Friday, December 29, 2006

Letters from Dear Daughter #2


These are two of best quality pictures we received from dd #2's disposable camera. I don't know if the sunlight was a problem, the quality of the camera or the inexperience of the photographers...In the first picture, she is standing beside a friend who has also received a package from America. The second picture seems to be of her in her room, holding a stuffed bear. They seem to have a table in there stocked with supplies (toothpaste, etc). Below you will find some of what she had to say in her letters. Through the letters we've received, she looks to be the creative, artistic one. She always has pictures and many colors of marker around the pages. She likes to write in many different colors of ink and has also taken on the task of writing letters to us from dear son #2. I don't know if he actually knows she's doing this, but she's made sure there's letters to us from herself and him. It also seems she had taken possession of dear son #2's disposable camera. There is one photo of ds#2 and his friends but the rest seem to be of the girls. Dd#2 likes to take pictures of herself, close-ups! It's fun to see some personality from these kids- I wonder if they will be anything like this when they come home??

"To my beloved Mom,
I want you to please send some of our pictures that we we took so that we can share with our friends when we are leaving Liberia. We love you and we cannot wait to see you soon. We all just have to be patient, and wait for God- His time is the best.
From your daughter

These are all my friend's name:
Patience, Yamin, Princess, Olivia, Martha, Lydia, Pauline
Mom, they all say hi to you and the others. Mom if you are writing to us, I want you to please write each of them a letter so that they will know you. They also said that if I leave Liberia they will miss me a lot. Mom, I love you and I cannot wait to see you soon.
Love always,
Your daughter

Dearest Dad,
I thank you so much for the lovely letter you were able to send me and I was very happy to receive it. I was so excited to receive it and I enjoyed reading it over and over. Dad, if ******* is coming to Liberia, we would like you to send us some little money for the seasons that are coming so we can buy something. We pray for you every day and night that God will bring us together soon. May God bless you and keep our family safe. Dad, I want you to please give my little brother and sisters hugs and kisses on their lovely faces. May the Almighty God bless you and keep you safe and sound.
Love always your daughter

*This letter has yellow, orange, green and purple marker EVERYWHERE!! :)

Dearest sweet mom,
Special greetings come to you in the name of Christ. My reason for writing you this letter is to tell you that I love you but God loves you the best. Mom, I was sooooooooooooo happy to receive the sweet and kind letter from you again. For each day of the week, the teacher works out the weekly theme in scripture in subjects for praise, thanksgiving and petition and a brief reflection. Mom, I want you to know that I am very excited to be part of your family. Mom, I want to tell you something that happened to me and my family. I was very little when I came to this mission and I have stayed here 10 years. Today, God has answered my prayers to be part of a family. I have not seen you, my parents, yet but I am so grateful to God for answering my prayers. I pray the paperwork will go quickly. Mom, my brothers (ds#1 and ds#2) and my sister (dd#1) all say hi to you all.
Love always from your sweet daughter

*This letter has black, orange, yellow, green, brown and purple symbols written around the entire border of the page. The symbol seems to be that on the side of the buildings at the orphanage.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Letters from Dear Son #1


These photos are from the disposable camera we sent to Liberia for ds #1. He took many pictures of himself and his friends- the quality is so-so, but in these two photos you can see him pointing to the state of Arkansas and a picture of all 4 children together. We were able to speak with him on Christmas Day. We'd been trying to reach his orphanage for 3 days and finally were able to connect and speak with him. It was very nice to hear his voice, although we could hear a bit of sadness from him. We believe he just wants to be home so badly that this waiting is wearing on him. We are sending letters/packages out to some friends today. They will be traveling to Liberia Jan. 4th. Please pray for their safety and that they will accomplish all their goals while in Liberia. Below you will find some of what ds#1 had to say in his latest letters. Have a wonderful week and a Happy New Year!

"Dear Mom,
I greet you with love from God our Heavenly Father. Mom, I am very much happy to write you this letter because of the love you have for us. Mom, thank you so much for the camera that you sent for us. I used the camera to take many pictures. I can not wait to be home very soon to see you and my brothers and sisters. Do you think you will win at the Bible game (*I've been playing a "bible game" with him ever since we started writing letters. I write him a verse and then have him tell me what he thinks it means. Then he writes me a verse back and I tell him what I think it means...and so on...), I am studying to win this game! Mom, I am so happy that you and dad are adopting me. Some times when I look at your picture, joy can fill my head and my heart. I love you so much and I can not wait to see you soon. I believe that God can do everything before January 30th that we can be home. I believe my God can do it. Because, with faith God can work.
From your dear son


Dear Mom & Dad,
Thank you for the new name you have given me. I can not wait to come home soon to see all our family and meet my special uncle ****. I am very happy to receive his name, I love this special name so much, when I think of it- joy fills my heart. All praises go to God, the most High, in everything we give God thanks for his good and faithful work to us His children. Please tell my precious sisters and brother I love them and I can not wait to see everyone of them very soon. I want for the adoption paperwork to go very quickly, you can ask *****, she will explain much to you. I can not wait to see you very soon.
Love your son