You want some inspiration...go to Africa, let it penetrate your heart and consume your thoughts FOREVER!
Eldaa is the only African that has left me feeling so confused, so desperate and so uncertain about God's plan for her, myself and Africa in general. Six years ago, she came into our lives as a tiny 6 month old, with a whole in the roof of her mouth and a top lip that split in two, clear up to her nose. I remember that she wasn't a "great" baby...but we fell in love with her non the less.
After a 6 month stay, she returned to her country and to her family until she was 1 year old. Back to Ohio she came, back to our lives and our heart she would stay!
Doug and I were engaged and I was finished with school so I was back home. Mom and Dad were busy with the race track, so I was on "mom" duty often. Eldaa and I had this strange connection...even though she was 1yr, I would often say that she would be my child if I had one...
We had this unspoken connection, like our energies were once one...but God had split them and saved half to occupy my body in the USA an the other half to occupy her body in West Africa.
When she left again, this time for good...I can remember being angry that I could keep her. I was in no position to do so and her family loved her, but your perception of Africa is never pleasant so you just assume she would be best with you!
Last Christmas Doug and I went to Burkina Faso, West Africa to visit Eldaa, many other children who has stayed with us and to show the Jesus Film at local churches. It was a great trip, with many lessons...The biggest thing that I will always remember about my first trip to Africa, is that you visit a 3rd world country expecting to bless them, and inspire them...only that's not what happens! My heart hardly hurt.
Those people are soooo BLESSED by WHAT they have, by WHO they have and by the LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, that they inspired us! I will forever remember the love and acceptance that we felt from them!
Eldaa had another encounter with USA when she lost her big toe in April while ridding on the back of a bicycle or motter bike with her father. Popped that big toe right off! However, it left her with exposed bone and no antibiotics or "atlas clearing..." for about 1 month. She came back to Ohio and stayed with my mother for 4 weeks and was going to stay with Doug and I in Iowa for a time to focus on speech therapy, but that wasn't in God's plan, so we just took her on vacation with us in June to Kentucky...it was so fun!
Sending her back this time, I felt as if I was selling her short of the full life that God intended her to have. I felt over whelmed by the helpless ness that I felt, because no amount of money could provide for her what she needed, speech therapy! Doug and I sent some money over to send her to a private school for kindergarden...but we were still getting reports that she wasn't writing her name, etc.
I have been on many kicks, such as bringing her back and putting her through american school and meeting with a speech therapist on top of attending school...but it's a tremendous headache to deal with these countries, the lawyers and paperwork.
I then wondered if I was not to help Eldaa, but that God's plan was for us to be inspired and driven by her life...so that we continue to move forward with our dreams for Africa and it's people...
Anyways, I want to end this with praising God for her life...she was very sick two weeks ago and we thought that we would loose her, but she is alive and well today-Praise God!