Louisiana is surprised to get yet another letter; but she is happy to write to America Faith, who is friends with Kendra Williams and Louisa Mason. Like Kendra and Louisa, America is physically disabled: she has multiple sclerosis.
Weds., May 25, 2005, 11:13 a.m., C.D.T.~
Dear America Faith~
I was surprised to get your letter; thank you for taking time to write to me! I was glad to hear that you have four beautiful daughters, and that you are a Christian; that is wonderful! Your daughters sound beautiful; I know the one is 13, but how old are the others?
I will tell you a little about myself: I am married, married nearly 14 years now to Bill Sandusky, and we have adopted a total of fifty-two Miracle Children, children of all nations, ages, and disabilities. Our kids are now ages 1 through 23, and all but four still live at home with us. I am also a grandma, five times over, four grandsons and a granddaughter, and my kids (and my grandkids) all keep me very busy. We had three kids of our own before we adopted any of our kids, but sadly, all three died, and two died while they were still little babies; the third child died on what would have been his fourth birthday. We still miss them now; had they lived, they would all be teenagers now. But God has blessed us with the current crop of children we are now parenting, and it has gotten to the point to where we can't imagine our family without any of the children! Our children come from places like Africa, France, Italy, Bosnia-Hergozovina, Russia, Iran, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, China, and of course Canada, the United States of America, and Central and South America; but through the Miracle of adoption, they are all our children now, and they are now brothers and sisters.
Both my husband and myself work: I work as a charge nurse at a large, metropolitan hospital, and my husband is a "people greeter" at Wal*Mart, and we love our jobs. We are also disabled, but we are more than determined to overcome our physical challenges. (I have arthritis and epilepsy, and my husband has arthritis, chronic back problems, asthma, high blood pressure, and bi-polar depression, of which he is on medication for; he is on medication for the other ills as well.) I am sorry you have MS, but it seems that you are a very good mama to your girls, and that is what is most important.
We are very involved in our church: we go to a Bible-believing, spirit-filled church, Christ Community Assembly of God, and we really enjoy church very much. We rarely miss a service, but we try to get to church as often as we can. I accepted Christ just a few years back, but Bill has been a Christian since he was a small boy; he was raised in the Pentecostal church, and Jesus is very important in his life (and is now very important in mine and in the lives of our children). Since we became a total Christian family, God has blessed us tenfold, and He continues to bless us even now; this was how we ended up with a staggering 52 children!
I also wrote a book; and I would very much love to read yours. That way, I can learn more about you and your family, and I always love reading books about people overcoming great odds or how God has blessed them unconditionally and fully. I will send you a copy (autographed and free of charge) if you are interested in reading it. Let me know if you want a copy of my book, okay? Thanks!
I am glad you are friends with Louisa and Kendra: they are both wonderful people, and I value their friendship highly. And my way of looking at it is this: any friends of Kendra Williams or Louisa Mason are friends of mine, as well! :) So consider yourself a friend to me! :)
Well, America, I will let you go; I have rambled on long enough. I will send you a copy of my book if you are interested, and I will also send you some pictures of the family; that way, you can see who you are writing to, and what we look like. LOL Basically, we look like your typical "rainbow family" (although we ARE a bit larger than most! LOL). Until I hear from you, you take care, God bless you and your children mightily, and hope to hear from you soon!
There is an old saying "Make many acquaintances in life but have only one confidant in a 1000." Your characters come to life in your writes, the sign of a gifted writer.
Weds., May 25, 2005, 11:13 a.m., C.D.T.~
