The BUSH

I have been putting off my "bush" post for a while, I know. I'm not sure why exactly, except there just didn't seem to be words. For me it was an almost spiritual day. Like the fruition of dreams that God had planted in my heart as a child and the beginning of dreams He is currently planting. . .Words cannot truly express what I felt. It was amazing and difficult all at the same time.

Today, I am ready. I just read a post by Courtney (read it and the post she comments about)about the pain and joy of adoption. The pain of knowing that your kids hurt. It reminded me of a lesson the Lord taught me many years ago. At that time, I was running a small group bible study program for inner city kids. People would come in once a week to interact with the kids and teach them. I was there every afternoon and grew to LOVE these children. What came along with the love was incredible pain. I remember driving home one day just weeping. I had just found out that 3 of my special littles ones had been abused in every way possible. I wept and felt alone. I felt like I had no one to call b/c no one else had really grown to love them like I had. I felt alone in my pain and cried out to God. He answered. He spoke so clearly to my heart, "Why are you complaining? You should feel humbled, awed and amazed that I allowed you to feel a part of the Heart of God for these special children. Would you rather that no one hurt for them b/c it is too difficult for you?" I stopped in my tracks Oh my dear, this pain is special. This pain is nothing compared to what God feels when He sees His children in pain. . .when He sees His children causing the pain. It was then that I began to really allow myself to hurt for them.

This lesson brings me to the Bush of Liberia. I have had a couple of people comment to me that while I was in Liberia they had to stop reading my blog b/c it was just too hard. I know the feeling. With all of this knowledge of suffering, comes great hurt. . . with it, also comes responsibility and we don't always know what to do with that. It's easier to just not know. But, again, I ask you what my Daddy asked me, "Would you rather have no one hurt for them? Would you choose not to experience a little slice of the heart of the God of the Universe?"
The Bush is basically any village outside of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. So, Buster and Daikou picked us up and we started driving. We had stopped to pick up bags of candy and cookies and lunch for ourselves. We ended up driving about 3 hours outside of town and stopped at villages along the way. These villages were exactly what you picture Africa to be. They were mud huts with thatched roofs. They sometimes had a well, rarely a school and none had a clinic of any kind. The people were all barefoot and their clothes were tattered.
We stopped at almost every village we passed. We would get out and start to hand out candy to the children while talking to the adults about the needs of their village. We feel like, if God is calling us to be involved in Liberia, who are we to determine needs. . .we needed to really get out and ask the people what their needs were. Unanimously, the answers were the same everywhere, "Water, Education and Healthcare"

The first village we stopped at, we got a tour. These women were willing to show us their homes, their community bathroom and their dirty water. (they had a hand pump well, but it broke, so they were using the dirty creek water). I think I've posted these pics before, but I'll post them again. They are a reminder to me. Do NOT complain about your home! This woman lived in this hut with her 6 children. It was smaller than any of my rooms.
Here, Buster immediately jumped out and just started talking to this little girl. Her house is pictured below
This is the inside of that home.

This is the outside of the home of a woman and her 6 children.
Here she is with just some of her children
Their bed
Their cloudy water

Their Community Bathroom
My favorites were our last couple of village stops. These were the largest villages with probably 150 people living there (?). Buster and I began handing out candy and were immediately swarmed! There were probably 50 kids pushing and shoving to get closer to us. If you know me at all, you know my heart just swelled. I LOVED this. Funny thing is, I think Buster may have loved it as much as I did!

At the same time, Greg and Daikou took their time to gather the village "elders" (the men present) and look at this village's school house.

The kids took me to their well and showed me how it worked. We walked and played and the mamas kept shoving their babies at me to hold, kiss and play with. The kids and I played "school" with me as the teacher. I took the opportunity to teach them a Bible verse with actions. Some of these babies were so tiny. I just couldn't imagine their lives. There were a number of children who I guess have TB in their spines as they have the same hump like Isaac. Knowing what his docs have told him, I knew that these children would not live. Would not live. . .this little girl was probably 6 and I knew she wouldn't live. Not just that, but would probably ever even see a doctor. Truth be told, I could hardly look her in the eyes b/c I knew I would start sobbing right there. I just touched her. . I touched every child I could possibly get my hands on. I rubbed their faces and told them how precious they are in God's sight. I didn't want to leave! One funny story from this village was a little girl. She kept hiding behind one of the men and peeking out to see Greg. Greg started playing with her and tried to offer her candy. She would not come out, though. One of the village men laughed and said, "She's afraid b/c she's never seen a white man before!"

