This is the fifth day the little ones have diarrhea, some filling their diaper more often than others. And Emmy had a fever today. He barely wants to eat, and is cranky and just wants to lie down on us. He did have a lot of good moments too. Please continue declaring healing over them!
Today none of the kids came over in the morning. On Saturday they're busy doing their chores before the service, then do an hour of soaking instead of eating lunch. I got woken up when Randy brought me Emmy to sleep on me, and later he brought Tammy to take his place, and he held Emmy for a while. Thankfully Barbara was making lunch. In the afternoon, we put them all down for their nap earlier than usual, but they were ready for it. The plan was for them to eat their afternoon meal at 2 pm, so they'd be ready for our photoshoot at 2:45.
I had asked Paul before our arrival to have Malian clothes made for them, giving them just their height as measurement. The clothes are a little big, but it wasn't as bad as I first thought. Normally the parents would also have clothes made with the same fabric. In any case, I think they look really cute, and this is a nice Christmassy family picture taken in our living room.
At 2:45 we went outside our house to have the picture taken - one with Barbara, and one without to use after we leave here. Even though dozens of pictures were taken, there is still not one that is perfect, but I guess that's the way it is when children are involved. Unfortunately there's none with 4-month-old Amaga looking at the camera. And the one without Barbara is worse, because we took it after, when nobody could smile any more, and everyone had enough of the hot sun.
After the picture, we went over to our dining hall, where we have our service every Saturday at 3 pm. We just wanted to greet everyone and show off the little ones, and then leave them, so as not to distract everyone from the service with our presence. The babies seemed a little overwhelmed by all the new impressions. Being outside for the first time, the heat, the sun, the many people, and new building. They were rather quiet and just took it all in. At the beginning of the service we just said a few words, and then we left again. As we walked out of the dining hall, our three sheep were in the kitchen area, so we approached them to show them to the babies, but they ran off.
We were glad to be back in the house where it's only 31 C (88 F). This is our cold season. We took their clothes off again right away, and they went back to playing. At 4 pm I did lie down with Emmy, who had a fever and wasn't feeling well, and he slept for 45 minutes on me. Even though I let him sleep after 4 pm, I couldn't tell at bed time. It was the same story of having to hold him down to allow his siblings to fall asleep, but he wasn't any less tired than usual.
Thank you for praying!
