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GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — At 4 years old, Jesse Brooks told her parents she wanted to be a missionary in Africa.
"She loved missions," her mother, Tammy Brooks, said. "She was always out for the underdog." She was given a Good Citizenship award in first grade.
Jesse didn't make it to Africa, but her legacy certainly has.
She would be 22 years old now, and happy that the Jesse Brooks Foundation established in her memory has played such a role in saving the lives of many African children, her father, Chris Brooks, said.
"It would be her dream come true," he said.
Jesse was 10 years old when she died from injuries in a wreck while her church, Solitude Baptist Church, was on a mission trip to Montana in 2002.
She, her mother and brother, Colby, were part of a mission team from the Albertville church when one of the vans wrecked in Wyoming.
Jesse was active in a praise and worship dance team and just two weeks earlier had been accepted as part of the Ballet Magnificat at Briarwood in Birmingham. She was scheduled to perform at the Bevill Center in Boaz, but instead chose to go on the mission trip even though, her mother said, she wasn't supposed to go.
"She told me, 'I have to go,'" Tammy said. "She was so adamant. "She said 'If the two of you are going, I'm going.'"
They spent the week teaching Bible school and ministering and were headed back home.
"She was sitting right next to me," her mother said, when the wreck happened.
Jesse was gravely injured and died a short time later. Her mother had only minor injuries.
"We were devastated and then we became angry," Tammy said. "We questioned the Lord. We said 'We were doing your work. How could you take her from us?'"
She said it took about a year for the emotions to subside. They knew they wanted to do something in Jesse's memory, and had planned to do a scholarship for praise and worship dance.
Then an evangelist, Vince Tharpe, visited their church, unaware of Jesse's story. He had just gotten back from Africa and spoke about the needs at a children's home he was affiliated with in Africa. A home for orphaned boys had been established, but there still was a need for a home for girls.
Someone from the Brookses' church donated to money to build a girls' dorm and wanted it named after Jesse, Tammy said.
At that time, the people who made the donation had no idea it was Jesse's dream to be a missionary to Africa.
After the dorm was built in 2007, Tammy said Tharpe told them he wanted them to go to Ghana for its dedication.
"I was a country girl and had never been out of this country, much less to a Third World country," Tammy said.
When she and Chris stepped off the plane, however, she felt a peace like she had never known.
"We knew the Lord wanted more from us," Tammy said.
So they started raising support for the home now called Jesse's Hope of Glory Children's Home in Aflao, Ghana, West Africa.
It was a tumultuous time as they moved forward with establishing a nonprofit foundation. Tammy said they hit many roadblocks and decided it must not be the Lord's plan.
"Too many doors closed," she said.
But then a member of their church, an accountant, found out about their difficulty establishing the nonprofit foundation and got involved.
After that, Tharpe came to them with a plan. He said he couldn't dedicate the time he needed to the orphanage and still travel in his ministry as an evangelist. He asked them in 2009 to take over management of the children's home.
The home provides a haven for many children who have been left homeless as a result of the staggering mortality rate of the adult population in that area.
One little boy was left abandoned by the ocean, wrapped in black plastic; a little girl was found covered in ants. Those are typical stories of the way many children come to the home.
More land was needed for expansion, and work was required to prevent flooding. The Brookses sought property, then received help from the Boaz Rotary Club in building a well.
They established a school for the children at the orphanage and in the community.
The orphanage had 39 children with a capacity for 120. The school was bursting at the seams, with the children sitting three to a desk, Tammy said. A new school opened in July and has 82 students.
The orphanage is operated solely by volunteers with donations and sponsorships from individuals, churches and businesses.
Many volunteers help the Brookses, including a retired couple from Connecticut who live on the grounds several months out of the year. Things such as operation of the website and duties that can be done online also are done by volunteers. A small paid staff consists of locals in the village.
Chris works at Marshall-DeKalb Electric Cooperative, and that allows Tammy to spend much of her time at the orphanage.
Either she or the Connecticut couple tries to be there all the time, but the Ebola outbreak has limited their travel for now.
Tammy came home in July, and the other couple flew back to the United States in August. Their goal is to return by March, Tammy said.
For now, the Brookses continue to do what they can and communicate with the staff on a daily basis.
The work has become such a part of their lives.
"Sometimes I think, 'Are we doing this because of Jesse or because it's what the Lord has called us to do,'" Tammy said. "We want to bring the love of Jesus to these children. We just always thought Jesse would be doing it, not that we'd be doing it."
They have been involved in adoptions of some of the orphans. Six children so far now live in the United States with adoptive families. One of those babies is Mary Faith, the 4-year-old daughter of Colby Brooks and his wife, Mandy.
Donations of all amounts are welcome and come in to the foundation, but $1,000 will cover the cost of care for one infant for a year.
Monthly sponsorships are available for $30, which provide help with education, clothing, shelter and food for a month for a child; help keep the children's ministry going with Sunday School supplies and other items; and help cover medical costs for sick adults and children in the villages. A hundred percent of the proceeds go to a sponsored child.
Now the Brookses hope to begin work on Phase 2, which includes a school that will hold 1,000 students and a medical clinic. They also have obtained property in Kenya to establish another orphanage.
"Our goal is self-sufficiency," Tammy said.
For now, the Brookses will continue with hopes to expand to provide homes for even more abandoned children.
"We'll be there until God tells us not to be there," Chris said.
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Information from: The Gadsden Times, http://www.gadsdentimes.com
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