The funeral

On Sunday November 11, 2007, Savannah-Hope's birth mother died. Her funeral was the next day. Savannah-Hope attended the funeral. She was tied to the back of a woman whose husband is a staff member at Good Samaritan. She kept Savannah on her back until the funeral was over and most of the people had left. It was then that Thandie revealed Savannah's identity to her birth family. It had only been 2 months and 7 days since they had last seen her, but there was no way they would have recognized her. Savannah-Hope was a lifeless limp preemie size baby when they last saw her....at the time of the funeral she had gained 9 pounds and was looking big and healthy. I wasn't so sure that Savannah-Hope should attend the funeral. At the time the weather was very bad and the funeral was in an extremely poor village known for multiple sicknesses. I was also afraid that the extended family would be at the funeral, take one look at how healthy Savannah was and want her back. We weren't given a choice and Savannah-Hope was taken to the funeral. It turned out to be a great blessing. Her family and the people from her village where praising God for Savannah-Hope’s amazing testimony. And Thandie was able to capture some pictures of Savannah-hope with her siblings.

I know how unusual it is for adopted children to have pictures of their birth parents and extended family, especially in international adoption. We are so blessed to have pictures of both of our adopted daughters' birth parents, siblings and extended family members. These pictures are priceless to us.

Savannah-Hope's brother (name unknown) and twin sisters Tamandani on the left and Sidala on the right...holding Savannah-Hope's hand.

Here is a close-up of all four children with the maternal grandmother. You can see that each twin has a bracelet on their left hand given to them by a witch doctor. These bracelets are supposed to protect the children from harm, but they can be used to involve babies and children in witchcraft.

Maternal grandmother with Tamandani.

Brother, Sidala and Tamandani with the maternal grandmother. The twins look so tiny, but they will be 3 years old in April.

Here is a photo of the funeral. It is customary for the women to sit together under the covering where the casket is, while the men sit together outside of the of the covering. You can see Chrissie's casket in the center with the pink flowers.

Here is another picture of the casket.