Georgy and His New Host Family...

This post will be short, as I have 5 minutes left of this day. But, before I go to bed I wanted you to all see Georgy with his new host family. We had him for 10 days when he first arrived and then he was transitioned to The Bearman's, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. He was sad to leave our family, but was so excited to have 6 new 'siblings'. He started school the following week, and has had some rough bumps, but is getting much more accustomed to how things 'work' in America. He will be here for a long time for his treatments and surgeries, so we knew that school would be an essential piece to his life here. He is doing great and is very smart.

Today I went over to The Bearman's on our way to a family Christmas. Beth, Georgy's host mom, wanted me to quick snap some pics for their Christmas cards. I was there for about 5-10 minutes and this is what we got. They are an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL family, so it was an EASY SHOOT!!! :-)

Here are some of my favorites in random order:

Denel...

Denel is an adult here in Fort Wayne with HTH. One year ago, Novemeber 6, 2008, his life was FOREVER changed!!! Denel grew up in Jeremy and then furthered his education in Port Au Prince. He went to the University there to further his education and received a degree in accounting. Denel was one of the lucky ones: he got his degree and he was able to find a job at a bank.

He lives in Carfou with his family and a 5 year old daughter. Last year on his way from Carfou to Delmas, the car in front of his got stopped by the infamous kidnappers. Denel was riding with 2 other co-workers and he was not driving. Their car was told to stop and they did. After the kidnappers were busy with the car in front of them, the driver of his car decided to attempt to escape. (I want you all to know that there were police that witnessed everything, but they were too scared of the kidnappers to get involved. They knew that they would be killed also.) His co-worker attempted to drive away and as they were being shot at, the vehicle hit a pothole and either got stuck or it slowed them down enough for some of the shooters to get close. (I am not 100% sure on that detail.)

So, as one of the shooters got closer, he shot through the window and one of the bullets went through Denel's right temporal lobe and out the left. When the bullet exited Denel's head, it his the woman sitting next to him in the arm. Fortunately, they got away and no one was killed. Denel survived this horrific, senseless, crime and woke up 10 days later with no vision and no sense of smell. The shock of the bullet going through his temporal lobes shattered his retinas off his eyes, destroyed the muscle for the eyelid in the left eye, and destroyed the olfactory lobe and left him with no sense of smell. He tastes very little since he cannot smell. He can tell if something is very sweet, salty, or spicy.

For the past year, Denel's family have spent most of their savings finding him help. Denel's sister works for God's Littlest Angels Orphanage, where a lot of our patients are from, and that is how we got involved.

In sharing Denel's story with you, I want to ask you all to cover him in prayer!!! We have seen the first ophthalmologist about 3 weeks ago and he can do cosmetic surgery for the one eye that can not open, but the retinal specialist needed to see him to see if any sight correction could be achieved. We saw Dr. Walker, a retinal specialist yesterday and Denel was told that there was nothing that can be done to restore any eyesight.

Obviously, Denel is devastated!!! He turned 32 in August, and was in the prime of his life as a Haitian man. He had a good job and was able to provide for his girlfriend and his 5 year old daughter. Now, with the news of never regaining his sight, he is left with soooooo many questions! "How will I survive in Haiti?" "How will I provide for my family?" "Will I ever work again?"

It is one thing to go blind here as an adult. It is just as devastating, but at least there are services here to assist these patients. In Haiti, there is NOTHING!!!!!! People are not accepting of disabilities. The disabled are made fun of and are not respected. This is now his REALITY!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE cover him in prayer! Denel is VERY INTELLIGENT and is a hard worker. He has been studying English since he arrived the end of October. Please pray that we are able to get him a job as a translator somewhere in Haiti!

Think of how blessed you are this Christmas season! Don't be focused on the 'things' that you can buy for Christmas, think of the way that same amount of money could help feed a family for more than a week. Now is the time to pay it forward to someone like Denel. Use your $ to help someone instead of buying a toy on a shelf that will more than likely break in a couple months. With HTH your $ is going to save or change someone's life FOREVER!!!

