Tag: William and Stella Page 1 of 3

Remember William and Stella? 

There’s that precious baby girl, Janet, who is now 20 months old and scared to death of anyone white.  Would not let me come near her; you can see it on her face.  But the sight of her sure makes me smile! 

As you might remember, William is the head cleaner at HOPAC and blesses us every day.  He is also the pastor of a church in a village not far from here.  So we decided to make a visit to William’s church, and to play with the kids that come to his Sunday School.  (We’ve been there a number of times in the past.)

It wasn’t much, just some crafts and snacks and games.  Santa, interestingly enough, doesn’t make it out to the villages in Africa, so it was fun to bless these kids, just a little bit.  Though I think my own kids got the most out of it. 

Great is Thy Faithfulness.

William, Stella, and Janet

There she is…eight months old….Isn’t she a beautiful sight?

William and Janet (click here for the story, if you’re new around here)

Stella, William, and Janet (on the right) with some members of their church.

I didn’t take these pictures; a friend of mine did.  Though I see William quite often, I rarely see Stella and Janet.  William tells me about her all the time; how she is sitting up and falling over, how she is getting fat (as you can see!). 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Thanks for your prayers for not only my family, but for these people in my life.  For William and Stella, and now for Victor, Criscilla, and baby Christian. 

Life is hard here.  We are reminded of that every day.  Tonight Gil came in with 10 little packets of peanuts.  I gave him a strange look, considering that he does not like peanuts.  “I couldn’t help but buy them,” he said.  “It’s all the woman out there was selling.”  (I love that man!)

How much profit did she even make on 10 packets of peanuts?  Probably 15 cents total?  And yet Gil said she was so thrilled to sell them.  Thrilled with 15 cents? 

Life is hard. 

William and Stella’s baby is fat and sassy.  It’s wonderful and beautiful to behold.  But that doesn’t change the fact that she had three other babies stillborn.  My friend Emily, who ministers in a village, told me that she doesn’t know a single woman who has not lost a child under the age of 2. 

Life is hard.  But we praise God for Hope.  Hope in beautiful baby Janet.  Hope in that baby Christian is “critical but stable;” hope in knowing that God does answer prayer. 

But especially, Hope in knowing that this is not all there is. 

Stella got her stitches out today, and was discharged to go home.  So we went over to pay the final bill and take William and Stella home. 

Their baby’s name is Janet, and she is one week old today.  Baby and Mama are both doing great, and exceedingly beautiful.  Enjoy!

About a dozen different people/families gave money to make sure Stella got good medical care, and I’m sure hundreds of people prayed.  William and Stella have told me repeatedly to thank everyone who stood beside them through this.  But don’t stop praying!  1 in 9 children in Tanzania don’t make it to their 5th birthday. 

Janet M. is a very good friend of William and Stella’s whom William has known for over 10 (15?) years.  She and her husband were deeply involved in William’s life and ministry.  If she had been in Tanzania this year, I know she would have been the one making sure Stella got good medical care.  It’s a perfect name for their baby. 

Then I looked up the meaning of ‘Janet’:  God is Gracious.

Definitely perfect.

There she is.  Beautiful, beautiful sight.  Born around 11:30 this morning, 2.6 kg.  I took this picture about two hours after she was born.  No epidurals at this hospital, so Stella was put completely under.  When I saw her, she was still too groggy to really stay awake or even hold her baby.  Only awoke enough to say “Asante” when Dr. Carolyn and I gave her our congratulations, both of us in tears. 

 5:30 pm update:

(by the way, no name yet.  In Tanzanian culture that can come days or even weeks later.)