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For Hadassah

by Jill G. Baker; Illustrated by Linda O. Griffith

22 pages; Saddle stitched; illustrated children's book, full-color; catalogue #07-2959; ISBN 1-4251-6423-4; US$11.98, C$11.98, EUR8.18, £6.19

I knew Hadassah changed my life forever and helped fulfill the vision that God had for me to help other orphans, by promising them a future.

About the Book

I never knew that my first trip to Uganda, Africa would hold such experiences that would radically change my life.

We stayed in a little village in Kasolo where we helped in a one-room clinic. This is where I met a baby suffering from diarrhea and severly dehydrated, named Hadassah. I was able to hold her hot body and feed her rehydration fluids through an eye dropper. The shifting of her eyes as she watched me was the only thing that told me she was still with us. Our several hours of feeding proved to be too late. Hadassah's short life ended that day.

Another person we met on that first trip was Esther. She was a quiet, humble, hard working woman. Esther, her husband and six children lived in the end of the chicken coop, near where we were staying. On our second trip to Africa we heard of the tragedy that had happened in Esther's life. Her husband was caught in the middle of a field fire which killed him. Though she never complained of her situation, she worked tirelessly to care for her children and provide them with food. When we returned to the states we told Esther's story. Someone so touched by the story provided support to help Esther's family.

For Hadassah was a vision that came to me one night as I was lying awake thinking about the experiences of those trips. I wanted to pay tribute to Hadassah's life and immediately the story For Hadassah came to me.

In reading the book of Esther in the Bible I discovered she was an orphan and her given name was Hadassah. Coincidence, I don't think so. The experiences in our lives that God envisioned are meant for restoring the lives of others in a way that we can't even comprehend.

About the Author

Jill G. Baker (Family Studies, University of Kentucky) has worked with international adoptions for the last seven years, with an emphasis on Special Needs Children and is now director of Promise Kids a Future Inc., an adoption agency in Georgetown, Kentucky. Because of her mission experience and her love for children, the outreach program of her agency is finding monthly support for orphans in Uganda. The most amazing trips that she has taken have been to Africa where she left a piece of her heart. Her husband Josh, is a police officer in Kentucky and her 2 year old son, Seth, is awaiting the birth of his new sibling.

About the Illustrator

Linda O. Griffith (Mathematics, Westhampton College, University of Richmond) has painted most of her life but God led her toward short term mission work 20 years ago. Her passion is ministering in the name of Jesus Christ with the people of Uganda. Making many mission trips to Africa since 1995, she has been instrumental in developing the ministry "Adopt Uganda." She was delighted when her daughter, Jill, asked her to illustrate her story. Linda and her husband, Andy, have 3 married children and six+ grandchildren, and reside in Georgetown, Kentucky.