A huge, heart felt, thank you to Broken Arrow Assembly’s women’s ministry for their love and support for Baby Safe!!! Your contribution is evidence of His unfailing love for the fatherless.  Thank you for caring, for giving, for adding works to your faith!

On behalf of the desperate woman and her child, WE THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Bethany

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Hear about the shocking reality of women renting their babies to the beggars of Johannesburg.

http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?Id=3964&ShowId=1

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Dear Residents of Masiphumelele,

The Cape winter is here and you know that more than any of us. You know its here because you have rain dripping in your homes, some of you right over where you lay your head; in between the slits of zinc sheets, where insulation is absent. I am sorry Nofirst, I am sorry Andiswe, I am so sorry Nosisi.  I know the water floods inside your door Sive, because your small shack is actually built on marsh land, and you have no floor, other than mud. Its brutal arrival has ripped some of your metallic roofs off, at 3am while your family is fast asleep. In the pitch of night you run into the torrential rain and you push past the southeaster gals, looking for the materials to reassemble your refuge. The children are afraid and crying, the neighbors are awoken to search for the materials that the blustery winds have swept away. Vuyiswa you are a women of strength and perseverance.

The heart wrenching fact that many of you sleep on the mildewed floors of your small bungalows, wrapping your blanket over your head so the mice and roaches don’t nibble while you rest unconscious, all because you are sheltering your sister’s orphaned children, with room for only one bed. This reality my friends,  leaves us eager to help the few of you that we can. While I live just up the road in my spacious cottage, in the security of a dry bedroom, with the luxury of a space heater, I think of you. When the wind batters my window panes all night, often with the loudness of Normandy beach and I can not sleep because of its volume, this too is when I think of you.

I see many of your faces, and I see many of your children, our children. I see Abongile, I see Maliaka, I see Loleta. Just because you are used to it, because this is normal, does not mean its right. So we wrote to our compassionate friend’s of the West. We wrote, and they gave. We bought 26 blankets, weighing 6.5 kgs, the warmest they come. We drove to the Wineburg shop, and we bartered with the muslim owner. They were R250 each, but I said, “these are for orphans sir..” I got him down to R185. We thought we were clever borrowing a big Subaru to load them up in, but only 22 would fit. We had to make a second run.

All of you in our Vulnerable Children program now have one of these blankets for each of your beds. We trust this lessens the blow; the blow of the wind through the cracks, the bite of the cold. We have prioritized each of your homes for repairs, as some amazing colleague missionaries have offered their experience in construction. They will be building you a bed Analisa, no child should sleep on a muddy, cold, wet floor . They will be patching your roofs, and they will even be building you a new shack Zanele, because we know you and your three children have no place to stay, but at your friend’s shebeen (township bar). We know you are sick and need a bed to call your own.

Please know we remember you on the cold days, we remember you on the wet days, we remember you even after we have left your houses with our muddied boots, to return to our own. We know we remember you because on these days we want to desperately stay home, dry and semi warm but yet we come. I am thankful that your electric stove plates warm us up in your shacks, although I am worried about your babies stumbling on the cords.  I am astounded that I have never heard one of you complain, you have never implied how its unfair, you have never made me embarrassed because of how different we live, although I admit I am always aware, as I am sure you are to.

We are looking for more sponsors for your children who have been orphaned by AIDS, for your neighbors who are children raising their own siblings. We are hoping that those who have heat and proper walls, floors, and roofs would consider sponsoring one of them for only $40 a month. We are praying that those who are fortunate to always know that they will eat dinner, that they will never have to skip a meal would be interested in making sure one of your children never has to.

Vulnerable Children of Masiphumelele, I hope the families abroad who give and even sacrifice, so you have warm blankets and food in your stomaches, I hope God rewards them for their concern for the weak. In fact I know that He will, He has made this much clear. I also trust that those who give to me, to enable me to love you with my hands, my feet, my heart, and my mouth, that they too are being richly provided for and made enviably happy, blessed and fortunate; because they really are lending to God.

