Shaken Blessings (Paperback)

Sandra Calbrin flies to Africa after a military coups to check on the orphans she sponsors and to collect shea nuts for beauty creams in her health spa. Urged by the pastor, she agrees to vaccinate infants. Shocked by the often dangerous practices that parents in the region engage in, she struggles to prevent them from harming their children. To prove she can care for a child, Sandy takes in an abandoned baby and names her Blessing, hoping to break the child's curse. Unfamiliar with obscure customs, Sandy breaks local taboos, is accused of prostitution, and of having an illegitimate child. Blessing's father demands money in exchange for his daughter. Selling children is illegal but returning Blessing to her father almost guarantees the infant's death. Military officers harass Sandy and refuse to renew her visa unless she consents to their unscrupulous ultimatums. Blessing's relatives and the police officers pursue her with threats and immoral demands. They come after her like a pack of lions preying on a wildebeest. When rebel soldiers take up arms and gunfire erupts in the village, Sandy and her baby Blessing are in danger. Since military officials and immigration authorities continue to terrorize her, who can help her and will she keep her Blessing?