Savannah-Hope's Box

DHL

The adoption wait has been gruesome at times. Of course I know that God's plan and timing is perfect, but I'm not a terrific "waiter". The wait has spanned over four months now. Which to some may not seem like a long time....but to me and the waiting parents...there are days when it seems like forever. When I feel helpless and stir-crazy, (besides praying and fasting) there is one thing I love to do....shop! I have only allowed myself to send two boxes to Savannah (I'm not counting the stuff I sent with other travelers). This past week I treated myself to a Savannah-Hope shopping spree. I sent a box of a few clothes and toys via DHL (Yikes! $$$). I was told it would be there on Wednesday...which was only 4 days! Last night I got a call from Thandie in the middle of the night that said my box was given to a stranger. I was crushed. I rolled over and when back to sleep.

This morning I tried multiple times to reach Thandie. Finally I called Brother Gentry to see if he could get through. He called back 45 minutes later and said that Thandie had the box. Praise the Lord! WooHoo! I was later able to reach Thandie and get the whole story of the box. The funny thing is that the last time I sent a box to Savannah, DHL sent it to another orphanage with a similar name. Some guy named Peter got the box, but was kind and honest enough to return it. Then this time when Thandie went to DHL to pick up the box they said it was delivered and signed for by someone at Good Samaritan. Thandie found this hard to believe as the only address on the box was a P.O.Box and she didn't recognize the name of the person who signed. Thandie told the DHL staff over and over again that they gave our box to a stranger and then all of a sudden.....she realized that she did know the name of the person who signed! It was the nanny! She used only her first initial and her married last name. Thandie was more familiar with maiden name as she has known her since childhood. Thandie didn't put it all together until after she accused DHL of giving our box to a stranger. Oops! Anyway....Savannah has her box now. And I could hear her in the back ground playing with her new toys.

Other news: Thandie said that the rains have been very very heavy. All of the children are healthy. The bakery house is not yet complete. We are still waiting for Malawi's electrical company to install the electricity for this building. It may take a while especially with the heavy rains.

Personal news: This past Saturday I quickly moved in with my grandparents to help my grandma care for my grandpa. My grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it was time for my grandma to get a bit of extra help with his daily care. Sunday night he passed away. Although my grandpa had been ill, his rapid decline and passing took us by surprise. I am posting about this because my updates will be sparse for a bit while I get settled. I will remain at my grandparents house, but my computer with all my Malawi pics is not yet here. I am doing what I can to keep you all updated, the phone lines are an added issue....the updates will be more frequent soon.