When I met Marlise almost 3 years ago (by divine
intervention) we immediately had a connection…the UK and both being new in
George. But it was not difficult to like
her from the start as she is such a beautiful, happy, loving and open person, proclaiming
her love for God everywhere she goes.
She also shared her longing to have a baby of her own as we got to know
each other better. As someone with three
little girls I really could understand her longing for that feeling of
completeness, but I did not understand what it is like not to be able to have
one of your own and all the sadness and disappointment but also hope that goes
along with it. Marlise and Mauritz were
put in my life for many reasons, but one I will treasure forever is the reason
that I could share in their journey to finally become parents themselves.
She taught me about unconditional and selfless love as I have
never seen it before. They registered to
become a safe haven for children taken out of their horrible circumstances and they
treated each child as if they were their own.
They loved and cared for them in extremely difficult circumstances, but
always with a smile on the face!
Then one year ago they got the life changing call. They didn’t have 9 months to prepare for a
newborn baby in the house, they literally had a few days. And they went to pick up their own little
bundle of joy - a mere few days old. I think it was such a crazy first few weeks
for them as for any new parent, but they stood their ground and now baby Zach Ayabona
Snyman is legally theirs. His name means
“God saw” and we all believe he is going to be a bridge builder in our
communities and country.
I had the privilege to capture some beautiful, tender moments
of the Snymans as a new family just a few days after they got Zach, and I could
not share those photos to date. But
today I am sharing some of those as well as the family shoot we did a few weeks
back just before Zach’s first birthday.
See the absolute adoration they have for their beautiful little boy, I just loved spending such precious time with them. Thank you for allowing me to share in the most amazing journey and let
me be part of your and Zach’s lives. You
inspire me.
