Update on Seneca and Leah

I know many of you are wondering what happened to Senica and Leah, the two we brought back from Gulfport. She called me today, so here's the latest. Senica made it safely back to St. Louis/Edwardsville, Illinois where she is from. The mobile home her aunt promised her wasn't quite what she expected, so another gentlemen (originally from Alabama) has rented her a nice 3-bedroom home for six months free. After that another aunt is going to rent her a four-bedroom home at a reduced rate.

Leah returned to first grade and her teacher has been working diligently to catch her up. She loves her school and is fitting in wonderfully.

New Song Fellowship in Edwardsville has taken them under their wing and they have been attending church regularly. "I can't believe how God has been taking care of us," Senica said.

As for her two-year-old son Jordan, she continues to battle her ex-husband and his parents for custody. Before deploying to Iraq, Joel gave power of attorney to his parents and right now, Senica only gets to see him on the weekends. When she returns him to his grandparents he cries and begs themt to let hims stay with his mommy. But, thank God, a Legal Aid attorney in Edwardsville has agreed to take her case and help her get Jordan back.

Senica has already enrolled in medical transcriptions/phlebotomy school and is maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She will graduate in June. Then she hopes to go to nursing school. In the meantime, she is collecting unemployment and living off a grant. FEMA did give her a $2000 cash card, but she's had to spend most of it. The landowner from the apartment she abandoned in Gulfport refuses to give her back her deposit because she didn't clean it out. And the daycare where she worked never did give her her last paycheck.

Continue to pray that she would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; that her financial needs would be met; for family relationships; and for the custody battle between her and Joel. Pray that Leah would continue to thrive in school and for little Jordan.