If you are a parent to a little child, this is one word which you will have a love-hate relationship with. You will love that your child is curious enough to want to learn more about the world around him/her but the never-ending nature of their “why’s” will make you hate the word.
i have been asked why many times by my son and i love it, except when it is “why” number 1496. i have also been asked why by people who are trying to understand my actions or thought-processes.
One of the “why’s” i have been asked recently is why do i do what i do for these special needs orphans, why do i want to get involved, why do i spend all this time, advocating for, praying for and almost constantly talking about them?
Well, i’m going to “borrow” Michelle’s words (she blogs at Imagery of My Heart):
The only answer I can give here is that once your eyes are opened to a need, it’s hard to be quiet about it. You want to shout it from the rooftops. You want others to care even though they’d rather look away. And that is what happened to me. I couldn’t look away anymore. I may not be able to get anyone else to take up the cause of advocacy, but I cannot be silent. If something I post gets a waiting child just a little more exposure so his/her family can find them, it’s worthwhile. If it makes just one person look at their life and re-evaluate “needs” then it is worthwhile. If one person contributes to an adoption fund for one child, it is worthwhile. Surely these children are some of “the least of these” spoken of by Jesus Christ. How can I turn my back on them?
The words of Jesus she speaks about is taken from this passage: Matthew 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
So i’m asking you today NOT to turn away and meet Ashton.
Isn’t that grin just adorable?
Ashton is just 2 years old and has no knowledge of what a loving family would mean. He was born with Spinal Bifida of lumbar area with hydrocephaly; lower smoldering paraparesis. And it is most likely his disability which made him an orphan.
Whatever the reason he became an orphan is not what i want to discuss today. What i want to highlight is how we can help him as of today; how can we help one of the least of these.
We can pray for him; for his daily needs and for his forever family to come for him.
We can share his story so that his chances of finding a family would increase as more will get to know about him.
We can contribute to his adoption grant so that his forever family will have an easier journey in bringing him home. Click on his picture or name to go to his profile page where there is a Donate button. No amount is too small.
Do you see him and think he would be perfect in our family? If so, do contact Reece’s Rainbow for more information about Ashton.
Asia – Satellite image – PlanetObserver (Photo credit: PlanetObserver)
The first All from Asia post (about families adopting from Asia) was written at the end of November 2012 and i have been editing/updating as the families update me. But the post is getting too long to be comprehensive so here’s #02 in what i hope will be a very helpful series of posts both for the families adopting from Asia and for the people who read and help in whatever way they can.
My hope and prayer is that with a central list like this, these families will get the help they need as people share this post far and wide and pray for them and of course contribute to their adoption funds. So please do share this post, do pray for these families and the little ones they are bringing home, and do contribute wherever you can.
First up, Good News!
The Jones Family is home with Xavier and Ethan!! Praise the Lord! You can continue to follow their journey at home here. Do continue to pray for them as they adjust to a new life as a bigger family.
The Campbell Family is still in country but Maya Grace is officially theirs! Praise the Lord! They are waiting on paperwork to be able to fly home with her. Do pray for them as they have suffered a great loss; their Granny passed away while they are still in country. They love their Granny so very much and are hurting and grieving. You can read about Granny’s passing and the rest of their journey here. UPDATE: 10th Jan – They are HOME! Praise the Lord!
Now onto helping more families bring home their precious ones:
The Wiehl Family, who is bringing LuLu home, have a travel date! They leave on 16 January and should be able to meet LuLu a few days after they land in country, their consulate appointment is 29 January. Do pray for safe travels and for LuLu’s heart to be ready to enter into a new family life and smooth paperwork. Now they are just a few hundred short in funds. If you feel led to contribute to make up that last bit, they would be grateful for any amount given. You can donate directly here. You can also follow their journey here. UPDATE: They have a US$300 matching grant. Their FSP needs to read US$6914 so that they can get that matching grant by January 10th. Please contribute to their FSP here. 10th Jan: They are US$500 away from being fully funded but have requested that people start giving to other families who need it more – i.e. families whose adoption would stall if they don’t have a certain amount. Please help to fulfil their very generous wish. You can look at the families listed here or others on RR. 25th Jan: They have her!! Gotcha Day was 20th Jan! Praise the Lord. Do continue to keep them in prayers as they go on to get medicals & visa for Lily and journey mercies for their trip home. 7th Feb: They are HOME!
