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Debbie Alexander was hurrying as she settled into a seat at her Weddington, North Carolina, church. The visiting boys choir from Liberia, which had toured the United States for a year, raising money for their orphanage, was about to sing. Debbie was vaguely aware of fighting and instability in their country, and wondered what teenagers from such a troubled land would be like.Watching them come onstage dressed in African print shirts and black pants, Debbie wished that David, her husband, could be there, but he was working late.
After a few hymns, an announcer described the hardships these boys faced at home. Years of civil war had ravaged Liberia, and entire families had been slaughtered. Survivors lived with memories of hideous murders, rapes and kidnappings. Much of the country was without electricity or running water.
While the boys were on tour, their orphanage had twice come under attack. In June, rebels ransacked the building. One caregiver died in the skirmish; three others were wounded. A month later, militia loyal to warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor invaded the orphanage. More than 400 children had to run for their lives. Teenagers, carrying toddlers on their backs, escaped in the rain to Monrovia, about 25 miles away. They were all still there, living in a warehouse.
The announcer was blunt. The choirboys' visas were about to expire, and they would have to return to Liberia unless they were adopted.
Maybe it was the church, the music or the look on the boys' faces that gave rise to the words Debbie heard: This is what I have for you to do. But she believed it was God speaking to her.
Yet she resisted. No. I just raised my two. I've done my time. With her own sons grown and away at school, Debbie wanted to fulfill a dream of earning a college degree in counseling, and traveling with her husband of 28 years. Adopting a teenager from a foreign country was not even close to being on her to-do list.
After the service, however, she found herself at a reception to meet the boys. This is crazy, she thought. What am I doing?
It was heartbreaking to see the boys now, eyes cast down. They seemed to have lost hope that anyone would adopt them. Debbie spoke with them for a few moments. They were shy, and their accents were difficult to understand. It didn't matter. She told the choir leader that if there were boys who didn't find families, she might be interested.
Scarcely believing what she had done, she called David as she drove home -- almost hoping he would talk her out of this crazy idea. "What would you think," she asked, "about adopting two teenage boys from Liberia?"
There was silence on the other end. Finally, David replied, "Can we talk about this when you get home?"
What David hadn't told her was that for weeks, he had been praying for a way to make his life really count. He was tired of living a safe life. When Debbie had called about adopting the boys, David knew instantly this was it. He loved being a dad. But was Debbie really ready to be a mom again?
On October 30, 2003, the decision was made.
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