A New Girl at New Day!

Last week, a man came to the orphanage asking if we could take his niece into the orphanage. Since the death of our Precious, there has been an open spot that we haven't been in a rush to fill. There have been 2 other children we have looked at, but nothing worked out and we didn't want to force the issue. We made a plan with this man to go and visit his niece today, so Blu, Wes, Elizabeth, and Nurse Mandy all left this morning to do an "orphan visit."

About 1 1/2 hours later, they finally found the small village. The primary caregiver, the grandmother, was out working in the fields, so they waited for her to get back. Every village has one or several large maize bins for food storage. Almost every Zambian is a farmer - not to sell crops but to grow what you eat. With a rainy season 6 months of the year, you have to plan for the times when you are not harvesting, but this village's maize bin was completely empty.

The little girl is named Malilwe (pronounced Mah-lee-lway), and she will be 6 years old on March 20th. Her mother died when she was 3, and her father died in December. She had sores all over her legs (ringworm), and the family was obviously struggling just to eat. We decided that we would take Malilwe into New Day.

Jenna & Cynthia dancing - eagerly awaiting Malilwe's arrival!

Mama Lala introduces herself

So thankful we have our social welfare representative, Elizabeth! Elizabeth said at the end of the day, "I'm exhausted!"

Everybody loves Uncle Mulenga!

The group all gathered around - a little overwhelming I'm sure!

Kelitah was so excited to take Malilwe home and show her everything!

I'll be honest - the day was a little bittersweet. We shouldn't be taking a new girl in today. Precious should still be here dancing around and smiling. But as I was typing up the paperwork for Malilwe today, I noticed something. Malilwe became an orphan on December 3, 2013. Precious died the very next day. God always has a plan, and what a reminder that He works everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.