Sincerely,

Bethany

“Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21

” I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it but because by it I see everything.” – C.S. Lewis

” To know what is right and to not do it is the worst cowardice.” – Confuscious

” Christ has no body on earth by yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. You are the eyes from which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet to which He is to go about doing good; and your are the hands to which he is to bless us now.”   - St. Teresa of Avila

If you or someone you know might be interested in sponsoring a vulnerable child would you email me or send me their email????!! bethany@thenbabysafe.org

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The Gift of Beauty

~By Danielle

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness…” -John Keats

At this present moment our office situation is anything but a thing of beauty.  For the past couple years Baby Safe has been driving back and forth using various rooms and amenities other ministries have graciously lent us.  We’re either down the back halls into the tiny white room with the leaky ceiling at a local church, in the over-crowded, busy, and VERY yellow All Nation office at Africa House, or we’re shuffling around other organizations and trying to find a spare room at the meeting places in the communities.  Don’t get me wrong, we’re grateful!  Each of these places provides space and services as they are able and for free.  But we daily pray and long for a place to call our own.

As we are praying and working towards this goal, we recently received a very generous and beautiful gift.  Ellen Spencer is an artist in California who knew of Bethany through mutual friends; her work has a strong African influence and often centers around women and celebration.  In hearing about Bethany and our work here Ellen contacted Baby Safe and offered TWO of her paintings, framed and shipped, as a gift to our office and the women who will enter it.  We were overwhelmed!  The pieces recently arrived; “Mother and Baby” capturing the special bond between a woman and her child, and “The Dancers” exhibiting the beauty of women rejoicing.  Both so perfectly capture the heart of our ministry here!

In our work here we find beauty in the most difficult of circumstances and the unlikeliest places.  We see it in a woman’s choice to give life to her child, in sometimes making the sacrifice of choosing another family to raise him, in hope-filled eyes where once there was despair.  Every day we advocate to see mothers raised up and freedom where there was bondage; “Beauty for ashes and garments of praise for heaviness.”  So as we continue to move towards a permanent office on our own property, we pray that it would be a place of hope, freedom, celebration, and beautify; and we pray these lovely gifts will be a constant encouragement and reminder of this to our own team and to every woman who walks through our doors!

THANK YOU ELLEN! www.ellenspencer.com

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Mike & Kalyn just left here to visit our  outreach teams who have gone into Zambia, Namibia, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe for two month experiences in reaching the least and the lost.

Vovo, my beloved Xhosa sister is on the Zambia team. Everything in the world came against her ability to go on this trip. First there was no possible way to cover costs of travel, and provide for her mom, sister, and son while she was away. The Lord took care of that pretty quickly!

Vovo's neighborhood in Masiphumelele

She then had to get a South African ID, which has never had success in obtaining, then she had to apply for a passport. She had her application in for months with Home Affairs, and despite regular visits, calls, and help from us, they were not responding. The day before her team left, without her passport she was downcast, suspecting the Lord has other plans for her. This was just after a few weeks prior she had gone to the clinic to get her CD4 count read. This the count that determines when HIV turns into AIDS, and when ARV’s must be started.

I was at the hospital doing some trauma counseling, when I ran into Vovo then. She was so concerned because her CD4 count read dangerously low, and if this was the case she would need to start ARVs immediately. Starting the anti

retroviral medication is often a stage of defeat; those afflicted dread these side effect giving meds, mostly because they know they will be taking them until they die. The doctor had already instructed her that she would not be going on any trip at all. But Vovo was convinced that the HIV counselor who took her test, had confused her results with another person’s. Yet, no one believed her, and to be honest I was having a hard time understanding what she was explaining. I have a few friends in the HIV counseling dept of the hospital, so I took Vovo to see them and hoped they could help. After I left her there a few hours later Vovo waited for me,  but now with a smile on her face, sure enough, her CD4 count was not as low as was told her and she would not need to start ARVs.

