Jenn and Paul Cooper are in Ethiopia right now bringing home their adopted son, Daniel. Jenn is a professional photographer and her pictures document truly beautiful moments on their journey to their son. Jenn and Paul contacted me about sponsorship because they wanted to be able to impact the lives of more children in the beautiful country of Ethiopia where their son is from! Jenn and Paul sponsor Dagim and Jenn's parents sponsor his cousin, Habtamnesh.
For Dagim, it may be the first time in a long time that he has felt special and loved. It may be the first time in a long time that he felt loved by a daddy. I can see it in his smile as he wraps his arms around the man that is providing for him (and loving him and praying for him) so he can attend Kind Hearts.
Photo by Jenn Cooper
(Dagim hugs his sponsor dad, Paul, and the smile says it all!)
When I met Dagim and his cousin in November (see photo below), Dagim could hardly summon a smile for me. It took some coaxing to get him to smile and giggle just a little. :)
He was a sad, melancholy little boy with the weight of the world on his little shoulders. His cousin, Habtamnesh, kept her arm protectively around him at all times (and he kept his arm around her too). She has a sweet, shy smile - but she was fiercely protective of him. I found out that Dagim had recently lost both parents and he had been taken in by his aunt and uncle, who are very poor and are barely able to provide for the six children living in their home.
Both Dagim and Habtamnesh have just enrolled at Kind Hearts and their sponsor families provide funding for food, clothing, clean water, medical care, education and Christian discipleship at the care-point. Please click over to Jenn's blog (click HERE) for more details about their trip to Ethiopia and their visit to Kind Hearts yesterday (and check out her incredible photography too)!
2 comments:
Karen:
What a blessing to read this story! The Coopers are an AGCI family and we actually met Daniel just days after he was brought to HH and was referred to the Cooper family. We have been praying for them now that they are in Ethiopia and bringing Daniel home. We are thefamily who sponsored the boy at Kolfe through Hopechest. I really would like to talk to you more about your Care Point and how I could get more involved. I sure wish there was a way to request for Eyoub to be relocated from Kolfe. I return to Ethiopia in mid February and would love to talk live soon.
Karen,
Just wanted to comment and tell you how much I love your posts and seeing all of your pictures from you recent trip. I love the way you have detailed so much of the emotion for others to read about. Ethiopia changed us and we will never forget any of the children we met there- including all of the beautiful kids at Kind Hearts.
Thanks so much for advocating for these incredible children! :)
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