Would you consider donating to HTH today by using our Paypal button?

Thank you in advance for your continued prayers and support of Hands That Heal!

Rebekah Hubley
Founder and Director

A LOT to update...

I have a lot of updates on all of our kiddos, but one is pertinent right now!
Jean Widler is here on a US medical Visa for his strabismus (crossed eyes), but has had constant respiratory issues and ear infections since he arrived and before when he was in Haiti.

His host mom took him for a consult with an ENT (Dr. Stein) on Monday, and he scheduled surgery to remove the adenoids and to place tubes in his ears, for today. Surgery went great! They removed a lot of fluid from his ears and they are treating the infection now with antibiotic ear drops and an oral antibiotic for the thick mucus that they discovered in his lungs. He entire sinus tracks were filled with thick mucus and they were able to suction all of that out.

He is in recovery and when he is sleeping, his SATS are dropping as low as 78. NOT GOOD! The anesthesiologist is on the fence as to admit him overnight or not. Dr. Andrew Landrigan our Pediatrician for our HTH kids is going to see him after his lunch break.

Please pray that he gets to go home today and does not need to be observed overnight. Pray that his SATS come up miraculously and that they stay constant.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for HTH!!!

Flamanda

Flamanda was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. She is doing well. She is eating babyfood well but they left the feeding tube in with formula going in for extra nutrition. She has a doctor appointment with the surgeon in 2 weeks. They will decide then if she still needs the feeding tube in depending on how well she is getting fluids in. The surgeon was happy with how her head was looking. It should continue to slowly drain fluid. She can close her eyes all the way now which she couldnt do before as her eyes are not bulging out as much. The surgeon was impressed at how she tracked objects and how alert she was.Continue to pray for healing and that the drainage hole stays open.
Thanks,
HTH

Flamanda

Flamanda had her surgery yesterday. She did great with it. They were able to put in a drainage hole instead of a shunt to drain the fluid off her brain. There is a 30% chance the hole could close. In that case she will need a shunt and that is much more difficult to maintain in Haiti. Please pray the hole stays open. Pray for her mother as she is away from her and for her host family dealing with surgery and being away from family over Thanksgiving.
What a praise that we were able to get her here for surgery and that she is doing so well.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for our kids,
HTH

Crazy Busy...

Life at our house has been 'Crazy Busy' since Georgy got here last Wednesday. I will update more in a day or so. We have learned SO MANY things about his life in Haiti, and it breaks my heart!!!! He is learning things so quickly. He is LOVING, LOVING, LOVING our shower/bathtub. He laughed hysterically the first time I showed him that the water can actually stay in the tub. :-) We will be transitioning him to a new host family in the next couple of weeks. Pray that the transition is not too stressful on him and pray that we have direction on where to place him. We have a couple options and both families are amazing!!!! We should be going this week for his first set of blood work. More later... Here is a pic from the other night... (Luca and Georgy)(Thanks Pastor Kerry!!!)



Here are 2 photos that I took the night that he arrived. He traveled with an amazing AA Ambassador, Dennis! The little boy in these 2 photos is not the same little boy just 4 days later!!! He is soooooo happy and ran around like a 'mad man' playing tag at a park today. It is amazing what love, attention, and food does to a child's spirit!!!

Georgy is here...

Georgy is sleeping now. WOW... That is all I can say. I see how we have WAY TOO MUCH through his eyes. He walked in the back door and there were little shoes scattered on the floor. He looked at me with his big eyes, and you could totally read his thoughts: "You have that many kids???" He has ONE pair of shoes... He came with one very small duffel bag. WE HAVE SO MUCH COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!!!

