Peanut gets a name

Peanut is now known as Savannah-Hope Elizabeth Johnson. Here is her story:

I first met Savannah-Hope's family when I was in Malawi last year. Her mom was very sick and I visited her in the hospital. I felt a connection to the mother right away. I noticed on her medical chart that her name was Chrissie. She also had twin girls that were 14 months old. I have a special place in my heart for twins. I really thought she was going to die and leave the twins orphans. She couldn’t produce any milk and the twins were starving. I felt such a burden for her and her situation. I have thought of her often since that meeting and have prayed for her and her family. My friend Crystal (also a mom of twins) sent money that I was able to use to buy the twins clothes and food. I wanted to visit Chrissie while I was here this year. This past Saturday we went to her village and I found out that she had a 4 month old baby girl. The grandmother put the baby in my arms and tears began running down my face. She was the tiniest little thing. So small and weak. Her skin was just hanging from her bones. Her face was puffy in some spots and wrinkled in other spots. She had many flies surrounding her dirty little body.

Again Chrissie wasn’t able to produce any milk and was only giving Savannah-Hope small amounts of porridge from a spoon. Chrissie is so ill and has no means to provide for this child. Savannah-Hope was literally starving to death. I was hysterical and asked Thandie to find out from the mother how we could help. The family lives in a very small one room hut with no running water or electricity. They don’t have a cow and they have no access to refrigeration to keep milk cold if they could afford milk. They don’t have clean water. The mother and grandmother were doing the best they could to care for the peanut and one of the twins. The other twin and a 10 year old brother are staying with a relative at the father’s village. I was able to see the other twin and she looked much healthier.

Chrissie told us that she wanted her baby to have a chance to live. She knew the baby would die if she didn’t leave the village. It isn’t possible to have another lactating mom in the village nurse the baby because many of the mothers are HIV + and the virus can be spread to the baby through the milk. Chrissie remembered that I had visited her last year and my friend Crystal had bought the clothes and food for the twins. I told her that Crystal was wanting to adopt a little girl from Malawi. She became very excited and said that she would be in favor of Savannah-Hope going to America. She was also pleased that Savannah-Hope would be raised with twin siblings. We then met with the father, relatives, pastor, chief and Brother Gentry. Everyone was in agreement. On Monday we met with the Good Samaritan social worker and then on Tuesday we met with an attorney and Savannah-Hope's social worker. We got all the paper work finalized for temporary custody and began the adoption process.

Loving Savannah-Hope really is the easy part. Getting her home is another story. Because she is so fragile and the rainy season will begin in two months, we are hoping to expedite the process by getting her home on a medical visa. Madonna really through a wrench in the adoption process in Malawi. Because of the negative publicity surrounding her adoption, Malawi social welfare, doctors and attorneys have to be very careful to follow procedures to the letter and are hesitant to try to expedite the process. Please pray that if it is God’s will the doors will open for Savanna Hope to get her medical visa and come to America while the adoption and immigration paperwork is being processed. If she doesn’t come home on the medical visa it will be about 4 months before she can come home. The rainy season will be very dangerous for her please pray that she can find her way home before the rains.

How can you help Savannah-Hope Elizabeth Johnson?

Prayers for Savannah-Hope’s journey, her health while she is here in Malawi and to find the right nanny to care for her during the day

Finances. Savanna Hope may be small but she is quite expensive. Here are some of her costs
Formula
Bottled water
Vitamins
Nanny expenses
Doctor visits
Birth certificate
Malawi Passport
Immigration paper work ($800)
Social worker transport
Attorney fees ($2000)
Plane tickets ($3000)

Please email me if you are interested in helping with some of her costs. ChrissieBurness@yahoo.com