Our Beautiful Daughter Telma

Our daughter Telma is precious! We are so proud to call her ours.
When we adopted our amazing twins, Teyolla and Keyolla, from
the Marshall Islands, we met Telma. She followed us around and
we saw her everywhere we went. One day, she ended up on the
doorstep of the apartment we were staying in. It was about 6AM
and my Mom walked out the front door and saw her sitting there.
Telma asked if she could come in and play with our kids. My Mom
said, "Sure!" So she came in, ate breakfast with us and slept in
our apartment for the next two weeks! We got to know her
pretty well and just fell in love with her!

After we finalized our twin's adoptions, we were getting ready
to fly off island. I kept looking at Telma and my heart just sank.
I thought, 'How can we leave this precious girl here, knowing
she needed so much help?' I had a knot in my stomach and
a lump in my throat. I knew we had to do something. She had
severe scoliosis (a curvature of 115 degrees), was breathing
very heavy and labored and yet had a smile that just lit up
her world! I knew she was special and I knew we had to get
her help! I called my husband, who had just flown back home
with our two youngest children. I thought about how I was
going to talk to him about taking in another child when we had
just adoped two! I was nervous to say the least! When I got on
the phone with him and told him about Telma, he said, "Honey
I need to get you off that island before you come home with a
whole shipload of children!" He was amazing! He told me to
just bring the twins home and we would find a way to get
Telma to the U.S. to get her the help she needed. We got
Power of Attorney and she was in our home 5 months later.
My mom had been looking after her while she was still in the
Marshalls so we knew she was safe!

Our intention was to bring Telma to the states, get her the
help she needed, and get her adopted out to a wonderful
family. Instead, we absolutely fell in love with her and
ended up adopting her.

Telma is a beautiful young lady who loves the Lord deeply and
has a real heart for the poor and needy. When she was living
in the Marshall Islands, there were unkind children who made
fun of her and even threw rocks at her. She experienced a lot
of cruelty and I'm sure that has softened her heart to those who
are in great need!

When Telma prays over people, you will often see tears rolling
down her face. She has a very compassionate heart and is filled
with the love of Christ towards those who are in a difficult place
in their lives.

We adopted Telma when she was 12 and she will be 18 in February!
We love how the Lord weaves his plans together! The end result
is so beautiful! His ways are perfect and there is truly no one like
our God!

Telma has had four surgeries on her spine. She got an infection over
two years ago, due to the hardware that was in her back. All the
rods and screws holding her spine in a straighter position had to
be removed. Her spine surgeon will not operate on her again. He
said it is too risky. We have been waiting for an appointment with
a spine specialist in St. Louis. This specialist is booked years in
advance and we are praying for a miracle. Please keep our precious
Telma in your prayers. She is still in pain daily and we need a miracle!

Despite Telma's physical trials, you will always see a smile on her face. She has an amazing spirit that has truly conquered much! What a gift from the Lord she is to us!