The Fight for Life #3

Greetings from the honored Milk Man.

Bwana Asifiwe is Swahili for Praise the Lord. And this is just what we ought to do for Benjamin and Yohana. Little Benja has been putting on weight. Both of them now weigh about 33% more than when they came to the Lloyd-Jones’ family. Jette mentioned that she was glad she doesn’t put on 33% extra weight in 4 weeks! I would have to agree with her…

Ben is still the smaller of the two but is really beginning to look like a baby now. You can no longer see his bones underneath his skin, his hair is shiny and his skin is a soft dark brown colour. He can even cry without too much effort now, whereas previously he was nearly unable to cry due to the lack of strength.

Yohana is now just over 2 kilos and Ben is just under 2 kilos. Both of them have settled into a relaxed routine which is good for them and for the Lloyd-Jones family. For three days now Ben has not gone into shock, where his eyes roll back and he stops breathing; and this alone has brought the stress level down immensely.

Photo: Yohana with Lyle, Benjamin with Jette

The doctor came by and said they are no longer in critical condition although they are still not strong enough to fight off infections or diseases that might come, so there could still be problems if this were to happen. Let us continue to pray.

The mother of the twins came some days ago to see her sons at the Lloyd-Jones home. She herself is not well and unable to care for the boys at this time, but she showed obvious emotions of gratitude that they are still alive, even though she wasn’t able to say much.

But is the story now over for these two boys? A good question. Now that they have been rescued from the hands of death, there are still hard questions to ask. Where do they go after they are fit and healthy in the months to come? Back to an unstable mom with a broken health and house, to an orphanage (many of which are in desperate conditions), should they be adopted out, if so to whom? These are life questions that need to be answered on their behalf. Who makes these decisions? Is it the white man, the unstable mom, the “corrupt” government? We have kept these two boys from the angel of death, but who is now going to be their angel of life? We have taken care of the need but now reality comes ever so quickly. Who is willing to sponsor these boys for the next eighteen years? Is it me, is it you? But for the moment there is no immediate need for them to move from the Lloyd-Jones family, where they are happy, content and under medical care. A big thanks again to the Lloyd-Jones family.

The more I ponder these questions the more I begin to understand the African view of life and death. Death may not be understood here but it is accepted. We westerners somehow understand it but don’t accept it. We do everything to prevent it, at all costs and measures. Here it happens to all and there is not much that can be done about it even if though the desire is there, so it is allowed to happen and with a few days of sorrow and grief they let it go and move on, few questions asked if any. If they don’t move on they themselves will be become a victim.

Photo: Yohana on the left, Benjamin on the right

Something that burdens my heart is that we have saved two boys this month but we have lost a thousand. Just last week another desperate baby, an orphaned girl in the same conditions of Yohana and Benjamin, died in the house next door to our friend’s home. Where were we for her? Where were we for the other thousand that died this month? Aren’t they just as important and don’t they have the right to live just like Ben and Yohana? My hearts-cry question is “Why can’t we save them all or at least most of them, where are we going wrong?”

Yes, we will save the few we can, but my heart continues to go out to the others. What can we do to save them all? Is it just too big, too many, not enough people and resources? What about the 274 billion dollars in aid that has come in over the past 40 years? “The Economist” magazine. July 2^nd-8^th 2005.

How does one change a world-view? The West has tried with billions of dollars but it all seems to no avail. We try to solve a spiritual issue with a physical one. We continue to do so and in the long run this will fail, as we have seen for generations not only in Africa but around the world. Only a Jesus Christ spiritual transformation will keep the future Benjamins and Yohanas alive. As a Christians do we just say it is sin and brush it off under our conscience or is there something that actually can be done?

Who carries an apostolic vision that can “save” them all, or have we become too institutionalized in our Christianity? We say that God can change nations but who is willing to take that risk? Even for those who do take the risk, everything has become so full of bureaucracy that we can’t really do it anyway.

