Trying Small

Small bare feet meet dirty ground.
Clubs on the end of stick legs kicking deflated football...future.
Hungry belly bloated, filled with rice.
Home to life sucking parasite.
Naked brown back bent under torn shirt, hot sun.
A heavy load- more than one so young should carry.
Strong fragile hands crushing, hitting.
Tender fingers touching, exploring.
Holding my Heart.
Lonely heart broken. Pounding.
Longing to be heard. To be held. To feel loved.
Tear stained cheeks, fever warmed.
Inside, a life fight against malarial blood.
Joyful song and laughter escape.
Music that heals despite the cage of fear and daily grind.
Dark sad eyes, mirror to the soul, reflect truth.
Beautiful bright eyes shine with hope of the unknown.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Well, things here are finally starting to feel like home again.
The last month has been a blur.
Starting with a pity party for myself, not even wanting to leave Liberia in the first place.
Transitioning into an amazing time of rest and reflection.
And now I think I am finally ready to get to work!

I will be home all summer. At this point I have a return ticket from Brussels to Monrovia on September 2nd. In the meantime I am here to see people, spread the word about the work being done and needs in Liberia, work, fundraise and figure out some other miscellaneous things.

So...
if you would like to get together, please let me know. I would love to see you and catch up.

if you have a church, work or school group that would like to hear more about the orphans in Liberia, let me know so we can work something out before the whole summer fills up.

if you would like to help in other ways here are some ideas-
-Pray!
-I need to find someone to rent my house (available anytime).
-I need to find homes for my cats.

Please e-mail me any thoughts or questions @ debbie@orphanreliefandrescue.org

Kisses from Gifty

I just got back from spending a few days with Gifty and her family in Wisconsin. It was an amazing experience. I often found myself close to tears, overwhelmed at the miracle of her and thankful to be a part of it all. To see Gifty in the toy isle in Wal-mart or being seen by the best medical specialists in the region really contrasted with where we were a few months ago. She now weighs in at over 20 pounds, about twice as big as the last time I saw her in December! She is crawling and walking between furniture (very impressive considering she was in a full body cast 2 weeks ago). She communicates with sign language and some of her own made up communication tools, for example, spitting means no.

And Gifty loves to give kisses!

Big sis, Alicia

Cousin Evan

Auntie Deb