Goodbye to Neema Baby Home 

  (The following letter was written by Emily Arnold from Thornton, Colorado who volunteered at Neema House Arusha this year)

“You know that feeling you get when you know you’ve forgotten something? It’s a kind of “sick to your stomach, heart hurts, can’t get your mind off of it” feeling. That’s how I felt driving out of Arusha, Tanzania to the airport to come back home.

I’ll never forget what I left behind though–a bunch of little people I’ve become incredibly attached to these past two months while volunteering at Neema House Arusha, a home for abandoned, orphaned and at risk babies.”

(Left is abandoned baby Phillip with Emily. We take different babies to church each week and this was Phillip’s turn)

Emily continues, “We walk from the volunteer house each morning to the baby home and I’m going to miss them running to us and yelling our names. I’ll miss the way they could never get Ashley and my names straight. I’ll miss their slobbery kisses and little arms wrapped tightly around me to give me a hug. I’ll miss their singing and dancing. I’ll miss watching them sing their prayer song and how cute they are when they eat. Or how cute they are all the time.

Two months has gone by so quickly–it’s a blip in the scheme of a lifetime. In reality, it’ll be a matter of days, weeks, months and they’ll forget my face and my name. I know there will be other volunteers that will come to love them, some of the babies will be adopted, some will return to their families. But right now, it doesn’t make it hurt less.  It’s not like I was going to leave with a baby but believe me, if it were possible, it would have been a done deal!

(Right is Emily with Matilda Grace, an abandoned baby, on her back.)

But I’m not walking away empty handed, with nothing to show that I spent two months helping at a baby home in Africa. I’m walking away with a lot of love for some 34 babies in a place called Neema House Arusha (The Grace House).

 I stood in the very back of the church on Sunday, our last day in Arusha, holding a little girl who’s mother had died during childbirth (they placed the epidural too high and paralyzed her lungs.  (That is baby Doris with Emily to the left)   Her father can’t take care of her right now. I cried my eyes out as we sang the song “God of this City”. There’s a line that says, “You’re the light in this darkness, You’re the hope to the hopeless.”

  I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to sing that song with all your heart when you’re holding a little girl who’s lost her mother in a place where the death rate for women in childbirth is 1 in 39 and there’s several more at Neema with similar stories to hers. But what made me cry even more was I know deep down, it’s the truth. He is the only light in the darkness and the only real hope.

 Love is a powerful thing. I never imagined how deeply I would love all those babies. Love is what makes me so sad to say goodbye. Christ’s love is what so powerfully resonates in my heart that even when I’m holding an innocent baby affected by the sadness of death in our world–I will praise Him for His love. He loves those babies way more than I possibly could.

 I’m not trying to sound Debbie Downer but the only thing that keeps me positive is that God is    present in those babies lives. There’s love for them to grow in, there’s people who love the Lord in their communities and there’s a chance for them–to see Him, to have hope and love in the darkness of the world.

(Emily with Gian, Tumaini, Angelous and Michael walking the neighborhood around Neema House.)

If the babies could read or understand what I want them to know, this is what I would say…I love you so so so much!! I pray and hope you all grow into godly men and women, who have love in your hearts, dreams to chase and a life of happiness. You all have blessed me more than you’ll ever know and I’ll miss each and every one of you!

(Above baby Zawadi with Ashley Berlin who traveled to Africa with Emily.)

Emily Arnold, A Volunteer at Neema House Arusha 2014

(Emily put together a great video of the Neema babies, you will love it.  Just click on the link below and enjoy!))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI_MUuMatf4

Michael and Dorris Fortson       www.tanzaniaorphanhelp.com

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