Introducing Baby in the Bush's Forever Family!!!

Earlier this year on our March trip to Ghana there was a newborn baby who was abandoned to the ‘bush’ in Asikuma - the village where we do our work. The Lord had us there at just the right place and time, and we were able to eventually get the baby into Kwahu Orphanage and on the adoption track. You can read the story HERE and the last update I posted on him HERE.

I now I sit here with goosebumps, and a flood of emotion that threatens to burst out in gigantic happy tears. Because, today I get the joy of continuing to show you the beauty of adoption… I can now introduce you to baby in the bush’s forever family. :) Before I do, there is more news that you didn’t know yet. You may remember from my original post, that baby in the bush had an older brother – around 2 years old. His name was Ishmael. Here he is…

Well, a few weeks after baby in the bush’s birthmother had relinquished her baby into the care of CompAfriCare (one of the NGO's our Foundation works with in Ghana) to be adopted, we found out that she had decided to also give the older brother, Ishmael, in adoption. I truly felt in my heart that this was the right decision in light of her desperate situation. By that point, baby in the bush had already been matched with a family to adopt him, so they had a decision to make. Would they be able to adopt Ishmael too and keep the brothers together? Indeed, it was meant to be. They went forward with the adoption of both boys, and just last week their adoption case PASSED COURT in Ghana!!!!!!!!!! They now await the official adoption decree and then can ‘fly and file’ their I-600 form in Ghana (which is what Jake did for our adoption case back in August). They are just a few months/steps right behind our own adoption process.

Here's a little background on the forever family...they, Erin (mom) and Kyle (dad) have two children, both girls. The girls are Killian (going on 4 years old) and Keegan (going on 2 years old). You will see the girls in the pictures because Erin and Kyle brought them with on their trip to Ghana back in July so they could meet their brothers. I know – these people are ROCKSTARS let me tell ya!!!!! By the way, they live in Michigan. Erin is a veterinarian and Kyle is an ecologist turned stay-at-home-dad. I will be posting their side of the adoption story on Monday.

Erin and Kyle have also given the boys new names, and I wanted to share the background on those since I will be referring to them by their new names now. Here is the explanation of how they decided on the names via Erin:

“We are naming the baby, Ewan, and Ishy we will add the name Fynn to. Fynn is Ghanaian for "from the Offin River", which he actually is (even though we came up with the name before we knew that). And Ewan is a celtic name, like everyone in our family has, but we also liked it since he is from the Ewe people. We wanted to combine our own Irish heritage with their Ghanaian heritage, and these names seemed to do that.  Our girls have animal middle names...Killian Adelie (Adelie is a species of penguin) and Keegan Kodiak (for bear). The boys full names will be:

~Ewan Osono _____ Horan-Turner (Osono is Ghanaian for elephant)
 

~Fynn Agama Ishmael Horan-Turner (Agama Agama is the rainbow lizard...those cool guys you see running around Ghana).”

The ____  on Ewan's name is still in the decision making process.  I love all the thought that has gone into the boys' names.  Erin has said that they are really into names in their family, so now I know why God kept bugging me about 'baby in the bush' going to the orphanage without a name.  There is always a reason for even the little things! :)

Alright, here we go!  Here are just a few of the awesome pictures from Kyle and Erin’s two-week trip that they took to Ghana to meet their sons...

One happy momma with one blessed baby. :)

Formerly known as ‘baby in the bush’. Now known as Ewan.

Lookin’ good and strong buddy!  Ewan is now 6 months old!

And here is Daddy Kyle with baby Ewan…

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, Jake and I thought the same thing.  Daddy Kyle looks a bit like Jesus. How fitting. :)

Momma with Fynn (formerly known as Ishmael) and daughter Keegan.

Fynn hiding out with sister Killian

I also just wanted to interject a neat little story here that Erin had told me...

"When we told Killian (age 3) about Ewan and talked to her about if she would be happy with a baby brother (since we had been telling her for months that we would be getting her a brother around her size and she was so prepared for this) she kept saying, "Yes, we should get him. A little brother for Keegan. And we can get a big brother for me." We kept trying to explain, "no just one brother this time. You guys have to share a brother." And then when we found out about Fynn she laughed and said that she always knew we were getting two brothers, a big brother and a little brother.