The Baird Family, who is Nathaniel’s forever family, have their Letter of Approval (LOA), which means their paperwork can now be processed in country and they await a travel date! They are asking for prayers for quick progression through the rest of the process and prayers that Nathaniel’s Muscular Dystrophy remains slow-moving as they move to bring him home and get him on medication that can hopefully slow the progression of his disease. They now have a matching grant, dollar for dollar (as stated on their FSP), till they are fully funded. The matching dollars go to the Recce’s Rainbow Voice Of Hope fund. Their Superhero fundraiser is still ongoing. Do visit their blog, follow their journey, pray for them and contribute to their adoption grant. UPDATE: Crunch Time! They are looking at travelling early March and still have some amount to raise… please join them at Star Command’s Bring Little B Home Bash. You can buy them meals, pay for Little B’s medical exams and sponsor their plane tickets. Help them fill up the squares!
The Garrick Family, who is bringing Lana home, is finishing their home study and of course, is still actively fundraising. They now have a matching grant of US$250, which means every dollar you contribute will be doubled and once their FSP hits US$518, they will received that promised US$250. At time of writing, they are still US$198 short. Please help them to meet this amount. T-shirt sales and hand-made necklaces sales are still running, see here for t-shirts and here for necklaces and make a purchase. You can also give directly to their adoption grant here. Follow their journey here. UPDATE: The Garrick family is on Zoe Clothing Company. Buy from Zoe Clothing and they get 25% of the sales towards their adoption grant. Shop here. 18th Jan – they have a She Does Justice fundraiser too. Shop at She Does Justice (click here) and they get 25% of the sales! Go shopping please. Also check out their Puzzle Fundraiser here.
The Hemmes Family, who is eagerly awaiting to bring John home, is still waiting for I-800a Approval and praying that their dossier would make it to country in January. They have suffered a small setback in paperwork, please pray that the rest of the paperwork will go well. They are working on putting up a fundraiser soon, so stay tuned. You can follow along on their blog and you can give towards their adoption grant here. UPDATE: 18th Jan, They have I-800a Approval! Praise the Lord. Now they collect a few more documents and their dossier is off to be authenticated! Pray that all goes well. 25th Jan, their dossier is being sent off to John’s country. Now they wait for approval from that side. Do keep them in prayers. 7th Feb: Amazing NEW Fundraiser – this is a big one which you won’t wanna miss, so check it out!
The Lanz Family is Abigail’s and Jennifer’s forever family. Their dossier is Out Of Translation (OOT) and they are now awaiting their Letter Of Approval (LOA), they hope to get a travel date real soon after that. The sale of crocheted super cute animals/dolls are still on here. If you need to purchase from Amazon, consider using their Amazon Affiliate link on their blog. They also have a puzzle fundraiser – see here for details. Contributions directly to their adoption fund can be made here. You can follow their journey here.
Jon and Angela are Jack’s forever parents. With Jack’s very rare skin condition, time is of the essence in bringing him home. Their dossier and immigration process is moving along smoothly (Thank God) and would likely be expedited to get Jack the medical attention he desperately needs. But the fundraising process has not be great for them which is worrying because when the paperwork comes through they need to be able to hop on a plane and go get Jack. Their Post-Introduction Fundraiser is still going on, it has such lovely items, please have a look here and take part. Do contact me (leave a comment below) to be invited to their Flash Auctions and Giveaway FB Events. They also have a JustLoveCoffee fundraiser now, please visit the store here, every purchase helps with their adoption funds. You can read in more detail about Jack and how Jon and Angela can provide for him here. Do also click to follow their blog because once they have 45 followers they will be able to enter into another fundraising program. Even while having difficulty fundraising for Jack’s adoption, they would like to bless another adopting family. When their FSP gets to US$500, they will pick a donor who can then pick an adopting family to benefit from some lovely items they can use for this other family’s fundraising efforts. Isn’t that just so generous? Please help them to help another family, go here to contribute to Jack’s adopting grant and comment below to let us know. Follow their journey here. UPDATE: They have a new fundraiser going on – Jack’s Pals Book!! They are creating a book for Jack with pages sponsored by people like you and me who have supported them in bringing Jack home. This will show Jack how much he is loved. Details are here. Please do take part in this wonderful idea!29th Jan – please please pray for them as their house has just been flooded a 3rd time! It is not their fault, it has to do with poor grading of the street outside their home but the city won’t help them and this is seriously eating into all their adoption funds. Please contribute to their fund, no amount is too small. 7th Feb: we have the Precious 3 Auction running for them.
