Play date!!

We had a play date yesterday! Damari had 3 friends over. Well, really I had three friends over to make baby food and see all the kids together. They were so cute. The children are growing so fast. We had a great time and made a lot of baby food! Its so much cheaper than buying baby food and I like it because it has no preservatives! Here are some pictures from the day. All four babies were sleeping at one time. It was so funny, they each were in a different room of the house! Damari really enjoyed playing with Malikye, Azaylee, and Leighra. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Liz, a Liberian I work with

I talked to Josh yesterday morning. He had hidden a Mother's Day card for me in my car...what a surprise! They should be traveling to Monrovia, the capitol city, today and staying there until Friday, when they head back home! I can't believe how quickly the time has passed!

Last night at work, I talked with one of the Nurse Assistants. Her name is Liz and she is from Liberia. I hadn't had a chance to tell her Josh was there so I told her last night. She asked why and what he was doing. I told her and her face lit up, she started jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face. I told her how Josh and I both have a heart for Liberia. She shared with me that she was there during the Civil War, she escaped to a refugee camp in Ghana for a few years. She went back and brought as many of her siblings children here to America with her. We talked a little about how blessed we are here in America and how we take simple things, such as needing stitches and health care, for granted. I told her of the two boys Josh tried to help. She hugged and thanked me and started crying saying, "Deliver them, deliver them." It broke my heart. I didn't know what to do, so I just held her, let her cry and silently prayed for her. She told me that she appreciates what Josh and I are doing for her home country and that there needs to be more people willing to go over there and help. I asked her to pray for us and the child we hope to adopt from Liberia one day. It was such a neat moment! I can't wait till Josh gets home and I can share pictures and videos with her!

Please continue to pray for Josh and I. Pray for his continued safety and health. Pray for healing in Liberia, pray for those hurting from the recent war, where children watched their parents killed in front of them. Pray for us in regards to adoption, yes I am pregnant, but we hope to adopt one day. Pray that God will open up the right doors and help us to be in agreement about the right time, that we'll know HIS timing. Adoption in Liberia is currently closed due to some human trafficing and no rules. Pray that the rules will be set quickly and children may be delivered from Liberia. Thank you all again for your prayers, support and encouragement...We love you!

Josh's arrival to the orphanage

I got a few more phone calls from Josh today. The first one was very brief, I could tell he was on the road. It sounded like a bumpy rough ride. He had to go suddenly and told me he'd call later. He called just a little later and told me about how bad the roads were. He said most of it was from the civil war in Liberia in the beginning of this century. He told me he was about 10 minutes from the orphanage and he'd call later tonight.

He called shortly after his arrival to the orphanage and told me about his grand arrival. He said the kids ran out to greet him about 1/2 a mile away and ran behind the vehicle the rest of the way. They sang songs and danced. One of the songs they sang was, "Welcome Visitor." It sounded like an amazing moment. He told me he met the 3 kids we sponsor and how exciting a day it was for them. Nohn, the girl we sponsor carries around the picture we sent her several months ago. Josh said he had been greeted by the most beautiful children on earth! He doesn't have his luggage yet, he'll find out tomorrow night if he'll get it soon. He has one change of clothes and bought some stuff more clothes today. He doesn't have any bug spray or medicine or any of the tools. Please pray they find and deliver his luggage soon, for the children's sake!

Then he called not very much later and when I said hello I heard a bunch of children saying, "Hello Brooke." It was breath-taking. Josh told me the kids wanted to talk to me, he passed the phone around and I got to talk to Nohn first. She sounds as beautiful as she looks. I also got to talk to Luogon, one of the two boys we sponsor. It was so neat to be able to talk to them, I can't imagine how awesome it was to meet them! I got to talk to a couple more kids, we were basically just saying hello and they would introduce themselves. Then Josh said, who else wants to talk to Brooke and I heard a dozen voices say "ME!" So, Josh put me on speaker phone and I said hello and they all said hello Brooke. I started laughing, it was so beautiful. They all laughed at me laughing. It was a neat moment. I told them I wanted to be there and meet them and that I prayed for them often, then they all told me goodbye.

Josh called once more tonight and he was free to talk for a few more minutes. He told me the food was really good and that he can't even come up with words to describe the events of the day. He told me the kids were amazing, they just want to come and sit in his lap and be loved! How I would love to just sit around and love those kids all day! He said that they have bugs and lizards different than here. The bugs are like lightening bugs, but don't fly, they just crawl around on the ground. He said, "it looks like there is glitter allover the ground." He seems to be doing so well.

Please continue to pray for him and his continued safety. Pray that he gets the tools needed to do the projects arrive soon or that God will provide another way!