THEIR VERY LIVES DEPEND ON THIS

	First of all, thank you for reading my story. I hope I can convey my thoughts to you in such a way that you fully understand the dilemma I am in. Several years ago I began helping a woman with two children, Martha, Yeephen, and Blessing. They were living in a refugee camp in Ghana, Africa. I am not a rich person, so my help was limited to a couple of packages per year with toys, toiletries, candies and other things that I knew they couldn't get or didn't have money to get.
	At the same time, I became acquainted with two young friends of theirs, Joel and Karl. So, when they needed things such as medication or medical treatments, I sent money to help with these things. I was able to help Karl purchase a popcorn machine in order for him to make money to support himself. And in the meantime, still helped with medical costs which ended up being many. All of them have had malaria at least once a year. Karl has had more illness than any of them. Still he made the best of his situation and never gave up the hope that someday he would attend college and be able to get a real job.....somehow.
	Martha supported herself and the children by preparing food and selling it. It was hard working with the heavy iron kettles and cooking over an outdoor fire. Still, she managed and proved to be a very hard worker. Joel helped her a lot with her business and with the two children. And I was able to help pay for educational costs to send the two children to school there at the camp so that they would not be so far behind if they ever did get out of that camp and into a real world situation.
	With my sister's help, we were able to purchase a pump-type sewing machine for Martha and she was able to make a little money by sewing also. Their lives were very hard, but at least there was a sort of stability where they were. At the beginning of this year (2008), the camp became very unstable with soldiers entering and arresting people. It was literal chaos and all the people I knew there were very unsure about their future.
	Karl had a friend who was leaving to go to the U.S. and the apartment that his friend had would be available for Karl to live in. For $2,000 an apartment was rented for Karl to live in for a full year. He has also been awarded a scholarship after many interviews and testing by a U.N. sanctioned institute and will be starting college at a university in Accra, Ghana. There is one more test for him to take and if he passes, and he hopes and prays he will, he will be able to come to a college in Kentucky next year. This is his goal and he is driven like a mad man to reach it. And I do believe he will do it. Praise God. Martha, on the other hand, had the responsibility of two children and Joel who she did not want to leave because he was invaluable to her in helping with her many daily tasks and with the children. When I asked her what her options were, she said that she and the children and Joel wanted to go back to Monrovia, Liberia, which is where they are originally from. The only reason they left was because of a civil war that broke out about 15 years ago and forced people to literally run for their lives.
	We began formulating a plan to help Martha get back to Liberia. She got information on transportation, which was by a big army looking truck with many other families and their belongings....including animals. The money was sent for her and the children and Joel to pay for their transportation to Liberia. It took them over 3 weeks to travel the approximate 700 miles from the camp to Monrovia. The ordeal was horrifying. They were ambushed during their journey and the drivers were arrested for 2 weeks until they were allowed their freedom. Martha and the children and Joel ran for their lives to hide while vandals rummaged through all their belongings and taking what they wanted. Martha ended up losing her sewing machine to these people, which caused her such awful grief.
	Eventually, they made it to Liberia where they stayed in the living room of a friend she had stayed in contact with over the years. She found a place to rent and again there was $2,000 sent to secure rent for one full year. She worked hard getting the place clean and livable. Martha developed problems that required surgery and the children also became very ill after they got settled. Money was sent for Martha's surgery and medical treatment for the children. The children were about to have to register for school and another $600 was sent to help with registration for the year, uniforms, shoes, etc. Martha did not want to depend on someone else for her every need and decided that if she could open a little restaurant, she could make enough money there to support herself and the children. So, again much money has been sent in order for her to get a little restaurant opened. On July 15, 2008, Martha opened "Blessing's Spot" and was doing quite well. I had asked her what she needed for her restaurant and there are many needs, but she was willing to buy things as she could afford them.
	Today, August 5, 2008, I received an email from Joel telling me that he and Martha had gone to the post office and received the 3 packages that I sent to them and were very happy. When they got back to the restaurant it had been vandalized and everything stolen. He goes on to tell me that Martha literally fell to the ground with grief and he had to carry her back to her home. She has stayed locked in a room crying since. He is very worried about her. The past 6 months has been very costly. And I have loved every minute of learning of how their lives are changing and feel honored to be a part of that. These are my family now. I love them and know about their personal lives. My heart grieves for them when they are ill and I honestly wish they were here with me so that I could help them on a more personal basis. I cannot foresee being able to go to Africa any time soon. And even if I did, I'm not sure what I could do there.
	Let me mention the ages of these folks also. Karl is almost 27 years old and doesn't know if he has any living family. Joel is in his mid 20s and is pretty sure that his entire family has been killed. Yeephen is 15 and Blessing is 4. Martha is in her mid 30s and these two children aren't hers. Yeephen's brother turned out to be a scoundrel and she was left with Martha. Blessing's mother asked Martha to sit with her while she went somewhere. She never came back. Martha is quick to tell people that these ARE her children though. She has become their mother in every sense of the word. Actually, Martha lost 4 children of her own during the time when they all had to run for their lives. It's a very chilling story. The money that I send Martha, Karl, Joel, and the children came from an inheritance. It is rapidly running out and I fear that the upkeep is more than I can handle with my $7 an hour job which is going to be over by the end of the year.
	I need help to continue to support Martha, Joel, Karl, and the children for an undetermined amount of time. They may always need help, I don't know. But until they can get their lives going well, there will always be a need for financial help.
	God knows my heart and He has blessed me for helping these folks and being obedient to tithe to my local church. But I believe it is time for me to introduce this situation to others and give them a chance to bless these people also. If you have read this far, I know you realize the seriousness of this situation. I appreciate any help you are able to send. And I know from experience that God is in the wonderful business of handing out blessings to those who sacrifice for others.

May you be richly blessed for your help. Thank you very much.
        
                         

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