Happy Birthday Gifty!

Our miracle girl turns 5 today!

Gifty - October 2008

Gifty - May 2012

Troken needs our help

A few months ago I shared about Troken. He's a pretty amazing 8th grader that lives at one of the orphanages that I work with. He is super smart and exceeding amazingly in the small local school where he currently attends. The thing is, Troken deserves more. I'd love to see him at a quality school where he can get the education he desires so that he can accomplish all that he dreams to do. 

I've recently learned of a website called hopemob.com. They help all kinds of people with all kinds of things. A friend submitted Troken's story and now he has become a finalist. The more people who sign up at hopemob and vote for Troken the better chances he has at getting a quality education at one of the best schools in Liberia. 

Please follow this link: https://hopemob.org/s/11p-send-troken-to-boarding-school 

and help Troken today!

Another Gifty needs our prayers.

Long-time readers of my blog know the name Gifty well. That Gifty, is doing very well, growing and getting stronger every day. She is singing and talking and going to school and is a joy to all who know her. This month she will celebrate her fifth birthday. What a miracle! We continue to praise God for her. 

Today I want to introduce you to another Gifty...

This precious girl is fighting some very serious health issues of her own right now. This week she was diagnosed with malaria, pneumonia, AND tuberculosis. Please pray for Gifty to have a quick and complete healing so she can grow and play and learn like a six year old child should be able to.

Read the rest of Gifty's story on the Orphan Relief and Rescue blog. 

King George

A few weeks ago I started telling George’s story. He was abandoned at a hospital needing emergency surgery. After a month in the hospital he was ready to be discharged, but had no where to go. I called in my friends at the Ministry of Social Welfare and they found a place for him at an orphanage that I know well. Unfortunately, after a week at the orphanage, George’s surgical wound opened up and he was emergently readmitted to the hospital...

That was three weeks ago. Today George is still in the hospital, but he is doing much better. After several days of close observation, the doctors decided not to rush him back for another risky surgery. Instead, the’ve been watching him closely, treating him with preventative antibiotics and doing dressing changes as needed. After a week and a half they started letting him eat soft foods. As soon as he received the ok to eat he was calling me and begging for some Cream of Wheat. 

Hospital patients in Liberia rarely get fed by the hospital staff. Usually family are responsible for providing things like food, soap, and any kind of non-medical care. Since George doesn’t have family, and everyone at the hospital has come to love him, all the hospital staff have taken him under their wing. He has some ladies in the kitchen who cook his Cream of Wheat for him and make him tea everyday. The nurses buy him juice, and help him with his laundry. I’ve started calling him King George, because everyone at the hospital is working for him. When I come for a visit he struts around the hospital wards introducing me to everyone. He is definitely the Big-Man on campus. 

Today I spoke with George’s surgeon. He feels like George is doing much better, but he is still not out of danger for going back to surgery. So, for now King George will stay on his throne at the hospital. And I’ll keep bringing him Cream of Wheat and we’ll all keep praying that George will be able to leave the hospital-- happy and healthy, soon.

mayday

May is here. Happy, beautiful, May. The first day of May, May Day, is celebrated by many as a sign of new life and hope, ushering in the first signs of spring. Interestingly, Mayday is also a call for help...

April did not find me very much time or energy for blogging. I am sorry. April was brutal. Not only was it unceasingly HOT in Liberia (my thermometer reached numbers over 100 many times, add on the extreme humidity and I am sure the heat index was at least 1000 degrees), but the workload was almost unbearably heavy. Not only the actual physical work, even more the Spiritual and emotional work. Thankfully I found my strength in God, He proved to me (once again) that He gives me the strength to endure the unendurable. I also learned the importance of sharing the burden, it is not my burden to carry alone and God has surrounded me with many people, both here and in the states who are helping me to carry the burdens that come along with living and working in Liberia. 

So, like I said, April was brutal. The last few weeks have been especially difficult. My team-mates and I have found ourselves fighting harder for truth, justice and the protection of children than ever before. We have felt beat down and exhausted through this fight, but at the same time energized by God’s strength.

Last night the rain finally came. We had been begging for it, desperate for some kind of reprieve from the oppressive heat, a rescue from the heaviness of the last few weeks. And it came, refreshing and new. Last night brought a coolness to the air, a promise, rest. Today starts a new month, a new stage in the journey. Nothing has changed. The circumstances are the same, but there is hope in a new season, hope in a God who gives strength and loves beyond measure.

Still, I feel God leading me to ask for prayer today. We need prayer. The field team needs wisdom, guidance and strength as we continue to be a voice with action for orphans who literally no one else is helping. The children need protection, comfort, justice and provision for so much more than just their physical needs. The country of Liberia needs redemption, salvation from corruption and lies that continue to influence it to the very core.

Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. 

Proverbs 31:8-9