The last village we visited was a special stop for Buster. He had been stationed out this way as Chief of the Patrol. He grew to love the people of this particular village. It was actually an "employee village" of Firestone plantation. Yes, Firestone as in the rubber. .yes, this could be a whole post about ethics of organizations in the countries they work in but, I'll save that for another time. . .The village was not mud huts, but rather row houses that were completely delapidated. We didn't tour the inside of any (didn't think to ask b/c we were running out of time) but Buster said they are really bad. There is no school in this community and someone recently dug a well, but apparently not deep enough b/c the water was bad. I just looked at the faces of these children and thought, "you can't go to school" How ridiculous is that? Yes, school and education is a big topic here in the states, but it's WHAT school not IF school. These are the faces of children drinking dirty water. These are the faces of children with no hope of attending school.

The child who broke my heart the most, however, is not pictured. I couldn't bear to take out my camera and take shot. In fact, I wasn't even out of the care. Buster just pulled over to the side of the road to jump out and give these few kiddos some candy. This particular village was small and it must have been bathing day or something because EVERY child was naked. They all came running, though, when they heard the word candy. One cute little boy was sitting on a low wall of some sort with his mama. He was under 2 years old and naked as a jay bird. As soon as he saw Buster he got down to come over. What I saw broke my heart. As he climbed off the wall to stand up, he immediately went to his knees b/c both of his feet were clubbed. He crawled over to Buster excitedly as Buster bent down to hand this little boy candy. This little naked clubbed foot boy broke my heart and I broke down in that car. I knew he would never see a doctor. He will live his life on his knees and with the germs and diseases, his life will probably not be long.

Does it hurt? yes. Should it? I think so. Why? My pastor preached this Sunday on missions. His point? Among other reasons that God calls us to missions is one that's about us. We need it! We need the perspective. We need it to remind us and stretch us in our selfishness. Now I guess the next question I am taking to the Lord is: What do I do with this hurt? How can YOU use this passion for these people? How can I help? And, Yes Lord, I'm willing to hurt and I'm willing to help, just show me Your way.

Knowing People. . .without knowing it!

As you all know, most of the time we were in Liberia, we were looking for humanitarian organzaitons (NGO's) that were doing good work. This meant that I talked to everyone I could find and also (I'll admit it) eavesdropped on a few conversations! One of these conversations was in the airport in Ghana. I noticed a group of people talking and kept hearing the word, "Liberia". Well, when they broke up a bit, I leaned over to the people and asked what they were talking about. They said that they were discussing NGOs in Liberia. So, I of course, inserted myself right in and asked if they knew of good NGOs and told them what we were doing. The main guy who was talking told me that he was a doctor who ran an NGO and would love to talk to me. Right about then, they called our flight so he told me that he'd find me on the plane. To tell you the truth, I forgot about it with all the hoopla of entertaining a 2 year old on an airplane in anticipation of an 11 hour flight!

A couple of hours into the flight, the man came to find me and asked if it was a good time to talk. I quickly handed Davis off to Greg and went to the back of the plane to find 2 seats together. We found some and just began to talk. We actually talked for 2 hours! He is an emergency room physician in CT and runs a non-profit called HEARTT which recruits doctors to go to Liberia and do surgeries and other medical procedures at JFK Hospital for free for 2 weeks. He had taken 9 docs with him that time and does these trips 4 times a year. Isn't that fabulous? The cool thing is that he rasies money for the non-profit so that the trips are actually free for the doctors! If you or someone you know is in the medical community, PLEASE have them check this out.

While the conversation started out about his NGO and the different ones we had visited, it quickly moved to other topics. We covered the state of Liberia, the US, Bush's African policy, Darfur, the role of the Chinese Gov't in the third world and why the heck a crazy American would care so much about this sweet little nation. Although, after being there I don't know how ANYONE can go and not fall head over heels in love with this country! Literally, we debated policy and discussed options in gov't and aid for almost 2 hours! I was having a blast.

