Mom Update - Home from the Hospital

After only a few days post op in the hospital, my mom is at home now and on the long road to recovery. She has to take it easy and let her new face heal. Her whole body is recovering from the severe impact of the crash. I have been able to email with my mom which makes being far away a little easier. It helps to know what she is going through. Thanks for all your prayers for my mom. Keep them coming!

(By the way... I am sure any of you who are friends with my mom on Facebook know all this already. You probably are more informed than I am!)

Eli Update - 2 Years 7 Months

Eli is now two years and seven months. His speech is incredible and amazing to see develop. He is constantly surprising us with the things he says. I often ask him... "who taught you that?" A few days ago we were reading books and he kept bringing me books and telling me he is the librarian. He has never been to a library (we don't have them here) and neither George nor I have ever said that word to him. It's fascinating.



Eli has been enjoying his new sister. He loves to hold her. He hasn't displayed any bad feelings or jealousy towards Julia, but he often tells me "Mama, I'm baby." Then he proceeds to act like a baby... or does the best impression he knows how which consists of not being able to walk and only talking gibberish. I now know acting is not in his future!



Eli has really gotten into make believe play. He likes to play with his "little people." Yesterday, he said the soldier was going to rescue the princess. The "princess" was actually an old little person who we usually call "Noah" so I told him to bring one of the girl little people over and he proudly came back with two pigs! I sent him back to try again and this time he got it right. He brought over a little girl, one we call "Ida".





(These guys are in prison. I am not sure what they did.)

Eli is still very friendly and loves to play with other kids and interact with people. He is now doing his own prayers. This is how a typical one goes "Dear God.... thank you for mama, thank you for papa....uh....... thank you for ..... Biba..... thank you for CeeCee.... uh......uh....... thank you for my net... thank you for Mickey's Castle..... uh..... AMEN!" I love hearing what comes to mind and I love that all he does is thank God as we often proceed with a bunch of requests.

Eli enjoys playing the drums and does it on any surface using anything for sticks as often as he can. He is really good at it. He also likes to sing, but I also know that professional singing isn't in his future. His friend, Flynn, is 9 months younger than Eli and a VERY good singer. I didn't know how bad Eli was until I heard Flynn!

Eli is doing great with potty training. He only wears diapers for naps and bedtime. Rarely does he have an accident during the day. Potty training him was way easier than I thought it would be. Overall Eli is just awesome. Occasionally he needs a time out, but he is pretty well behaved. He has his frustrating moments as most two year olds do, but it's not too bad. I just love him so much... more and more as he grows. He is special, smart and funny.

******** The day after writing this, Eli had an especially naughty day. Figures, after I wrote this glowing review! He did seven majorly naughty things. I won't reveal the extent of his naughtiness, but I will show you evidence of the most minor one.



Yep... his foot got stuck.

Before you feel sorry for this little stinker...



Don't. He is clearly not suffering.



He did this for the first time a few days prior and we had to grease his foot with soap. I knew he did it on purpose today after I came running to his cries for help and he said "Mama, I need the soap" so proudly.

Photos from Taryn

I have been meaning to post these from Taryn's camera for a while.

She was so great with both kids.



Taryn went with Kathy to the pre-school she is helping with. That day the kids were blessed with a visit not only by Taryn, but other missionaries as well. We have worked with them at the Playground Ministry and Medical Outreach. They had some school supplies to bring for the kids and played games with them as well. I thought how cool would it have been to show up at school and find out it's a day of fun!



Eli has been so blessed with extra attention from Marli, Kathy and Taryn. He is still adjusting to sharing Mom and Dad's attention so it has been wonderful for him to go swimming and do other fun things with them.



I love this one of George and Eli. They look so much alike. Like father like son. I thought maybe Julia would look like me, but nope... she looks like George too. She may have my hair though!

Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day!

Christmas/New Years/Birth Announcement/Ministry Letter

We recently sent out a birth announcement/ministry update letter. If you would like to be added to our mailing list or we don't have your current address, please send me an email (spacie19@yahoo) For those of you who are regular blog readers, none of this is new for you. Here is what we sent out...

February 26, 2015

Merry Christmas...Happy New Years... Greetings from Moshi!

This letter was meant to be sent to you much earlier, but we had a little something, rather someone, that delayed it. Our daughter, Julia Mireya Orwa, arrived eight weeks early on December 26th, much to our surprise. The first days and weeks of her life were very scary and stressful, but we are happy to report that she is stable and thriving. Currently, she is nine weeks old and eight pounds, which is a big leap from the three and a half pounds she was when we brought her home. Going through this ordeal in a third world country that could offer her little to no medical intervention revealed to us in a very tangible way what an awesome, mighty God that we serve. It is truly a miracle that she survived, and we love to tell people about how God saved her in the midst of trying circumstances. You can read the whole story on my blog.

As for the rest of us, we are doing well. Eli is two and a half and such a joy. He is talking so much and constantly entertains us. Stacie has recovered from her c-section and is feeling strong. George is keeping busy with ministry work while holding our family together.

Speaking of ministry, 2014 was a challenging year for us as it seemed like many roadblocks were in our way. Looking back, we can see that the Lord was opening and closing doors as only His perfect timing and plan can do. The beginning of 2015 has been very busy so far. After two years of trying, we finally bought land for the Africa Harvest of Hope Children's Home. We have twelve acres and an exciting vision for what to do there. In early December 2014, we had a visit from our ministry leaders, Alan and Shannon Reed, and had a wonderful time with them. We were able to get a lot of ministry work done while having lots of time for fellowship and encouragement.

