Meet Hope...

Below is a picture of sweet Hope age 2 1/2.  She came into our program the night before this picture was taken, exactly two weeks ago.  She was so malnourished, too weak to move any part of her body.  You can't see it in the picture, but her skin was just hanging off her bones.  There was little expression in her face.  She was from a very poor village, neglected because of her disability.  We think she has mild Cerebral Palsy, and should know more once she has her strength back up.

Here is beautiful Hope just two weeks later!!!! I just received this pic yesterday! Look at the light in those eyes!!  She has a wonderful FMN foster mom that cares and loves her! I hear she's a good eater!!

PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A SPONSOR TO ONE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL KIDS!  WE WELCOME PARTIAL SPONSORSHIPS, AS WELL AS ONE TIME DONATIONS!!!

THANK YOU!! 

ERIC NEEDS YOUR SPONSORSHIP!!!

Meet Eric!  Eric came to us six months ago, very  malnourished, always wearing a blank stare, not moving much,  a lot of sores on his hands from chewing and scratching himself, and would bang his head alot.

  I have seen so much improvement in Eric.  He eats really well and is starting to fill out a little bit.  He understands his foster mom, even answering her with facial cues and sometimes verbal sounds.  He has gained strength in his hands, arms and legs, as well as his neck and trunk muscles.  We think he has CP, and is very delayed because of his  muscle weakness.  I noticed him several times studying my face when I was holding him, and concentrating on activities going on around him.  He is very aware of his surroundings, and his foster mom is working on getting him to smile.  Eric's sores have healed and he is no longer chewing or scratching his hands and arms.   It was wonderful to see him playing with a toy when it was within reach! 

On one of the visits we had from the government, they were very surprised to see Eric alive!  They honestly thought he was not going to make it!  Yet here he is, growing and improving!

 I see so much wonderful potential in this little boy!  I can't wait to see more improvements as he continues to come out of his shell.

Please consider being Eric's sponsor!  All of our kids need your help to thrive!!

Our program is helping all these beautiful kids!

Junior NEEDS A SPONSOR!

Here is handsome Junior with our newest foster mom, Martha.  Junior is 20 months old and has Cerebral Palsy.  He was very afraid of us 'white women', so I was not able to evaluate his muscle weakness as much as I would have liked.  He cannot sit on his own, has very weak trunk and neck muscles, but is very healthy. He moves all his arms and legs nicely, responds to Marthas verbal cues and love. He eats and drinks great! He was attaching nicely to his foster mom. We expect some wonderful improvements from Junior in the near future!

Please consider being Junior's sponsor, or a sponsor to any one of our FMN children!  We would love to have you as a partner in helping these special children reach their greatest potential!

Grace NEEDS A SPONSOR!

 

Grace is 3 years old and has full body Cerebral Palsy, mostly the muscle tightness rather than the lack of muscle strength.  She is very healthy and is strong.  She loves to stand (with support from others), and thrives on praise. Because she has the correct movements and body posture to be able to simulate walking, we would love to get her a walker in the near future.  She has the most beautiful smile, and is great at interacting with others. 

While visiting with Gracie last week, Michelle interacted a lot with her and learned how motivated Gracie was by simply praising her while excercising.  She really utilized her leg muscles a lot!

Please consider being a sponsor for Gracie!!!

NEEDING CHILD SPONSORS...

With the three new FMN kids, we are in need of committed sponsors to help cover their care costs.  Without sponsors, we cannot cover our costs to feed and properly care for these precious ones.  Our program is growing, the foster moms are doing an amazing ministry of caring for all the FMN kids, and every child in our program is doing fantastic!

We don't want to turn away any child due to the lack of funds,  so we faithfully bring a child in need, into our program, hoping that a sponsors can soon be found.

Our kids needing immediate sponsors are... Eric, Hope, Junior and Grace.  I will be posting more pics from our trip, so you will need to scroll down to see the kids' pics for now.  Please let me know if you would like to help. FMN email forgetmenotchildren@yahoo.com or click on the 'donate' button on the left if you would like to help us with a one time donation.


Thank you so much!
Christina

More pics from day 6!

Josephus and the FMN truck...

Sweet and goofy Melvin!

Korpu doing her handprint.

Day 6 in Liberia...

Today was our last day to spend with the kids and caregivers.  It's always so sad to leave.  Each and every one of these children are so special, as well and our caregivers and Josephus, the Liberian director.  I'm proud of all their hard work and the love they pour into this program.  It takes so many hands to make a program work, and everyone on our FMN team is truly making it work! This program is changing the lives of these precious children!

Cutie Mohammed!

Our newest caregiver, Martha, and our new boy, Junior!  He is severely afraid of 'white people' and the camera, so we did not get a smile out of him.

This smile is sooooo worth a million bucks!  After just two days in our care, Hope was smiling!!!! She was so weak and dehydrated when she came into our program, she couldn't lift her head or move.  Now, after two days with her foster mom...she's holding up her head briefly, and started moving her arms and legs a little bit. She's going to do great in our program!

   

Christina and Kou. Kou is my most precious foster mom and the 'overseer' of the other foster moms.  I see the love of Jesus when I watch her with our FMN kids.

Day 5 in Liberia...

Christina and Gborlee...