Finally, I asked him (knowing he was from Liberia and now living in the US) if his kids ever go back to Liberia and what they think. "Well," he replies, "My kids go, but they don't really get the REAL Liberian experience." What do you mean? "What with their Grandma being the president and all, it's just a little different for them with security and such following them." Now, it's sinking in for me. "Are you saying that YOUR MOM is the President of Liberia?" I ask. "Oh, yeah. I'm James Sirleaf. Nice to meet you" he replies! Oh my dear! Here I have been debating African policy and Darfur basically from what I know from the news and from reading Vanity Fair - the Africa edition! I felt like such an idiot! The rest of the conversation, I definitely bowed to his experiences, since they started out like, "well, when Laura Bush and I were talking about Darfur. . ."! Soon, thereafter, I had to leave to help Greg with Davis. . .

After we landed, I went up to him again. I told him how stupid I felt trying to debate African policy as a stay-at-home mom who knows NOTHING with the son of the PRESIDENT of Liberia! He was so sweet and told me that he had just been telling another doctor how much he had enjoyed our conversation. He's actually coming to FL in February and we're going to have dinner and brainstorm more ways to connect his organization and others and get the word out about HEARTT!

Yep, I'm an idiot! But, it was a cool connection and a chance to find out about a cool organization!

4 days home. . some pics and thoughts

I can't believe that we've been home 4 days already. . .or is it only? On one hand, I feel like we just left Africa (and I miss it already!) on the other, so much has changed. When we walked into our home at 1 am on Friday morning, Davis changed. Having never been in our home before, I have no clue how he knew it was home, but he did. Seriously, God had been preparing our son for us. He completely relaxed upon entering our home. Even in Liberia, after staying at our hotel for many days, Davis never left our sides for more than a couple of steps. Within 2 minutes of entering our home, we put Davis down and he went exploring. From that moment on, he has been a different kid. When we are at home, he plays with the kids, goes looking for toys, runs for hugs upon seeing EITHER of us (yep, me included!) and smiles almost constantly. We did go to church on Sunday which was a little much for him and he retreated to clinging to Greg and not making eye contact, but as soon as we were home. . .back to all smiles! It was so much fun bringing him to church and introducing him to everyone, but he had to be thinking "who the heck are all of these people?"! He was surrounded by people who already love him and have been praying for him who he doesn't even know!

Now, for more pictures. . .since I know that's what you came by for! I'll give more of my commentary on the last few days while I'm at it!

This is my dad with our two boys! My parents have been here every day since we've come home. My mom met us at the airport, but my dad was in Vegas that night so he rushed over straight from the airport Friday night! This pic was taken on Sunday afternoon after feeding Davis his first ever McDonald's meal! (a true occassion if you know anything about his new Mama!)
This was on our way to church. Sorry so blurry, but doesn't he look handsome?This is our first trip to Target! Yep, it's a big deal! I can't imagine what he must be thinking. . .there is nothing like this in Liberia. He seemed to love it and just sat in the back with his icee and popcorn. (My friend, Jess, taught me this trick. . .for $1 you can buy peace and quiet with kiddos at Target!) He looked so cute today! Whitney and Jay bought him this outfit and it looked great! My mom says he has a Julia Roberts smile b/c it such a "big mouth smile". It seriously takes up most of his face and he smiles constantly!My boys! Brayden is such a good big brother. His prayer tonight went on and on. . .he kept saying "thank you, Jesus, for my brother. Thank you that he is at home and can play with me in my room. . . ."We wrapped up this evening (after a yummy dinner from our friends, the Fullertons) with a gingerbread train. I'm thinkng my kiddos are a bit young for this since Gracie did not decorate one thing, opting to eat candy the whole time instead. . .oh well, they had a blast and loved the icing!