I loved your post about how Justice squashed your fears of worrying about if he would impact your bio kids. So true! The kids are SO good about it. Our girls acted like Fynn and Ewan had always been their brothers. It was amazing to watch, especially Killian who is unbelievably shy, to the point you could classify it as social anxiety. Within a few hours, she was holding hands with Fynn, playing soccer with him, laughing with him. It was good for my heart to see."

Dad with Ewan and daughter Killian

Fynn with his sisters

Sister love

It is striking to me how alive and vibrant Fynn has become. We didn’t see this side of him when we met him in Asikuma. It gives me such peace in my heart to see him this way…..I am overjoyed that he gets a happy ending too.

Looking at pictures of himself and his brother…

They also worked in a trip to one of Ghana's beautiful beaches!

One of my favorites…cried happy tears when I saw this one the first time…an expression of trust and contentment in his momma’s arms…

Fynn, Keegan, Ewan, Killian = SIBLINGS!!!

Ewan. NEVER will I forget those eyes.

Fynn. So handsome I can hardly handle it!

Brothers. Forever.

♥  ♥

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

~Jeremiah 29:11~

Shine

A few weeks ago I learned that a fellow adoptive mom and community member would be nominating me for the ‘Yahoo! Women Who Shine’ contest.  You can read about why she, Emily, decided to nominate me on her blog HERE.

I have always seen our Foundation’s work in Ghana as a partnership between Jake and I, and so I was a little uneasy about being in a contest that focused on what I was doing. Ok, really uneasy. Jake is the speaker. The leader. The visionary. He is the courageous one that gives me the confidence to leave the rational thought processes of this world behind and radically jump in. Go for it. Make an impact – even when it doesn’t initially seem logical. Or safe. Or feel comfortable. This Foundation does not roll without him. So, upon reading Emily’s email to me about the nomination, which was pending my acceptance, my stomach was all in knots and every part of me wanted to ‘sit on it’ for a few days before answering. But I didn’t – and I’ll be honest why – it was because of the money. I could not possibly turn down the chance of our Foundation receiving $10,000. Not when I have looked into chocolate brown eyes, on chocolate brown faces, some fresh and young, some old and weathered, that whisper…

Help me.

Feed me.

Disciple me.

 

 

Hold me.

Comfort me.

Be a voice for me.

I have seen. And I am responsible. In that alone, my heart resolved that this ‘contest’ would not be in vain. This is for them.

That in itself could have been enough confirmation, but God continued to affirm my acceptance of this nomination. I worship, serve, and believe in a God who is ALIVE. He’s not dead. And often I write on this blog that God speaks to me, or that He whispered something to heart. Because that’s the only way I know how to describe it. Those are the only words that seem to fit. The next few days the uneasiness about this contest being centered on me, only half of our Foundation’s work, kept coming in waves on the inside. And that’s when God spoke. I opened up my devotional and read the day’s reading and the last sentence was like a blowhorn…

Shining. God used the word shining. One simple word and my heart was BOMBARDED with truth. The name of this contest is 'Women Who Shine'. And right then and there God said ~ Janel, I can work through any platform. I am calling you out. I am putting you out there, on this big scale, in front of the world so that You will glorify My name. Don’t back down or downplay this. This is a chance for You to tell the world about Me in a different way than you are used to. And immediately this verse entered my mind…

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

God was giving me confidence to embrace this platform.

I also find it quite interesting that Jesus tells me (and all Christ-followers) that we are the light of the world – only to then read this in John 8:12…

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

These verses do not contradict each other but rather explain each other. Jesus says I shine because He shines and is living in me. And a verse that further explains that marvel is this one…

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

To even be able to fathom that we, imperfect and sinful, human beings can reflect what our Almighty God is like is pretty much absolutely mind blowing. And yet, people’s heads do turn here in this world when they catch just a glimpse of God’s character (whether they recognize it as that or not). Jake and I have adopted a few children, fed children who are hungry, paid school fees for children to get an education, raised money for orphanages/foster homes, helped children receive medical care, and built a place where sick people can go to get medicine. I don’t feel like that is anything extraordinary. And yet, I now find myself in a contest to win $10,000 because of it. It absolutely blows my mind to think that this is all just a reflection. What people are seeing ‘shining’ in us is just a sliver. Just a teensy weensy. A shaving. A smidge of God’s character, manifested in His followers. Can you even imagine meeting Him face to face? Seeing justice and compassion and mercy and advocacy in its absolute FULLEST and PUREST form? It will knock us to our knees – and then some.

