Saturday, January 16, 2010

Johnny and Marie

I have the privilege of being acquainted with a wonderful Christian family named the Dabys. Joshua and Liz are the parents. Josiah, Emma, Johnny and Marie are the children. They are your typical homeschool family- lots of love, busy times, ministry work, homeschool group etc. There is one very disturbing difference between our family and theirs- while all of my children are safe under my roof this morning- Josh and Liz's aren't.

You see, for over two years, Josh and Liz have been trying to adopt Johnny and Marie from an orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti. When I first met Josh and Liz a few years ago, Liz told me at that time about the adoption and her hopes to have their kids here by the following summer. Josh and Liz have both done missions work in Haiti, and have a burden from the Lord for the country. Two summers ago, my sister and her husband had a vacation Bible school in a local park, and Josh and Liz were there ministering alongside a team of inner city kids. I so enjoyed watching Josh interact with the kids. He is a very talented percussionist, and in fact owns an African drum repair business. At one point, he had a group of these kids off to the side, laughing and smiling while singing praises to the Lord to his drum accompaniment. I think the fact that he's a totally bald white guy who can totally jam a traditional African praise rhythm on a drum shocked, and then tantalized them! It was so apparent to me from watching him minister to those kids how much love he has for them. When Liz talks about her kids in Haiti, the love she has shines through. Even Josiah and Emma talk about their brother and sister- who will some day come to live with them in their house here.

What I'm saying is that these kids are as much a part of their family as if they were here in the US. Now imagine your young children, half a world away, surviving an earthquake but unable to go back into their house for safety reasons- and sleeping on the ground instead. Imagine not being able to contact them. Imagine all your hard work and paperwork being destroyed (the government buildings are apparently all gone). Imagine wanting desperately to hold and comfort your kids, and not being able to. And then, please pray.

Pray for the safety of them and all the kids who are orphans in Haiti. In a country with so few resources, orphans tend to get thrown away. Pray for the Daby family to have peace and God's assurance of His provision for them and theirs during this time. Pray that the governments will be able to somehow expedite the adoption so the kids can come home. If you feel so inclined, please contact your US Senators and/or State Department to ask for emergency Visas for these kids so they can come home.

Here is the link to the interview the Daby's did on our local television news. (click on the link for "Greece family waiting for word").

2 comments:

Michelle said...

That is so sad....will be praying.

Darci Salisbury said...

hey, I CHECK YOUR BLOG! ha!
I spent the past few nights thinking and praying for your missionary friends and Hati.
Tonight I received a prayer request for this family, and I felt led to reply with a link to your blog and the lovesay's.
And look what I found? You already know Johnny and Marie's parents!
Praying for them too.
love ya girl!
Sweet blessings
darci