The Evans Family is bringing Hylah (Molly Kate) home. They are currently finishing up their homestudy. At the moment, the estimated amount they need to raise is about US$15,000. They are trying to raise as much of that as possible through sales of wooden name puzzles, see here for the beautiful pieces you can purchase. They are hoping to host a Garage sale soon – stay tuned for that. You can contribute directly to their adoption grant here. They have asked for prayers, specifically pray that Molly would understand why she can not be home with them right now, that they can help her to understand that paperwork takes a long time and that she be patient. Follow their journey here.
The Sharp Family is waiting to be Rowyn’s and Zekeil’s forever family. They have LOA and hope to travel in 2.5 months. The grants they have applied for have not come through. They are needing to raise about US$20,000. They are asking for prayers that they find the funding. Pray for their little ones in China while they wait and their adjustment as they have no idea what will be happening to them soon. Pray for Mr. Sharp who will be home with their kids and for Mrs. Sharp and her friend who will travel to China soon. Their fundraising events are listed here; they are selling t-shirts, paper-bead necklaces (their kids made them) and their friend’s Etsy shop is offering them 50% of sales from lovely necklaces/bracelets. Rowyn’s Reveal Fundraiser is also still running, see here. You can contribute directly to their adoption grant here. Follow their journey here. UPDATE: the Sharp family is asking for prayers for funds to come in. Their travel is really soon. On their blog now are wonderful pictures of their daughter’s amazing artwork. They are happy to reproduce for you in exchange a contribution towards their adoption grant. See here. 13th Jan: They have a Thrity-One fundraiser now. Please shop here, click My Parties and then Shop Now under Sharp Adoption Fundraiser. 100% of Rachel’s commission is going to the Sharp’s Adoption. See here for a new blog post, telling their story in a nutshell. 7th Feb: We have the Precious 3 Auction running for the Sharp Family. As well as, all sales from Angel Crafts (sandra) on the RR Mall FB page goes to their adoption grant as well.
The Gaines Family is bringing home a little girl, they can not share her name or even her birth date but they do have a very cute picture of her on their blog. As previously stated, they are financially recovering from a failed adoption and need help with funding this one. You can help by making purchases through their Amazon Link Words, details are here. They are waiting for USCIS (immigration) approval and hope to travel in Spring to bring home their little girl. They are grateful for contributions to date but more will be needed so please consider giving towards their adoption fund on their blog.
The Robbins Family is Walter’s forever family. They travel this month to bring him home. Praise the Lord! They are fully funded! BUT… they have asked for prayers as this will be a big transition for all; most of all for Walter who has to leave familiar surroundings and persons. Pray that Walter will be ready to leave his old life and welcome a new one with great excitement and eagerness. Pray also for the 4 children who expectantly wait at home to welcome a new brother. You can follow their journey here. UPDATE: 18th Jan – Gotcha Day was Saturday 12th January!! Read about it here! Praise the Lord!
The Murdoch Family is bringing home little Corina. They have just started the adoption process and need lots of prayers. They are also in the midst of setting up their FSP so stay tuned. In the meantime, you can donate to their adoption process using the Donate button on their blog.