In March and August last year, George had the big blessing of volunteering with API's medical camps in Kenya. The August camp was in George's home village and was an absolute thrill as over 2100 people in his community were helped and hundreds came to know the Lord. While God has placed us in Tanzania for now, Kenya is still very much in our hearts and we love to help out there whenever possible.

Looking forward to the rest of the year in 2015, we will keep pressing forward with finalizing the land purchase and begin working on constructing the children's home. George will continuing teaching at and working with our church, Yesu Anaweza. While Stacie misses being able to be active in ministry, she recognizes her primary role is that of a mom and being a supportive wife right now. She'll keep doing the administrative work for the ministry while focusing on our home.

We are so thankful for the many ways we are encouraged and supported by you all in the US. We could not do this work without your love, emails, financial support, and prayers. For more information on our ministry and how to help, please visit our blog at www.thisisstaciesblog.blogspot.com. It's the best way to keep up with what is going on here as we update it frequently.

We would love your prayers for the following items:

1. Good health for us all, especially little Julia

2. Wisdom and strength for George as he deals with officials in regards to the orphanage

3. For Alan and Shannon Reed as they lead and raise funds for the ministry

We pray 2015 will be full of blessings and love from above.

With love from Moshi,

George, Stacie, Eli and Julia Orwa

Mom Update

My mom had the surgery on Sunday night. It was supposed to last three hours, but ended up taking seven according to Al. I spoke with both of them the morning after the surgery and she sounded good. She will be in the hospital for a while. There is no discharge date set. She will have a long road ahead as her whole face was reconstructed and put back together. Her whole body is sore as is her face, of course. She is up and walking, but is very restless and finding it difficult to rest. Please pray for her continued recovery and her spirits as she adjusts to the situation.

Community Health

While we are working on getting the orphanage going, George has been able to put his medical knowledge and skills to work in our neighborhood and community. Word has spread that he is a lab technologist and he has received many calls for help. We never know when things will happen, but often calls come in the night... which on the one hand is good since he is home and available to help, but on the other hand means less sleep for him. He doesn't mind, though, since he loves using his gifts to help others, especially for those who couldn't afford it otherwise. Sometimes people will ask George to check a child for malaria. Other times, a child or adult is sick and they don't know what to do. George will go and triage the situation and give them advice. Perhaps he can do wound care if it's needed or suggest an OTC medicine. Or, he will tell them they need further help and suggest they go to the hospital to see a doctor. A few days ago, he was called to a child with severe ear pain. We have an otoscope (Is that what the instrument is called for checking ears?) so George was able to see that the inside of his ear was rotting and he promptly took the child and his mother to the hospital for treatment. Another time George got a call for help from two adults in the same household who got their teeth pulled with no lignocaine or pain medicine. Fortunately, we have Kathy living with us who is a pharmacist and can help George with giving out the correct medicine to help them. Due to the generosity of many in the US, we have a stockpile of medical supplies that allows George to give these services. We are also able to help out people with hospital expenses when necessary. We thank you for your role in helping these people. We couldn't do it on our own.

Julia Update - 11 Weeks

Julia is now 11 weeks old and going strong. At 10 weeks she weighed 4.1kg (9 pounds) and at the last weigh in, she was 4.3 kg (9 pounds 7 oz). It's crazy to me that babies are born her size. Because she was so small at birth, she looks massive to us. We forget that she still is small until people look at her and say "she is so tiny!" At 11 weeks old, she still looks like a newborn. We have seen so much growth though. She is holding her head up well and smiling more and interacting with us. She is still quite fussy and wants to be held all the time. I can't even put her in her bouncy seat for two minutes to run to the bathroom before she starts wailing. Last week she had four vaccinations and didn't tolerate them well. Fortunately, she is feeling better now. Now that she is steadily growing and stable, I may change from weekly updates to monthly updates... unless there is a cute picture that must be posted right away! We appreciate your continued prayers. Our little preemie is not so little any more! Thank you Lord!



Eli is always begging to hold her.



She loves to hang over the arm of the couch.

Urgent Prayers for My Mom

Please pray for my mom. She was in a serious accident while biking on Saturday morning. She was on a 30 ride and was on mile 28 when this occurred. She is currently in the hospital. She took all of the impact of the accident on her face resulting in major damage. She is scheduled to have surgery to repair the broken facial bones on Sunday. An MRI and CT scan were done indicating no brain injury and no neurological damage so far. She also has fractures in her cervical vertebrae. Although she is stable, the situation is quite serious and she is really in need of prayers. It is horrible to be so far away from home during a time like this and not be able to do anything to help. I will post updates as they become available.

Thank you.

Julia Update - 9 Weeks Old

Julia is growing at a massive pace. She now has three chins... all three we worked hard for and are very proud of. At 9 weeks, she is 3.9 kg/8 pounds 8 oz. It is really incredible how well she is doing. Our only issue is sleep now. Oh yeah... and she always wants to be held... when sleeping and when awake. Is that normal? She screams if we put her down... little stinker. Part of me says she needs to learn to self soothe but the other part of me says... she was a tiny preemie... she can have whatever she wants! Its hard because although she is 9 weeks old, we are told to view her, developmentally, as a one week old. So, that changes things. She was on a nice three hour rotation, but now she is all out of whack with either long awake times or sleep times (which are ok with us!). We still marvel at her and will work out her little quirks soon, I hope.

Julia's Photo Shoot

Taryn is a very talented photographer and does newborn shoots at home. While she was here, she blessed us with an adorable photo shoot of Julia. Here are a few of my favorites...