March Madness- Baby House Style

Hi Family!

    I have written, deleted, rearranged, rewritten and deleted this blog so many times. Im not sure what to say, or how much to say, to say how I really feel or just the short version.
    Its been an Emotional last couple weeks for myself. I have had so many transitions and changes its been a bit breathe taking.
    I have said goodbye to 2 precious children and a short term volunteer who have deeply impacted my life, all in a week.  Rockstar and E are finally with their families, and my Partner in Crime, KJ, went home to Memphis. Plus on top of it all, getting streams of information about how my mom is doing. 

The Princess

Today is Auntie Whitney's Day. Every Girl has a bow in their hair

Rockstar being led into the Guest House by his new big brother

Last Kisses with P

Adoptions are by far the best things about this job, A close second is when we get new babies to love.  However, I think all the aunties would agree with me that we have to work through some our own feelings with the Lord before we can put on  our brave faces and smile before families.

When I first heard about Rockstar’s adoption my heart hit my stomach and I felt like I had been sucker punched. (not that I know what it feels like to be punched in the stomach but I'm sure it would feel pretty much the same) Normally we have months or weeks warning. We had two weeks.

Rockstar is a very special little boy. He was the first baby at El Roi, arriving at 7 days old. He already had been through so much by the time Nicole picked him up. P, since the day he arrived at Refilwe, had drawn everyone to his smile that reflects God’s light in Him. I have never seen a baby so famous. lol Everyone in the office loves him and always asked about how he was doing. Even in the Joe Slovo community, people know him. They always would stand at the gate and talk to him. This kid couldn't leave the house without a “hey p, you look so cute” or “P, how are you today?” from what seemed like every direction. Rockstar really loves people and they love him back.
It truly has been a great honor to be his auntie for almost 2 years. It was quite hard to say good-bye. He had been my shadow for so long, I have felt a little lost without him. From the deepest part of my soul, I know God is going to do something amazing with his life. I cant wait to hear about it in heaven.
        

E and Her Daddy making silly faces in the mirror

E looks so sweet in her Pink Dress

 I was way more prepared for E’s Adoption. We knew back in October that she had been matched with her family but, the SA courts took forever for things to be finalized. Every month we waited and waited for news to come and it never did. I felt so bad for her new mommy and daddy, they missed her first teeth and her first steps. I tried to capture them the best I could, but its not the same…
We had been praying for E’s adoption, not just that she could be with her family, but for her poor sensitive heart too. E is very soft hearted and a little anxious. She doesn't like tickle time, any stuffed animals or real ones for that matter. We were a bit nervous for her hand off. March 9th was a day full of answered prayers. She did so wonderfully and drove away with her new mommy and daddy without any tears. God is Good!

P and E will both head to Sweden with their new families after their three week stay in SA.

(Cool little story. We found out that through the adoption network in Sweden, E and P’s parents became friends when they found out their new children were both coming from El Roi! So essentially P and E will know each other as they grow up! This really makes my heart so happy and I hope yours too! There are few things that are better than knowing my Kids will have a buddy as they go through life together.) 



                                                                                               

KJ and I with some tigers!

 KJ went back to Memphis just days before all the adoptions. She faithfully served with the Refilwe foster kids for 6 months. I miss her terribly but i know God has great things planned for her in Tennessee.









Over the last year I have learned an important life lesson in relying on God to provide. Now that I am here more in a full time status, it is different than being a short term volunteer. As a full time volunteer we are expected to supply more of our individual needs when it comes to getting along on our own. A specific need that I have been praying about is a car. A car would be an amazing blessing with my work here; a good step in the right direction going into full time ministry. I want to be a good steward of what God gives to me and I trust that in His time He will supply the funds.

Will you please join me in Praying about this need?

Speaking of funds, I have been asked over and over about online giving. I have finally set up a PAYPAL account! If you would like to give directly to support me, you can now do so by finding me on PayPal through my email. Whitinafrica@gmail.com

   

C and E

I kinda love these shoes and I dont care that they are too big. Too Cute.

Prayer Requests:
- 2 open spots here at the house. Prayers that our new babies would come to our house quickly  and feel how wanted and loved they are.