The Whicker Family is Song Guo’s forever family. They are waiting for travel approval and visas at the moment. They are also hoping to visit their oldest Chinese daughter’s orphanage while they are there to bring Song Guo home. They are asking for prayers for all paperwork and arrangements to go well. They have raised as much of the funds needed as they can on their own and now they are needing another US$8000. Please help them fill the gap, contribute to their adoption grant here. Follow their journey here. UPDATE: 18th Jan, they are travelling on 25th Jan and will return home with Song Guo on 7th Feb! Praise the Lord! Pray for safety during the trip and for smooth transition for all and for fast and easy paperwork. They are also asking for prayers for family members who are taking care of their children while they are gone. And do pray for Tana’s mother who has been very ill. They still short about US$2000 on funds, do keep praying that the funds come in while they are travelling. Do give towards their adoption fund if you can. 25th Jan, Tana’s mother is very ill and the doctor has said that her passing real soon so they have had to cancel their flights. Please keep them in prayer as they deal with this sorrow. Pray that the Lord bring them comfort and give them strength to carry on.
The Fristoe Family is home with Clara but will be returning to bring Feng home. Do continue to pray for them. Feng is still in need of surgery. Please follow their journey on their blog. UPDATE: Feng will be admitted into hospital on 8th January to have BT shunt put in so that she might survive the wait for completed paperwork before she can go home to the Fristoe family. Please pray for her and that the surgery goes well, pray for the doctors treating, the nurses attending to her and her nannies caring for her. 29th Jan – They have a matching grant of US$500, which means every dollar you donate now will be doubled… Please help them bring Feng home. They have just had a really tough time with 2 of their girls in hospital.
12 13 wonderful families, all needing your help. Please read their stories and contribute a little towards their journey. You would be helping to bring together a family; to complete a family. They are grateful for any and every amount given.
If you are not in a situation to contribute monies, then please do share their stories so others can help. Do also pray for these families; pray that God keeps them all safe and healthy, God provides the funds and the paperwork and God be with them every step of the way. They welcome every prayer said.
Thank you so much for your kind attention, your generous giving and your prayers.
Yep, it is a sad sad statement but so very true for many in the world; many who are in such difficult circumstances that just getting through another day is a blessing in and of itself, many who do not even know that a new year has come because it is just another day for them, same hard life as always; many who can not even speak for themselves.
There are so many who need help in this world and i so wish i – we – could help them all but… it is not possible. However, that does not mean that i should sit by and do nothing. No. i can do something, i can help and even if i help just one of the thousands, i would have helped and that one person who have a better future…
So i continue my advocacy for special needs orphans and this month, the Teamwork Tuesday bloggers are focusing on Spina Bifida, a condition where the spinal cord isn’t completely covered on both sides. You can read more here and here.
Many infants in countries where medical facilities allow are treated early and have an almost normal life with this condition rarely limiting their development. However, where medical care isn’t so advanced and where society is more fearful of disabilities, these children do not have such opportunities.
Emmitt is one of these children with no chance for such early treatments and no opportunity has been given to him to prove that he can succeed in life. Instead he is an orphan, deemed to be unfit for even a basic education simply because of his physical condition which can be easily managed if he had a loving family who would support him through all the treatments and therapies needed.
Look at those intelligent eyes, imagine all that he could do if given the right opportunities…
There is a more urgent need than his physical health. Emmitt is 15 years old and in a year’s time, in 12 short months, he will age out of the system and he will either be sent out onto the streets with just the clothes on his back and a tiny amount of food (maybe money) and expected to find work with no skills and no education, or he will simply spend the rest of his life in a crib, confined to nothingness for the remainder of his likely short life.
He may not be able to walk but he is said to be “extremely smart” which means his mental capacity isn’t affected by his physical disability. A family who saw him said the following: “He is very friendly, funny, and talkative. He desperately seeks out attention. He was talking to my husband, and holding Zack’s hand, which he then put on top of his head for Zack to rub his hair. He is extremely intelligent, and just precious! I brought him paper and crayons, and he drew me a flower.”
This sweet clever boy needs a family to help him get the best out of his life. He can have successes and accomplishments. He just needs a caring family who would believe in him. Are you that family? If you feel drawn to Emmitt, please please contact Reece’s Rainbow for details.
There are other ways you can help too. You can pray for Emmitt, pray for his daily needs and most of all pray for his forever family to come for him. You can share his story so his family can be found.
You can also help his forever family reach him faster by growing his adoption grant (international adoptions are so very expensive). Click on his name or picture to donate.
trippingdifferently 