Georgy

Hands That Heal has a new patient coming tomorrow night from Haiti. His name is Georgy. He is 11 years old, from Angel Missions Haiti, and we have been told he is a very pleasant child. He will be seeing a urologist in Indy and having genetic counseling done. His care will be life altering for him and will require a very dedicated family with a lot of sensitivity to his emotional needs as we are not yet sure what all will be required to fix his specific needs until he arrives and testing can be done.
Rebekah and her family will be keeping Georgy for a few weeks until we can find a longer term family for him. More information will be available as he arrives.
If you are within 2 hours of the Indy area and are interested in hosting him or know someone that might be, or would like more information on him please contact either Rebekah or Stephanie.
Rebekah is also in need of clothing for Georgy. We are guessing size 8-10 slim boy, girl or neutral clothes are good, we are trying to build up supply of clothes for future kids too all sizes. Shoes and underwear are also a need. If you are in or near Ft.Wayne and can help with this please contact Rebekah.
Prayer for Rebekah's family and for Georgy's transition would be very appreciated. His case will be very delicate and we do not have a lot of details yet.
Thank you,
HTH

HTH in the news...

HTH got some PR today... Hopefully this will cause some more awareness of the need to help within our community. God always provides in mysterious ways!!!

Here is the video... (Hands That Heal interview)

Linda Jackson did a great job editing our 45 minute conversation. HTH was prominent and that was my hope! This ministry has nothing to do with me, but all to do with the people of Haiti needing help, and how God provides in the most miraculous ways!!!

Halloween...

Jean Widler had his first experience with Halloween. His host family could not have picked a better outfit for him. He is obviously seeing better, since he could see where the candy was 'hidden'. :-)
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Here is a little note from his host mom, Nancy.

Cutest little bumble bee of this year!

Notice, it didn't take long for him to figure out where the loot
is...he kept trying to climb the stairs for different angles to that
wonderful bowl of goodies that he was just a bit too short to reach!
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Jean had another eye appointment this past Friday and the doctor is having the Stanley's patch his good eye for one hour a day to start strengthening and retraining the muscle in his right eye. He does not want to do corrective surgery before he sees if the brain will retrain the muscle by itself, now that he is able to see with his glasses. By patching the good eye, his brain will be forced to work with the right eye muscle and learn to use it properly. He will go back to the eye doctor in 6 weeks to see if there was any progress made. At that time, more definite things will be decided for Jean's eye surgery. First Steps has also evaluated him and he is behind in all areas except cognition. We have always known that he was one smart cookie. He will start receiving services as soon as the therapy plan is written up.

Thank you for remembering to pray for HTH, our patients, and our AMAZING host families!

We could not do this without your support!!!

Flamanda's Doctor Appointment

Flamanda's Appointment
Flamanda had her first doctor appointment today. The doctor says from the CT done in Haiti he does not think she has much of a temporal lobe. They are going to be getting an MRI on the 5th. She had her pre-op lab work done and is doing great with her family. She is eating well and loves rocking with Papa Terry in the rocking chair. I think she is getting spoiled! They are doing a great job and their kids are loving having her with them. They say she seems very aware of what is going on around her.The doctor is going to do the procedure where a hole is drilled in the brain first to drain fluid. If in 2 days that isnt working he will place a shunt. If it seems to be working and draining fluid they will send her home to be watched for a while to make sure it continues to work. This also is dependent on what the MRI shows but that is the current plan for her.What a blessing for her to be able to receive this care.God is good!Stephanie

Photos of Flamanda

First picture of Flamanda and her mom after we got the visa, second of Flamanda in her carseat on her way to Michigan and the third is her new host mom and one of her new brothers who is also from Haiti.