John with his drum.  He loves to dance to his drum!!

Melvin posing for pic.  He was pretty silly today, we just didn't catch the silliness on camera!

Surprise can laugh like crazy!  He is very engaging and interacts wonderfully, and, throws some amazing tantrums!

Day 4 in Liberia...

Today we went to one of the hospitals that have referred us several of our FMN kids.  It was great to see the nurses and doctors who cared for them, and they were all so greatful for our type of program to come alongside them and help these special kids.  

We then went to a chicken farm to get some pricing on chicks.  Our goal is to provide each of our foster homes with egg laying chickens so they'll can get more protein in the kids' diet.  The FMN program will be doing an Easter fundraiser for this purpose in the next few weeks!  

We then went to visit the foster moms and FMN kids!  Our favorite part of every day here!

We are in need of 3 new sponsors for 3 new kids!  Please consider being part of the FMN sponsorship program to help these precious little ones.  It is the committed sponsors that help these special ones thrive!

Enjoy a few pics... 

This is from our cake and balloon day! 

This little girl we took in yesterday as an immediate placement due to her condition.   She is very malnourished and weak, but is now with a loving foster mom. 

Eric enjoying his new toy!

Karen laughing at her foster mom!  Super cute smile!

Beauty Queen Korpu!

Day 3 with the kids!

Today I surprised all the foster moms and kids with cake and balloons!  I wanted to celebrate and congratulate them on the wonderful care they've been providing, but especially for the praises we have been getting from the government.  Pics of the party will come later!  Enjoy a few pics that the internet allowed to upload.

Cutie Angel!!!

                                Michelle and Gborlee...he was really studying Michelle's face...

Beautiful Grace (the foster moms call her Gracie)

Today was another awesome day of spending a lot of time with all the caregivers and kids.  The cake and balloons went over really well with everyone!  Since we are able to spend so much time with the kids, we are seeing some wonderful personalities come out.  Here is a quick rundown of a few...

Favour interacts so well with her foster mom, playing and teasing, then giggles!  So cute!

Barry is full of smiles and has giggled more than I have ever seen him!

John is loving school and is adorable in his uniform!  Still sings and dances!

William is doing so well, likes hugs on his terms,and continues to improve around crowds. 

Gborlee was playing, smiling and laughing!  I haven't been able to see that before!

Karen was giggling and laughing with her foster mom and a few neighborhood kids.

There's a lot more details, but again, unreliable internet, so I want to send this out!

Goodnight from Liberia! Christina

Day 2 at the FMN homes

Today we brought bubbles for blowing, yesterday we brought supplies and gifts for all the kids, tomorrow is a surprise!
The kids are warming up to the camera, as well as us.   We had a lot of smiles!  Barry was funny...he started to cry everytime I walked away from him, he was even trying to 'noodle' his way out of the wheelchair to get down to try to get to me.  Barry has improved so much in his ability to move.  He loves air walking, but mostly loves to be held.  He's got a million dollar smile!  Korpu came right up to me for holding, Melvin did come to me with some coaxing, John was all smiles, William continues to amaze me with his desire to hold my hand and walk around with me.  Karen has been gaining some good weight, and her skin has cleared up so nicely.  She had terrible sores when she came into our program, was even chewing on her feet and lip.  She's looking great now!  Gborlee is just cute, period!  Grace loves to giggle and practice walking...she's adjusting quite well to her foster mom.  We did not have time to see Favour today, but will tomorrow...her foster home is farther out.  Angel, Eric, Surprise and Mohammed are the 'quadruplets!'  Their foster mom, Kou, is an amazing woman...she beams joy and love for each one of these boys.  It was such a treat to spend a long time sitting and chatting with her, and holding all the boys.  Today was a great day of 'chilling' with the moms and loving on all the kids! 

Barry all smiles!

***After several attempts to upload pics, it's just not working.  Most of the pics for the blog will have to wait until we get back to the states.

I forgot to mention this...yesterday the foster moms had bought fresh watermelon for Michelle and I.  We all sat around at Kou's and enjoyed it thoroughly!! 

Posting from Liberia!!! Our first full day!

Our first full day in Liberia was FANTASTIC!!  I may have a short window of internet time, so I won't waste it on writing, but more importantly, share pics!  Michelle did a great job with the pictures and I can't wait for her to fill up the week with more pictures and video! 
All the FMN kids look soooooo beautiful and healthy!!  WAHOO!!  I absolutely loved seeing the growth and improvement of each of our kids.  I am so proud of Josephus and our foster moms!  They are all so dear to my heart, and I am so appreciative and thankful for their commitment to the care of these special little ones! 

William (Christina's little butterfly), smiling and giggling!!!  This beautiful boy could not smile or laugh when he was first brought into our program 6 months ago.  Look at him now!!  That's my boy!!!! 

Handsome Mohammed!  I don't think he could be any cuter!!

Gorgeous Favour...she's so beautiful!

Foster mom, Esther, with our newest little girl, Grace.  She's loving sharing her sucker with Mom!

Eric pondering.  This is one of the few moments he wasn't

 doing silly faces!

We will be visiting the kids almost everyday while we are here.  So...if we have internet, I will be posting everyday with pics.
From Liberia, Christina