Fast forward, the week before she left for Zambia, she was considering yet once again whether or not she should go. Malika is her 5year  old son, and she did not feel good about leaving him with anyone, not her mom who gets drunk on the weekends, and not his father, whose current girlfriend is so vindictive, having once spread rumors about Vovo being a witch. She worried that his father’s girlfriend would try to intentionally infect Malika with the HIV virus, as both she and his father are positive. One would think she is ultra paranoid, but knowing this culture and this girlfriend, I was just as concerned. Vovo would need to stay home with no one to care for her son. I ended up asking two different trustworthy  families I know, who also have young sons, if they would be willing to care for him over the next two months. Both happily agreed! Now, if only God would provide a miracle with her passport. Let me tell you, nothing, I  mean nothing logistical or technical is every easy or smooth here. Even when I renewed my visa I had to visit home affairs over 7 times, being told conflicting instructions each time I brought what I thought was required. With the team leaving the following day, our guy liaising with home affairs, prepared her for disappointment, as they had tried every day to get info on her passport for weeks, with no answer. Sure enough, 4pm the afternoon before they left, her passport miraculously came through! Vovo could not have been more excited and I knew this trip would be pivotal in her journey with Jesus. I just got this email from Kalyn, who is in Zambia visiting her team:

” I have to let you be the first one to know how PROUD I am of Vovo. She is just amazing! I think by seeing her  that I like the kind of training we did with her. Gathering the leaders, and then one on ones with Bethany, then the group of larger women that she practiced her leadership. She is just a stand out. She knows how to lead a group even better than some of the recent cpxers because of our modeling it with her then making her do it. She is so full of Joy she shares deeply with everyone she meets. On the other hand, She is the girl you want to take with you if you camp. She can start a fire, cook homemade bread in a pot, cook very good meals for a crowd. Then she can build a mud hut.

Vovo in pink on the left.

She is deeply in love with Jesus and it shows.  She has shared openly with a hiv/aids person who is so sick. She said to her.” Look at me, do you think a person like me would have aids? the girl answered no. She said well look at me what do you see? and the girl said you look so good and healthy. Vovo says well I do have HIV and you can look like me too. Jesus is the reason I look Iike I do. He has touched my life. So the girl gave her life to Jesus. That”s what I am talking about.Bethany, I know we were wondering if this gamble to have her go to cpx would be a good risk. Is she ready?

Would she be able to stick with it? Well I can say I thank God she had the opportunity. She just giggles like a school girl every day so many times in a day with Nicole, and Abel and the team. She is truly having this incredible team experience worshiping each day and praying, laughing, being scared out of her wits at the hippos coming up at night right by her tent. I am so glad she is experiencing the life of God this way. They are even sleeping in a grave yard and that has been a wonderful thing as she was freaked out from ancestor stuff but she is FREE. She believes Jesus is her protector. Isn’t this FABULOUS.

Of course I could tell you of all the other wonderful team members and what they are doing. But I am just so in awe of Vovo. I wanted you to share in the incredible fruit of someone you poured into..” – Kalyn

Vovo will be continuing in our trade school, when she gets back, picking up with explainding her sewing skills or else hospitality training, so she can have a skill to provide income, while she does full time missions work. Her entire family has been in our Vulnerable Children program for the past year. She has an amazing sponsor who helps them with food each month. Would you consider also sponsoring Vovo, so she could continue changing people’s destinies. $20 a month or even $50 would provide for her and her families most vital needs, like electricity, toiletries, and clothing.

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Taken from my friend’s Jon & Sofia in Whales: www.jonathonandsofia.com

Love the grannies!

Some of these ladies invited us to their ‘Senior Citizens Tea’ gathering, to talk about our time in South Africa and The Baby Safe. After hearing the story about baby dumping they felt that they really wanted to contribute in some way. They decided to knit blankets for the babies (and mothers) that the Baby Safe supports. They also spread the word to their friends who then came to join them in the knitting! So a few weeks ago we were able to send off a large number of blankets to the Baby Safe in South Africa, were they were warmly welcomed. The timing was perfect as the winter has now started over there. Most of these ladies were part of Beulah Baptist Church, who also deserve some cred for organising the shipping and being a lovely community.

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A perfect visual caption of how things often are: complicated. This is how I charge my computer.

The animal that was crawling towards me the other night. Haven’t screamed that loud in a long time.

