The Bible says that the fear of man is a snare. Oh, that is so true. Because of the fear of man, I did  something wrong. I did selective sharing of information about the adoption on this blog, and it created the wrong picture.

I knew that if people found out were were adopting again, we'd get some criticism for it. And so, (I don't think consciously) I chose to share whatever information came my way about the orphanage or the condition of the little girl that would make people glad that we were adopting her. I didn't make anything up, but some of it was hearsay and assumption. AND I WAS WRONG.

Let me tell you about the orphanage. Nicholas started it when he found a lot of kids on the street and wanted to provide a place for them. He used his own money and lots of his own effort and got other people to contribute and made a home for them. The social agencies in Ghana bring kids to him because he will care for them.

When they outgrew the space they had, he got volunteers from other countries to contribute and local people to help and they built a nice, new orphanage outside the town. It is very nice! The children have bunkbeds now, and clothes and food (that Nicholas pays for out of his salary from his other job with the tourist industry), and volunteers come for weeks at a time to teach school. And they hope to have full-time teachers soon. The fact that they don't get much protein is NOT the fault of the orphanage; it is just lack of funds. I never thought it was the fault of the orphanage, but I didn't say so. Thinking back, I must have made it sound like the orphanage just didn't care about the kids, and that just isn't so. The housemothers are great, and no one is neglected. And while I was there, they got a chicken coop and chickens, due to the donation of a volunteer teacher.

Nicholas has great plans to expand and improve the orphanage. I told him before I left that I was going to get all my friends to donate to the orphanage. I believe in what he is doing there.

Truly, I didn't set out to give a false picture of what went on in the orphanage. I didn't know all of this before I went. When I came back, I should have shared the rest of the story, but I never even thought of it, to my shame. I didn't realise how lopsided the picture was.

I am so, so sorry, for letting the fear of man dominate me to such an extent. Nicholas worked so hard for this adoption when things went wrong while I was there, and he must feel so betrayed by me. I am so, so sorry.

I want to publicly apologize to Nicholas, the orphanage director.  A couple months ago, before I went to Ghana, I was frustrated at how long the adoption was taking and said something in my blog about Nicholas being dishonest and slothful. That was totally uncalled for. I was going on hearsay from other people in the adoption process and inferring things from circumstances and should never have said such a thing. Nicholas, please forgive me.

Nicholas worked SO HARD to make this adoption happen when I was in Ghana. He works hard ALL the time for the kids in his care. He has a great orphanage, and it is really all due to his hard work.

I know I said a few days ago that Nicholas was a hero, but I never retracted what I said earlier, and I should have. I'm so sorry.

It's a long story, but the court date still hasn't happened. Once this is all over, I'll share all the details, but for now, keep praying.

I got to meet our little girl, and there are pictures and video on the adoption blog.