Do you just die looking at that face? I cannot believe we are here. Tonight when I snuggled him in his PJ's, I was thinking back a couple of months ago to checking out the Shane's blog after they came home from Liberia. I saw those cuddly kids in their pj's snuggled at home in the US and thought, "I can't wait for that day!". It floors me that right now I am staring at my little one cuddled up next to me on the couch. When he turns over to catch my eye, he lights up. I think at least 10 times today in Target, I stopped just to kiss him and tell him how glad I was that he was here. When he runs into my arms just for a hug, I can not help but Praise the Lord that God has given him a family and has given us him! God is so good.

We're HOME!!!

Hello from the GREAT state of Florida in the AMAZING United States of America! Yes, we are happily back in the USA. . although, we're already homesick for Liberia!!

Let's go back a couple of days, since we haven't posted since Wednesday morning. . .we left our hotel at 11:30 am for our 4 pm flight (they want you to be way early b/c sometimes they decide to leave a couple hours early. Well, our flight didn't actually leave until close to 7! Then, we work up the next morning (in Ghana) and hurried to the airport for our 11 hour flight to NYC. We ended up with bulkhead seats and our little man did AMAZING! He played with both of us and Greg actually went to the back of the plane to sleep for a bit and Davis sat with me and played. He would even come down and give me big hugs then turn to Donna for big hugs too. . .that made both of our days! Donna was certainly missing her 2 year old little Liberian at home!

Then, a 4 hour layover at JFK. . .this is where things went downhill! Davis was exhauted (it was midnight in Liberia) and only wanted Greg to hold him, but couln't get comfortable enough to fall soundly asleep. The biggest plus to the layover was the Crown Room with Delta. Because my dad got us a Platinum American Express Card, we had access to the Delta Crown Room which had SHOWERS!! This was wonderful and we felt like new people! Then, off to a 3 hour flight to FL in the most uncomfortable plane ever. . .but, we were almost home! It was on that flight that I started feeling incredibly sick to my stomach. Turns out that I must have brought something home from Liberia with me (I'm thinking my "club sandwich" that turned out to have tuna and egg in it. . .not so smart!). . .which made me throw up (and more that I won't go into detail with) all day yesterday and still has me weak kneed and unsteady today!

So, anyways, we landed at midnight Thursday night / Friday morning. There was a whole gaggle of friends and family waiting for us. Have I said before that we have BEST support system ever? There were about 20 people waiting for us with more that wanted to go and couldn't! They had signs made welcoming Davis home and screamed and shouted as they saw us approach. It made my cry immediately. Davis has no clue what an amazing family he has come home too that includes WAY more than just Greg and I and our other kids! They all started crying as soon as they saw Davis! In fact, I think my Granny may still be crying now! Well, seeing as we were exhausted (it was now 5 am Liberian time), we pretty quickly headed home. FYI: Davis was NOT happy about his first time in a carseat. I tried to explain,
you have to sit in a carseat here in America" Why? It sounds crazy since the roads in Liberia are SO Much worse that it should be the other way around!

Well, we arrived home at 1 am to wonderful surprises. Well, some were wonderful! My sister, Brittani has a favorite holiday tradition that includes decorating our front yard with the tackiest things she can find! She outdid herself this year! We have light up palm trees lining our front walk, a moving-light up flamingo and a light up Santa in a hammock in between two palm trees. The worse part is that we can't "punk" her back because their yard ALREADY looks like this! ha ha! Then, into our hoouse. My Papa had gone grocery shopping for us and had our fridge and pantry fully stocked! Some of my friends (Carrie, Sunday and Abby) had decorated our house. They'd reorganized our pantry and some cabinets and had left multiple vases of flowers and turned on all of our Christmas lights (oh, and left a sign of Davis over his bed!)! It was so sweet. They know how much I LOVE Christmas lights!

Davis turned into a new kid upon entering our home. Immediately, he seemed more comfortable. He got down from our arms and started exploring and acting more comfortable than we've ever seen him. He wandered from room to room checking things out. He loved the new toys, but was a bit afraid of the living room fans and the Christmas tree. He just kept looking up at the tree and making WIDE circles around it to not get too close! It cracked us up.

