Jeanette's Mission

I booked my flight to Tanzania today! Leaving in 12 days - March 16th! I had another follow-up with the surgeon this week. He said there is a slight complication of some nerve damage, but that it would heal in a few months. He will continue to do follow-up, but overall said I'm healing well and gave me the green light to return to Africa. It's been an incredibly strange 2 months, from learning I needed to have unexpected surgery and being on the operating table 2 days later, to my mom passing a few weeks ago, when she was fine a few months ago. But I can't express enough my gratitude for all your love, prayers and support. I don't think I've ever felt as lifted up in prayer as I have during these last 2 months. Thank you. I've been slowly re-entering into work. This week and last, I've been catching, and preparing for upcoming work on my return. I want to briefly share with you 2 highlights from this week:  Problem solving with VOH Tanzania  and  A Training ...

Just a few hours after I sent my surgery update to you and requested prayer for my mom, she went to be with the Lord. I wish I was there, but the nurses say she passed away peacefully in her sleep just after midnight.  Thanks for your prayers for myself, my son Daniel, brother David, sister-in-law Jennice and my 2 nieces Rebecca and Rachelle and her husband Dennis, as we go through this time of grieving and loss.  Whenever I think of my mom, I’ve always thought of Matt 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called  children of God ”. I’m sure any of you who knew my mom, would agree she was a peacemaker.  Today she has met her ultimate place of peace, meeting her Lord and having a nice reunion with the love of her life, my dad. Thanks again for your love and prayers. I feel them.  Blessings, Jeanette June Wabischewich November 23, 1932 - February 8, 2022

I wanted to post a brief update after my surgery a couple of weeks ago. Good news! The mass tissue was benign. But the surgeon said it was a complicated surgery. To his surprise, he found a hernia in my diaphragm that had pushed through the wall into the lungs and was part of the mass he removed that was draped over the heart. So, it seems I got a 2 for 1 special ... removal of the tissue and a hernia repair at the same time!  I have one more follow-up visit with the surgeon in a month, for another X-ray and check-in. If everything is looking good, he says I can get back to normal (including returning to Tanzania) with some follow-up as needed. I've been recovering slowly but surely. But, just as I am getting strong enough to get back to my normal activities, I've had another unexpected event. As many of you know, my 89 year old mom has not been doing well the last few months. I thought she was improving, but it seems she has taken a turn for the worse in the last 2 weeks and ...

This isn't the update I planned to send this month. It was supposed to be 2022 highlights of the great things God did in and through VOH last year. Suffice to say, lots of great stuff happened, children's lives were impacted and God is good! But instead, I have an unexpected personal update and need for prayer. Long story short..... I had a chest x-ray in August, before I left for Tanzania, and they found something. For those who don't know, I came home just before Christmas, due to my 90 day business visa limit, to see my aging mom and to follow up on this with a CT scan. Turns out I have an 11 cm mass tissue "draping" over my heart. It had shown up in a CT scan several years earlier and they didn't think anything of it then, but now that it's grown (albeit slowly) and is near my heart, the surgeon told me it's best thing to just get rid of it, do a biopsy and make sure it's nothing, and then I can "get on with my life." (aka missions) I...

    MERRY CHRISTMAS! It's almost Christmas.. so thought I'd make a short video, where I share what God has been teaching me and a special treat from the kindergarten class just for you. Hope it will speak to your heart, and that you will find joy in knowing how much the kids appreciate all you are doing for them! Just before I go, thought you'd enjoy a few pics of Christmas celebrations in Burundi, Zambia and Malawi centres including presents - new clothes.. and a live chicken?! (Have you ever received livestock under your tree?!?)    MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you for standing with me and making a difference in the lives of VOH kids! Jeanette

  Q3 has been crazy... in the best possible way! I'm back in Africa, getting settled. So much has happened in the last 3-4 months. Covid still hovers over several of the countries where we work, and in others (like where I'm living) you'd hardly know it exists. But either way, we continue to help the kids. Hope you find these updates helpful to see the mission from my raw perspective, learn what I'm up to and help you sense the joy of being part of it with me!  2021 Q3 Update (July - Sept/Oct)     Instead of sharing many different activities from Q3, I thought I'd focus on one big one that happened just after I arrived in Tanzania. It kind of encapsulates it all ... a Grade 7 Grad Ceremony! What's been Happening In this one event, I could see the vision and mission of VOHA and the same hopes and dreams we have for all the centres represented. The whole thing was over 6 hours long....  so I'll just share 3 parts: 1. The Fashion show 2. The Car...

Happy Thanksgiving! I have to admit, I'm missing my family and the big turkey dinner this year. Turkeys are not found in Tanzania ... so we have to compromise, with chicken. But, I brought over a can of Ocean Spray cranberries, some turkey gravy mix, and even a box of Stove Top stuffing to share with my newfound Canadian friends who are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with me ... it will have to do, but it will be NOTHING like my sister-in-law's turkey dinner, that's for sure! Anyway, Thanksgiving isn't just about the food... it's about pausing to be thankful for all God's blessings in our lives. You're one of them to me. I wanted to send this quick note to you to say  THANKS  for being in my life and letting me share this mission journey with you. It's so great to have family and friends who care and I just want you to know I truly pray for you often and am thankful to God for you. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. As you say grace, please pray ...