-We are in desperate need for volunteers. Baby House (6months), PreSchool (6Months), Refilwe Foster Kids (after school care, 12 weeks), Clinic (3 weeks) And so many options in-between. If you want more information please email our volunteer coordinator Megan Strydom at volunteers@refilwe.org

- Nicole is in America till mid April. Protection and rest for her stay and a uneventful baby house while she is away : ) Cindy and I are holding down the fort and making sure everything is running smoothly till she returns.  Just some Teething and crankiness ect right 

-This is a multipart prayer. (Short Version) 1. My mom still isn't doing well. After the hospital stay, all the treatments and continued dialysis she is right back where she started. The Dr.’s are going to try a new and stronger drug hopefully in April-ish. She is feeling better and stronger which is good for the next round. The Dr.’s have said that this will be the last try and if this drug doesn't work than they will let this kidney fail. I know God’s plan will be done but lots of prayers for “The Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”- Phil 4:7

-2. Im really struggling with this… I am very restless and I wish I could be home right now. There is nothing I could do whether I was a mile or over 16,000 klicks away. But just to be close would be nice. I believe in “All things work together for good..” Romans 8:28 My heart knows it but, sometimes my logical brain needs to remember. So until I am blue in the face and cannot go on…  God is Good. God can ONLY do good. God loves my mom.  God loves my family. and God loves Me.  On a day like today, sometimes i just need to repeat such things until my heart and my head believe it.

Our Current Auntie Team

                           Bertha, Bongiwe, Cindy, Myself, Evelyn, Karabelo, and Lorraine

Little S getting to ride on the tractor

Big S thought he had gone to heaven. He was so happy!

Basically my Dream came true. I got to pet a Tiger! I was very tempted to pick her up and bring her home :)

February Update

 Hello my family all over the world! 

In my last blog update I dropped a little hint that I want to share not just quietly but really I want to shout it out at the top of my lungs!

I have decided to stay in South Africa!

Wow!   It is not a decision I have made lightly, believe me!  I have prayed a lot... And many others have been praying with me on this as well!  I have talked through my different options with my family, mentor and other leaders and we have all come to the same conclusion that this is the best place for me to be right now!  I am so excited about it, can you tell??

Daily View

Joburg Skyline

 I just have to tell you some very cool things that have happened in this process.

There are some ways that I believe that we know we are where we should be in what we do and two of those are affirmation and support or means.  I’m sure you have heard the phrase before “Where God Guides, God Supplies.”   Well, thats how my dad says it at least.  So after receiving affirmation from my family and leaders around me I made my decision.  Now,  it was time to wait and see how God supplies and how. 

We began to put together a simple budget and find out what the minimum would be for me to make my yearly commitment here.  Even  before I sent out one support letter or blog or even began to really tell many people about my decision, God had already moved people to support me.  I am blown away because even before I got on my return plane to South Africa my basic support needs were already covered.   I have to say...  That's amazing and a huge God move!
After returning to South Africa and looking at all the adjusting that needs to be made from moving to long term from short term I find that there are some additional needs.   As a short term volunteer one doesn't have to worry much about transportation.  Because of the length of ones stay one really doesn’t have to really be anywhere else.  However, after living here a while I have seen the need for being able to get around with out having to always borrow a car.  After a while you start to always feel that burden of trying to find a ride everywhere you have to go.  Remember,  its not like we are in the middle of a town or near safe public transportation.

I would really like to get more involved with my church out here, run errands for the baby house, be a possible 2nd vehicle for Dr. and hospitals runs with the babies and be able to find reliable internet on my off days.

So, with that in mind I would like to start a car fun to raise enough money to purchase a car here along with insurance and petrol.  A realistic number is ten thousand dollars US.  My plan is to use the car for as long as I am here in South Africa and then when my time here is complete I would then donate the car to the Refilwe community.

If you believe you are lead to help out with this need or help in my general need of support, please email me here whit.eitzen@gmail.com.  I am also working on a Paypal account so if you check back in next week I will have more information on that. : )
All donations through Valley Bible Church are Tax Deductible.

 I love you, I want to bless you
Another thing the Lord has been showing me about this year is His Kindness. I feel like the Lord continues to send me blessings in incredible ways. Just recently I was very humbled. I kinda was throwing a mini tantrum to God and complaining. The next day God blessed me with more that I could have ever hoped for with the very thing I had been complaining about. Talk about a humbling moment for my ungrateful heart but also a cool moment too. I felt like God was able to whisper “hey I love you, I want to bless you.”  Ever have a moment like that?
 
