Hope Spot 44 – Mum’s not the word

I don’t know how mums do it.

Maybe it’s OK if you have a perfect baby like I was (photo)!!!! (Joke)

But I’ve just been talking to my daughter on the phone. She has a five-week-old baby, and a two-year-old.

You may know how exhausting a two-year-old can be. If not your own, a nephew or niece, or friend.

So many questions as they discover the world.

So many things to be explored.

So much energy that needs an outlet.

Meanwhile, five-week-old is hungry every two hours. Right through the night. By the time she is fed, and changed, and settled, sleep is just a dream Mum vaguely remembers from another land and time.

As I say, I don’t know how mums do it.

Maybe every day should be Mothers’ Day.

It makes me think about the mums you meet in this year’s Gifts of Grace.

Like Rosina from Indonesia, proud of the chilies she can now grow because of the training and seeds she received through ALWS.

“I have a dream to develop my chili
and vegetable farming in the future.
If this can run, then our family income will increase.
Our lives will get better.”

The Gifts of Grace that can help another mum in Indonesia grow veggies for her family?

Just $5.

Merisiyana in Burundi works just as hard as Rosina.

She too is a farmer, and with your support (and her hard work) says her children can now look forward to having more than one meal a day.

“I am really thankful for you teaching me
these modern farming methods.
I’m going to continue growing maize and beans,
groundnuts, rice and potatoes.”

The Gifts of Grace gift that helps Merisiyana – a $5 hoe.

In South Sudan, young mum Ayen has opened a hairdressing salon, where she plaits hair and sells beauty products, thanks to a $50 Gifts of Grace investment.

Now, Ayen says:

“I am very careful with the profit I am making.
This sustains my family
and pays for my children’s education.”

Amazing mums.

The reason for my Mumsy Message today is that on Wednesday it would have been my wife’s mum’s 88^th birthday.

She passed away earlier this year, so instead of birthday candles it’s a day for memories, stories, sibling sharing. So precious.

As I think about my mum-in-law, and my daughter, I want to do the opposite of the saying ‘mum’s the word’, meaning to keep silent …

… instead, I want to shout out loud THANK YOU!

Thank you for all you do through ALWS for mums like Rosina, Merisiyana and Ayen. Mums who might otherwise be forgotten by the world.

Just like mums, you are a blessing – ALWayS!

PS: If you are at the supermarket next week, keep a lookout for Senior newspaper. At my supermarket, it’s on a bench out the front. Inside, you’ll find a promotion for Gifts of Grace as we try to find other caring people like you, willing to help others through ALWS. Thank you!