My life size, 12 week, gummy fetus, that I use in counseling. I often love to blow their minds with the reality that a little person is inside them, I also love to squeeze its head when no one is looking. I am very tactile.

My besties here. We think our lives would make a rivoting reality TV show called: Crazy Ass Missionaries. Somebody call ABC.

The view from my kitchen window. They routinely break into my garbage can outside scavenging for food scraps.

On of our beloved foster babies, daughter of an addicted prostitute and a majestic, all powerful King.

One of our fave families in Ocean View. Their story would blow your mind, will have to tell it one day.

Another sweet heart who was dumped by his mom in Masi. I am sending out a mailed Newsletter now, if you haven’t received one from me before, and would like to hear more stories of how God is rescuing the helpless, simply email me with your address @ bethany@thebabysafe.org or leave a comment here.

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April 24th, 2007

It Really Does Take a Village…

I remember being a teenager and one of the motto’s of the Clinton administration, particularly the 1st Lady was, “ It take a village to raise a child.” My mom would always rebuttal quickly with a “ No it doesn’t, it takes responsible parents to raise a child.” In later years I have come to understand the two different philosophies, especially as I have studied sociology and human behavior in the social environment. But here in South Africa, and in my line of work, I often think, “Sheesh.. It really does take a village…”

It takes so many various resources to intervene with a suffering woman in a holistic way. For instance take Nosisi a young Xhosa girl. She was abandoned at a young age, never knowing her biological parents. Raised by an older foster mother in one of Cape Town’s largest townships called Gugulethu. I have heard black people say they take off their jewelry before going to visit relatives in Gugulethu and they leave their cell phones at home, due to the risk of attack. Nosisi’s vulnerability isn’t just due to being orphaned, but she clearly lacks the IQ and communication abilities that most of us have, and further more she never had access to support to even be diagnosed with a particular disability.

Nosisi only went through the 9th grade, undoubtedly because of learning difficulties. Her foster mother raised her with love, but her foster brother was another story.   At 17, Vuyani began to fight and assault his 80 year foster mother and he also began to violently rape his vulnerable foster sister. The produce of these assaults became a living being growing inside of Nosisi, at the age of 21. Ashamed and angry at this pregnancy, she tried on her own, several times to kill the life with in her, but with out success.

Enter Baby safe here. I was contacted by Cape Town’s largest hospital, Groote Scurr. Intervention was needed for this young girl, and her even more vulnerable, one day old baby. Nosisi was so withdrawn and traumatized because the last year of her life that she needed to stay in a psychiatric ward to try and work through what had happened to her. Her foster mother was too old and unfit to take on another child, so I took this precious little bundle and placed her with an amazing woman named Maria. I was very prayerful of which foster family I chose for this baby named Noxolo, as I sensed it would be a long road for this little one, and I was lead to ask someone I believed would be most willing to potentially work with Nosisi  as well.

Alli and I ended up waiting longer than we expected when we went to fetch Nosisi from the hospital, we then went on an adventure through Cape Town’s roughest areas to find a hidden safe house for Nosisi to be transferred to. As dusk approached and we grew lost, driving past gangsters and drug addicts, with a newborn, a grieving orphan, and a random Zimbabwean woman (one whom we were giving a ride to) in tow, we tried to receive directions from the police, another shelter, and various pedestrians, yet with no luck. Not giving up, as darkness, frustration, and nervousness came upon us, we finally found the shabby little Salvation Army shelter. Thank God for the Salvation Army! For the love of God, literally… give them your coins! Nosisi tearfully kissed her new baby goodbye and we headed back in a hurry to our side of town, getting home pretty late.

That night was over 5 months ago. The baby remains with Maria, and Alli or Danielle have spent many afternoons driving to pick up Nosisi or to take the baby to visit her. The sight of her daughter is literally one of the only things that will illicit a smile from Nosisi. Alli taught her how to change her daughter’s nappie, how to feed her, how to comfort her. And a better foster mother than Maria can not be found. Even though she lives in a one room shack this baby is spoiled rotten, and whats more Maria has played a hugely significant role in Nosisi’s life as she has welcomed her foster child’s mother into her family as well. She has hosted Nosisi on many weekends, so she can have the joy of bonding with her child and work towards a long term reunion. Even when Nosisi has responded much like a child herself, wetting the bed once, and withdrawing into a semi conscious state, Maria has offered her love and comfort, far above what she ever signed up for.