Until that day, when we can rejoice in heaven at the throne of Jesus because all the pain and sadness are gone – we have work to do. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering. It IS our blessed responsibility to act on their need. To bear their burdens. To give, and love, and serve them. If it is God’s will that I should win this money, it will all go to our Foundation, and we will continue to do just that. And when we do, the joy will be ours, because we know these people change our lives more than we will ever change theirs.

Here is the link to vote….
http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/activist-1344925328-slideshow/janel-sullivan-photo-1347595352.html

Talk of the Town ~ Dotse Update!!

O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.

Your plans for us are too numerous to list.

You have no equal.

If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,

I would never come to the end of them.

~Psalm 40:5~

I last updated you on Dotse HERE which was during the first days of Jake’s recent trip to Ghana. Then, some awesome news from our in-country worker ‘K’ after Jake got back to the U.S.…

August 13th:
Praise the LORD our God! Just got a call right now from FOCOS hospital that Dotse must come for admission today at 3:00pm for the surgery to be done tomorrow :D! Let's all keep praying for a successful end :D!

From there, ‘K’ helped Dotse get packed up and to the hospital where he was admitted. ‘K’ was to stay with Dotse throughout the surgery, and would be checking up on him throughout his recovery time in the hospital.

The next day, August 14th, we received the following picture, with the words: Dotse was just taken into the surgery room!

That moment is worth a THOUSAND HALLELUJAH’S in my book.

From there, the surgery took a whopping 4.5 hours. You may have caught from my last update that Dotse had also been complaining of pain in his left leg in addition to the compound fracture of his arm. The surgeons ended up operating on his left tibia (bone in leg) as well, which they had planned to do in the original assessment as detailed in my last post. The official surgical procedure performed on Dotse was termed: Sequestrectomy of Right Ulnar and Left Tibia (Partial Excision). The definition of sequestrectomy is: The surgical removal of a sequestrum- a piece of dead bone that has become separated during the process of necrosis from the sound bone.

Our next update came later that day, in the form of pictures with the subject line: He’s out! Out of surgery that is!

Dotse stayed in the hospital for recovery for one week. And then on Monday of this week we received the awesome news that Dotse had been discharged!!!

[Dotse’s medical care package includes post-surgery check-ups each week, leading up to the casts coming off.]

Dotse got re-settled back in Asikuma and the next day, Tuesday, August 21, ‘K’ was there to check in on him at his home. Here is Dotse pictured with his family.

And a note from ‘K’…

Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 4:06 PM
To: jake@kingdomhoops.com
Subject: DOTSE is BACK home, HEALED :D.

Jake,

Glory, honor and adoration to He that lives forever and ever, amen. On behalf of my own self, Dotse and his entire family, I'm saying a big thank you to team Sullivan and the many other Iowan friends, that out of kindness, sympathy and above all - their love for Christ Jesus, help Dotse in all aspect for his wellbeing. Just like a dream coming true, what the Lord has put in our hearts to do, is now done, with Dotse back home HEALED :D! May the LORD himself bless and reward you all according to his promises:). He is now back home as I said, healed, with everybody wondering how wonderfully things have gone :D.

We bless the name of the LORD. May the LORD be with and bless you all.

~‘K’~

‘K’ continued to tell Jake that Dotse is the talk of the town! :) When I read the above email, and the sentence that said “he is now back home as I said, healed, with everybody wondering how wonderfully things have gone” I was immediately transported to a section in scripture after Jesus heals a paralytic…

Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” ~Luke 5:26~

I can just picture the buzz around Asikuma as the villagers see Dotse walking around with his casts and realizing that he received care and help. In a dusty, old, forgotten village it must feel like a miracle to witness such things.

