December 2004 Newsletter

Hi all

Well this is the last newsletter for 2004.

It has been a very eventful year, and very trying. I have been through many personal trials, and spent much time in pray, seeking direction and wisdom from God. The year is now over and I am still standing, thanks to the grace of God. When there were only one set of footprints, I know He carried me.

As the year comes to an end, I want to say a very big thank you to all the people who have been involved in the running of Sinakekele. David Lock, who has stood as chair, Les Munro, as treasurer, the committee members, my children, my family, our faithful employees, ALL the wonderful volunteers, both local and international, TLC, and all our donors, and supporters. Thank you all so much for the part you have played in making Sinakekele a reality.

Due to David’s move to Gonube he has resigned as chairman. David, for all your encouragement, advice and guidance, I say a very big thank you. From day 1 of this vision, you were alongside me. (I know I gave you some grey hairs from time to time – sorry about that. Thanks for sticking by me.)

We welcome to our committee, Jonel Russel as the new chairperson, and Daphne Thompson as director. To both of you, thanks for your commitment, and your support.

Our public benefit status has been approved, which means that monetary donations to Sinakekele can be used as a tax break. This was the last of our organizational formalities.


BABY NEWS: Ntombi has been fostered by my good friends from Bergville, Sharl and Janine, who also fostered Zoey a year ago. (Zoey has Cerebral Palsy, and is optically blind).

Ntombi went for an MRI scan in October, which has shown that she does not have water on the brain, but has some grey brain matter which, due to injury at birth, has disintegrated. If the grey matter has stopped disintegrating she should be OK, however, if the disintegration continues, she could become seriously disabled. Please keep her in your prayers. She is doing great though, and I think her prognosis is very positive.

Jake is doing SO well. He has started to walk around the furniture, and along the walls, and I think he should be off on his own by the end of the year. He is also starting to talk now, and adds new words to his vocab all the time. He is such a delightful little fella!

When Jake arrived he was very malnourished and skinny and we started calling him "Jake the rake". Well – he is no longer "Jake the rake". He is now "Fatman". As Justin says – he is just "round" and "there". Never whines, and always cheerful.

Madame Mary is growing fast, and is also starting to talk now. I was a bit worried about her delayed speech, as she is a very bright little girl, and I think in the new year I will still take her to have her hearing tested, just to put my mind at ease.

Mary shows signs of being a real little athlete. She is amazingly agile – watch this spot! Mary is also such a huggy little munchie, so she has the nick name "huggy bear" (among other names).

Siya has been so desperately ill and if anyone doesn’t believe miracles still happen – here is living proof! Siya should not be alive. His liver could not cope with the ARV’s and he developed Lactic Acidosis. This is quite a rare side effect of Anti Retro Virals, and is even less common in children. His lactate level was 17.8, and the pediatrician informed me that recovery was slight if a lactate level went up between 5 and 10. I did not think Siya was going to make it. But he did. I really believe that was answer to pray. Siya is no longer on ARV’s but is doing quite well. He does have some bad days, but mostly he is well. We will restart ARV’s when his CD4 count drops. A couple of weeks after he came out of hospital, I went to check on him in bed, and there he was, sitting on the bed, sock in hand, steadily pouring his juice from his cup into the sock! When I saw that, I knew he was better. The king of mischief!

Simon is doing well. He is still having occupational therapy, and is coming along quite nicely. He still battles a little with steps, and climbing in and out of the car is a rather slow process, but he is jumping now, and dressing himself. Oh yes and finally – he is potty trained!

Simon hates the creepy crawly in the swimming pool, so every time we go and swim he says "Tell the creeky to go home." Simon’s drum set is broken, and we need to buy some spare parts for it. His keyboard is also faulty at the moment, but he still insists on playing the drums – even with the missing parts.

Tazz and Jay news:
Tazz is doing fine, and has just celebrated her 12th birthday. (She saved up all her birthday money and bought herself an electric guitar.)

Girls from overseas – you would be shocked! I took her shopping for clothes yesterday, and found myself wishing for the days when she insisted on buying boys shorts and t-shirts. Boy, she is growing into quite a young lady!

Justin is doing OK. He has been through a rough few months, but has spent a couple of weeks down the South Coast at the Norwegian Settlers Church under the mentorship of a couple of the young adults, and really enjoyed himself. He has been on a first aid course, and has been working very hard at home –scraping and painting walls and doing all the "handy man" chores that needed doing. Please keep him in your prayers.

OUR NEEDS:

The usual day to day living expenses:
Groceries
Baby toiletries
Disposable nappies - Extra large
Washing powder
Stasoft

Both Siya and Simon need to start preschool in January, so this will be an extra expense that we will need to cover from the new year.

Our wish list:
Space, space, and oh yes – did I mention – space!

I am hoping to put my house on the market in the new year, and trust that God is going to direct our path from there.

Happenings:
The Nedcor Team challenge is still happening, and we have some Y-Wammers coming in January. We have had to put the volunteers from TLC on hold for the moment, until we have more space. This is such a shame – they are really terrific with the kids.

I am trusting that God is going to undertake in the new year.

And from my heart:

Well, that’s it from me – I wish each one of you a very blessed and meaningful Christmas as we celebrate the birthday of our Savior. If you are traveling, I wish you safe travels.

Thank you again for all your support. We really do appreciate it. You are all very special to us.

Yours in God’s service
Ruth