Praise God Flamanda is here

Well we made it home without any problems at all. Flamanda was a great traveler and I was so blessed to have a great team with me to help carry her. Her head is very very heavy and my arms are killing me. She only cried a little on each plane. She is missing her mom and breastfeeding very much. She does take a bottle and we have found out loves baby food! Yesterday I was so tired. I drove her 4 hours up to Michigan and she decided that our saftey laws and car seats really stink. She literally cried and screamed the entire way. It was a very long drive but we made it and met up with her host family. They are very experienced and have had several children like her before. I felt so comfortable leaving her with them. They have many older children that can help too. She has her doctor appointment next wedneday for all her pre op stuff and hopefully her MRI also that day. Please continue to pray for her to adjust and her mom to adjust in Haiti to not having her there. It was very obvious how much she loves her and was emotional and hard but happy to take her from her at the airport.We are very happy to have the Swarthout family taking care of her. They will be updating us often. She called me this morning and said Flamanda slept in her crib all night and is chowing down on baby food and drinking a little better from her bottle. What a praise and blessing.

Pray for Flamanda

Please join us in praying for Flamanda. We are in need of a family in or very near Detroit. We have a doctor and hospital but need the host family. She is getting worse and her head is extremely large now. Her CT scans show that she has had or still possibly does have an infectious process in her brain. She may require a lot of care initially. I am leaving for Haiti next Tuesday and returning the 20th. We are praying for me to bring her home that day with me. If we dont find the host family soon we will be unable to get the paperwork done in time for her to get the visa.
Please pray and if anyone that reads this know of an appropriate family in or very near Detroit that might be willing to take this task on please let us know.
Thanks,
Stephanie

AFRICA...

Are you wondering why on earth I would entitle a post "AFRICA"???? Well, God has called Hands That Heal to broaden our ministry to Africa. Not something that we were looking for, quite frankly, it was a bit overwhelming at first!!! But, it was God directed, and we will follow wherever He wants our ministry to go! Our primary focus has always been Haiti, because well, I know Haiti and our Nurse Coordinator goes to Haiti every 6 months on medical mission's trips. Haiti is comfortable, familiar, close, etc...

God has spoken in a VERY CLEAR WAY, and we are just going with the flow!!! Our primary focus will still be Haiti, and probably 95% of our patients will still come from Haiti, but our advisory board has agreed to consider any patient from any country and we will go where we feel God leading. Obviously, there are sick people all over the world that need medical intervention. One small organization like us is a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. We just feel extremely blessed to be able to be such a small part of God's plan!!!!!! This is my passion, and I know that I am in the center of God's will for my life when I am doing His work for "the least of these"!

So, do you want to meet our first patient from Africa???

Meet: Kwaku Danquah


Kwaku has a congenital condition called Crouzon Syndrome. He is not missing his arm, it is just behind his back. (Here is the brief explanation that my son's Ophthalmologist gave on Kwaku.) It is a condition where the sagittal cranial suture of the skull that is not usually fused in an infant to allow for rapid growth of the skull becomes prematurely fused. The remaining sutures are not closed so the skull continues to grow and this results in the odd shape of the head. The risk it that there could be increased pressure on the brain as well. Also, this condition is sometimes part of a hereditary syndrome called Crouzon syndrome that also includes facial abnormalities like protruding eyes (exophthalmous) and/or strabismus and jaw abnormalities.

Dr. McCabe diagnosed Kwaku from his photo and I started doing research on this particular syndrome. There was a sight that had a lot of information on it, and they had before and after photos of the kids that they treated, and they were amazing. They do not even look like the same kids!!! So, there was a contact button and I e-mailed them, not knowing "who" they were, and the next day got an e-mail stating that he was being submitted to charity care immediately.

Little did I know that I had contacted the World Craniofacial Foundation and Dr. Genecov had forwarded my e-mail on. Kwaku was being submitted to Dallas City Medical, where the conjoined Egyptian twins had been separated, and Dr. Genecov was one of the main surgeons on their case. Dr. Salyer was the leading surgeon and he has now retired. Dr. Genecov studied under him for 12 years.

I was stunned!!! I had 'accidentally' contacted the best place in the world for cranial facial reconstruction, and the best place for Kwaku to have a shot at a much more normal life.

