Emmanuel’s Place
reflection written by emmanuel’s sister and mother, ellise and audrey crawford
Emmanuel’s House is currently home to 12 boys at the Touch A Life Care Center. We are so blessed by this structure. Read on to learn more about Emmanuel’s story.
In September 2010, our family of seven became eight as we brought our new brother, Emmanuel, to his new home in Grove, Oklahoma, from Ghana, West Africa. Emmanuel, as every child desires, wanted to be part of a loving and supportive family. His birth parents, due to poverty and unlawful traditions, sold him as a young toddler into slavery in Ghana. Emmanuel’s master forced him to work in the fishing industry on Lake Volta, robbing him of his childhood.
Randy Cope, Touch A Life’s Co-Founder, discovered Emmanuel as a feverish and hungry little boy working on a boat, and he knew that Emmanuel must be rescued. At that time, he even envisioned Emmanuel living in the United States with a caring family. Touch A Life rescued him in 2009 and placed him in their rehabilitation program shortly after. Through prayer, obedience, and a lot of hope, Emmanuel was adopted and brought to live with us in the U.S., just as Randy had dreamed.
I took multiple trips to Ghana during the adoption process and observed Emmanuel with all the younger children in their temporary Touch A Life home. At that time, in 2010, TAL was renting a facility for their kids, all of whom had been rescued from slavery on Lake Volta.
Rescued children thrive when they’re given the opportunity to be kids again, free from the horrors of slavery. I knew at that time it was crucial for Touch A Life to provide permanent homes for children, allowing them to grow up in a secure environment. Our family prayed fervently for land on which to build a permanent facility. We know first-hand that the concept of homes with house parents, outside areas to play, an art center, and all that Touch A Life has planned for this project will have a huge impact on these children. It will be a bles sing for generations. Rescued kids will have a place to call home, even when they are grown and have children of their own. There will be a place to grow gardens and raise animals, providing nutrition to kids’ previously starving bodies. Play areas will provide a place for kids to use their muscles for sports instead of slave labor.
From our experience and from our hearts, we know the Touch A Life Care Center is essential for the future of rescued kids. It is a great honor that Emmanuel can leave a legacy for his Ghanaian brothers and sisters, offering them a place in Ghana where they are safe and loved—just as he has a place in Oklahoma to feel safe and loved.”
– Ellise and Audrey Crawford