Because the authorities in Gugulethu will not do their job, and because Nosisi remains incapable of caring for her baby full time, the village has rallied together for a solution for these two beautiful girls, who have no idea yet of the plan their Maker has for them, one with a hope and a future. In addition to all the work towards therapy, a protection orders, medication, care & concern, the pursuit of justice, provision, accommodations,  court reports, and foster care grants, for these two vulnerable ones;  Danielle, Alli, Myself, Maria, Frithe, the hospital social worker, and Carlyn the shelter social worker,  have added another mighty woman of love as a key player. Orelia is now taking her seat as a Village elder sent to bind up Nosisi’s broken heart. I met Orelia last year, when someone asked me to check on a child who she had taken in. I knew then that I had come upon a gem of a person, one whose story blows your mind, and one whom honor is due.

Orelia was the daughter of a Rwandan doctor and his upper class wife. When her father decided to leave the family with not so much of a farewell or explanation, her mother became destitute. Her mother’s family, who were considered socially elite, refused to take her in unless she made other arrangements for her children. Unwilling to leave her children they slept on the streets of Rwanda, more specifically in a field. Orelia remembers at the age of six walking 7 km to the catholic church, asking the nuns if she could have a job, so she could buy food for her family. When they laughed at her they quickly drove her back to the field to discover the story she told them was entirely true.

Through a series of events the Bishop of the church actually came to adopt her, and he raised her as his own daughter. She loves to tell the story of getting her period and having no idea what was happening to her, she walked into the Bishop’s office proclaiming that she was dying. This man who she reveres, drew a picture of human anatomy and explained everything, then he literally drew her a picture of how to make her own pad, with cut up cotton wool. Orelia grew up in catholic boarding schools with the finest education the country of Rwanda could provide. She married a man who was a Rwandan ambassador to other countries, and they had four children. During the genocide her husband & child where shot in the head in front of her face.

She fled the country with her remaining children and after being imprisoned in Namibia, she made it to Cape Town. This traumatized family of four slept under a bridge for months. She can recall the depth of coldness they felt at night, almost as if it was yesterday. She recalls laying down to die, one night as she was ill in a shelter bed, where bugs covered the walls, after her son had a near fatal seizure. Orelia some how found the strength to keep going and during Apartheid she was moved to live in Masiphumelele, after she gained refugee status. That was 14 years ago, and here she remains, but not without success. Orelia is the only african woman I knowwho has sought out funding on her own and built a Kreshe (daycare/preschool) for Masi’s children.

Its not just a Creshe but a brilliant little school, where she only charges parents who can pay. They serve over 100 kids on a beautiful property, and they actual implement excellent, early childhood, education. In addition to opening this preschool, Orelia actually helped build it herself, somewhere along the way, she learned brick laying! She requires all her teachers to have a high school diploma ( most Creshe workers are drop outs). My friend Vovo’s son, goes there at no charge, and he knows no English except the songs he has learned there, and he can recite Psalm 91 verbatim; its pretty adorable. Orelia has helped me with other clients as well, Nosisi isn’t the first. But we arranged for her to live with Orelia and work at the Creche by day, where she will be supervised to have her baby with her. The baby will stay with Maria at night and weekends, but Nosisi will be free to be at Maria’s any time. Our Vulnerable Children program has partnered with Baby Safe to provide sponsors for women and children Baby Safe highlights as particularly in need. So Nosisi and her baby have been sponsored and will receive a food parcel each month, as well as winter blankets, and clothing.

