Well blog friends…what can I say? It’s been a LONG time since my last blog post. I truly don’t even know where to begin. So, let’s start where I last left off…Darlene “Dolly” Grace!

I shared in my last post that things were rolling along in trying to get the Liberian infant I met in June to the United States for life-saving surgery. While things weren’t finished, we knew God didn’t allow things to progress as they had without having a plan for completion. Guess what? Yesterday morning, baby “Dolly” arrived in Nashville, TN! She and her parents and a translator traveling with them are HERE!!!! God has been so good to this little girl, and it’s only just begun. And, I’m so grateful that He’s allowed me to “travel this journey” with them, in part. And to think…I questioned how this could even happen to begin with. Never question the Sovereign Lord!

That said, I am struggling to heed my own advice. Never question the Sovereign Lord…hmmm…what a novel idea. These days I’m finding that’s very easy to do on behalf of others, but when it comes to me – it’s simply a foreign concept. You see – it all boils down to the fact that what I thought were God’s plans for me seem to be unraveling and simply disintegrating. I simply don’t understand it! I have gone from one disappointment to another over the past month and a half, and it seems to be mounting with intensity. While I don’t understand what’s happening…while I’m an emotional wreck these days…while I’m struggling to discern God’s plan for me…I STILL KNOW HE’S GOD! I still believe He loves me completely. I still know that His plans for me are the only ones I truly want. I still know that He will NEVER leave or forsake me. I still trust Him with all that I am. While I know these things to be true, I still hurt…I’m still void of words at times (a lot these days, actually)…I still need forgiveness…I still need to feel loved…I still your prayers!

Friends…I’m literally without words to express the awe I’m in over how God has worked a miracle for the baby from Liberia that I’ve previously written about. To see more details about Darlene “Dolly” Grace’s story…please read my June 30 and July 10 posts for more details. However, I’ll provide a brief summary…

I was blessed to be able to travel to Liberia in West Africa with two other women in June to help lead 5 women’s conferences. It was one of the most difficult and yet one of the most incredible journeys I’ve ever made. God blessed that trip in ways that we never could even begin to describe. But, one of the highlights of this mission trip was our ability to meet Baby Darlene (or “Dolly” or Grace…she goes by all of those names depending on who’s speaking about her). Dolly was born with a medical deformity – an omphalocele – that caused her abdominal and intestinal organs to be born on the outside of her body. I had never heard of this problem before, but since then I’ve learned that it’s not as uncommon as I might have guessed. However, in the US…it’s pretty easily corrected. Trouble is – Liberia doesn’t have qualified surgeons that can correct this problem. Therefore, in Dolly’s case…she has no chance of survival without surgery or a divine healing.

Thankfully, she was able to receive a first surgery (to enclose her organs under a thin layer of skin) in the Spring by a Chinese surgeon that happened to be in Monrovia at the time. He has since returned to China, however, and Dolly is in desperate need of this surgery by her 1st birthday (in November) to ensure a good chance of survival.

While in Liberia, we met this precious baby girl. She is absolutely beautiful as you can see from her picture above. We were asked if there was anything we could to help her. Americans are viewed by Liberians with absolute awe and respect, and they believe Americans can make anything happen. While there, we prayed over this baby and assured them that we would do everything we could, but God was in complete control, and we had to turn it over to Him!

So…fast forward a few months…my ministry partner that traveled to Liberia with me, Ginger, made a few calls and sent a few emails to some connects she had at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. We had some other calls made and emails sent. Another hospital in Denver was considering her case as well. Finally…just a few weeks ago…we were given the incredible news…VANDERBILT accepted Dolly’s case as charity. The surgery, medical expenses, and even some of the housing has been completely covered. Her pre-op appointment date is October 11 with surgery tentatively scheduled for October 21. Praise God for His faithfulness! We’ve also learned the speed at which this has happened is pretty unfounded for this type of request. We know that God has ordained and worked through every detail.

Which leads to the next piece…God has not brought this baby this far in the process to simply stop now. We still have a long way to go to raise funds to fly the family here and to possibly provide food and some additional lodging for them for up to 3 months. We’re looking at needing as much as another $13K to meet all of the other expenses, but I’m not worried. I’ve prayed that God would start stirring in the hearts of His children so that when asked…they would not hesitate to help.

So, I’m asking…with everything in me. Please do not say, “somebody else will take care of it.” Please do to discount this or simply move on to the next thing on your task list. Do you know that I raised every dime of support to go to Liberia in the first place, and not one penny more? So, the $10 gift was just as significant as the $500 gift (and everything in between). How much more true is that in this case? Some can maybe only give $5, but there are others that can do far more. Please, pray about this, but don’t delay in obeying whatever God leads you to do. You may make all tax-deductible gifts payable to Speaking Thru Me Ministries (STMM) – a registered 501(c)3 organization, and you can check out more information through their website at http://www.speakingthrume.com/make-a-donation/. We are also in the process of setting up a bank account that can receive direct donations for Dolly’s case as well. As more details unfold for that, I’ll be sure to pass it along.

If money is impossible, then I ask that you please pray for this little girl. Pray that every dime is raised. Pray that Delta airlines accepts our charity application submitted today by another sister trying to help this little girl. Pray that there are no snags in getting this family’s proper documentation to get them to the US, and that this little girl’s life is spared due to God’s direction through His faithful people!

Here’s a little video Ginger put together of our trip to Liberia. You’ll get to see more pics of Dolly on it as well!

Thanks friends! You are amazing!
(By the way…sorry the video is so small. I had to do that to keep the right side from chopping off, but to see it larger…simply click on the YouTube logo in the bottom right corner of the video and watch it directly from YouTube.)