Last August, my son and his wife (Mark and Jenn) went to Ghana, Africa, on a missions trip that included a day at the local orphanage. Ghana is a democracy, making it relatively stable when compared to other African nations, but it is very poor. When families have a new baby, they keep the child as long as it can be breast fed, but after that, when real food is required, most families cannot afford to feed the child and they send them to the orphanage. There, they are fed and clothed, but essentially neglected, with no love in their lives, no effort to nurture, train, or educate them. How can they be, when the number of people willing to work in the orphanages are minimal? At either 16 or 18 yrs of age (I forget which), the orphan is "released into the wild" with no skills, family, or money. Most of them become prostitutes.
Mark and Jenn fell head over heels in love with the orphans, and their hearts are so burdened with the plight of those children that they've decided that the least they can do is adopt one. Additionally, Mark will be working with an organization that works to train and prepare the children, so that when they leave the orphanage, they have a chance at something besides prostitution or crime. I haven't all the details yet...so much is still a matter of prayer. What I do know is that I will have a new grandson as soon as the paperwork is done, and the money is raised to pay all the fees for adoption.
Jenn is making some beautiful metal stamped pendants and charms to raise money for the adoption. If you think you'd like to check out her stuff, visit Plus One...Minus One.
As you can see - there are my (currently) three beautiful grands. I can't wait until there are FOUR!