Our other kids were not at home. In fact, they have been the sickest our doc has ever seen them this week. (yes, here is where you absolutely pity Jessica who watched them, My mom who took them to the doctor where they threw up all over the waiting room and my in-laws who watchecd them also!) So, even though we got home super ealry Friday morning, we had to wait to see the kids until they had been on antibiotics for 48 hours. So, Friday was spent catching up. Davis spent the day exploring new toys. My mom (aka Nana) came over with an airplane that lit up and made sounds which apparantly is the coolest thing Davis has ever seen and a bag of clothes. You see, our orphan report told us that he wore 18-24 month clothes so we got our all of our 2 year clothes and went out and bought a bunch more. . .come to find out that he definitely wears 12-18 month clothes of which we had none! So, Nana and Grandad to the rescue with bags of clothes for our litle man! As much as we were despaately missing our kids (I'm pretty sure Greg almost cried when we found out we couldn't see them first thing Friday morning) it was a good day to catch up. I finished most of our laundry and we took Davis to the doctor (he has a resp. infection and most likely a parasite, so he's on antibiotics now). Last night, around 6 our other kids came home! We were SUPER excitecd to see them! We each went outside separately to say Hi and then came in to the house so we could video them meeting Davis for the first time. Remember, that this is a moment Brayden has been looking forward to as much as we had! Brayden immediately tried to hug him, but Davis was a bit unsure about these new white kids! Quickly, though, they ALL warmed up to each other. Within no time, they were giving hugs to one another and playing together. They just followed each other around and played with toys together. It was amazing. Greg even got video of them hugging which I'll try to figure out a way to post later. By this time, I was laid out on the couch and running to the bathroom every 15 minutes so I didn't get to quite enjoy all of the bonding. It was like Davis turned into a new kid. In fact, our friends Jay and Carrie came over with dinner (my amazing small group has arranged meals for us for the next week!) and Davis went over to both of them smiling. He even went to Jay for a moment, but quickly wanted down and went straight to Brayden for big hugs! It was adorable. They are doing AMAZING together. All the kids just love each other and it feels like he's been here forever. It just fits. The kids ARE anxious, however, for him to start talking to them.

Here are some pictures. . they aren't the best (and remember Brayden and Gracie have been quite sick, so that's why they look so bad!), but I remember what it was like to not be home yet and I knew you'd want EVERY picture we took! Love you guys and thanks for the support. I will keep posting (and Greg has some plan to post "rules of glogging" which I'm sure will be quite strange!) on our adjustment and still have some stuff to post from Africa too. LOVE YOU!

Time for one last post!

Ok, so they aren't the cutest pictures ever, but we're playing together! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support for our little man and his weary mama! I could feel your prayers when I awoke yesterday morning. I had a new song in my heart and was committing with Jesus to work hard to win the heart of my child. I gave it again to Jesus and asked Him to help me do whatever it took and at whatever pace. He gave us wonderful blessings. It started out rough with another "attachement session" where I held him and he screamed while I whispered and sang truth into his ears. Later, I gave him a bath and actually got him to play with me and "wash" Diego and his motorcycle with the showerhead. As soon as Greg saw that he was playing with me, he rushed to finish getting ready and leave the room for a bit. This seemed to do the trick. Since Greg wasn't around, Davis really warmed up to me. We played and laughed and tickled a lot. The rest of the day seemed to go well and I even held him for a little while with Greg present. He definitely would choose Greg over me and lights up when he sees Greg, but it is getting better with me. Thank you for praying for us. Please continue. While Greg was definitely teasing a bit in his last "glog", it has been rough on him too. He really is claustrophobic and having Davis all over him all the time is trying. The plane rides have potential to be rough. Greg's already a big guy in a little seat and having Davis on his lap won't make it much easier!



Yep, we leave here in a couple of hours. We head first to Ghana and then, on Thursday morning head to NYC and on HOME!!!! We can't wait to see you guys and miss our other kiddos like crazy. (Jess deserves a medal for having them for so long. . .and so do Grandma and Grandpa!) See you soon! By the way, Greg usually hates my blogging. . .but, let me tell you as soon as he woke up this morning he checked the computer to see how many comments he had! I'm thinking this may continue at home!



Here are a few pics to prove that we actually played together. The big bruise on my left arm is from Brayden and the bruise on my right arm is where Davis bit me! Oh, the joys of parenting!

A Monkey Drinking a Fanta....