What has started out as a 6 month journey is now approaching 2 years. I never would have imagined that this is where I would be living or what i would be doing with my life. I really would not want it any other way. I have the best “Job” in the whole world. What else would I want to do?!

Future News
I am really excited about 2015. I have some cool opportunities this year. I will be continuing to work at the baby house and care for my 12 little Monkey’s. Everyone is getting so big and continuing to show me new things everyday. We recently had four birthdays in three and a half weeks. What a joy it is to celebrate my kiddos and blessing they are to us. We officially have Two 2 years olds, Two 18 month olds, Five 1 year olds and a 10, 9 and 8 month old. Busy is an understatement lol.

In June I have been accepted to a four week internship with an organization called Impact Africa (IA). IA is an organization about 10 minutes from Refilwe.  We work with them a lot in many different areas. They have a baby rescue center and 4 of the babies in my house currently come from their organization. Most notably, my precious sweet girl came from this organization.
The Internship cover 4 weeks and 4 different aspects of the non-profit. I will get to see their Preschool, hang out with teens from Kaya Sans settlement, get trained in shack to shack ministries where we will walk through Diepsloot and talk to people about Jesus and finally, counseling and praying for mothers in the community.

I am really excited to learn and be stretched, humbled and mostly learn more about my Heavenly Father. I know this will be a great training experience for me. I will get hands on experience  with a different organization, new volunteer teams,  new communities and new outreach programs.

Baby House News
I am really excited to share about some upcoming adoptions next month! Many answered prayers that my babies can be united with their forever families!

Holiday's Then Comes January

Hello to My Family all over the world! Whew.. i actually got this posted before February! The internet has been so weird, and has stopped my attempts to post this for a couple days... For South Africa being one of the most developed, if not the most developed country in the Continent of Africa they could really use some better internet.. lol But, what is important, is I can still can attempt to have a blog posted every month this year : )

There is so much to tell you were do i begin!

I Surprised my Family for Christmas! It was such a strange experience flying across the world and only having a handful of people knowing I was the air. It was also weird to have been planning this trip since March 2014, when i bought my ticket, and not being able to talk to anyone about it (secret control). I would like to say thank you to my Aunt Jerri for the endless Skype chats, planning and keeping this really hard secret for so long! Also a Huge thank you to my Bestie, Rachel Smith and Mrs. Howden, for picking me up at the airport in the biggest storm to hit in 5 years. I am so thankful for you and that my flight came in without delay!

I could tell you all about my lovely surprise or I could just show you! Here is A video I made of surprising my family. I had so much fun!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=tUrw_dzUB5Y

Being Home was so special is lots of different ways. I had amazing conversations about Refilwe, Why I have decided to stay in South Africa and How much God has moved in my heart but also in the work  being done here. I came back to South Africa very encouraged in what I feel so strongly God is telling me to do.

God is so Faithful and Kind. Remember In my last Blog i mentioned that i hate traveling alone. Well God is good. All the way back to California I traveled with my friend Ari and then on the way back Home I was in Frankfurt Germany for 10 Hours by myself and I didn't panic! I would actually categorize it as enjoyable lol. It was a  pretty empty airport, I got to sleep some and I even made a friend with a sweet gal who works at Tiffany’s! ( no I didn't buy anything lol)

Prayer Requests:

My Mom (Lynn) just spent 12 days in the hospital. Ill recap really quickly for those who don’t know my families story.  My mom has medical issue all of her life but none that had really affected me. In 2000 she went into full kidney failure and the journey began. 10 years of of surgeries, hospital stays, 2 different types of dialysis, a failed kidney transplant in 2001. That really scratches the surface of time, experiences, and emotions in the past 15 years. In 2011 God finally allowed my mom to get a kidney despite a lot of things going against her to ever get another transplant. We finally could go back to “normal life”, whatever that looked like. In Nov ’13 i was told that her “kidney numbers” were starting to climb (bad) and they wanted to try some preventative treatments. Preventative treatments for rejection of the kidney. They did two sets of treatments in ’14 and were wanting to do another one in the beginning of ’15 because her numbers still were not great. Well she didn't get that far. On my last couple days of being home she was very unusually tired and looking poor. We all wrote it off as she was stressed with me going back to SA and not knowing when I would be home again. Then the texts started rolling in 5 days after being back in SA. My mom’s “kidney numbers” were off the charts and needed to be admitted immediately. Again Long story cut really short, my mom has Acute cellular rejection and antibody mediated rejection. (Feel free to Google that if you wish lol) She is rejection and they now are in saving mode. She was finally able to go home on 19/1. She has a long road a head of her but but she's heading in the right direction.  Lots of Medicines, Dialysis, trial and error and prayers.


