full.

What a crazy week! Well, I guess every week is crazy here, but its a good kind of crazy :)

Three children were transferred to Beautiful Gate from a different orphanage on Monday. They were coming from the orphanage I visited a few months ago. Click HERE to read about my experience there. All three of the children were not getting cared for or fed enough (all three are malnourished) at the other orphanage which is why they were transferred here. The oldest boy got assigned to my house and when he got here and I went to cuddle him like I always to with the new children. The next day when I took the kids to play group I could tell he was already very attached to me. He followed me around all morning whimpering and wanting me to hold him. he was being stubborn and wouldn't listen with the bo'me would tell him to do something. Since he was new and I knew the adjustment was probably hard for him I would often pick him up, carry him around, and help him eat. After a little while the play group lady told me I could no longer hold him because he needed to learn to do things on his own and learn how things work without my help. Though I was kind of sad I couldn't be there for this boy I understood where she was coming from. For the rest of the week I restrained from showing him any extra attention and prayed and prayed that he would adjust quickly. I was really worried about him because whenever I saw him he would just cry and cry and I could not figure out why.  Monday morning when I went to my house I could tell he was finally adjusting. He was playing with the other kids, laughing, and eating all of his food. He no longer followed me around and listen to bo'me when they told him to do something. It is so crazy to me how much this boy's attitude changed in a week's time. I thank the Lord for answering my prayer so quickly and I am excited to start seeing this boy gain a few pounds. :)

Last week Sue, (the co-founder of BG) her son Dillon, and his wife Amelie (did you follow that? haha) came to visit Beautiful Gate. Amelie had come for a week earlier in September but it was my first time meeting her husband and mother in law. It was so great to hear stories about Beautiful Gate from Sue and be able to hear about how much it has grown since her and her husband started it 11 years ago. It was great to catch up with Amelie again too. She volunteered for 8 months at Beautiful Gate a couple years ago, so I love talking to her and comparing experiences. She is always so encouraging and open and willing to talk. I was grateful for their wonderful visit and I hope to see them again someday soon!

On Thursday of last week I got a new roommate!! I have very much enjoyed getting to know Lois and working with her in the houses. Lois is from Pretoria so we have fun comparing cultural and language differences. I have been wanting to organize the play group craft room for a very long time but was afraid to tackle this big project by myself. She agreed to help me clean it today and it has never looked better! There was so much craft supplies and toys in there that I didn't even know we had. I am hoping that now that I know where everything is I can pull the craft stuff our more with the older kids and teach the bo'me how to use some of it too. It is so great to have another person who is also in the houses everyday around. In Pretoria she works with kids so I really enjoy hearing her perspective and thoughts on some of the kids' situations. Lois will be here for about 2 weeks so pray that she enjoys her time here and is able to grow and learn about the Lord through the kids.

59! That is the number of kids currently at Beautiful Gate. A 3 day old baby arrived yesterday and is staying my house and another newborn came today and was placed in a different house which brought us up to 59. BG easily houses 60 children but any more than that can be challenging. Though we have had many adoptions lately, there probably won't be any more in the next few months. This means there will most likely still be kids coming to Beautiful Gate but not many leaving. This also means we are filling up fast! I know the house mothers have agreed to still care for more than 60 kids if needed, but I just hope we don't get to the point where we have to start turning kids away. I cannot even imagine having to do that. The house mothers have been doing such a great job with the kids, but please pray that the Lord would keep giving them energy to keep up the awesome work. Your prayers are appreciated more than you know! Thanks!

peace and love.