As a result of the overwhelming response to my first blog or web log (for those of you who are new to the blogging game) I had decided to retire from blogging, a wise man once said "Leave on a high note." (George Costanza, Seinfeld). But after much debate, mainly with myself, I have decided to bless you all with another addition of my prose. However to be true to myself and to the faithful following that I have developed I will now enter the next echelon of blogging called glogging (greg log).
It has been an interesting week here in Liberia, one filled with joy, frustration, drama, and carbon monoxide.

Allow me to elaborate if I may.

• Joy:
  We have a new son, Henry Davis (aka Davis, aka Gregory Davis, aka G. Davis ). He is a beautiful, bright eyed little boy who has no clue who these white people are or what a TV is. He will learn to love both very quickly. I can already tell that he is my son. This morning, much like Brayden, he was up at 6:00 (he wakes me up when he has to go to the bathroom, also like Brayden). He had filled his diaper with some of yesterdays wonderful rice and it was a pungent aroma at 6:00 am. But, I digress...so, as I do for Brayden every morning I turned on the TV in an effort to eek out 15 minutes more sleep. Praise God from who all blessings flow, the boy loved it!!! He sat there for 1.5 hours and watched three kids shows (Barney, Hi 5, and some show from Ireland called Postman Tom which I believe is their equivalent to Bob the Builder).
• Frustration:
  1. I miss anonymous!!! Without the comments of those who so bravely posted under the guise of "anonymous" I have lacked fodder which makes this process of sarcasm much more challenging. I need controversy, so if you are out there anonymous please come back I am sooooo sorry. I miss you!!
  B. As I mentioned in my last glog entry it is really hot here. I'll tell you what by the end of the day I have sweat through two shirts and smell much like the Liberians who on the whole don't wear deodorant. This is not a statement of prejudice, rather a statement of fact, in my conversations with the friends we have made here I posed the question as to why deodorant is such a low priority. The answer was simple, food is more important. I can't argue with that.
  Anyway, Davis and I have really bonded and that is great but for those of you who know me there are a few things that complicate the attachment process:
  I. I hate to be hot
  C. I love Air Conditioning
  III. I have issues with personal space, meaning don't come into mine
  H. I am claustrophobic
  13. The car that we rented doesn't have a/c and it is small
  Therefore with these factors in mind I spent the previous 3 days with God truly challenging me. I hate to be hot, I am claustrophobic, and I don't like to be touched...and Davis won't go to Brandi!!! It is literally like holding a hot water bottle while standing by a roaring fire. I can't wait till we have to use car seats.
• Drama:
  Why is that yahoo groups and blogs (nots glogs) have become a forum for drama...whatever happened to picking up the phone and gossipping. Whatever happened to freedom of speech, why do we have to comment on what other people say in forums such as these or limit the questions that people are allowed to ask? Even as I write this my freedom of speech and right to bear arms are being limited...the speech is because Brandi is concerned what people will say on the yahoo groups and what people will post as comments on this fine glog. The right to bear arms is being limited by the Liberian government because it is illegal to carry a gun here. Not much I can do about either.
• Carbon Monoxide:
  I have developed a case of carbon monoxide poisoning while here in Liberia. Self diagnosed of course, or maybe I have black lung... not really sure but the cars here stink. The traffic is terrible and the emmission control is not a high priority, so these factors combined with my current case of bronchitis make breathing difficult. Where is the EPA or the tree huggers when you need them. I'm not sure, I haven't ever had a need for them before.
• So in conclusion a preface...I like the joy, I live for the drama, and I could do without the frustration and black lung.
• 
  Most Likely,
  Greg

PS. I made no mention of the monkey drinking a Fanta because what else needs to be said, it's a chimpanzee drinking orange soda, how can it get any cooler than that.

Bonding? Plus a few cute pics

Just so you know, THIS is not the face I get every day! It is the face I'm working for. Truthfully, today was pretty difficult. We had a great morning visiting and orphanage in town that is ridiculously poor. Think 30 girls sleeping 2 to a bunk in a bedroom not much bigger than your own with not one toy in sight. I'll post more about them tomorrow with the pictures we took. However, for now, I think I'm just going to post my journal for today. Just keep praying for us!