Africa is a beautiful place with wonderful people but at the same time are things here in Africa getting better but worse? The infrastructure has come a long ways and many kids have the chance to go to school but according to another report in the “The Economist”, life expectancy is now lower than it was 50 years ago, despite the billions of dollars thrown into this continent. Has foreign aid hurt more than really helped, has it only created dependency? These are hot questions right now in politics surrounding Africa. It all looks good on TV back home but here in actual life the real truth is revealed. The rich get richer and the Benjamins and Yohanas die. Maybe I as the honored milk man write this report in a bit of frustration… When I see another little one die, where were we for her? And just last night we had yet another 4 week baby boy in our home coming out of a similar situation as the twins. So we do what we can, we save the ones we can and we let the hundreds go, a hard pill to swallow.

A huge thanks from all of us here for all of your prayers. We are all convinced that it has truly been the prayers of all you saints who have prayed for these twins that has made a difference. Together we have defeated the spirit of death. Prayer does work as we have all witnessed. If there are those that you have been praying for and there seems to be no breakthrough, persevere, don’t fall in the gap and stay strong. In faith get on your knees one more time and then again one more time, followed by another. It is he that perseveres till the end that shall be saved.

In closing I am supposed to tell this to someone: If you are in a desert, walk through your desert with your head high, let God make the way out. Don’t try to run from it, there are some deserts you must cross alone in trust. Make the desert your sacred place.

We will send another report in the weeks to come. Your comments are welcome.

God bless you all.

The Fight for Life #2

The Fight for Life Continues #2

Written May 8th 2008

Yohana here. It is my turn to write. My brother Benjamin, he is too weak to let you know how we are doing. It has been a real struggle for Benja these last days. There seems to be a continual fight between life and death over his body. At times you can see this very fight take place as you look into his face. Death is more real than life. Our new mom is the best, she continues to give us everything, she never sleeps it seems. My brother often sleeps on her chest to receive life from her warmth and heart beat.

This last Sunday it looked like death was winning the fight over Benja but my new dad sent out texts to others by phone to pray for life. Dad said that as they prayed together as a family and spoke the word life over Benja that you could see life come back into his face.

Our doctor friend Claire comes to see us every few days and she says that I am doing very good considering the circumstances, she even said that I have put on weight 200 grams, yippee! But Benjamin is struggling to put on weight but he has not lost any so this she said is a good sign.

I have a new big brother and three new sisters, their home schooling has been a bit out of schedule since my brother and I showed up. But mom says they are learning more than school could teach them since they are working with us. They all take shifts throughout the day and night. My tall dad is my real hero; he keeps it all going somehow. Thank you for your prayers and I ask that you continue; death’s spirit still lingers around our room, we do not have the energy to say no to it, all we have is you and others who will stand in the gap for us.

Greetings once again from the author. As I continue to take milk over to the boys twice a day at times I sense the pressure on the Lloyd-Jones family. I try to not just bring the milk but also to bring a smile and a spark of joy to the family. Their long days and nights are not easy and when death seems to have the upper hand at times of course the stress and emotional levels are at their highest.

There have been a few families and individuals that have gathered around these twins to give a hand in what way they can. Jette is still giving milk a few times a day as I have become the honored milk man.

Here in Tanzania, statistically, infant mortality is 70.46 per 1000 live births, this is how many will die before 1 year of age. In the US it is 6.3 per 1000. Malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and AIDS are common causes of death. These complexities come from deep within cultural ideas, worldviews, values systems, and also the real fact that most people live on less than a dollar a day. They simply can’t afford medicine or hospital, so people just hope for the best. This for many is their only answer. Death is just accepted here, it is quite common place among families. The deceptions that are in their world-views have left its curse and scars on the whole society.

As a missionary, it is very difficult not only to understand the world-view here, but then how does one have a long lasting positive influence on this culture? How does one change a world-view? Truly it is only by “all” of Jesus, not just salvation.

Please continue to stand with us all in prayer for Benjamin and Yohana and also for the missionaries who are serving the African people.

Lyle

The Fight for Life #1

The Fight for Life – Is it Easier Just to Die? #1

Written May 2nd 2008

My name is Benjamin. I have a twin brother and his name is Yohana or John in English. Those are our new names, traditionally we are just called Kulwa and Doto meaning First and Second for the first six months. Real names are not given for fear that one or both of us will not live. We were born just about 5 weeks ago. Our mother is quite sick and she has not been able to feed us or take care of us. Our father died in July last year so he is not around either.

