Things are getting a bit exciting and crazy around our home- we just booked our flight to Ghana to meet our children for the first time. Yes, I said children. Since I last posted about the adoption we received a second referral of a little girl! That is another post to be written, but today I wanted to share my nomination into the Yahoo! Women Who Shine contest.
Janel immediately came to my mind when I was asked to nominate someone. In the beginning of our adoption process I stumbled upon her blog which immediately became a great resource for me. In the typical roller coaster of emotions during the adoption process, her blog was my much-needed insight into our future children’s country and the issues that she as an adoptive mother was thinking and feeling.
Since Janel and her family live so close, they were gracious enough to have us over for dinner one night to chat about adoption and Ghana. It was our experience with her and her family that I began to feel my heart open to an older child adoption and the possibility of adopting two.
Janel and her husband Jake co-founded Kingdom Cares International, a non-profit that desires to reach out through global servanthood in obedience to the command found in Isaiah 1:17. They are currently working in a rural village in Asikuma, Ghana – located in West Africa, very close to where our children are from.
They have constructed an orphanage, regularly advocate for children with life-threatening injuries to receive medical care, sponsor hundreds of students within the community to have access to basic school supplies, school uniforms, and school fees and they regularly host mission trips. A few of their newest projects are a medical facility, development of public sanitation as well as providing micro-finance loans to families in poverty.
All of these stories are a testament to why Janel should win the Yahoo! Women Who Shine.
- The Baby In The Bush is saved.
- The 8 year old boy they found who was in dire need of medical care after a botched circumcision receives medical care.
- Her constant advocating for orphaned children.
- The boy living with the bone through his arm receives medical care.
- Her encouragement with finances and adoption.
…. And I could go on and on. Go visit her blog and you will be lost for hours! So please, please VOTE HERE for Janel to win $10,000 and Yahoo!’s Women Who Shine contest – she deserves it!
I was compensated for this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.
Wow! Janel is indeed an amazing and inspiring woman!! I’m happy to vote and support her! Wishing you all the best as you prepare to meet and adopt your little boy and girl.