What price tag can be placed on a life? A helpless orphan in desperate need of unconditional love, medical care, arms to hold him, someone to proclaim to the world that he lived and mattered, someone to pray over him as he takes his last breath and see that he has a proper burial and then cry tears because he is gone and missed. Is a child like this worth $1,000? $5,000? $15,000? or $20,000? Is he worth a wound to a willing parent's heart---a wound that will leave a permanent scar behind, testifying to the truth that this child belonged to someone and was loved as a son? We are begging God to send a family who believes that a child like this is worth whatever it costs to bring him home for whatever amount of time he has left on this earth. Might you be that family?
We are asking that each person on this list pray fervently that God will move the heart of someone to step forward and move quickly to bring little Secret home from Liberia. This will need to be a person/couple/family who understands that the medical information coming from Secret's orphanage may not be accurate, that they really won't be able to determine ahead of time just how critically ill he is but must be ready to face the worst possible scenario---while also hoping for something much better. This person/couple/family must be willing to accept that baby Secret may not live long at all once he comes home, and that he may not even survive long enough to have his adoption completed. There was a TSC family pursuing Secret's adoption, but after many weeks of prayer and examination, they now feel that they are not Secret's family after all, and they will not be continuing the adoption process. The initial information given about Secret's medical situation has turned out to be inaccurate, and it appears that he is probably a very, very sick little boy who will require considerable care his entire life, and that his life will almost certainly not be very long.
Little Secret is approximately a year old. He was found abandoned in a banana orchard and has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus. The Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is working closely with the agency to expedite Secret’s adoption. Time is of the essence for Secret. The agency tells us that there is a grant available toward the fees for Secret’s adoption.
We are asking for prayer for Secret's protection while he waits, as well as prayer for a family who is willing to drop everything in their lives and focus all of their energy on rescuing this child as quickly as possible. This is not the kind of adoption mission that we typically ask a family to embark on, but it is a mission that is very dear to our heavenly Father's heart. This child was created by God, is precious to Him, and Secret's sweet name is engraved on the palms of our Savior's hands.
"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." Isaiah 49:16
Does anyone feel led to obey God's call to save this needy child from an empty, pain-filled existence and a lonely, silent death?
We do know what we are asking here, and we know the courage it will take to accept such a call. We also know the feeling of fear and the lack of such courage when faced with being led to step out in faith to obey our Master's call. We personally wrestled with a similar dilemma in 2004, when we became convinced that God was asking us to attempt to adopt a three-month baby girl from Guatemala who had been born with severe brain damage and had no real hope of ever even being able to show that she knew she was being loved. We are attaching here Kathy's story of this child who did eventually become our treasured daughter, Kathryn Felicity. Many of you have already read Kathryn's adoption story, including Kathy's fear and struggles over obeying what she knew God was asking of us. But others may not have read this story, and so we would ask that you read it prayerfully---and ask God to give you the strength to obey Him if He should ask you to commit to Secret, regardless of what such a call would mean.
For more information about Secret, please write to our Liberia Family Coordinator (liberia@theshepherdscrook.org).
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