Young girl aches for a family of her own

Cara and Kevin, friends of the Tomoka Christian family, are working through paperwork to adopt a young girl, Ruth, from Ghana. In their visits to Ruth at her orphanage in Ghana, they met another child, Sheila, who is Ruth's best friend. Sheila's deepest desire is for a family of her own. Adoption requirements are few and costs have been reduced, but time is running out. Below is a note Cara sent me about Sheila's situation. Please e-mail me if you can help her.

I am sending out a desperate plea to all my God-fearing friends: We need to find a family for Sheila, a sweet, godly, wonderful 14-year-old girl living in Ghana.

Sheila has been praying for a family for years. I told her that I would make it my personal mission to help find her one. A few weeks ago she got the chance to call me and the first thing she asked was, "Did you find me a mommy yet?" I had to tell her no. When I go to Ghana next week, I would love to be able to tell her that God has brought her a family. Someone, please be the answer to this sweet girl's prayer! Time is running out for her as she is about to turn 15. The U.S. government will not allow children to be adopted once they turn 16. The process has to be finished before they turn 16. Sheila is such a kind, humble, peaceful, loving soul. The only thing she needs is a family and a chance.

Says Sheila: "My prayer is that someone that you will send my picture to will accept me as their child and have mercy on me because I am no one. People always say that I don't have a mother. Please, please have mercy on me."

The enemy has sold this sweet girl a lie: Having her believe, because she is an orphan, she is no one. Who is willing to show Sheila that she is not "no one"? She is someone very special in Christ. He cares for her! As the body of Christ, so do we. Please allow Jesus to come to her rescue through you!

Because of her desperate situation, the fees for her adoption have been greatly reduced and several people already have volunteered to raise money to help with the cost of her adoption. Please don't let money be an obstacle!

Requirements for adoption:

• Must be 21 years older than the child. In this case, one of the parents must be at least 35 years old
• Must be married
• Must be Christian

The first time I met her, she was bent over stirring a pot of banku over a small charcoal stove. When I looked a little closer, I saw that she was silently weeping as she worked to make lunch for the 30 children living at her orphanage. I bent down to look her in the eye and asked her what was wrong. She wouldn't return my gaze, but instead wiped away her tears and said, "I am so happy that my best friend, Ruth, has found such a wonderful mother. I am going to miss sister Ruth and I pray one day a woman will come for me and she will be my mommy forever."

Needless to say, my heart was broken for sweet Sheila. I promised her that day that I would help her on her journey to find a mama and a family.

Sheila looks just like her birth mother. They both have light skin and a long face. They both radiate beauty from the inside out. Sheila loved her mother dearly, but her mother passed away. Unable to care for her, Sheila's father took her to the orphanage and left her there.

Sheila is a smart girl and loves school. Unfortunately, the orphanage where she is staying cannot pay for her to go to school anymore and she had to drop out of school this year. Sheila is very sad about this. She has dreams of one day becoming a journalist.

Sheila loves to sing and dance to Jesus. As the oldest girl in the orphanage, Sheila has had to take on the mother figure role for 30 other children. She is very nurturing and a hard-worker, but she has been robbed of her childhood and forced to grow up far too early.