The Twins

Here is a picture of “Uncle” Fred at the orphanage with the twin girls on his lap. Debby’s cousin, Becky and her husband, are trying to adopt them. Please be praying that this all works out and that it can be an avenue for other of the children to be adopted by loving families in the USA and Canada.

These 2 girls are twins – but not identical as you can see. The one on the left was born “Ella” and on the right is “Estella.” Ella is bigger and is the introvert that holds on to Pulcherie’s (the director of the orphanage) skirt all the time. Estella, on the other hand is the classical extrovert. You see the smile on her face and she loves to sing and be the center of attention.

Their mother was very sick and the father was not around when they were very small. Grandma (the mom’s mom) brought them to the orphanage shortly after it opened, because she couldn’t care for them. Their mother died shortly after that.

On Friday, March 28th they were 4 years old. Debby and I took them to a restaurant in Cotonou for their first Birthday Party. They ate with plates and silverware and drank from cups with straws. There was a play area with slides, things to ride on and the like. They were all smiles and giggles.

This is one of the little side / extra things that Debby and I are involved in with our teaching ministry in Africa. It is a joy to see these girls get adopted. It is a joy when you go to the orphanage and see the children with smiles and singing.

Thanks for sending us and supporting us.

Missing Second Testimony from Parakou Meetings

When you see the pictures in the blogs from Africa, you may notice that there are no pictures of me (Fred). That is because I am the one taking the pictures most time. Really, I was there… really. So, here is a picture of me at the meetings in Parakou at the church of Pastor Augustin that Debby took.

You may have noticed on the blog titled “Parakou Testimonies – March, 17-21” that only 1 of the 2 testimonies of Debby was there. Here is the other story.

After I (Debby) finished speaking on forgiveness, I saw a remarkable sight. From the far right I saw a young woman, in her mid twenties, come crawling across the room on her hands and knees. She crawled right up to an elderly woman and placed her head in the lap of the older lady. The pastor next to me started to cry. He asked me if I understood what was happening. I said no. I didn't know the significance of this act. He said let me tell you the story.

This was a mother and daughter and several years ago the daughter had run away leaving the family in disgrace. She was angry with her mother for some unknown reason and refused to speak to her. She had threatened to kill the mother by poisoning and other means. The mother, stricken with grief had, just the day before, come forward for prayer. She was forgiving her daughter and asking God to bring her home. It was the next day that I saw the young woman crawling on her hands and knees.

The whole church saw this as a miracle of God's mercy and grace. The young woman sobbed and sobbed, crying to her mom, "Please forgive me …please forgive me. I am so sorry."

The next day, the mother stood before the church and said, "I never dreamed God would do such a wonderful thing for me. I never dreamed, that the great God of the universe would come and do such a thing just for me."

Isn't God good?