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bluewatergigi
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Patrice Miles
Lenny
I was so excited to get to attend the wedding of Toyin’s parents a few weekends ago. If you don’t remember Toyin’s story of reuniting with his Father over a year ago, click Toyin to catch up. Over the past year we have been blessed to get to see this family completely restored. His mother is home, his father is smiling, and Toyin is back in the family God created for him. Family preservation is our goal and we love it when God allows us to get to be his hands a feet to restore families in Nigeria. We are praying to see more family restoration stories like this for our C.A.R.E. Kids.
Recently Toyin’s sponsor had has to discontinue his sponsorship due to the loss of employment. We are so thankful for the 2 years that Toyin’s sponsor was able to support him. Without them we would not have had the financial means to help Toyin and his family. If you are interested in continuing the sponsorship for Toyin, it is $35 a month. Click family preservation to sign up and write in the memo “orphan care”.
When we announced we were moving to Nigeria in 2013, the number one question I received was “What are you going to do?” Everyone understood Lenny’s role, but they wondered how I was going to manage going from a businesswomen to a stay at home homeschooling mom. Fast-forward to 2017 and I have to laugh at all the hats I wear… Egbe Hospital Revitalization Accountant, Office Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, Guesthouse Manager, C.A.R.E. Africa Marketing Manager and Spring of Life Project Manager. I had never expected to fill any of these roles when I said yes to the missions call, but God knew. He had been preparing me for years in my U.S. business life for this time in Egbe, Nigeria.
I am sure everyone reading this blog has had life smack them in the face before. I know that I have. Sometimes it is my own stupidity and disobedience that brings on these trials, at other times it is just LIFE. We live in a broken and sinful world so we are going to experience disappointments, heartbreak, sadness, and much more.
“Are you crazy?” That is what I would say to Dr Duncan and her husband Mike if I didn’t know them. If I had heard about a woman who owns her own OBGYN practice and packs up her stuff for a month every year to take her vacation in Nigeria, a woman and her husband who give up a month of their life every year and actually pay to come and sweat in Egbe. I would say “They are crazy!”
the hospital is filled with patients from all over Nigeria to see her. Women who thought they couldn’t have babies are healed, lives are changed through the gospel she shares, the hospital can pay its bills for another few months, all because Mike and Christal said “Yes”. Christal said “Yes” to giving up her Thanksgiving with family this year and came to do 54 surgeries and 200 consults. Mike said “Yes” and gave up his Thanksgiving with family this year to make a difference in construction and maintenance and baked us missionaries some really great pies!
Recently one of our C.A.R.E. Africa caretakers, Gift, had a baby. She called me when she arrived at the hospital. Within 15 minutes she called again to tell me that she had the baby. I rushed down to the hospital and there she was sitting up in a chair with the baby next to her already dressed in some clothes. In a total of 30 minutes, she had a baby naturally. The baby was dressed, she was out of labor and delivery, in the ward at her bed, sitting in a chair making phone calls, and all ready to go home.
When it was time for Gift to go home there was some confusion on her bill and I had to go down to the hospital during dinnertime to make sure she could go home. I immediately was inconvenienced as I was trying to enjoy dinner with my family. Then as I am trying to get out the door my seamstress stops by to drop a new outfit and a Chief from the town drives up to give me paperwork on a school that C.A.R.E. Africa is about to lease. Uggghhh……. I finally got to the hospital, flustered of course, and see Gift. She has her new daughter on the breast and 3 large bags all ready to go. I looked at everything and said, “Gift, how are you planning on getting home?” She looked at me like I was stupid and said “Okada” (the motorcycle taxi that everyone uses to get around). Really!!!! How was she going to get this new born baby and three large bags down to the road, hail an Okada and then get on the motorcycle with all this stuff and the baby.
Meet Mosun. If you have ever visited the Spring of Life HIV/AIDS Center in Egbe, you would have gone and prayed with Mosun. She is an HIV patient that has been on ARV therapy for 5 years now. She is doing great, but unfortunately the sickness left her blind in both eyes. She has two small children, Faith and Eniope. They are currently enrolled in C.A.R.E. Africa and sponsored by Rick and Martha Bradford, two SIM missionaries in Egbe.
When I recently visited her to see how the charcoal business was going, she expressed her need for eye drops. Vision First is an eye drop that was subscribed for her. These drops she said have really helped with one of her eyes. It has allowed her a little bit of vision in the one eye. The costs is n4,000 for a two month supply. That is $50 a year for her eye drops. I wish she would make n4,000 from the charcoal sales, but she will only make about n400 per large bag she sells.
Miles In Missions 