Although I get the wonderful joy of writing out these details and telling this story, this all has come because Jake refused to ignore God’s proddings that something could be done for Dotse. Jake spent many restless hours fighting on behalf of this boy so that he could get the care that he needed. And you all took us seriously, donated to cover his medical bills, and God made a way. It is a sharp thought to think about what would have been for Dotse, had he continued to suffer with no one advocating for him. But instead, a happy ending reigns.

Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

~Psalm 103:1-6~

Medical Clinic: Usage and Updates

One of the first things Jake did when he got to Asikuma a few days ago was go and visit our other girls (who we now consider our “adoption messengers”) Yaa and Adjoa.

In case you are just joining our blog, Yaa and Adjoa are two little orphaned girls in the village that we had started adopting last August. They are the reason we even began the Ghana adoption process again in the first place. Then, a few months later their aunt had decided she could care for them, and did not want to relinquish them for adoption. God orchestrated the timing of it all so perfectly that not even one day had passed when we received word on two other orphaned girls that had just been brought to one of the orphanages our agency works with. We just happened to be the only family in the program who was paper-ready and had set preferences to be matched with two children in their age range. From there we accepted the referrals of the two new girls, Jennifer and Florence, who we are adopting now! Yaa and Adjoa will always hold a special spot in our hearts, and we are thankful we can still be in their lives and care for their needs, even though adoption is not part of that at this point. Last trip Jake and I began an educational sponsorship for Yaa and Adjoa so that they could attend school. Adjoa is going to soon be matched with a family on my sponsorship waiting list, and Jake and I will continue to sponsor Yaa.

Jake said that as he walked up to their house to visit them on Sunday, Yaa was out playing and she saw Jake coming from quite a distance away. He said Yaa took off in a dead sprint running towards him, with a huge smile. Then when she reached him she jumped into his arms and nestled right in. Talk about melting Jake’s heart! Upon seeing Yaa, Jake immediately noticed that she had a very bad infection and fungus-like substance growing out of one of her ears from the inside and that she was also running a fever. The next day he took her to our medical clinic to have her ear checked out. Upon her examination Nurse Mark discovered that she was running a very high fever and that her ear drum had burst b/c of the infection. He said in a way that was good because the ear drum burst to push the infection out of her body. But he said that if she would have gone another 24-48 more hours without medicine it could have turned into staph infection - and if that would have happened she would have likely died. Jake was pretty upset about that, but thankful that he was there in Asikuma at this point in time so he would know to take her in to get checked out (the aunt simply isn’t educated enough to know this was an urgent medical problem, and she wouldn’t have been able to pay for the care). It’s frustrating how totally preventable/curable sicknesses here can become fatal. Jake said it was also sad because when the nurse’s aid was taking Yaa’s measurements the nurse asked Yaa for her full name (not in English – in the village’s main language called Ewe). Yaa just kept responding by saying “Yaa” and the nurse kept asking her name and didn’t think Yaa could understand what she was asking. Eventually Jake realized what was going on and he told the nurse’s aid that Yaa doesn’t have a last name (because her mother has died and father has abandoned the family so they consider there to be no ‘family name’ left). That detail of Yaa and Adjoa’s lives still stings Jake and I because we know how close they were to being adopted. But, we trust God’s Sovereignty and hand in their lives. He has a plan for them, and we will follow His plan to have them remain in Asikuma. Jake did go and bring Yaa’s aunt to the medical clinic so that Mark could explain to her how to administer Yaa’s medicine. Our Foundation paid for Yaa’s medicine which was 12 Ghana cedis – a mere $6.

Jake said that the medical clinic has been packed from day to day. He says from about 8am-1pm there is a non-stop flow of people. The majority of the patients are children - infants to 8 year olds. He snapped this picture of the waiting room on Sunday and he said there was a line out the doorway.

Jake had also realized that the paint on the outside of the building and surrounding gate wall had already worn off and that the place looked really dingy. He found out that the men who had went and bought the paint last time had bought a cheapo paint that washed off in the rain. This time he sent some of our Kingdom Hoops boys into ‘town’ to buy an oil based paint that wouldn’t rinse away. Our team then spent an entire day cleaning the clinic up. They weeded, painted, and put up the sign that still hadn’t been installed and was just laying against the concrete wall.