Today has been hard, to say the least. Davis was shrinking from my touch and would not let me hold him at all. The other two girls with us have both adopted before and have lots of experience. They suggested that I take him and hold him tight until he stops crying. . .a bit of "attachment therapy". Well, we were in the car and he was crying with Greg, so we figured it was a fine time to try. He threw a royal tantrum. Screaming, crying, arching his back. . he even bit me a number of times and grabbed at my face so hard that I think I'm bruised. It was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. I knew he'd struggle, but it sucks to hold your child whom you love and have him absolutely freak out b/c he doesn't know or like you. I know I have to teach him to trust me and love me but it's so hard. No child should have to learn to love their mother. I just cried. . pretty much bawling in the back of a car holding down this child until he fell asleep. I cried b/c it hurts to know he doesn't like me yet and I have to "teach him" to like me. I cried b/c he shouldn't have to go through that. I cried b/c he doesn't know that this is best. I cried b/c there are so many other orphans that will never experience this. I was a mess. He even cried so hard that he threw up on me. It was worse than labor with Gracie. I'm crying right now writing it. I just needed to share with you guys. You are such a foundation for me. I love you so much and am more thankful than I can ever express for your care and your prayers.

I know this time will pass. I know he will grow to love me. . .in fact, we've done it a number of times now and he's asleep in my arms. I can just imagine what it will be like for him to want to be here instead of being forced. It's so a picture of what we're like with God. Davis would choose, if he could, to go back to his nannies at the orphanage. To live in the comfortable even though there is NO future for him here. The nicest places we've seen here are worse than our inner-cities. Isn't that just like us? We choose to remain comfortable b/c the road to holiness is difficult. We choose to live in the slums b/c the road to paradise is a difficult one. Oh Jesus, Change us that we may choose the difficult path so that you may bring us closer to home and to you. . . .


Brandi

Church and RockHill (from Friday)

It's 9:30 and my hubby and son are in bed, so I thought. . .well, time to blog again! I don't have any new Davis pictures to show b/c I left my memory card in my computer this morning! It was all that rushing around to get a blog up before we went to church b/c of all of my emails (you know who you are) complaining about no new post or pics from the day before!

I'll start by telling you about today and then talk some about RockHill from Friday. Today, we went to church. Actually, we went to Church of Believers, Christian and Missionary Alliance led by Brother Adelle Watson. This is the only C&MA church in Liberia. We have been emailing brother Watson for quite some time now and had gathered a bunch of Bible study books and resources for them. This was such a sweet time! Their church met in a school room in what the US would call "the slums" but is just called Monrovia here. I don't know how to describe the situation, so we'll have to wait for video when we get back. There were about 25 people present and they were super excited to see us. Brother Watson asked us to speak, so we basically told them about our C&MA church and how we do things. Then, we gave them the books and explained why we had chosen some of our favorites. . .Self Confrontation, Trusting God, Experiencing God and Celebration of Discipline (4 of our top 5). It was fun to worship with them and reminded me of the song we sing back home, about other nations praising. It was a little like a loud catholic service! We stood up and sat down so many times, I couldn't count bt always with lots of music and praising! So fun!!! They were very excited about what God is doing at Westwood and sent their greetings and prayers. After that, it was lunch at Golden Beach again (I had a hamburger, thanks for asking!) with Pastor Charles and his wife to hear more about Spirit Liberia. . .which I'll have to do a whole post on sometime! Then, we went to the hospital b/c Christina (a woman who's here to pick up her baby and is staying with Donna)'s baby Blessing is there with malaria. The hospital trip itself was an experience. . .it was like stepping back in time. The hospital was clean and all, but had no machines. So, a little baby was connected to oxygen, but no heart monitor or anything. It was so sad to walk through and see the starving children. I'll post more hospital stuff after our meeting with ELWA hospital director tomorrow night. . .so, we finished our day in our room. Whew, we needed that! We have been going non-stop since arriving and needed a day to take naps!

Wait, I did say that I'd talk about RockHill, right? My post is already so long that I should save it, but a post with no pictures is practically worthless, right?

