Christmas in America 2016

Hey Family All over the world,


America! America was great. I started my whirlwind trip in Tennessee where I got to spend about 40 hours with my favorite Southern Person Kate Jenkins or as Refilwe affectionately calls her, KJ.

The first night I was so Jet Lagged that honestly its a bit of a blur. Something about a tattoo, really good chilly cheese fries, needing a dill pickle and successfully melting two pints of our favorite Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Chunky Monkey on accident. And through it all sounding completely delirious, sleep deprived and a cross between Southern English and South African English. It was a bit of a mess.

Half way home!

London Sunrise

Day two is much clearer. We got breakfast at Chick-Fil-A! My first ever experience at chick-fil-a and it was incredible! I now understand why everyone talks about it! If you don't know what it is i suggest you find the nearest one and figure out how to get there… If your not in america I am so sorry and the only thing I can say is that it is Not in the same category at KFC. Not even close.


I got to See Memphis University and Feel like a College student again. Beautiful Campus. Kj took me to Downtown and we had some memphis BBQ and stopped in Arkansas for about 5 minutes, literally. We stopped for a Selfie with a sign that said Arkansas and drove back. I went to the STAKS Museum which is a museum about the history of Soul Music. I got a caffeine headache from too much sweet tea. (I’m weak lol) KJ volunteers at a after school program for primary(elementary) age and she took me with her. We got two sweet boys (grade 2) to help with their homework and do some ‘extra help papers’ and it was so much fun. It made me remember how much i enjoy teaching. Then we drove to KJ’s parents house for dinner. They are some of the sweetest people.

Memphis BBQ

Arkansas!!!!

The last Morning we had breakfast and i got to try Grits for the 2nd time. It had butter and cheese on top and it just seemed so wrong to be eating it so early in the morning. However, I wanted to be as southern as possible so I ate it anyways.  We drove to Mississippi were we did the same thing, took a picture with a sign and drove back. After our #threestatesthreedays accomplishment we stopped at chick-fil-a for lunch (where we got stuck in the lunch madness) and dove to the airport to drop me off!  Whew… that was 40 hours…

I had such a wonderful time stopping in Tennessee and I am so Thankful for KJ for hosting me and taking the time to show me her Memphis.

Mississippi

My first week in California was very nice. I can actually say very restful and got to catch up on a lot of my shows, netflix and Sleep. It helped that everyone else was either at work, school, or Dialysis and my brother had my car at school.

On the 10th of December the McDaniel family hosted another  donor dinner for me. Lots of people came and I got to share about South Africa and what my 2016 looked like and what my 2017 is shaping  up to be in my new ministry and new role. I left feeling so encouraged and lots of money was raised. (Im so sad I have very few pictures from that night)

I had a fun surprise on that night. My Aunt Connie, Cousin Greta and her son Jack surprised me from Oregon. It was so wonderful to see them and I finally got to meet Jack who is adopted from China. There is something special about people who are genuinely excited about what is happening in your life.

The rest of my weeks were filled with High Tea with my grandmother (Mimi), lunches and dinners with Dear friends. I met a precious little girl for the first time who was born while I was away. I met with a lot of old friends and made some new ones too. I sat with my mom at Dialysis a few times and got to know some of her tech’s.

Christmas was fun. it was very different than a traditional Eitzen Christmas but it was special all the same. My Aunt, Uncle and grandparents came for Christmas day which was wonderful. We had a great dinner and lots of laughs.

Snowbelle

Princess

One of my favorite meals in America Phô

Picking out a Christmas tree

My dad and Noah playing at church on Christmas Morning

Girls night out watching the Moscow Nutcracker

Christmas Eve

Prayer Requests:

Financial Support. I am about 70% funded for the year. I am looking for people who would be willing to come along side me with either a one time gift or monthly support. There is a link to my paypal on the right side of my blog. Also there is directions on how to give a tax deductible donation to Valley Bible Church. If you have any questions or would like to talk through Skype or have a meal or coffee next time I'm home to talk about different ways you can help. Please email me or FB message me. If you don't know me, thats okay too! I love meeting new people! (ill be in California in May!!)
My Heart as I continue to Transition. I have a lot of change this year. New House, New Car, New Job, New friends, New Church, and New Town. Its hard. It hard not to get discouraged. Its hard not to get frustrated.  Its hard to remember how confident I feel that this is where God wants me to be. Its hard to not become overwhelmed with anxiety and fear.

However

I know I serve a mighty God.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for this who love God all things work together for good, for this who are called according to his purpose.  Romans 8: 26-28

The Lord is at hand; Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Miss Ramiyah

Mom and I at a Ice Hockey Game

Hanging out with Mom at Dialysis

Spoiling this little girl. Love you Ramiyah!

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!