Jake said an army of ants had also gotten in and taken over the storage/medicine room. So they cleared out all the medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, and went and bought a really strong chemical spray to clear out the bugs. Then they cleaned and wiped it all out and restocked the shelves.

A missions team from Lutheran Church of Hope (Des Moines) also dropped off medical supplies to our clinic today. They were in Ghana working with Globe Serve and going around to rural villages doing malaria prevention. They had planned to meet up with Jake to view our projects in Asikuma. Here are the nurses of the clinic stocking the new supplies. Betty (in blue) is the head nurse and oversees the clinic and whole staff.

It is our hope that we can eventually work together with Lutheran Church of Hope to create a medical campus consisting of our clinic/birthing center, radiology, orthopedic center, dentists, and eye doctors (this was all spurred by Doug Vander Weide, one of our regular tripsters and member of LCH). Obviously we are still in the initial brainstorming stages, and this was their first trip to see our clinic.

The main project for today was to sod the outside of the clinic. Jake thinks this will help with the bug problem and also, all the patients have been tracking dirt in because it surrounds the entrance of the clinic inside the outer gate next to the sidewalk. Very unsanitary! They brought in a load of black dirt this morning to go underneath the sod….

Spreading black dirt...

And they are just getting ready to lay the sod as we speak (yes, you are getting these updates in real time!). I should have a picture of the sod installed later today.

With all of the medical situations that have come up this trip (and more that I haven’t blogged about yet), it has been clear confirmation from the Lord that this clinic is definitely making an impact on this community!

Update from Jake in Ghana: Sponsorships!

Well, apparently God is ready to start our sponsorship program. The team made it up to Asikuma on Saturday. Yesterday Jake was led to a young family by our hotel owner’s wife. [She, ‘M’, is turning out to be very knowledgeable of individuals in the community who are in dire need.] The family she led Jake to yesterday lives somewhat near to where the ‘baby in the bush’ was found, which is an entirely different section of Asikuma that is….well….back in the ‘bush’ (jungle-like area)….completely secluded away from the town center.  Here's a snapshot of the team walking there.

It is likely that we would have never even known this section existed had it not been for ‘M’ and ‘K’ (our in-country staff member) who both had decided separately that this was the trip the team should be taken there. This area of Asikuma is so far away from the other area we are normally in that it is actually governed by a different chief, who Jake and the team also got to meet on this day.

The original reason Jake was led to this family was to meet a young boy, 8 years old named Emmanuel, who is really suffering. The medical problem is this: he was just recently circumcised a few weeks ago which is obviously very late. Jake was told through a translator that he wasn’t circumcised sooner because the family had no money. Then a few weeks ago a woman was going door to door performing circumcisions for families who have no money (oh my!) so his family had him circumcised. Afterwards a massive infection took over his entire genital area, so much so that he cannot even walk or barely move. Jake said it is the most severely grotesque and sad thing that he has ever seen….the swollenness and infection is unimaginable. I can’t even fathom the pain and unsanitary conditions this boy experienced going through that type of circumcision. Right now he sits all day with this cloth wrapped around him, naked underneath – he can’t move, and clearly he is not eating well…

Immediately after meeting Emmanuel Jake called the nurse on staff at our medical clinic to ask him to come make a house call for Emmanuel. Mark, the nurse, came to Emmanuel’s home immediately, examined him, and then went back to the medical clinic to retrieve the proper medicine to treat the infection. Nurse Mark brought back the strongest antibiotic that our medical clinic had. Emmanuel will drink the medicine 3 times per day for 7 days. Mark also brought him a pain killer to be taken twice per day for 7 days. Nurse Mark will visit Emmanuel each day over the next month to ensure he is healing properly and that he is taking his medicine correctly. Our Foundation covered the cost for the medicine and the cost of care for Mark to check on Emmanuel. The total cost was 50 Ghana cedis which is a mere $25. It’s almost sickening how far our American dollar can go to make such a huge impact on the lives of the people in this country.  Emmanuel with his medicine...