As a Baby Safe team we weekly pray for all our clients by name, and our continuous prayer is that Nosisi’s heavenly father would provide healing to her feeble heart. That he would bring her joy, peace, and enable her to be the mother that her child needs. We trust that He has brought together this village of resources and compassion to raise up two women who can walk proud and empowered, who can learn to thrive and not merely survive. He has Nosisi and Noxolo written on the palm of His hand and He has commissioned a village of humble advocates to make sure they know about their Father’s tattoo.

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Two years ago I was bored one evening and went to the book store to pick out a new book to read. I happen to pick up a huge book titled, ‘ A Crime so Monstrous’ by E. Benjamin Skinner. I was riveted by this undercover journalist who was writing an expose on human trafficking in various countries around the world. His compelling accounts were not only shockingly disturbing but they also gave a solid framework for prevention efforts and the lack there of, within various governments. At the time I was a member of

Justice [Acts] (www.justiceacts.org) which my friend and fellow missionary, Tonya Stanfield had just founded. Justice [Acts] is a alliance of  Christians countering human trafficking in South Africa (SA).

Little did I know at the time that indeed our speculations about SA being both a sending and receiving country for human trafficking would not only prove entirely true, but now Justic Acts’ prevention specialists can hardly do a single training of “Traffick Proof” without hearing people’s accounts of how their friends and family have gone missing, never to return. Justice Acts has been a catalyst in SA for launching a government established counter trafficking coalition, as well as successfully lobbying against the legalization of prostitution in this country. Would you believe in SA its illegal to sell sex, but not illegal to buy?

In fact just a couple weeks ago one of my close friends Christina Bacino, also a Justice Acts team member (www.christinabacino.com) was at Oceanview primary school teaching the kids how to protect them selves from being trafficked, when she saw and called on Lydia, my “little sister” from our VC program. Lydia couldn’t wait to tell me that day when I saw her in Masi.               ” Guess What Bethany? I have good news!”, he said as she hopped in my car. She made me chuckle at her “good news” when she reported of how Christina was at her school that day. She later asked me very serioiusly, “But who can I trust then?” I was deeply saddened that this  8 year old has to face the reality that she is actually at risk for  being sold.

Lydia’s mom will probably not live to see her fully grown due to AIDS, but I do know that she would never consider selling her daughter. When I told Lydia that she could trust her mother, she exclaimed that she didn’t know if thats true. She said this because after the Traffick Proof presentation, a little girl in her class told everyone that her mom tried to sell her when she was 5 years old. Lydia said this child started crying as she told her story, of how if it were not for her grandmother her mom would have sold her to someone.

Yesterday I was chatting with another dear friend in Masi. She was telling me about her aunt who once jumped on the back of a truck, whose driver boasted of jobs. She was wearing her primary school uniform, and they never saw her again. Years later they were presented with a newborn baby boy, the woman who delivered him to the family said she was a friend of her aunt’s and that they were prostitutes together in Johannesburg. He is 15 now and has never met or spoken to his mother.

It wasn’t long after I read this book, that the rest of the Justice Acts team quickly read it and passed it on. I was always intrigued by its author, not merely his passion for justice concerning modern day slavery, but his head shot at the back of the book was not too shabby! When I found out that he was coming to Cape Town for an article, and that Justice Acts was hosting him, I definitely had hopes of being his tour guide ; )  After being swept away with Baby Safe responsibilities last year, I had to step away from Justice Acts but my friends continue to work alongside the government, law enforcement, and the “at risk” to counter this crime so monstrous. You can find an article that Benjamin Skinner wrote for TIME while visiting South Africa below.

With the World Cup 2010 taking place in this country in less than two months, Justice Acts is preparing to intervene with trafficked victims in the 5 stadium cities. Law enforcement called them at 10pm this past Saturday, they had just rescued two victims, and they were asking what they should do now? I found them beds at an emergency shelter and we were on our way to fetch them when we were told that the two released from captivity actually fled and returned to get their friends.

Will you pray for wisdom and resources for a much needed safe house to be established here?

Would you considering helping me cover the fees for an online course that will train me specifically in counseling rescued victims? It is called Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (www.tfcbtmesc.edu). To learn more, email me at bethany@thebabysafe.org.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-3,00.html#ixzz0lBx0tvDF

Do Justice; Love Mercy.

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