Editor's note: This is the second of three stories about Northwestern High soccer player Dennis Moore, who spent most of his childhood in Liberia. Click here to read the first installment. Coming Tuesday: Kristi Moore and her new family move to Rock Hill, where Dennis becomes a soccer star at Northwestern High School.
The plane landed at the Monrovia, Liberia airport in Africa carrying cargo and passengers that included Kristi Moore and a group of nine Canadian women.
It was November 2003.
They were there on a mission trip to help at an orphanage -- the Daniel Hoover Children's Village -- an hour and a half away in Dixville.
The group traveled to the U.S. Embassy to register and inform the American authorities of their business. They were told that a travel warning had been issued because of tensions from the country's second civil war, which had just ended with a peace agreement. They should get back on a plane and go home.
"No way I was leaving," said Moore, who now lives in Rock Hill. "I had come there to help the kids and I wasn't going to leave until our job was finished. I was there to install a water purification system."
Moore, 31 at the time, had graduated from Texas A&M in 1992 with a degree in marine biology, but work in that field was scarce. Her church in Texas ran the orphanage in Dixville, and a fellow member asked Kristi to install the water system.
"The Embassy people left it up to us, so we boarded our bus for the trip to the village," Moore said. "Armed helicopters flew over our village every day. We could hear gunfire and explosions every day, but the entire month we were there, no threats were made to our village."
'My children were there'
Moore discovered a home with 400 children wanting to learn to read and write.
She also noticed one special 12-year-old boy.
"I almost didn't see him," Moore said. "He was hiding behind a bigger kid. He was shy and stuttered at first because he was dealing with post-traumatic stress. But Dennis and I bonded. It was instant."
Dennis Wesseh was sneaking looks at the friendly American lady. He was overcome with an emotion he hadn't felt in years.
"I looked at her and thought that I sure wish she was my mom," Dennis said. "I knew in my heart that I wanted her to be my mom. I wanted a parent so bad, and the first time we met I wanted it to be her."
Moore stayed in Dixville for just a month, which had been pre-arranged by the church group.
When she left, Moore realized her work was not completed. Six months later, in May 2004, she returned.
"I had to go back. My children were there," she said.
She ended up staying two and a half years. She helped at the school, teaching the children to read, helping the teachers set up classroom curricula and doing anything else that was needed.
She also continued to bond with Dennis. One informal gathering helped solidify her plans to adopt.
"I was in the chapel with a group of children and they were telling me their stories," she said. "Dennis was shy and stuttered. ... But he opened up and told his story, all of the adversity he had faced at such a young age. I listened as he talked. The more he told, the more I knew I wanted to be his mom and take him home with me. It wasn't something I felt I needed to do. It was something I wanted to do, to adopt him so he would be my son."
Sister and 'little brother'
After she started the adoption process, Dennis had a request. He wanted Moore to also adopt Helena, his birth sister, and Caleb, the "little brother" he was assigned to look after at the orphanage.
"All the younger kids had a big brother or a big sister," Moore said. "As a big brother, Dennis had to get Caleb up each morning, make sure he brushed his teeth and was on time for breakfast and school.
"After school, Dennis made sure Caleb had his living area cleaned. Dennis said he liked him and picked him when he was asked to make a choice."
Caleb, too, was taken to Moore. Each time the children were outside, Caleb was stuck to her side. The other children called Caleb "Kristi's handbag."