This was the first time that Jake has really gotten to be around Nurse Mark for a good chunk of time, observing him in action. Jake was very impressed by his professionalism and also noted that Mark has a huge heart for the people, is passionate about his work, he is a believer in Christ Jesus, and is very knowledgeable regarding disease and medication. Later on Mark went through the entire storage room with Jake and explained each medicine in stock and what it treated.

Jake also met the rest of Emmanuel’s family….his little brother, Solomon who is 6 years old….

And Emmanuel’s mother who has a newborn baby….

In the family there is a total of 6 kids (of which Jake met 3 – Emmanuel (2nd born), Solomon (3rd born) and the newborn). The husband/father does substance farming (which means he produces just enough food to survive for his family) – he gets back to the house each day late at night. The wife/mother used to wash dishes for a neighbor for work up until she had the baby. Emmanuel and Solomon are not going to school because of the family’s poverty. Here is a picture of their house…

As Jake and I have talked back and forth, he continues to stress to me that the injustices and oppression happening in this area of Asikuma are far beyond anything he has ever experienced yet in Ghana. He keeps telling me that no words or pictures can actually describe what the team is experiencing. This has really kicked the wheels in gear regarding a sponsorship program. It’s time – the prompts are there from the Lord. 

Jake has been crunching the numbers to come up with the right fee for our sponsorships since it seems that God is ready to start this. Jake says that World Vision charges $360/year but that a lot of that goes towards administration costs. He thinks we can keep our sponsorships much lower because we don’t have those costs. The number he has arrived at for children in Asikuma is $150/per year/per child.

$37.50 of that covers their enrollment/school fees at Godwin International School in Asikuma (which is 75 Ghana cedis for the year – the exchange rate right now for the U.S. dollar is almost 2 to 1). [Note: this is not the governmental school that we have been making upgrades on. This is a well-established school in Asikuma that has a great reputation for producing scholars.] Jake is bringing Godwin, the school master, to meet Emmanuel and Solomon’s mother on Wednesday morning. From there Jake will pay the school fees in person to Godwin for the boys, and he will do it this way for future children identified.

The rest of the $150 fee left over after school fees would cover school uniform, medical assistance (such as the medicine purchased for Emmanuel) and other basic needs – food, school shoes, etc.

In addition, we would structure the program as World Vision does theirs so that if additional needs arise for an individual child/family we could present the need to each sponsor family. For example, like providing an additional one-time gift as a microfinance loan to help the family create consistent work and income.

Families in the U.S. will have the opportunity to send over pictures/letters/care packages to their sponsored child any time our team is headed to Ghana. And, with our frequent trips to Ghana, and reliable in-country staff members that we now have, updates on the sponsored children can be easily done. At the very least families could expect updates on each trip Jake or I attend. Jake will have one of our in-country staff members managing the program and checking up on the sponsored children while he is away.

So, it looks like this is off to a start! And, I can happily report that a sponsor has already been matched up with Emmanuel and Solomon!!!!! This particular family had contacted me to be next in line for sponsorships since George’s was presented, and they jumped at the chance to help Emmanuel and Solomon. Love it!

You can watch the blog for future sponsorship opportunities, or contact me personally if you want to ‘stand in line’ for when the next one arises. :)

Dotse Update!!!

The last I updated you on Dotse’s situation was here. Since then a lot has happened!

Jake continued to get the run-around from the previous hospital (St. Josephs) that we were working with. As I noted in my last update, they had scheduled Dotse to be admitted on July 6th. However, Jake was just not getting a good feeling about that hospital. Each time Dotse was to be admitted and showed up, there continued to be ‘no available rooms’ unless we paid more and more money. Not only that, but they would not give us any sort of estimate on how much the actual surgery was going to cost. Something fishy was going on.

Well, as God would have it there was a different plan brewing. For the past year Jake has been communicating with a past family in his Kingdom Hoops program who had signed up for a foreign exchange program and got a young student from Ghana. In June Jake met up with the family and their host student at the gym so they could all meet and talk. As they were talking Jake was telling them Dotse’s story as he explained some of our missions work in Ghana. The host student, Kojo, ended up knowing about an orthopedic hospital in Ghana called FOCOS (Foundation for Orthopaedic And Complex Spine). Kojo had great things to say about the hospital and thought that Jake should check it out. Kojo’s host mother ended up contacting the hospital on Jake and Dotse’s behalf. There is a lot of reading below as I share the email communications, but I want to relay every detail so that you can experience the awesomeness of how God has weaved this all together!

