A Grandmother's Love

We received a phone call last night from our adoption agency, and there was a great story to be told. The director of the agency is in Liberia now and was able to travel to Nimba County, which is where McKia and Meckie were both born. The kids spent the first part of their lives there living in extreme poverty. While we were in Africa, we were blessed to meet the birth mother, father and grandfather of our children. It was then that we discovered just how badly the birth families had been chastised and ridiculed for placing the kids up for adoption. This is what our director had to say about the trip to Nimba yesterday, and about meeting our children's grandmother...

"The first stop was the home of 7 of the children. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all came out to see the pictures. When I showed them to an older lady, she didn't hardly see them before she started dancing and praising the Lord! It was amazing! She was so excited to see her grandchildren and how they were doing! She started saying, "I sell my children? I will never see them again? Look here!" She had been chastised for placing her children for adoption. As the common mindset here in Liberia is that 'adoption' means the children will be sold in slavery or taken for their organs or sent to Iraq for war. A big part of what God has allowed me to do this trip is to use the media to educate people on what adoption is! She was so excited to have proof to her naysayers that her grandchildren were happy and alive, and thriving!"

Apparently this sweet grandmother ran up and down the street shaking the pictures at anyone who passed her by while crying out that her grandchildren were alive and well. She wanted everyone to see how beautiful and healthy they are. Man how I wish I had been there!!! I am so happy that even though we are seperated by an ocean and on opposite sides of the globe, we can still reassure these families that their children are being cared for and loved, and that we can help make them feel better about letting them go. We have to remember that as much as we love these children now, they were also loved before.