In the last couple of years, they brought a boy here from Uganda with this same condition. I will put some links below for you to go and watch his story on You Tube. It is truly amazing!!!!!!

So, where are we at in his case??? Ghana is getting his passport. We are just waiting for Dallas City Medical to accept his case and we will get all of the letters together for his Medical Visa. God is so cool and I can't believe that we get to be a part of this!!! Please keep Kwaku in your prayers and that we would here something on Monday about his case.

Here are before and after photos of another boy from Africa that they helped. (Blogger will not let me rotate the first set of pre-op pics. It is not this way in its original form.)




AMAZING TRANSFORMATION, RIGHT!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDY20BwDisU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoTMdRInf4Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGLTm2Jz8FM

Here is a link to The World Craniofacial Foundation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Alk2QIL5DY

Please take the time to watch all of these. These doctors are transforming lives and spirits!!!

Hands That Heal wants to say a special Thank You to Dr. Genecov for pursuing Kwaku and for the amazing work of WCF!!!

Rebekah Hubley
Founder and Director

Flamanda

Hello everyone, this is Flamanda. She is a HTH patient that we have been unable to find care for as of yet. The top picture is of her in April and the bottom is now. Her Hydrocephalus is getting worse and worse. I had hoped that she might have surgery in Indy but they cannot take on any more patients until January. Since I found this out a few weeks ago I have been trying with not much success to find a place for her to be treated. It is so sad and unfair, if she would have been born here she would be a totally normal girl. She is living with her family still and they are praying for us to find somewhere to help their little girl.

I am praying for a miracle for her as she is getting worse every day. Please pray we can find somewhere for her to be treated very soon.

Thanks

Stephanie

Wow... What a Crazy 2 Weeks...

My last post was about Jean coming... Well, as the post said, he made it and our host family coordinator and his host family was going to be going to MI to get him the next day. Well, they got him and he was not feeling too good. He had a fever and cough in Haiti, and has a history of asthma. Well, the next day he was getting worse and his fever was high. By this time, he had been running a fever for over a week. We had an appointment with the pediatrician that Thursday and could not get him in on Wednesday because they were all booked with well checks since school was starting. Luckily I live close to my parents and my dad just happens to be a doctor. So, Nancy and I loaded him up and took him to my parents house for a "house call". He was so sick that he let a strange white man exam him on my parents kitchen table. My dad heard wheezing in his lungs and could not see good in his ears because of wax build-up. Nancy suspected an ear infection because he kept pulling on his ears. So, my dad ordered him antibiotics which he threw up that night... :-(

The next day I thought he might be admitted. We have such great pediatricians that see our HTH kiddos and they check him out thoroughly! He had blood work, a chest x-ray, and a complete exam. The findings after all of the tests were back: pneumonia in his right lung, a double ear infections, dehydration, and giardia. Poor baby!!! He had an IV hep-locked in his arm for 3 days while he went in to get daily rocephin infusions. By Saturday if he was not improving, Dr. Landrigan was going to have to admit him. Praise God he was doing better and his fever broke. He got his IV out last Saturday and has improved daily. He is eating like a champ and his personality is emerging. I will get over to the Stanley's this week to do a photo shoot with Jean Widler. I can't wait!!!
I will leave you with a photo journal of his trek thus far.

(Jean on his way to the airport)

(Kristin V. with Jean on the plane)

(Carla, HTH host family coordinator)

(Nancy, Host mom)

(You can't see his face, but this is Bob, Host Dad)

(I think this is Ali, Jean's host sister)

(The Stanley family, Kristin, Isaac, and Abby Vanderwell)

(Not feeling good, but being loved!)

(Snuggling with Liza)

(Too pooped to care...)

(Not a good pic, but that is me... :-)

(Playing the drums with Bob, even with an IV in...)

(Feeling much better 2 days after antibiotics)

(Feeling even better and dressed in some cute clothes)

(This family is GREAT!!!)

