"Whoever Welcomes One..."

I am thankful to God that he answered my prayers and I was sent to this place, where I can serve the people who need me.
By: Maria Tureanova

My name is Maria and I come from Slovakia. I am sending you "hot regards" from Tanzania, Africa. And what am I doing here? Well, I am a volunteer and I came here to be a homeschool teacher for two girls-Sabrina and Brianna who are twins in 5th grade. Our school begins every day at 8 a.m. and we finish at 11.30 a.m. We have 7 lessons every day-Bible, Arithmetic, Spelling, Language, History and Geography, Science, Health and sometimes Art. I enjoy teaching these girls and we have a lot of fun together. I am thankful to God that He answered my prayers and I was sent to this place, where I can serve the people who need me. Our little classroom is on the ADRA compound where Sabrina and Brianna’s parents live and work as missionaries. They are Americans and have been here in Africa for many years.

And what do I do after school? I spend some time with the babies. Davona Church, the mother of the twins, has started a Cradle of Love Baby Home for orphaned and abandoned babies. She founded Open Arms Infant Home in Malawi in 1995, which is still running today, so is no stranger to caring for these tiny victims of the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

A home is being constructed to care for up to 40 infants on the compound belonging to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, until it’s completion, there are 10 babies living with the Church family. That’s a lot of hungry mouths to feed, and lots of dirty diapers, to say nothing of all the loving arms needed to make the babies feel secure.

There are two care- givers for the babies during the day and one full time laundress. Starting at 5 o`clock each evening, I go and help care for the babies. We usually play outside on the lawn with them for an hour, and then feed them their supper, sometimes holding two bowls and alternately giving a spoonful to one baby and then another! By 7 p.m. it’s time to change the diapers of each baby and put them into clean clothes for bed. That’s a noisy, smelly time! By 7:30 p.m. they have had their bottles and are tucked into their beds for the night.

Ten babies and each story is different. Some of them were just found on the street or their parents died of AIDS. Let me tell you Shelly’s story. Shelly was a hurting baby, emotially and physically. At approximately a year and half she had suffered more abuse than many have ever known in a lifetime. Her caregiver abandoned her but not before verbally abusing her. This little girl came to us, parroting the hurtful things she had been told over and over in her swahili language "You are a dog" and "You are a butt." She would spit these words out to the other babies whenever she felt angry or frustrated. Within two weeks of good food, love and gentle discipline, Shelly became a smiling little girl full of fun and minus the bad words.

Wonderful, isn’t it? These little creatures are such a blessing for all of us. When I am with them, certain words always come to my mind. They are addressed to everybody. "Whoever welcomes one such child in My name, welcomes me, " said Jesus. (Matthew 18:5)

So this is my short report about my life here in Tanzania. A country of many natural beauties and wild animals but what is the most important-a country of friendly and hospitable people. It is great to be here! If you have an opportunity to volunteer somewhere, take it; it could change your life forever!