“I used to be funnier” 

Just in case you didn’t know I used to be funnier, I thought you might enjoy one of the “Lost Blogs,” from the chronicles of this incredible journey called Neema House Arusha.

The Nile River

Saturday October 8, Michael decided we would take the day off and as a birthday present for me, we would float the Nile River. Did I say “present?” There were times during the day when I thought a coffin would have been more appropriate. We have floated a lot of rivers, the Gallatin, the Flathead, the Colorado, the Arkansas, the Snake and the Buffalo among others, so we thought we were experienced white water rafters. I can’t even begin to describe this trip in words.

 I should have known we were in trouble when the guide, before we got in, asked me to take off my rings at which I politely smiled and said no, because you see we are experienced rafters. Within five minutes of beginning the incredibly long day trip we were into a category

five white water rapid and when I say into I mean into, as in not in the boat. I think I spent more time under the boat frantically trying to fight my way back up to the surface than I did in the boat. Of course when I got to the surface huge waves crashed into my face just as I was trying to take a gulp of air so I got a smacking gulp of Nile water in my lungs instead.

A nice lady before we left the hotel had offered a bit of advice, albeit useless advice, when she said don’t swallow the water, you’ll get an amoeba. I swallowed so much of the Nile river I’ll be able to grow a whole village of amoebas. I told the guide, “Just give me a water purifying tablet to chew and I’ll shake it around in my stomach.”

 There were six of us and a guide in the raft; two young South African guys on a cross countries drive from Amsterdam to South Africa (I didn’t know you could do that!), Molly a really sweet, gorgeous blonde business woman just taking the day off from work, a young man from China named One Way, about whom I kept wondering if his mother had given him permission for this trip, and Michael and I.

 I think all of them at one time or another saved my life. The guide would say, “Okay this next rapid is a category six so stay with the raft, don’t lose your paddle, and the river divides up here so make sure you don’t get swept down that left side because that is called killer rapids and we won’t be able to get you out.” Was he kidding, stay with the raft? Like I had any control.  He forgot to mention “oh and hold your paddle, hold the boat and hold your nose because we are going over!”   I was always one hand short.  

 I noticed right at first about eight or more kayakers paddling along with us; one was doing acrobatic tricks with his kayak, flipping under and over, I thought, how nice, they were along just for the show. No, after the very first rapid when I was swept downstream, here he came, paddling for dear life, to pick me up. I was coughing up Nile water and he said, “hang on,” while he dragged me back to the raft. I asked him if I could just stay with him  on the kayak which seemed safer than the raft, but he made me get back in the raft.

We asked if there were hippos and crocodiles in the water but the guide said, “no, none in this section of the river.” I kept thinking, don’t they swim? After about the fifth rapid as I was being pulled like a beached whale back into the boat (the guide grabs you by the neck of your life jacket and hauls you into the raft) I began asking if I could switch boats and ride with the food boat. It didn’t seem to be flipping as much as we were. After the last rapid when we were coasting in to get out and I realized that I had actually lived through the trip, I began to think, Yeah It was a blast, one I don’t care to repeat, but a Blast!

Dorris Oct 8^th 2011. 

Yes, I used to be funnier.

Now that you have had a good laugh I can tell you, that was before we started Neema and saw babies starve to death and moms die giving life and babies with an OCA gene become “prime flesh” because someone thought their skin cured AIDs. I was funnier before I knew about our baby Innocent floating in a latrine and Baraka all alone in a house for days and Chris left crying on the road side and newborn Dorothy in the gravel pit…. David Platt was right. “It is easier to ignore them before you know their names, it’s easier to pretend they’re not real, but once you hold them in your arms, everything changes.”  It did for me, I am not so funny anymore.

Bless you for staying with me through the hard blogs to read. I assure you they’re much harder to write. What I am seeing is that most of us living our abundant, God blessed lives would rather hear about puppies thrown in trashcans than babies thrown on garbage heaps. Who wouldn’t? It’s too much. We can’t take it.  So thank you to you wonderful people for hanging in there with me as I struggle to write what really happens to these babies and yet not scare you to death with their stories.  As I mention quite often all our babies have a tragic story or we would not have them. 

Neema House Arusha received three new babies in one day last week. You know how it is when a new baby comes to your family, relatives come in, neighbors come over to Ohh and Ahhh. Well, that is how it is at Neema only this time I am sure multiplied by three! After the baby is washed, weighed and checked in, all the nannies, cooks, drivers, volunteers and manager gather round to greet the new little one, hold their tiny fingers and tickle their little toes. Me? I cry.

(New abandoned Baby Sifa to the left.) 

 I’ll show you pictures of two of them, the other one I’ll not be posting. She is going to have a hard life in Africa, please pray for her.

(Baby Pascal to the right.)

I hope your day is full of joy and that you laugh and love a lot and that you can see the Goodness of God in this dark world and want to be a part of the answer.