I'll start with RockHill, but don't have a ton of pics b/c Greg was in charge of pics and I was videoing! We went to RockHill on Friday morning with Pastor Charles. He lives in RockHill and has a church there. This is a pictue of the church they are building. Pastor Charles is so excited b/c ALL they have left to do is the ROOF! RockHill is a place in town where 15,000 people live and is basically a rock quarry (think Fred Flinstone). However, this is more archaic than the Flinstones. They make piles of rocks (that are fist sized) and then spend their days smashing those into pebbles and selling them. It is estimated that they can make .40 a day. Read that again, .40 a day. They live in shantys around "their" piles. These are basically thatched roof, but some use bits of tin or scraps. There is no clean water. Yes, 15,000 people and NO clean water! There are a lot of NGO's that do clean water and most of the area around Monrovia is served first by these NGO's b/c of not having to travel far, but b/c it is rock. . the cost will be much more. I think it would be closer to $7-10,000, instead of $2,500. Still, 15,000 people. They have to walk in to "town" about 1 hour away just to get a bucket of water. Most just drink the water that is there which is dirty. This is why some estimate the death rate of children under the age of 5 to be 50%. Does it seem like just a statistic? Look at these faces. . .
There are also only a handful of schools and all of them charge tuition. Tuition is normally around $80 a year, plus school uniforms and lunch. This is virtually impossible for a family that makes $10 a month pounding rocks. Still, some families scrape it together (probably by not eating) and send their kids to these schools. They are worn down and deplorable. I think pretty much every building except the hotel we're staying in here would be condemned in the US. The school house looks like it's been bombed out (it probably was) and the desks are something out of a junkyard. But, when we got there, the kids were SO happy! They were a blast! They showed us around and tugged on our arms. . .that's why I'm so low in the picture. . b/c so many kids wanted a hand on me! I loved it! As we were filming them, the kids began to sing for our video camera. These kids. The ones who live in RockHill in one room shanty houses with no clean water, no doctor for MILES and this deplorable school house. They began to sing, "Praise the Lord, we praise you Lord" in the sweetest voices I have ever heard. I just started crying right there. I was trying to add a bit of commentary to the video and explain what the kids are saying (the Liberian accent can be difficult to understand) and you can hear me. "They're saying (choke back tears) Praise the Lord". It brings tears to my eyes right now. I want to be that kind of thankful. Talk about praising Him in the storm. . .you haven't seen a storm like their lives are.
I'll leave you with the Liberian worship song we learned today.
"We Worship You, Papa
We Worship You.
There is no like you are, Papa
We Worship YOU"

Update and My Childhood Dream

Sorry about not posting yesterday! We went into the "interior" which is called "the Bush"! I LOVED it! I will post more pics and info on that later! It was an amzing experience. Just what I dreamed of when I thought of Africa. But, first let me show you some pictures of our little man! He is doing well. I think he was a bit traumatized after leaving the orphanage. . .I'm not sure if all kids are like this or if it's just b/c of all of the uneasy feelings as we were leaving b/c I basically grabbed him and ran. I'm wondering if that's why he likes Greg and not me. . .He seemed to attach really well to Greg yesterday. He loved sitting with him and smiled a bit. He still hasn't spoken to us at all! He did cry this morning. I know that's a good sign (any emotion is good at first) but it did hurt my feelings a bit b/c his crying was because I had tried to pick him up. He is not my biggest fan so far! We are working on that. . .he's getting a little more accustomed to us and starting to "let his hair down" with us. . . .keep praying! If I could have picked, I definitely would have wanted him to attach to Greg first. I know that's important, especially while we're here. He has never had a daddy, so I do love watching him snuggle into Greg's shoulder. Here are some of the latest pics!

He was so cute riding in the car yesterday. He had a sub sandwhich and would NOT let go of the bread! He held it for most of the ride. And a wild ride it was! We drove out 2 hours over what some called roads! It was exactly what you picture Africa to be. Grasshuts with thatch roofs. It was my dream come true. Seriously, if you know me at all, look at the pictures below. . .they are seriously my childhood dream come true. I had my husband walking ahead of me holding my African son and I was walking behind holding the hands of 50 little African children as they showed me their village, their well and their schoolhouse. Oh, I love it here! (see if you can find my white face in these crowds!)