out of 6 toddlers yelped out in fright. now please don't get me wrong we were a good 500 feet away so we were no where close to them but it was funny to watch them experience how big giraffes are. They calmed down a bit after the kids realized that they were not going to bite them.

I really do think that the big boys favorite part of the zoo trip was the fact that this dump truck and scooper truck followed us around the zoo. Im not sure what they were doing around looked like they were moving animal grass (food) around. I'm pretty sure I thought big boy S was going to pee his pants with excitement when it drove right in front of us. Forget the zoo, next time we should just go to a park of trucks haha.

 Everyone was so tired on the way home aunties included. The four big boys fought the sleepiness with everything they had on the way home so they could see all the cars go by. Few fell asleep but it was much quieter ride home. : )

Auntie Morgan and Baby K

Crocodile

 Dum Roll Please……..

I HAVE A CAR!

The Lord has been so kind and faithful inspiring a family to help me purchase a vehicle. I have developed a good friendship with the women who i brought the car from. A friend of a friend named Kevin helped me find a good car and make sure everything was done legally. I call him one of my South African dads now, he offered look out for me. (I have acquired a few)  Registration went very smoothly and insurance as well.  I definitely was in tears in some of the earlier process our of frustration but at the end of the day is worked out. I always want to take these moments to say God is so good.

There is always room for improvement right? There is always room to grow, to change, to learn new ways. I have put together a short survey for adoptive parents and those who have been adopted to help us, work in baby homes to do better! This questions will help us in understanding what a parent is going through and what is valued to them as parents. For those who have been adopted, we are hoping to learn what is important to them years later. It is completely anonymous so I'm hoping people will answer as honestly as they can. The more detail you can give, the more helpful it will be.

For those who are not an adoptive parent or adopted themselves you can help too!  You can  send the link to people you know who have been adopted or an adoptive family! I hoping to have as many  responses by December 1st!

Adoption Survey  <-----


Prayer: 

-Please Continue to Pray for Adoptions. Prayer is so powerful and our Heavenly Father is listening. Our Social workers think that the judges might sign a lot of papers before Christmas which would mean amazing things for our kids and babies around Joburg.
-Prayer for Supernatural Rest. I am in a season of life  where rest days are few and a lot of times I am relying on Jesus to get me through the day. Dont get me wrong there is something beautiful about relying on Jesus everyday however, I could use some supernatural rest in the short times I do get.
-Speaking of Rest, I have a trip to the USA coming up! I am going to California for Christmas! I am really excited and looking forward to it immensely.  Would you start praying about supporting me next year? There a few ways you can do that.  Supporting  Financially either monthly or a one time donation. Commit to pray, Prayer is so important! Ask me about my needs list! Gifting one thing off the needs list can be such a blessing!


Want to hear more about South Africa? I would love to have coffee with you while im home! Message me or Email me and we can start working on a date : )

Little Helpers

feeding with a fire truck ladder

River Watching

Good big brother

messy fun!

Special Project

Hey Family all over the world,

Wow. Sorry for missing my entry last month. Its been very busy and my head space has been a little cluttered.

Spring is here and to be honest its closer to more summer weather. South Africa doesn't have transition weather. Its winter or summer. Only two modes. Its pretty interesting.

We had three groups come through Refilwe. A church from Fresno, California, a YWAM team based from Switzerland and a High School group from the UK. For three weeks in July the schools have a holiday. Ryan and Megan put on an amazing Refilwe Holiday Club, Teen Club and then an all inclusive holiday club.  Everyone in Children’s Ministry works extra hard in July.



I am sad to say that my dear friend as roommate Stephannie and her brother Michael went home to Colorado. They served faithfully for six months here at Refilwe and are very missed.

At the Baby Home we received two new babies! Baby G came to us at one month old. He came to us needing lots of Love and Patience after a very rough first month of life. And Baby K came at 9 months old being Very feisty and so independent.  Both have had very hard transitions being away from the only home they had every known. We are so thankful that after a month of being at El Roi they have both settled in better and we can see their bright and wonderful personalities. We are excited to see what their future holds.

Baby E had a very busy month of July. She turned One!!! This little Ball of energy had such a fun birthday and enjoyed being in the center of attention. July was also very special for her because she was adopted into her Forever Family! She was embraced by her South African Mom, Dad and Big Sister.

Morgan is here! We have a new baby house volunteer from North Dakota. She is here for four months and is already a wonderful addition to the Auntie Team.

Happy 3rd Birthday S

For the Last two weeks we have honored to be apart of a special adoption. Dear friends from the Netherlands have adopted another little girl. It has been exciting to be on the other side of an adoption and watch a beautiful bond form in the first few weeks. Little Hannah is a wonderful addition to their family.

AB doing babys hair

SPECIAL PROJECT:
We are going to the JOHANNESBURG ZOO!!!!  This is the first big outing for El Roi and Im hoping Some of you will want to  get involved! It will cost about $150 to cover all expenses. This includes entrance fees, transport, and lunch for all 18 of us! I'm pretty sure the Aunties are just as excited as the kids. We are going on September 9th, just a little over a week away! If you want to help us with the cost of our Zoo trip, will you email me please? Even a small contribution will be appreciated!

whitinafrica@gmail.com

Prayers Requests:

-Wisdom. I need to make some decisions in the next couple months and I need patience and quiet heart listening to the Lords Leading.

