For He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life and precious is their blood in His sight.
Many people are surprised to learn that both Mercy and Odesco have living parents in Liberia. It is awkward to discuss as I often feel like I am defending our decision to adopt them. Both of our childrens' biological families were fully informed regarding the permanency of adoption and made the decision to relinquish them to Acres of Hope with the desire that they would one day have a hope and a future being raised in a loving family where their basic needs would be met and where they would be offered opportunities never available to them in Africa. In Liberia , as is the case for many 3rd world nations, there is no 'safety net' for children at risk. There are no food stamps, subsidized medical clinics, unemployment benefits,or federally funded programs to help them care for the most basic needs of their children.Liberia is in the infant stages of rebuilding after 15 years of civil war -during which unspeakable atrocities took place. My heart aches as I think about all Mercy and Odesco's families have endured over the years . I was reading my bible yesterday and came upon these verses in Psalm 72 that I have never remembered reading before. These words seem to perfectly describe the Father's heart in bringing our children to us and giving us the awesome privilege of partnering with their Liberian families to raise them . Some might question my sharing this information in a public forum but if you have ever been around Mercy or Odesco,you know that they speak often of their lives in Liberia. Mercy especially makes reference to her biological mom on a regular basis and we encourage her to share openly so, I am not disclosing anything they don't candidly talk about already. Recently, with G's help,Mercy drew a picture of her hut in Liberia(see picture below). Just today while at a friend's house swimming, Mercy stood in a baby pool and pretended she was washing the clothes as she had seen her mom , other ladies in her village, and the nannies at AOH do so often. After vigorously scrubbing each article of clothing on a swimming kick board (aka: washboard), she set them all out to dry on the patio. A few weeks ago, Mercy spotted a louvered door in our basement and excitedly informed me "Mommy--that's what we used to wash our clothes in Liberia!!" (she thought it looked like a wash board!) The other day she was outside pulling the bark off a very green branch and determined to make a 'walking stick' out of it like she had done in Liberia for her grandmother who couldn't walk well. While adopting older children certainly has its challenges, I am so grateful for these glimpses into Mercy's life before she was our daughter. Odesco does not share too much about his biological family. Instead his memories seem to center around his time at AOH because he is younger and lived there for a year before he came home to us.
To get a true glimpse of what life was like for Mercy and Odesco before they came to AOH, please check out these 2 blog postings...one is on Melodie's blog...she is the young woman who blessed us by escorting Mercy , Odesco and Jenkins into JFK for us. She works for AOH and has such insight into the plight of Liberia. The 2ND link is on Donna Barber's blog. Donna is a mom of 10! (5 adopted children - 3 from Liberia) She is transitioning out of her role at AOH but was such a huge help to me throughout our adoption process and even after the children came home. You will see the village ladies doing their wash in one of the pictures and a mother carrying her baby in a lappa while toting a huge load on her head! Her pictures of the bush I believe were taken in the village Odesco is from!
Please keep my hubby and oldest son P in your prayers this week. They left this morning for our church youth camp (along many others ) and I am praying that the Lord meets both of them in a very personal and significant way...they will return on Saturday afternoon. So, if you think of it, pray also that I avail myself of every drop of God's grace as I am flying solo for a few days. We have fun days planned visiting friends with pools :) but the nights can be the most challenging especially for Miss Mercy .Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!
Love, MamaB
http://www.xanga.com/Africaz_Melodie
scroll down to her post titled" Adoption =life"
http://outnumberedby12.blogspot.com/2007/08/bush.html
This is the picture Mercy drew with a little help from G of her hut in Liberia...the roof is made of bamboo and the crosses along the right side are memorials to family members who had died.
Many people are surprised to learn that both Mercy and Odesco have living parents in Liberia. It is awkward to discuss as I often feel like I am defending our decision to adopt them. Both of our childrens' biological families were fully informed regarding the permanency of adoption and made the decision to relinquish them to Acres of Hope with the desire that they would one day have a hope and a future being raised in a loving family where their basic needs would be met and where they would be offered opportunities never available to them in Africa. In Liberia , as is the case for many 3rd world nations, there is no 'safety net' for children at risk. There are no food stamps, subsidized medical clinics, unemployment benefits,or federally funded programs to help them care for the most basic needs of their children.Liberia is in the infant stages of rebuilding after 15 years of civil war -during which unspeakable atrocities took place. My heart aches as I think about all Mercy and Odesco's families have endured over the years . I was reading my bible yesterday and came upon these verses in Psalm 72 that I have never remembered reading before. These words seem to perfectly describe the Father's heart in bringing our children to us and giving us the awesome privilege of partnering with their Liberian families to raise them . Some might question my sharing this information in a public forum but if you have ever been around Mercy or Odesco,you know that they speak often of their lives in Liberia. Mercy especially makes reference to her biological mom on a regular basis and we encourage her to share openly so, I am not disclosing anything they don't candidly talk about already. Recently, with G's help,Mercy drew a picture of her hut in Liberia(see picture below). Just today while at a friend's house swimming, Mercy stood in a baby pool and pretended she was washing the clothes as she had seen her mom , other ladies in her village, and the nannies at AOH do so often. After vigorously scrubbing each article of clothing on a swimming kick board (aka: washboard), she set them all out to dry on the patio. A few weeks ago, Mercy spotted a louvered door in our basement and excitedly informed me "Mommy--that's what we used to wash our clothes in Liberia!!" (she thought it looked like a wash board!) The other day she was outside pulling the bark off a very green branch and determined to make a 'walking stick' out of it like she had done in Liberia for her grandmother who couldn't walk well. While adopting older children certainly has its challenges, I am so grateful for these glimpses into Mercy's life before she was our daughter. Odesco does not share too much about his biological family. Instead his memories seem to center around his time at AOH because he is younger and lived there for a year before he came home to us.
To get a true glimpse of what life was like for Mercy and Odesco before they came to AOH, please check out these 2 blog postings...one is on Melodie's blog...she is the young woman who blessed us by escorting Mercy , Odesco and Jenkins into JFK for us. She works for AOH and has such insight into the plight of Liberia. The 2ND link is on Donna Barber's blog. Donna is a mom of 10! (5 adopted children - 3 from Liberia) She is transitioning out of her role at AOH but was such a huge help to me throughout our adoption process and even after the children came home. You will see the village ladies doing their wash in one of the pictures and a mother carrying her baby in a lappa while toting a huge load on her head! Her pictures of the bush I believe were taken in the village Odesco is from!
Please keep my hubby and oldest son P in your prayers this week. They left this morning for our church youth camp (along many others ) and I am praying that the Lord meets both of them in a very personal and significant way...they will return on Saturday afternoon. So, if you think of it, pray also that I avail myself of every drop of God's grace as I am flying solo for a few days. We have fun days planned visiting friends with pools :) but the nights can be the most challenging especially for Miss Mercy .Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!
Love, MamaB
http://www.xanga.com/Africaz_Melodie
scroll down to her post titled" Adoption =life"
http://outnumberedby12.blogspot.com/2007/08/bush.html
~Here Mercy is instructing G on the finer points of clothes washing the Liberian way!- Felicia is looking on as well~
This is the picture Mercy drew with a little help from G of her hut in Liberia...the roof is made of bamboo and the crosses along the right side are memorials to family members who had died.
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