Many of you know or know of my awesome niece, Meagan Hawley, the daughter of my brother, Dave and his lovely wife Sally who happens to have a birthday today! Meagan for years has lived at the Namwianga Mission in Zambia where she takes care of orphaned babies and those whose families cannot care for them, temporarily or long term. Many of these babies have been HIV+. Here is her report from June-July-August!
Hi guys! Happy back to school season to you all! I think for one time of the year, our weather is probably the same as yours! Winter came and went very quickly, and now it’s heated up again. We are also experiencing a drought in Zambia, which has ramifications in many ways. The doctors say they are about to be seeing many malnourished children and people because the maize crop as a whole did not take this year. The other major way it’s affected our life here is that the power is now out for eight hours a day. It used to be for just five hours a day, but now they’ve taken away more power because the drought is getting bad. This is extremely frustrating and makes life a lot harder at the Haven, and even in my own home. We are looking into solar and other options that could be available to us to make our lives and work a little easier.
It’s been a full June, July, and August for us here! I had a wonderful set of interns come for 6 weeks, and they blessed my life and our babies so much. Being able to share with and encourage girls interested in missions remains one of my favorite parts of my life here. It’s exciting to watch them grow and question and dream about where God may ask them to go with Him in the future.
My parents were also able to come for a visit for almost 3 weeks this summer, and that was just incredible. It’s amazing to me how the older I get, the more I appreciate everything about my parents. I do not take it for granted that I have parents who make it a priority to be a part of my life, even from afar. And when they are here, they throw themselves into relationships with the people I love so much, and they sure ease my burdens by carrying them with me. I’ve been blessed with the very best parents, and it’s because of that I know I feel such an urgency to try and be family to those that have none.
It’s also been a busy summer because we’ve had babies dealing with some health issues that have kept me moving to and fro fairly regularly. Jonah has just gotten home from a 3 week stay in University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. He finally had the operation we’ve been waiting to receive for about a year and a half, only to find out it was completely unnecessary, but that’s another story for another time for those of you interested in the woes of medical care in the developing world! For now, we are grateful that God has kept him safe and that he’s healing, and now we’ll begin again to try and find the source of his problems. Please keep praying for Jonah as we search for answers to his problems.
Our littlest guy Mainza has also been in and out of the hospital this last month, and we would love for you to pray with us that we would figure out the source of his infection and that he’ll start thriving again soon!
Susan is the latest one living at my house. She has cerebral palsy, and she just needs a little extra help to start hitting some of her significant milestones. I’ve known so many children in my day, but I’m not sure there has ever been a sweeter baby girl than Suz. And besides all that sweetness, she sleeps 12 hours a night, making me one happy, well-rested camper! She’s doing great, growing so much, and showing great signs of improvement. Please join us in praying that she’ll sit soon and be able to be a bigger participant in the world around her.
Our daily life at the Haven remains full and fun! The babies are all doing great and learning new things every day. I love being a part of it, and I especially love helping the aunties learn how to aid in the development of our little babes for the season they are with us.
We’ve continued to have many babies go back with their families recently, which as I’ve said a thousand times before, is such a good and a hard thing! We love seeing them back with their families and adjusting well to their new environments, but they sure do leave gaping holes in our world where their little personalities used to live. I always drive home from visits with tears streaming down my face for so many reasons, but predominantly because I’m truly so grateful for their new places in their families.
Jana, who moved here in April to join our ministry, has recently returned from language school and has begun making her initial visits out to visit our babies. She’s already seen quite a few that have been gone for many years, and she’s reported all of them appear to be doing great! We are excited for her to really get started visiting and eventually working with Namwianga’s Church Development Team to get a lay of the land for where all our babies are living and how those areas can be best served.
Our auntie Bible study continues to be such an encouragement to me, and I hope to them. We are still making our way through the Bible, one book at a time, and we are in Judges now. Last week we finished out the book of Joshua and made signs for our homes that read “Pele mebo abasing’anda bangu tulabelekela Jehova” meaning “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord”. Hearing their questions and seeing their expressions as they hear some of these stories for the first time are gifts to me, helping me appreciate more and more how blessed I have been to be raised knowing the word of God. Please keep praying for us as we study God’s word together and let it speak to our hearts and change us.
God is continuing to work on me, too, to humble me and change me and open my eyes to the things He wants me seeing and doing. In a world of so much need, I am still learning how to say no when I need to and to continue saying yes to the things God has called me here to be a part of every day. Thank you for your support and encouragement that allows me to be here, giving God my yes and serving alongside some of my favorite people in the world. I couldn’t appreciate you all more.
MeaganGod bless,
Uncle Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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