In late 2020, Joe and Jamie Walker of Waxhaw, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, wanted to finally visit Sierra Leone, and the The Raining Season orphanage, which Joe’s friend Erica Stone founded a decade ago.
It was right after the ending of the eleven year old Sierra Leone Civil War.
I served there on two occasions in the 1990’s, and to say the violence enveloped the whole country is an understatement.
As did Ebola.
It was such a bleak scene.
The couple wanted to be there for the ten year anniversary, and though Jamie had to stay to man the fort, Joe went with the intention of interacting with the kids, to which he and Jamie have four of their own.
“I wanted to go play with the kids. I wanted to see what was all about."
He played a lot of board games, played a lot of soccer and read a lot of books to the kids.
And he formed an especially close bond with James.
The family sponsored James, and Skyped with him often.
Until six months later, for reasons undisclosed to my research, James had to leave the orphanage and go back to his poverty racked village.
Said Joe, "But I got him a phone because I wanted to stay in touch. So we were able to maintain a relationship.”
He then was able to meet and commune with James’s younger brother, Abraham.
Every day, they Facetimed.
"And we knew that if they didn't get back to the orphanage they were going to be put back on the streets.
And so we put a team together."
They managed to insure the brothers would be taken care of at the orphanage.
As soon as both brothers were indeed back at the orphanage, Joe got on a plane to visit them.
"And by then we had formed this really special connected bond.
And I came home from that trip and said to my wife, 'I just feel like there's more being asked of us.'"
They had a heart to heart with their children, who immediately and unanimously and enthusiastically agreed.
And insisted.
The couple asked them if they would like to become beloved members of their family.
They have never, ever had a family.
And they experienced in their young lives such cruelty and wanton violence.
"They were really excited and they wanted to be a part of the family and know what a family was."
And then Covid hit, and the adoption process was halted, as was plane travel.
Until it wasn’t.
And as soon as it wasn’t…
Meanwhile, the Walkers are enjoying witnessing the two brothers experience their "firsts" in America. "It's absolutely magical and amazing because you think about the first time you take a toddler through, and they're like in awe. And some kids hate it. It's the same, only they're old enough to verbalize how crazy this experience is," Walker told WJZY.
Abraham's birthday was one such first. "We never knew about something called a birthday," the teen said. "It just feels like God is showing all the blessings in you. Everybody in the whole world is giving you their best love that they have ever given. That is what it feels like to have that cake." Abraham shared that the unforgettable moment brought him back to his days on the street in Sierra Leone, praying for a family and not knowing that his prayers would be answered in ways he had never imagined. "I love them more than they can ever imagine in the world. They're the ones that showed me to the world, and showed me what happiness is, and showed me what love is, and showed me what it means to have a family around you. I really, really want to say thank you to them for that," he said.
In truth, they really don’t even know how old their two sons are.
“They don’t take paperwork very seriously in the country where they come from, so their birth certificates have them as what we think is a little older than what they actually are,” said Jamie.
But it’s the first time he’s ever been celebrated, as a son, a brother, a friend.
It was on that birthday, when they brought out Abraham’s cake, that they experienced joy in its purest form…
… the joy of a child finally feeling and being cared for and loved.
Gratefulness and wonder can be best described by Abraham himself.
We have so much, so much freedom, so much hope… and are still a beacon to much of the world’s downtrodden.
And we as a community and a Party aim to open our hearts and our doors to a much wider extent.
So, please consider spending a moment to remember what we still have, what we are fighting to maintain and regain….
…. and to whom we are fighting for.
What are you grateful for?
XO!
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