June 28th, 2012

Dr. Boachie, I am writing for two reasons. First, my family wants to visit Ghana next summer. We have just recently hosted an exchange student from Accra, and already miss him dearly. We want to visit him in his homeland. We also want to help out in any capacity that we can. My husband, Scott, is a board certified orthpaedic surgeon, and has practiced for the last 20 years at Iowa Ortho in Des Moines, IA. Scott is fellowship trained in sports medicine. Our youngest child, Nathan is a premed major, and will be attending Luther College in Decorah, IA. I am just a mom, who would love to help in any capacity needed. Two summers ago we spent two weeks in the Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania area, and Scott and Nathan were able to help out at Selian Lutheran hospital in Arusha. We also spent time at Living Waters Childrens' Centre, and with the wonderful villagers of Ugweno where our home church has a sister congregation, Kifula Lutheran.

Second, and even more urgent, is a case that Jake Sullivan, founder of Kingdom Hoops in Ankeny, IA is passionately involved in. Jake has traveled to Ghana numerous times over the last several years, and after Kingdom Hoops helped build a medical facility, has met a young boy with a compound forearm fracture that has never been treated. Please see the blog I have attached that Jake has written on his Kingdom Hoops site. There is a picture and story of this young boy, who is still unattended for his medical emergency. http://team-sullivan.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana%20Trip%20March%202012

I would love to hear back about our volunteer possibilities next summer. I would love to help out in any way that I could, from Iowa, to see this young boy in Ghana get medical attention.

Thank you,
Ruth Meyer

Just hours later, on the same day Ruth heard back from the doctor!

June 28th, 2012

Ruth. Thanks for your email and interest in volunteering in Ghana with FOCOS. You and your husband should complete a volunteer application on website and submit for review. Can you get the young man to visit the FOCOS clinic in Ghana for review. I will be there in August and can see him then. He can come for appointment. The clinic # is 302-215-900

Dr Boachie

Dotse’s initial appointment with this new hospital, FOCOS, then became scheduled for July 11. Here is the recap of the appointment that our in-country worker, ‘K’, emailed to us after the appointment was over that day:

July 12, 2012

Jake,

Sorry I couldn’t update you yesterday as promised. I was so tired as we arrived in Asikuma around 7:20 pm! Glory and honor to him, in whom we have strength for all good works. Amen!

As matter of fact, the LORD showed how and why we dropped in on the “Foundation for Orthopedics and Complex Spine” (FOCOS)! Victory ahead, Jake! We started the journey around 8:30 am and arrived in central Accra around 12:40 am. After having some foods, we then headed to another lorry park as directed, to grab a cab to the hospital. We had a quite difficult time finding the hospital and have to change cars several times.

At last, we were at the hospital and lady at the front desk made us sign some documents, pay GHC 100 and then gave us 1:30 pm as the time we would see the doctor. We headed the doctor’s (Joseph Ogyaadu’s) office at the set time and met him and another doc there. They saw Dotse’s previous x-rays, asked him some few questions, did some checking on his arm and the foot and then asked Dotse to go for a laboratory test and a newer x-ray. I accompany Dotse to all those places, as I have to be his translator all the time and I knew very well that it is my duty. We waited for almost two hours for the results, paid for, and sent them (both results) to our waiting doctors. After inspection doc Joseph took his time to explain everything to us, as I was translating them to Dotse. Joseph said wounds are now going, but Dotse is having a dead bone fallen inside the arm and that must be removed with surgery. He continued by saying that he is ready ANYTIME to do the surgery for Dotse and all he needs is to discuss the bills with you. I wanted to tell him that it is possible he and I discuss it for me to report to you later but…you know this is Ghana and things do go quite differently.