Another thing you can pray for is adoptions. We have 11 children who are ready for adoption and so far no adoptions in place for the year.  Its difficult to watch these kids reach huge milestones like walking and crawling knowing their parents are missing it! These kids are doing some very cute things and besides pictures and videos that's all these parents will ever have in these moments. Starting in July, South Africa has passed some new laws that will make international adoptions very complicated. They were passed to help stop child trafficking, which is great, but it only makes legal adoptions that much harder. Lots of prayers for social workers, child services and everyone who is involved in the processes. I would love to see 11 adoptions happen this year!


Did you see my slip in? Yep, I am staying in South Africa! Ive already started my next blog to talk about my plans in 2015, so get ready!


I hope you are able to see evidence of Gods grace this week,


Whit

Coffee with my Mentor Ann!

Making Christmas Cookies with the Family

Couldnt go home without going to "The Dairy"

Watching my Dad's Rehearsal before church 

Love getting to chat with Annie!

Thanks Rachel for Taking me to "Cream"! Now I can die in peace lol 

Ari, Kitty and I in SA?.. Nope in California (kitty in America is a long story lol)

Beautiful Cali Sunset

Good Bye Picture with the Family

After 4 round trips flights dont seem to drag as much lol

Cindy and I washing our Hands in the rain water because the baby house didnt have water

All of the kids are getting so big!

C got her hair done

Kj and I really Excited because Kate (Best Admin ever) can stay in the country with her new Visa!

Add caption

Rockstar working on his Scissor work

Little L and I

Its so Hot lately, drinking lots of water!

Merry Christmas!

One of the most challenging things for me at the holidays, and especially at Christmas, is that it’s so hard to imagine what my kids who are with their forever families are doing on the day. Of the 7 babies that were adopted since I was here, we’ve only received one update through our adoption agency over a year ago! It would be so incredible to be able to picture my babies with their new families and have a ‘fly on the wall’ moment into their Christmas days! 

To all my Babies who are celebrating their first Christmas with their families.... Merry Christmas! I hope the day is full of joy, cheer and not too much crankiness. I can only imagine the excitement your parents have to finally celebrate Christmas as a Family!

In the joy of celebrating our Savior's Birth,
Whitney

 

Merry Christmas From My Family to yours!

My Sister, Brother and I on Christmas Eve

A Special Merry Christmas to my Little Sunshine! 

18 Memories in 18 Months

What a journey the last year and half has been. I'm trying to think about the days of packing up my house in California or my first week here but it's definitely a little blurry, seems like forever ago.

-I have moved into 3 different houses
-I have been able to get to know 18 volunteers from all over the world
-I have worked roughly +325 shifts
-I have fed roughly 972 bottles
-I have changed +2600 nappies
-I have been blessed to have been apart of 7 adoptions
-I have been able to love on 19 babies And countless number of kiddos from many different communities

My Current House

My Families Tree

I am currently sitting in my parents living room watching Charlie Brown Christmas. I surprised my parents for three weeks. It has been a great time in California but that story is for next time...

 I have learned so much about myself and my Heavenly Father so I just wanted to share a little bit of what I've learned. So here are 18 things I have learned over the  past 18 months.


1. Christmas makes me very happy. I listen to Christmas music all the time and it genuinely brightens my mood. March/April were some tough months for me so lots of Christmas music was played.

2. I have learned what Hope as my anchor truly means for me in my life. Hope of what's to come, the promises that Jesus has made in scriptures, to me personally and for my babies.

3. Going to Church is so valuable to me! Being a pastors kid was really rough in many different ways. Having to be at church every Sunday morning, Wednesday night, and possibly Fridays and Saturdays depending on events is not as fun as it sounds. With the way my job is out here, I work 3 weekends out of the month. God has really shown how important church is for me. A lot of Joy has been brought back to my heart getting to worship with other Christians. I immediately highlight my Sunday off and look forward to it every month.

