Miracle Girl

I said earlier that many of the families who adopt from Liberia, adopt to save a life. Here is one precious girl whose destiny changed completely.
I was explaining to my kids last night about name changes. Elena had been talking about Saul's change on the way to Damascus. She retold the story and then asked why his name changed to Paul. I explained that in the Bible when a person's destiny changed, God changed their name. I told them that's why we changed Maya, Isaac, and Daniel's names.
This little girl's destiny and name changed as well. I had been following her story closely on the Acres of Hope yahoo group that I've been a part of since the beginning of our adoption journey. (Acres of Hope is the adoption agency we used.) Her name was Mama and she suffered from caustic ingestion. This is a common problem in Liberia. It comes from drinking lye, which is a colorless, odorless chemical that looks just like water. A thirsty Liberian child picks up a glass bottle for a drink and is permanently damaged. Lye burns and shrinks the esophagus, making it impossible to eat anything by mouth. Because Mama wasn't able to get the medical treatment she needed, she was starving. Now that she has been adopted by a loving family, her destiny has changed. She is now Ruby, a thriving, joyful young girl with a new lease on life.