Bless you.  Dorris

June 24, 2015

A Sparrow Falls

I just finished fixing my breakfast and it made me cry.  I had to throw away a half a loaf of bread because I couldn’t eat

it before it spoiled.  As I let it drop into the trash I thought, we just lost a baby at Neema because she was literally starved to death.  That is what the Doctor said, she was starved.  Does that still happen in our world today?

I have been a little shaken this week by some comments made because we were trying to save the life of baby Noreen.

“Why don’t you save babies in America?” and “Is there really much purpose in saving a baby like this?”

Almost a year old, Noreen weighed about eight pounds, had

pneumonia and was HIV positive when she was brought to Neema House Arusha.  But those were not what killed her.  AIDs is manageable, you can live a fairly normal life now with it and she was being treated for pneumonia.  She died of starvation.  We tried.  We had nannies staying with her 24/7 around the clock, she was in ICU in the best hospital in Arusha and being fed around the clock but it was just too late when we got her.

Would we even be asking those kinds of questions if it were one of “our babies” here?   We would want the doctors to pull out all the stops, do whatever it takes, don’t mind the cost, do everything you can, try something else.  Wouldn’t we?  What makes some lives worth more than others?  I know, I know this is my soap box but really if a child were dying here every minute from drinking unsafe water wouldn’t we be up in arms?  God help us.

And with hundreds of government programs to help the poor in America and ninety five percent of all charitable giving staying in America do we have to hear that question once again!

Unfortunately children still starve and mothers still die at alarming rates in parts of this small planet we live on.  Most of you read my blog because we are friends, you’re not looking for sensationalism and I don’t write for sensationalism.  I just want you to see that Noreen was real, she laughed, she smiled, her mom had dreams for her and she cried more than she laughed.  And I want you to see that hunger is real.  I’m sorry but you need to see this.

Noreen

Every life is precious, if God knows when a sparrow falls, His heart must have been broken when this little one fell.  We tend to want to blame God.  I think the answer to the question, why does God allow starving children in Africa, is more – He doesn’t, we do.

Is what we do at Neema House Arusha worth it?  Ask these little guys.

Neema’s  Ebenezer

Neema’s Maxine

Neema’s Frankie Boy

Neema’s Elesha

I could go on, about sixty eight more times.

Thank you to all of you who supported us through this trying time with your notes of encouragement.

dorris

There are few things worse than having your baby girl hurt, but when she is halfway around the world, it’s worse!  Bekah broke her ankle in Arusha,Tanzania a couple of weeks ago and is needing surgery to set it and put in a pin.  But there is an infection now, so they have to wait on the surgery.  It was a compound fracture and there is about a 5 inch cut on the inside of her ankle which has gotten infected.  Dads are not good “waiters” so Michael is heading back to Africa tomorrow  to be with her.  If you are new to the blog you know we have just gotten back from Africa.  We could use lots of prayers right now for Bekah and Michael.

.  

(Bekah in the middle baby room)

Bekah was born in Africa at the Chimala mission hospital back when the lions still roamed the courtyard of the hospital and monkeys swung from the trees outside the door.  Actually the monkeys are still there.

She has always had a heart for Africa and babies, so with her EMT skills, our home for abandoned, orphaned and at risk babies in Arusha, Tanzania was the perfect combination for her.

She could use your prayers right now and financial help, she doesn’t have insurance, not that it would be good in Africa anyway.  Thanks for helping.  You can give on the website donate button www.neemahousearusha.org and just mark it “medical bills”. 

Blessings, Michael and Dorris 

NEEMA HOUSE ANNOUNCES….

SECOND ANNUAL FORMULA FUND RUN

(BUYING FORMULA FOR NEEMA BABIES)

MAY 2, 2015, 8:30 AM

TEMPLE, TX, PEPPER CREEK TRAIL

About one hundred-forty participated in our initial Formula Fund Run last year. If you were one of them, thank you!

                     Registration before the Run

The 2014 5K was a great success, and we are praying that our 2015 5K will be even better. A wonderful group of volunteers are now making all the preparations, T Shirts being printed, refreshments being readied, etc. It is going to be a lot of fun! And most importantly, it will help provide formula for our thirty-two babies at Neema House in Tanzania.

Whether you are a runner or not, this 5K is for you! It is your opportunity to make a difference for the Neema House Babies. You can register on-line for a small $30 fee and get a free T-Shirt too! Those 17 years and younger register for only $15. 

                              And They’re off!

  If you are in driving range of Temple, I hope that you will come. Last year we had participants from as far as Houston and Fort Worth. Many runners were old friends of Michael and Dorris Fortson, so it was a great reunion too! I am praying that you will sign up for the 5K and that you will encourage your family and friends to come out to run and support this effort.