What I noticed is that, unlike St Joseph hospital with its Dr.Rahmans, people in FOCOS are just different!!! All their stuffs are well organized, they are friendly, hardworking and mostly they waste no time! Joseph says he himself might email you for the bills and then when there is agreement, he will set a date that would be communicated to me, whether by him or you, to bring Dotse back for the surgery. Thus, this is the financial account of the journey:

1.)-Transportation from Asikuma-Central Accra-FOCOS-Central Accra-Asikuma=GHC 38
2.)-Registration and consultation=GHC 100
3.)-Laboratory test=GHC 27
4.)-x-ray=GHC 50
5.)-food=GHC 10
TOTAL=GHC 225

NB: All payment receipts except the transportation fares are received and kept down for you. Thus Jake, be expecting a mail from Doctor Joseph, featuring the bill for his surgery with the date for his surgery. Otherwise, you can also mail him, asking him to tell you about how our meeting him was. Warmest regards to all and please let me know your thoughts, views and comments soon.

~‘K’~

And ‘K’ took these pictures for us! It makes me giggle that he was allowed in the area where they viewed the x-rays!

Obviously you can tell from ‘K’s recap that this hospital was much more professional and ethical! HOOORAY! Just a few days later ‘K’ received the invoice from FOCOS for the impending surgery costs and all other costs associated with Dotse’s care, x-rays, etc. I don’t think we’ve ever been more excited to get an invoice before! Getting this meant PROGRESS and we finally had an idea of what this surgery was going to cost!

From: ‘K’
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 10:31 AM
Subject: Fw:: Medical Bill

Jake, just got this e-mail right now from FOCOS hospital. Hope you're all doing fine:D.
Regards to all,
‘K’.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN -
RE: AGBAVITOR DOTSE, 20YRS
Diagnosis: Multi Focal Chronic Osteomyelitis
Procedure: Sequestretomy of Right Ulnar and Left Tibia

The above named patient was examined by Dr. Joseph Ogyaadu for a complaint of painful right forearm and left leg. At the conclusion of the examination, Dr. Ogyaadu discussed his findings regarding risks and benefits of the recommended surgery. A pre-determined cost associated with the doctor’s planned procedures including professional fees, Hospital charges (Ward, Feeding, Medication, X-ray, Labs. and Physiotherapy), Theater, Recovery Room, Medicals are as follows:

CPT CODES
24147: Sequestretomy of Right Ulnar and Left Tibia (Partial Excision)
00630: Anesthesia Ward, Feeding, Theater, Recovery Room, Medicals, X-rays, Medications, Laboratory Tests etc.
Total = $ 3,500USD

Please be advised that the CPT codes and the fee provided above are an estimate. During the course of surgery, if it becomes apparent that it would be advantageous to the patient to use a different procedure(s), such change(s) would be made and the patient billed accordingly. This fee includes six months, orthopaedic outpatient follow-up care at the FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital. (Follow-up X-ray, Physiotherapy and Laboratory tests are not included in this amount)

So, at this point it was about 10 days before Jake’s departure to Ghana. His goal was to get this money raised before he left so that he could hand-carry the funds with him on his trip and pay FOCOS hospital in person. A family from our church had already donated $600 towards Dotse’s surgery costs. Jake and I matched their gift with $600 of our own, so Jake had $2300 left to raise in just 10 days. The night that he got the invoice he immediately sent out a letter to all of his Kingdom Hoops families and other personal contacts. I think he sent the email out around 10pm. By the next morning when he woke up the money was raised via verbal pledges!!!!!! The next week the money ROLLED in via the mail box and hand deliveries in person. Once again, God showed up and provided!

Earlier this week on Wednesday, August 1st, Jake’s first stop before he went to see our girls was to go to FOCOS hospital and pay for Dotse’s surgery. This morning Dotse had more surgery prep appointments which Jake got to attend with him. Dotse had the last of his blood work done, a few other lab tests, and they took some additional x-rays. He also had to get an ECG test done. Some pictures:

Jake and Dotse arriving at FOCOS hospital this morning...

FOCOS hospital...

'K' and Dotse in waiting room....

Dotse getting his ECG...

On this coming Monday, August 6th, Dotse has his last surgery prep appointment which is with the anesthesiologist. Then they will schedule the surgery date! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!!!!!!!!