Baby Emanuel

Please pray for Baby Emanuel.  He is 1 1/2 years old.  He has legs that are bowed in, crossed eyes, and an odd shaped head.  A little over a week ago a pastor friend of mine asked Melanie and I if we would adopt this boy.  His mother is a single mom about 18 years old.  She no longer wants the child so she can go back to school.  In Liberia, handicapped children are viewed as a curse.  Many of them are thrown into the river or are secretly killed. 

Last week, I made Emanuel’s need known to friends in the States.  Next month, a friend of mine will be coming to Liberia to open orphanages for handicapped children.  His ministry targets saving the lives of children like Emanuel as well as rescuing children out of human trafficking and sex slavery (These are serious problems here in Liberia).  My friend will be living with us on the base for a few months as he gets acclimated to Liberia.  He is working with Wordsower to start this orphanage.  Wordsower is the larger mission agency that our ministry Wordsower Liberia functions under.  

The director from Wordsower has said that he would give $75 a month to a Liberian Christian family who would be willing to care for baby Emanuel until the orphanage is opened.  Yesterday, Melanie and I met with Emanuel’s family and told them about this possibility.  Emanuel’s family is eager to get rid of Emanuel.  In fact, they seemed disappointed that we did not take Emanuel with us when we left.  The mother of Emanuel, threatened to abandon him this past week.  

Melanie and I feel the Lord leading us not to rush the process of removing Emanuel from his home but to let the process happen quickly.  We believe God wants to both meet the needs of Emanuel and of his mother.  Each time we meet with Emanuel’s family we experience the Lord presence ministering to the family.  Yesterday, they told us that they believed that Emanuel’s disability was caused by “an evil spirit visited them.”  We read from Ps 139 and were able to help them see that Emanuel was knit together in his mother’s womb by God to be exactly the way he is.  God does not make mistakes.  Emanuel is not a mistake.  He is perfectly made by God.  

I have been able to share the story of how God used my brother’s down syndrome to help mold my heart and the hearts of many others.   We also shared that God desires to use Emanuel to help mold their hearts.  Here is my prayer:  I pray that we would be able to find a family who will be eager to care for Emanuel until the orphanage is opened.  We are now looking for that family.  We will not tell the family until after they agree to take Emanuel that they will receive money from the States to support them ($75 a month is a lot of money in Liberia.  For some it would be like winning the lottery).  I pray that God will open all the doors needed for the orphanage to be opened.  I pray that the Lord will work in Love’s heart and that there would come a time when she will give her heart to Christ and will be reunited with her precious son.