Prayer Needed for Adoption

As most of you know we wrote a letter to the President of Liberia in August. In that letter we outlined our adoption process, our troubles with ACFI, and our understanding of the deplorable conditions of the orphanage where Maria and Suzanna are.

Monday morning I (Suzanne) received a call from Judy Elkin's assistant, Susan, who told me that while Judy was in Liberia last week she found out that we wrote the letter and that the President sent her people to investigate ACFI. I was told that this caused great embarrassment to ACFI and that because it seemed we couldn't trust PLAN to do their job they were no longer willing to work with us. They told me that we would have to contact ACFI in Liberia directly and handle the adoption on our own if ACFI would agree to work with us.

After talking to the Executive Director of PLAN, a woman named Margaret, for nearly an hour I was able to get her to reconsider this decision until Judy returned from her vacation on October 1st and we all had a chance to talk things over. David will be taking this call and hopefully we will be able to have Pastor Ted on the phone, also.

Please pray over the next two weeks for God to soften the hearts of everyone involved to make the right decision based on what is best for Maria and Suzanna. Please pray for wisdom and grace for David and Pastor Ted as they speak with PLAN. Pray that God will continue to strengthen us in this battle and that He will receive ALL the glory. And, as always, please continue to pray for God's will in Maria's and Suzanna's lives and for their protection.

Thank you again and again for your prayers!

Update/Prayer Requests

We want to update you just a little and then let you know of several ways you can pray in the next few weeks.

As of our last update, we still have no answers to our questions about the lies and contradicting information we have received concerning our adoption of Maria and Suzanna. Judy Elkins, Director of International Adoptions at PLAN will be traveling to Liberia on September 11th. She has asked us not to send our contract and fees in until she returns from her trip and feels confident in our adoption.

Two weeks ago we received word from our adoption group moderator that the Ministry of Health in Liberia was in the process of shutting down the orphanage that the girls are living in. Judy Elkins confirmed this through a PLAN worker in Liberia. However, this week we received another email from PLAN stating that ACFI is reporting it as rumor. Due to the lies and deceptions from ACFI we are not believing it is a rumor. In addition, another family who is adopting from the same orphanage, is in contact with a pastor in Liberia who has been checking on the family's children the last several months. He is reporting that the conditions at the orphanage are going from bad to worse. He is doing what he can, but it is not enough.

We are also receiving reports that due to the deplorable conditions at the orphanage, the lack of food, and the closing of the orphanage that some of the families are coming and taking the children home. We have absolutely no idea if the girls are still there or how they are doing.

We have written and mailed a letter to the President of Liberia outlining the history of our adoption process, describing the present situation at the orphanage, and appealing to her authority as President as well as to her heart as a mother to help the children and to bring Maria and Suzanna home to us as soon as possible. We had to mail the letter to the Liberian Embassy in Washington DC because there is no postal service in Liberia.

We have also been busy completing two different adoption grant applications.

Here is how you can pray:

Continue to pray for Maria's and Suzanna's physical, emotional, and spiritual protection.

Continue to pray that God will give us wisdom and direction.

Pray for God's will in the lives of Maria and Suzanna.

Pray that the letters we are sending with Judy to our girls filled with scripture will bring them hope and comfort.

Pray that the letter to the President of Liberia will be delivered to the right hands and will cause a swift and positive action on the behalf of the children in the orphanage including our girls.

Pray that our grant applications will be looked upon favorably and that we will receive much needed funds to complete this adoption.

Pray for Judy Elkin's Liberian trip in the following ways:

Protection for Judy as she travels and while in Liberia.

Judy will find Maria and Suzanna safe and well.

God will reveal all lies, deceptions, etc. to Judy.

God will provide Judy with the courage and boldness needed to obtain all required information.

Thank you as always for your continued prayers and encouragement. We will never be able to express our gratitude for all you have done for us throughout this journey.