-Adoptions! We only have ONE baby who might have a chance to be with his family for Christmas. Last Christmas we were overjoyed to hear that most of our kids were finally in a legal place to be with a family. We were counting all the babies and toddlers who would spend their next Christmas’ with their families.  That joy was somewhat short lived. Unfortunately, the courts are causing so many problems and red tape that most of our kids will be spending Christmas with us again. We are desperate for Judges to provide court dates and sign papers. Only God can soften hearts towards our kids and adoptions. I pray that God will surprise us all and we will have more adoptions than we ever expected by the end of the year!
-Zoo trip. This is a huge outing for El Roi and I would love some prayers for safety and the kids have a wonderful time getting to see these animals we are always talking about. I cant wait to see their faces when they see how big an elephant actually is! I can't wait to tell you all about it next month!

N is so sweet to give me a flower

Tractor Time!

Miss AB got to go to church!

peek-a-boo

DR visit

Quack

June Anniversary

Hey Family all over the world,

Are you ready for the big surprise?!?!?!?!


L is with her family!

L had a 2 day adoption process. On the 14th of June her mommy, daddy and brother came to the house to meet her for the first time. they spent about 90 minutes playing with her and talking to her. Then mommy helped put her to sleep for nap. They got a tour of the house and got to go through her book that Nicole makes for all the kids. On June 15th we prayed for her and gave last hugs and kisses, then Nicole put her in the car to take her to ABBA guest houses where she will spend the next three weeks with her family before they fly back to Sweden. Her Family has known their daughter was in South Africa for many months and I cannot even imagine the anticipation and excitement of those days.

waiting to meet her family for the first time

she did great playing with then

getting ready for her forever

brother love!

We are very excited to have 3 more adoptions coming up. Please pray with us that the paper work is done quickly. And that our kids will be with their families soon! We are not sure exactly why adoptions are starting to be processed again but we are so excited!

Mr. T is doing very well and a very hungry little boy. I think he is going to be a big kid : ) He likes to be held and to be swaddled. It has been so cold lately I think he has the right idea to be cuddled in a nice blanket. : )

Happy 1st birthday S

YOU are so LOVED!

June is a fun month for me. My birthday is in June and I celebrate my South African Anniversary.

My Birthday was fun. I had high tea at a nice hotel about an hour away with dear friends. It was fun to feel celebrated and get all dressed up. There are not too many occasions at Refilwe where dressing up is necessary lol.

June 19th is the anniversary of my move to South Africa! Three years ago I packed up four suitcases and got on a plane for what was suppose to be a six month trip! Well, so much for just a six month trip.  haha.  I have learned so much and been stretched and challenged in more ways that I could have imagined.  I am so thankful for my support system that literally stretches around the world. Thank you for financial support, the prayers, the emails, Skype calls. WhatsApp messages and FaceBook communication. At the end of the day all I can say is God is So Good!

Katie and I

high tea snacks

Sushi Birthday lunch

I have two typical days for me and they look like this:

5:00- Wake up
5:15- Breakfast and read bible
6:30- walk up to the baby house
6:35- Prep for the day, night shift debrief, pray with aunties
7:00- Bath and dress kids for day
8:00- All babies bottles/ Toddlers Breakfast
9:00- Small babies Nap/Big babies cereal
9:30- Big babies Nap/toddlers outside time
10:30- toddlers milk
10:45- toddlers nap
11:00 Small babies bottle
11:30 big babies up wake up
12:00 big babies bottle/ small babies nap
13:00- Big babies purity (baby food)
13:30- Big babies nap/Toddlers wake-up- Lunch
13:45- Small babies wake up
14:00- Small babies bottle
15:00- Small baby nap
14:30-15:30 Toddler Educational time (art, letters, numbers, bible verses, outside time)
15:30- Big babies wake up/Toddlers milk
16:00- Big babies milk
17:00- Small babies milk/big babies biscuit snack
17:30- Big babies bed/ toddlers dinner
17:45- Aunties finish cleaning house, fill out charts, day shift debrief.
18:00- Pray with Night shift and go home.
18:20- Shower
19:00- put away everything from the day/ watch an episode of a show
19:30- Make dinner
21:00- Bed
and Repeat for 2 more days
on the weekends we don't have a cleaner so we are also responsible for dishes, laundry, and cleaning bottles also
I usually work 2 weekends a month sometimes 3 on short staffed months
there are usually 3 aunties per day shift (sometimes only 2)
small babies 0-6 weeks
big babies  6 weeks- 15 months
toddlers 15months-3 years

my cat hanging out with the boys

My days off look quite different.

7:30- wake up
8:00- breakfast/devos
9:00- office for internet (emails, FB, find out about whats going on at the rest of Refilwe)
12:00- lunch
12:00-19:00 depends on the day.
-Movies
-TV series
-mall for groceries
dishes
cleaning house
painting
finishing touches on toddler crafts
a nap
laundry
hang out with Cindy
write my blog
prep sunday school curriculum 
19:00- Dinner
21:30- Bed
* sometimes more than one of these above happens in a afternoon and sometimes only one maybe two if i have the energy lol

Roughly the schedule goes three days at the baby house and two days “off”. Ideally this is what would be great but it heavily depends on Volunteers and paid aunties taking leave. There are weeks where I have been at the baby house 3 or 4 times and many weeks where I have been with the kids 6 days in the week. 


Today is June 30th. Today is my little C’s 2nd birthday. I have kinda had a heavy heart this week.  I wish we had an update from her family. I wish I could see how much she has grown. Maybe her big brother will make her a birthday picture? I wonder what they will do for her first birthday as a family? I hope she fits into 12 month clothing by now and that she is enjoys all the frosting on her cake again this year :)

Happy Birthday Little Princess! Love you so much!

AB and I are so happy Mr T is home from the hospital

our fathers day wall.

S is learning to climb trees

L's  favourite thing to do is to ride is the wagon with all the toys : )