Mother has no family here; we were born in a house that has basically completely collapsed. The day we were born we were left on the mud floor wrapped in rags for the first hours until morning because mother had no energy to help us or feed us and no one was there to help. My mother only has one arm, not sure how she lost it. Not only that; she only has one breast so she is unable to feed us both anyway.

Mother basically had to choose between my brother and I, she choose my brother because he seemed more likely to survive so he was always given first milk. Even at that, there was not enough for my brother so I rarely got any.

I remember the cold nights; we did not have enough clothes or blankets to keep us warm. I do not know how we are even alive. I have slipped in and out of death so many times it is hard to count. My eyes continually have this white film over them and they seem to roll back and close even when I try to keep them open.

Neither my brother nor I have much energy, so even to cry is difficult. How and why I keep holding on to life I do not know, it must be supernatural. Our hands look as though they are already 80 years old. Nothing but skin hanging loosely over our bones.

When we were only a month old some missionaries came to our collapsed house to see us. They talked about us and what they should do with us. The missionary lady is a nurse and she was quite concerned and something had to be done right now or death was sure to take us both that very night. In the end it was decided because our mother was not able to take care of us that they would take us to their house. The road was terrible and we were covered in blankets and even the heat was turned on to keep our frail 1.5 kilo (2lb) bodies warm.

Through a lot of stress and the fear of death lingering in the car we did arrive to their home. The spirit of death was everywhere that night and tried several times to take us both.

So we now have white parents, dad is really tall. They already have 4 kids and they are from New Zealand, whatever that means.

I learned a new word today, malnourished. A lady doctor said that we were both malnourished, but especially me, we’re like 6 levels below the death point of malnutrition. The doctor could not understand how we were even alive, a true miracle it must be.

Now we are all wrapped up in blankets to keep our body heat in, lights are turned on around our bed to keep heat around us. Our bodies have no heat, very little blood flow and we can hardly move. We are now fed every two hours and it seems to take an hour just to eat, which for me means to drink two or three teaspoons of milk, I hardly know how to swallow anymore. My body does not know what to do with real milk.

I could hear the doctor say that my brother Yohana is doing a lot better since he came here but for me Benjamin there is still a lot of concern that I will even live another day.

I also heard that even if things all go well it would take at least 6 months before we could be normal in weight.

There is another lady that comes from time to time; she gives us her milk twice a day, which she generally gives to her own baby Naomi. The doctor said I am the one who needs to get that milk. I hear my tall dad often say that “I am not out of the woods yet”. Not sure what that means but I wish that this feeling of death would leave me be. So many times a day I want to just let death have its way but something keeps me alive, it is not me - it must be those who are praying.

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Greetings, dear friends,

Even at this very moment as you read; Benjamin and also Yohana are on the verge of death. Together a group of people have rallied around these twins to fight for their very lives. A big thanks to the Lloyd-Jones family for their hours of day and night dedicated to these boys.

I have been taking milk over a couple times a day and hearing their report. There is not much that I can do physically but there is one thing that I can do and this is why I write this letter to you my readers, I ask that you become an intercessor for these twins.

Intercession is standing on behalf of another person(s) in prayer, standing in the gap. In this particular situation it is standing between life and death for these boys. It is very hard to communicate the emotions and the pressure of death surrounding these twins. I would ask that you and/or family intercede for these two boys.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in You and this is where we get our authority over death itself. You do not have to pray long but pray with boldness and faith, speaking life into these boys. We all know that the prayer of a righteous man avails much. Who will stand as an intercessor for these twins?

Thinking through this today how many thousands of babies through out the world that do not have an intercessor? The thousands of babies born on the heaps of garbage pits of the world, A hard question to ask but I ask myself sometimes if it is not better that they die, rather than growing up in utmost poverty, sickness and a life of hell. I have seen it all in different parts of the world. It is not possible to describe in words what conditions people live in.

It is very common in these parts of the world that the stronger one of a set of twins is chosen to live. How does a mother come to this decision? Also in these parts, one of the twins and even both of them are considered a curse and left to die in the fields just moments after birth. How deception has stolen life itself from millions.

Please stand with us now in intercession on behalf of Benjamin and Yohana. I will let you know of their condition in some days.