You should register right away at this link: https://neemaformulafundrun.webconnex.com/secondannual2015

       A Special Time with Old Friends

A special note to those runners and supporters who are planning to volunteer at Neema House this summer or later. We are planning an after-the-run get together at The Vine Church, 4902 South 31^st, Temple, for about 11 a.m. We will show photos, give a report, and answer questions, and then enjoy BBQ, baked beans, potato salad, etc. Please plan to be with us. Even if you are not planning to volunteer, but want to know more about Neema House, come on!

Rhiannon Stevie, a travel writer from England, writes:

Ground Breaking at Neema!

After almost twenty one hours in the air we are home once again at Neema House Arusha in Tanzania. For those of you just joining our travel log, Neema is our home for abandoned, orphaned and at risk babies in Africa. Neema means Grace for this is surely all by the Grace of God!  Welcome aboard.

This beautiful sight was the Swiss Alps outside the window of our big 747 winging its way to Africa and our home in Arusha. My first thought was “I thought the Alps were bigger!” I guess it all depends on your view point doesn’t it? Surely what must seem so huge and insurmountable to us from our view below must seem like mere sand piles to the Most High God above.  I must remember that as we go into the next phase of building at Neema.  There are no mountains too big for God.

No matter what time we arrive, the night shift nannies are always up, holding a crying baby, fixing bottles, washing diapers or cooking their own dinner after the babies are in bed.  We have 32 full time, 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, Tanzanian employees. Actually Tanzanians are the only ones paid at Neema.  The nannies work in three shifts. They work three day shifts then three night shifts and then are off for three days. We also feed about thirty adults every day at Neema so it is a busy place all the time.  I love to tell folks it is loud, messy and wonderful  at Neema – most of the time!

Here is our famous cook, Safina, feeding abandoned baby Phillip Wood.  Phillip weighed just a few pounds when he was left at the hospital.  He then spent two months getting big enough to come home to Neema.  He is a smiley little boy who is learning to give kisses.

There are 34 babies currently in our care at Neema and we love each one of them. They have grabbed our hearts with their stories and we cry each time a new one comes to us.  Some of them were abandoned on roadsides, some on porches, in latrines, the bus station, in a front yard and at the hospital.  As a registered NGO, the police or hospitals call us when an abandoned baby has been found.  One little baby was left in a house by himself long enough that his diaper was stuck to his bottom and had to be cut off.  One little newborn we named Dorothy was left in a gravel pit.  The worst was a newborn found in an open pit latrine who had to have maggots removed from his ear. All our babies have a tragic story or we would not have them.  They have all lost the most important thing to a baby, their mother.  You can read their stories on our website. www.neemahousearusha.org.

NOTE: If you just type in Neema House in your search engine you will see there are lots of churches, orphanages, schools, hospitals and even people named Neema.  If you are looking for us make sure you type Neema House Arusha.  We have even had some people donate on the wrong web site!  Poli Sana if you didn’t get your tax deduction from us!

We left Neema in September last year and couldn’t wait to return and meet the  five new babies who have arrived since we left.  In all there have been 64 babies come through Neema House, some have been adopted and some have been able to return home to a family member. There are also twelve babies we provide for out in the villages around Arusha as well.  Africa is the 16th poorest country in the world and there is lots of work to be done here.

Meet our new babies:

Newborn abandoned baby Neema Joy, below with Betsy Ezell a volunteer from Harding Univ.

Beautiful Carolyn Sue, abandoned at a hotel.

Amiri, below, was found on the street. His family has been located and he may be able to return home to a grandmother or other family member.

Careen, below, was abandoned, had been abused and had a broken arm and leg when she came to Neema.

Newborn Christopher Justice, below, was abandoned on the road and covered with black dirt.

It is not our place to judge these mothers. Neema House Arusha is a place of Forgiveness and Hope, forgiveness for the moms and hope for the babies.

Yesterday was an exciting day for us at Neema House Arusha.  It was “Ground Breaking Day” on the new land.

We took three of our bigger babies, Michael, Baraka and Gloria and they got to help dig the first hole.

For almost three years now we have cared for these babies in a large rented house in Arusha. Now we are praying by the end of August to be in our very own baby home on this beautiful land.  If you can build, come on!

The children, along with Camille and Tabiltha Erdman, piled up twelve memory stones on the land yesterday just like Jacob did in Genesis and Joshua did at the crossing of the Jordan and we dedicated this new land to God. The stones are to help us remember that it was not us but God who made this happen.

As we step out into this new chapter in the life of Neema, it is a bit scary. I can only imagine how Joshua’s men felt as they stepped out into the flood waters of the Jordan praying the miracle would happen. We are stepping out before the miracle too, praying the rest of the money will come in as we begin in faith to build a new home to care for these incredibly precious and beautiful little “thrown away” babies at Neema House Arusha.

 One last picture just to make your day.  Below is Gloria all dressed up with her baby on her back and in a new dress made by Doris Rechinthin, a 101 year old supporter of Neema House from Temple, Texas.