Please pray that he gets strong and gains some weight!!! He was scheduled to have his surgery last Tuesday and obviously that did not happen. The ophthalmologist is out of town on a missions trip for the next week or so. So, Jean will not have his pre-op appointment until Sept. 18th. Then surgery will be rescheduled. Our plan is definitely not God's plan. He shows us that over and over with each patient that is brought over!!!

THANK YOU STANLEY'S FOR TAKING SUCH GREAT CARE OF JEAN WIDLER!!! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL GETTING MORE SLEEP NOW!!!!!!!!! :-)

Jean Widler

A team from Grand Rapids that has been at GLA for a couple weeks is bringing Jean Widler in today. Pray for Kristin Vanderwell, his transporter, as they have "Amazing Race" like connections to make it to Detroit tonight.

We are scheduled to meet them 1/2 way tomorrow in Battle Creek to pick him up. Pray that all hand offs are peaceful and without trauma for Jean.

Jean Widler has infantile esotropia, which in laymen terms is called strabismus, or crossed eyes. He will be having surgery to correct his right eye in the next couple of weeks. He has also had some fever and respiratory issues lately and hopefully at his well check this week, all will be taken care of...

Thanks for your prayers, and please keep The Stanley's in your prayers over the next 8 weeks as they invite him into their home to love him as one of their own.

God's Workmanship

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Thank you all for your prayers and support. This scripture is so appropriate for Sabrina and all of us. He created her perfectly for His purposes so that she could do good works for Him.He knew in advance what her life and death were to be and God makes no mistakes. We were blessed to have her in our lives for the time we did as was the orphanage.

She will have lasting impact on her mother, us, the Ingle family, Hands That Heal and everyone that knew of her and prayed for her. Even this week I have had opportunity to talk with my sons new teachers, our neighbors, and thoses we work with about Sabrina, what Hands That Heal does and the effect she had on our lives. Even after her death she is enabling us to share how God has allowed us to extend the love He gives us to others and be a testimony to God.

Pray that the service goes well tomorrow and facilitates closure for all involved.

Thanks Steph

OOPS!!!!

I just looked at Sabrina's obituary on the blog and realized that a lot of it got cut out. I am not sure how that happened, it is all there in the pre-post. Oh, well... Please read it again for all of the details... Sorry!!!

Sabrina's Obituary...

This was published in our Ft. Wayne paper today.

SABRINA (HOPE) SAMPEUR, passed away on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, at St. Vincent's Hospital, Indianapolis. She was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti. She is survived by her mother, Martine Sampeur; and her long term host family, The Ingle's, of Cincinnati, Ohio and all those who helped along the way. Service is 11 a.m. Friday at D.O. McComb & Sons Lakeside Park Funeral Home, 1140 Lake Ave., with calling one hour prior. The Rev. Kerry Huffman officiating. Burial in Lindenwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Hands That Heal in care of the Avalon Missionary Church, 1212 Lower Huntington Road, Fort Wayne IN 46819. To visit our website, go to www.handsthatheal-mk1618b.blogspot.com. To sign the online guestbook, visit www.mccombandsons.com
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ANYONE is welcome to attend her viewing, memorial, and burial. We all prayed for her and now we will all put her to rest, dignified, and celebrate how much she taught us all!

In Honor of Sabrina...

In honor of Sabrina, I am changing our blog song for this week. Please read the below post...

