This past week, I had several conversations where sentences were spoken that should never be spoken. One day, I sat overlooking the farm and rambled off a few of them to Ian. Then we both just stared out at the farm in silence.
Here are a few of them:
- “The 19-year-old mother has had three children, and the first two died of neglect. Please take her third child so she doesn’t die.”
- “They arrested the 19-year-old mother for neglecting her children, and the police officer raped her in jail that night.”
- “Last night, a man broke into my aunt’s house and beheaded her husband, then took her away and raped her. My aunt is 78 years old.”
- “Tuesday would have been Miriam’s birthday. What are we going to do to celebrate her life?”
“The world has gone mad.”
Janine Maxwell
Some days, we experience such darkness that the oppression is suffocating. People often ask me how we manage the pain and suffering that we see. The answer is two-fold. First, our faith and trust in God is the ONLY way we get through the day. He carries us. Period.
The second is the children. Daily interactions with them are life-changing and life-giving. Watching little Sandra walk—when we never expected her to do so—is restorative. Hearing that seven of our children have been chosen for the National Indoor Hockey team and will be traveling to Botswana to represent Eswatini is mind-blowing. Having one of our older boys want to sit down and just “talk” because he feels the other children don’t see him as having any worth makes all the heartache worthwhile.
I’ve said this before, but I can’t imagine doing anything else with the rest of my life. The work is hard, but it is fulfilling and life-giving. Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, follows Heart for Africa on social media, follows me, gives generously, and prays for us. We appreciate and feel it all.
This is the last week to shop our Amazon drive to help support the kids. We still need some diapers, and there are some fun toys that help keep our kids active and healthy. Please check out our list HERE and share with friends and family! THANK YOU!
Janine Maxwell, Heart for Africa COO & Co-Founder