4. Conflict resolution. I will always need to grow in this area but I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds dealing with so many types of people.

5. I honestly didn't think I could ever love such a tiny human as much as I love my sweet little girl. It is very overwhelming that my heart can hold all this love. Sometimes I wonder as new babies come in if there is enough room but, there always is and my heart continues to overflow.

 6. Patience. Again it is a constant improving area. Between having 12 children under 2, the speed at which Refilwe functions, living a minimum of 20 min away from any shops, and trying to always function with at least 3 people constantly, I would like to think my patience has improved in the last 18 months.

7. The 5 Love Languages. The mission field is a very sensitive area. At any time, people are dealing with homesickness, struggles in their relationship with The Lord, dealing with opposition, or  the girls house just keeping our emotions in check everyday. God is showing me that everyone feels loved and appreciated in different ways. I want to learn how to make sure that in my care for the people around me, I can do that in the most effective way. Most people appreciate and love others in the way they feel loved and appreciated.
8. Very Ironic but I am not a good solo traveler. Traveling between Cali and SA is so stressful. Being in a weird airport is very overwhelming. I was in London for a layover, a English speaking country, and I almost passed out. Please have a good laugh about it, It's pretty ridiculous. If I am with someone I am fine, but the idea of being abandoned or left behind with no communication or money is definitely in my top terrifying scenarios.


9. I can only stay awake for roughly 40 hrs before I loose my marbles ( just don't ask lol)

10. I can handle spiders as long as they are smaller than a nickel uhh make that a dime. Any bigger and you might find me crying

 11. I thought as a preschool teacher I had a fairly good grasp on what parenting is... Nope. Parenting is Hard!

A Typical Day for Me

12.  South Africa is really far from California. I don't really grasp that till I'm flying and I watch my plane on the screen fly slowly across. It takes a ridiculous amount of hours to get here. I should have moved to a closer country.... Just kidding.

13. Some of the most generous people, are the people who have not much to give. My friends in Joe Slovo are good slaps in the face to show me how selfish and spoiled I can be. God is showing me to be content and grateful with little. My "little" is still considered a lot. Working on my "little" to get smaller and smaller.

14. Kitchen Sponges are not as evil as I once thought. Still are not my favorite though.


15. I am so old fashion. Texting is great but talking on the phone/skyping/in person is really how I feel like I am connecting with people. It's so hard to read peoples responses and reactions in a couple written out responses.

16. I can finally drive a manual car! It took me a solid year to build up the courage and to have my brain, hands and feet all coordinating. Now I have the option to go somewhere if I need too. It's not as much freedom as you think. First there has to be a car available and second with shops being so far away I think its silly for me to just go out whenever. Usually there is coordinating with other people, schedules and their needs. ( last part of #6, coordinating with at least 3 people at all times)

17.  God is good. There is a lot of crap in this world, and I've seen lots of suffering just in my own backyard. I've really wrestled in the last two years with the idea that if God is good why is there so much suffering. Sometimes I get frustrated with the things I can't explain. Why are my kids in Joe Slovo in the midst of being treated unjustly? There are babies all over SA being abandoned. Why is adoption all over the world declining when there are millions of abandoned kids? God sees the whole span of time and I don't. God is love and I have to trust that He is sovereign. I'm not explaining this well, but in my head I have sorted through this conclusion. I would really encourage anyone who struggles with this idea about God to read a book by Randy Alcorn called "If God is Good". It really helped me sort through all the questions in my head.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits the eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  Romans 8:18

18.  God is the great I AM. God has so many names, titles and descriptions. In the past 18 months
 God has shown me a lot about his character in different seasons and trials. He is my Heavenly Father, (Isa. 64:8) My Hope, (Ps. 71:5)  My Refuge and Strength, (Ps. 46:1) He is Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11). As I continue to spend more time with God, I get to know Him more and more. It's one of the great things about it taking over a lifetime to get to know God, He is __________ (fill in the blank).

A typical scene at the gate of the baby house. The Joe Slovo boys.

In October Baby A ended up in the Hospital for 3 days. 3 sleepless nights, antibiotics and lots of prayers she ended up being okay.