The Unknown

Sophia and Nadege, my precious girls

Baby Elliott all dressed up for my Graduation Ceremony

Three questions have been consistent in my email/Facebook lately.

1.    When are you coming back to the U.S.?

2.    Are you going to adopt baby Elliott?

3.    What about your girls in Haiti?

These are all very good questions and yet, none of them have a truly simple answer. I will do my best with this blog.

1. - When am I coming back to the U.S.?

       

The simple answer is, I don't know. I was scheduled to come home on July 12 for a few months of visiting, reporting on what I have done for the last year and of course, support raising for next year. This all changed when Dr. Mbassi told me that Elliott would need to be on medication and watched very carefully for the next 18 months. Elliott is from an orphanage that has 130 children and 6 workers. The ability for them to watch him very carefully and provide the special care that he needs simply isn't possible. So, I have obtained official Temporary Legal Custody of Elliott and will be his primary care-giver for the time being. I have cancelled my flight home and we shall see what the future holds for me making a trip back to the U.S.

2.    Am I going to adopt baby Elliott?

       

The simple answer here is also, I don't know. This is a questions that I ponder almost daily. There are many things to consider when thinking about this. Elliott is a twin. His sister Cathy Praise is still living at the orphanage. We visit when we can but with the care that Elliott needs right now, I simply cannot handle he and Cathy Praise alone. I think it's fundamentally wrong to keep them separated long term but I wonder if I will be able to care for the two of them properly.

Cameroonian law requires you to have the children you wish to adopt in your physical custody for 3 months before they will consider granting an adoption decree. This won't be an issue with Elliott, but I don't know about Cathy. Cameroonian law also allows any surviving family member of the children in question to give their opinion about the adoption. If the family members for any reason don't want the adoption, it will not be granted. Most Cameroonian's are fundamentally opposed to adoption. They refuse the adoption, and yet will not care for the child. This is a rant for another day.

As a Missionary who lives on 100% support, I wonder if I will be able to raise enough support for us to live as well as take care of all of his medical needs. The unknown here makes me a tad bit nervous. I am living by faith day by day but trying to explain this to the Cameroonian government is another story. It's hard enough explaining to American's who"don't get it." So I'm praying and we shall see what God says.

I will tell you this, life without Elliott has become a blur and when looking at the future, I know he will be a part of my life in some way.

3.    What about my girls in Haiti?

Sophia and Nadege are my heart and my prayer is that one day I will be able to adopt them. They are currently living in an orphanage in Haiti and we send letters and pictures as often as we can. I have a dear friend who visits them monthly and gives me reports and occasionally I am able to skype with them. They were removed from an orphanage that was shut down by the Haitian government and is currently under investigation. Adoption isn't possible until the investigation is complete. Who knows when that will be? The same financial concerns are there as well..The girls know that I love them and I'm told, they tell the other kids in the orphanage, their mother lives in Africa! I have the sweetest letters from them that are signed, love your daughter... Receiving those in the mail here in Africa was priceless. I'm waiting for the day when I can bring them home.

Those are the answers to my most frequent questions in the last few weeks. I'm confident that the Lord will make things clear and for the time being, I will continue living life and allowing Him to guide me day by day.

In other news, I graduated from Bethel School of Ministry yesterday. It was a wonderful celebration that was full of both laughter and tears. I loved being a student learning more about the Lord this year. I will continue to help with various aspects of the school next year and I'm looking forward to applying  all of my newly acquired knowledge and learning even more!

On Friday, my first official Mission team will be coming to serve! I'm beyond thrilled. A second group arrives on Sunday and a third group arrives June 23rd. It's sure to be a very busy summer! The teams will be serving in several communities here in Cameroon. We have been preparing our Armor of God Vacation Bible School curriculum, they will minister at the local prison and help out at some primary schools. One group will be taking a trip to the Bush to live without electricity or running water.  We will be teaching about the Living Water in a Muslim and Jehovah's Witness Community and distributing  Water Purifiers to some needy families. At some point we will host a 5 day Youth Camp that will focus on spiritual and medical needs as well as some sports activities!  This is just a glimpse of what we will be doing! Follow the blog to see how God uses these groups of young adults to help change the Nation of Cameroon!

And finally for all of you who have asked how to give online, there is now a link on the blog page to my support account at the National Christian Foundation!

Thank you for all of your prayers, encouraging emails and financial support over the last few years. Lives are changed and people are able to see the love of Christ demonstrated because of all of YOU!

Blessings to you and your families! Hugs and love from Cameroon!