This poem was just written by Rhyan Buettner, another 'mommy' to Sabrina when she was at GLA. Rhyan was at GLA the day Sabrina was brought there by her aunts, and she was there to witness a mother's tears as she looked at her daughter's 'broken' body.
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God Chose Me

God chose me to hold you close
Sweet baby for a moment or two
God chose me to hold his angel
and I cherish the day He gave me you

I held you child for 9 whole months
The dreams I had may never be known
But I loved you baby I promise you that
I held you until you had grown

I held you while I heard them speak,
the women who loved you so
I held you while your name was given
why God chose me I may never know

I am another who held you close
while God granted us your time
I prepared your feeds and nursed your hurts
For those moments, you were mine

God also chose me to hold you dear
for a season of your days
I carried you as we left the land of your birth
and held you along the way

I held you Sabrina close to my heart
Photographs of you play through my mind
I fought so hard to bring you here
Doing the work God assigned

God called me to hold His child
A baby in need of care
All night and day I cared for you
for that time I was there

God chose me to pick you baby
to keep you as my own
I was to be your mommy here
how I wanted to give you a home

God chose each of us sweet Sabrina girl
To walk your road with you
God placed in our arms an angel of his
Until your time was through

He gave you a life, He gave us a passion
and somehow the two paths crossed
He gave you breath, He gave us vision
And through it, your story will never be lost

Author: Rhyan Buettner
August 10, 2009

Baby Sabrina...

It is with a sad heart that I write this post. Sabrina died around 2:30am August 8th. She was breathing kind of funny when I spoke with Stephanie Mueller, our nurse coordinator for Hands That Heal, Friday afternoon. It sounded like she had the hick-ups. When Steph would re-position her, she would be fine. Heart, lungs, and everything else checked out normal. This continued off and on a few times on Friday, so Steph took her to the ER Friday night. I was camping with Hannah and I never heard my phone... Once in the ER, her breathing became more shallow and within a couple hours she passed away. Her little body was unable to fight any longer. We are all SHOCKED!!! Just the day before, First Steps was evaluating her and writing up a long term plan for her therapies. She was doing "great" for Sabrina!!!

Please pray for Stephanie and her family: Sabrina died in her arms and she is taking this very hard!!! Stephanie has been taking care of Sabrina for the past few weeks. She was her temporary host mom until she was released on her post-op appointment. Her boys loved Sabrina, and Jeremy in particular, is taking Sabrina's death really hard!

PLEASE PRAY FOR HER LONG TERM HOST FAMILY: Sabrina was scheduled to go to the Ingles, in Ohio, August 20th after her post-op check. They were hosting her long term. They were adopting a child from Liberia and trying to get him out on a medical visa, and he died two weeks ago. This family is grieving and needs our prayers!!! Their children are taking all of this incredibly hard!!!

Please pray for Hands That Heal this week: God has blessed us with a Funeral company that is going to donate everything for Sabrina's memorial. I am not sure what all will be involved: we meet with the director tomorrow morning.

Pray for all of the hands that kept Sabrina alive in Haiti and loved her so much while she was there. This little girl has touched so many lives in her short time on earth. To man's eyes, she was the most unlikely vessel to share His love, grace, and compassion. To God, Sabrina was the most perfect vessel to bring people closer to Him!!!!!! She has meant so much, and has taught so many people so many lessons!!!!

Sabrina, may you run and play with all of the other children that were on this earth way too short!!!! May you fly with wings that are full of life and happiness... I can just see (imagine) Berlancia, (a little girl that died a year ago at GLA: she died of Aids) with her big eyes and ornery smile, standing at the gates of Heaven saying, "We have been waiting for you to come and play...you just needed some time down there to finish what He wanted you to accomplish..." Both Berlancia and Sabrina were loved by a "momma", Anna, who is only 20 years old and so wise beyond her years!!! Both girls were abandoned by their earthly mothers, loved by so many at GLA, and were blessed to receive Anna's love like they were her own. Both knew a "mother's" love before they were held by their Heavenly Father!

What the world looks at as "the least of these" we know to be God's jewels and are mandated to love these children as He has loved us!!!" To God, these children are His BEST AND MOST PRECIOUS VESSELS!!!!

Sabrina: Your life on this earth was way too short, but what you taught so many in your 11 weeks, no one will ever forget!!!!!!

Thank you: Hands That Heal is honored and humbled to have gotten a chance to be involved and blessed by you, in your short life!!!