Josie Love is home!

 This is another adoption blog I have been following for the last couple of months. I took this from the journey , written by Suzanne Mayernick.

"3 years ago a mother left her premature infant on the steps of a  
yucky african hospital.  I wish I knew her, so that I could ask "what  
could be so bad that you could drop her and walk away?"  i CANNOT  
imagine the feelings that she must have felt while walking to that  
hospital thinking that she would never see her again.  after leaving  
her, she had continuous reminders of her decision........recovery from  
delivery, milk coming in, who know what else?!?  a hospital nurse  
found the child, put her in the back room, named her Josephine, put a  
kerosene lamp in the bed with her (for warmth), and began feeding her  
mush out of a coffee mug, (there were no bottles because there was no  
childcare facility in this particular hospital)  FOR 10 MONTHS this  
sweet little angel lay in that bed, everyone around her expecting her  
to die.  She never did.  So, they sent her to a baby cottage in  
Jinja Uganda.  She had been there for 2 weeks, and in walks Katie for  
her very first mission trip to Africa.  She instantly fell in love  
with this wee one.  She has droopy eyes because the muscles of her  
eyelids do not work properly. 
While was Katie was there, Josephine got malaria and Katie spent the  
last week of her stay back at the hospital with her sleeping on the  
floor and praying over her without ceasing.  She survived and ended  
back at the baby's home.  At a year old, Josephine could do nothing but lay on  
her back and not bring her arms out past the perimeters of her body.   
She had missed MANY developmental milestones from being in the  
hospital bed for  the first year of her life.  When Katie returned to  
Uganda for her first year to live there, she spent many hours caring  
for Josephine because she was so severely malnutritioned.  She is 3  
years old now, and ON HER OWN  progressed to crawling, playing the  
xylophone, shaking morraccas, but  has limited speech.  Katie had told  
us all about her when we visited Uganda so we could not wait to go  
visit this little miracle on the day that we went to baby's home.  Josephine  
and Grace bonded instantly and I left there feeling like she had a  
"long way to go" to EVER having somewhat of a normal life.  My  
mother's intuition looked into that child and thought "she has come a  
LONG way, but has a LONG way to go" .  Katie has always been so  
hopeful for her and has always said that she believes that she is  
going to THRIVE one day.  I left very VERY doubtful.
Through MUCH MUCH prayer and coaxing from Grace......we have decided

to make Josephine a Mayernick and bring her to the US so that she can  
thrive.  Our first obstacle will be cosmetic surgery to lift her  
eyelids so that she can see properly.  After that, I have a  
significant plan of action.....OT, PT, and speech therapy.....here we  
come!!  I have  struggled with fear for several months.....special  
needs with 6 other children?!?  The Lord has given me peace time after  
time.  His words in my ears keep telling me that THIS is what I am  
called to do......and when HE returns I will be doing EXACTLY what I  
desire to be doing......raising children to love HIM wholeheartedly.   
I am not really the one who provides ANYTHING for them....HE is, and I  
will just stay in prayer KNOWING that we will NEVER leave us of  
FORSAKE us.  I have now transitioned from fear to excitement.    
Through my fear I have thought of all of the pros and cons.  And the  
pros far outweigh the cons.  Actually, most of the cons are my  
selfishness not wanting to give my life "away".
 We are hoping to have her home before Christmas.  Please  
join us in prayer for sweet lil Josie Love (as my kids have named  
her).  She is Joshua's age but smaller than Caleb (18 months).  I love  
you all and can't wait for you to meet her."

A couple of months later they learned that Josie Love has HIV and TB, but that did not stop them from making her their own. God is good! The Mayernicks have just come home with sweet Josie Love!  Such a sweet story of God's love!