Darling Grace Dorbor was born in Liberia with a birth defect known as omphalocele, where her intestines and part of her liver were outside of her body due to a hole in her navel area. Although serious, this condition is correctible with surgery. However, Grace and her family lived in a rural part of the country, far from medical services, where her father, David, was a traveling minister. Despite David's efforts to bring the word of God to his countrymen, there were many in the Dorbors' village who still practiced voodoo. The people believed that Grace brought a curse upon them, and wanted David and his wife, Cecelia, to let Grace die. Baby Grace before her corrective surgery David and Cecelia, however, trusted that God would lead them to do what was right. When Grace was five weeks old, they sought help at a hospital in Monrovia, the capital city. Doctors there, however, were not encouraging. They deemed Grace a "rotten baby" and expected her to die. Yet, just when Grace was due to be discharged from hospital, her parents happened to meet a Chinese physician, Dr. Wang, who was on a two-month rotation in Monrovia. (Dr. Wang was originally scheduled to work at another hospital, but a man that he met at the airport told him that there was great need at a different hospital—prophetically, the one where Grace was.) Dr. Wang knew he could help Grace, and agreed to perform surgery to close the baby's skin over her organs to prevent infection. However, he advised the Dorbors that more surgery would be necessary to correct the deformity—surgery that was not available in Liberia. As David and Cecelia were preparing to take Grace across the border to Ghana for treatment, they met Ginger Moore, a Tennessee woman who had traveled to Liberia for a Christian women's ministry event. Ginger recognized that Grace's condition could be easily treated in the United States, and committed herself to helping the Dorbors get to America. Years before Grace was born, David and Cecelia had met Maria Luyken, a Liberian woman who had lived most of her life in the U.S. but had returned to Liberia to found the West African Children Support Network (WACSN) to aid children and families devastated by Liberia's bloody civil war. The organization worked largely through local pastors who were felt to be most familiar with local communities and their needs. It was the work of Maria and the WACSN that had brought Ginger to Liberia. Now, with Grace and her family in need of assistance themselves, Maria, Ginger and other WACSN missionaries made amazing efforts to help the Dorbors secure the money and travel arrangements to journey to Tennessee. Grace and her parents sought care at Vanderbilt University's Children's Hospital in Nashville, where Grace underwent corrective surgery from Dr. Wallace "Skip" Neblett. By this time Grace was nearly a year old, and her little body had grown sufficiently for her abdominal cavity to now accommodate her organs. The corrective surgery was a success, and after a two-month recovery period, the three Dorbors returned to Liberia. Unfortunately, although Grace's birth defect had been repaired, the superstitious villagers still viewed her as cursed. They continued to believe that Grace must die, and persecuted the family for protecting her—as any loving family would do. Even when the Dorbors moved from the rural area to Monrovia, they were pursued and persecuted. David bears the permanent scars on his arms and shoulders of these physical attacks. Grace was even taken for a while by a woman tasked with getting her hair and toenails for a voodoo ritual, which quite understandably frightened the child. Yet despite these threats, David felt called to continue his ministry to the numerous church congregations he had started in his homeland. It was only when Grace started to develop complications requiring additional surgery that the family managed to return to the U.S. and to Dr. Neblett for follow-up care. Because of Grace's condition, subsequent surgeries are anticipated to clear periodic bowel obstructions, control infection, and repair adhesions. Grace is now receiving care in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital. She is a happy and mostly healthy 7-year-old, attending a local elementary school and making friends there and at church. Both David and Cecelia have jobs where they are supporting Grace and her younger sister, Lomei (born here during Grace's second round of treatment), while also sending money back to Liberia to support their other older children who were left in the care of Cecelia's sister. Originally, the family entered the U.S. on a medical visa. Since they have been here, however, the Ebola virus outbreak emerged in West Africa, and the U.S. government granted Liberians and other affected visitors Temporary Protected Status (TPS), enabling them to stay here for an extended period. This extension has been a boon for Grace, who sees her doctors at UVa regularly. However, TPS for Liberians is scheduled to come to an end this May (2017), requiring them to leave the country permanently. The prospect of returning to Liberia is extremely problematic for the Dorbors. Not only does Grace need ongoing care and periodic surgery that is not available in Liberia, there is the added threat of continuing persecution to the family should they return. Even in their absence, threats have been leveled at David and Cecelia's other children, such that Cecelia's sister has had to farm them out to other relatives and friends in an effort to thwart detection. With the end of TPS, the best option for the Dorbors seems to be to seek asylum in the U.S. for an extended period—maybe a few years—until Grace's body matures more and the risk of dangerous medical complications subsides. Applying for asylum, however, is an expensive and complicated process with no guarantee of success. In the present immigration climate, local legal aid offices that might provide affordable assistance are now flooded with cases; they are no longer accepting new clients. David and Cecelia, realizing the need to get underway with their application for asylum, have already consulted a Washington, D.C.-area immigration attorney to work on their behalf. Their lawyer estimates the fees for such services to be about $10,000. Although they don't have that kind of money, the Dorbors have stepped out in faith by making an initial payment of $1,000 in the hope of obtaining asylum so that Grace can receive the care she needs without interruption. Several members of David and Cecelia's church family at Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, (myself—Fred Schneider—included) are trying to help them raise the money for their legal fees. This is where you, dear reader, can play an amazing part. Your donations can make it possible for David and Cecelia to retain and work with a dedicated immigration lawyer to assess their family's situation and make a persuasive appeal on their behalf for asylum. All contributions will go directly to David and Cecelia Dorbor to help pay for their direct legal expenses associated with their asylum application and will be used for no other purpose. Even if their TPS expires while their asylum application is being considered (and hopefully approved!), David and Cecelia can continue to work and support their family, thanks to the opportunities that living in America provides them. Grace (front) with her parents, David and Cecelia, and little sister Lomei Please do what you can—now—to help this deserving family. Time is running out. Thank you for your kindness in considering their appeal and for helping to give young Darling Grace Dorbor the chance for a full and happy life. May God richly bless you!
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