Listening in the whirlwind

I've been slacking.

I know it and, to be honest  I'm somewhat ashamed.

In the middle of the whirlwind, it can be so easy to push aside the names and the faces, to separate from the pain, the loneliness, and the  death that is far too common in the lives of  these kids.

Funny, how when things seem the craziest it can be the quietest voice that calls you back. . .

This week a dear and precious lady names Julia wrote  about  their adoption trip and the little girl they  left behind - Cadence.

Cadence was one of my 16 this year, the  children I've prayed for, the children I bring up when someone is crazy enough to open the door  to a conversation on adoption and let my poor heart spill out. Julia's post was a quiet call back to the importance of these children who still wait  in the  whirlwind of our lives.

Children like Marissa

And children like my Christmas angel Claire

Honestly, in the whirlwind anything felt like too much: too much sadness, too much work, too many barriers.

Then this quote popped up in my memories

"We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive." 

— Jamie Tworkowski

It honestly doesn't take much to give these kids a chance. While adoption would be the biggest change not everyone is called to adopt or even adopt right now. That said, anyone can learn about the needs of the children who wait, can exchange the cost of a coffee with assisting a waiting child's grant, contribute to an organization like Maya's Hope that works in country helping the children day in and day out. Anyone can raise their voice and  shout for these kids - sharing their stories and raising them up in prayer.

All it takes is listening to that voice in the whirlwind.

It's been an odd year.
Also, I may be in the running for queen of the understatement.
It's not that I mean to  run away from this blog but sometimes the thoughts in my head outrun the rest of me and I need time to  think, time to process, and time to let my heart find it's pace.

This year I've encountered a lot of talk about adoption and advocacy and not all of it  has been positive. There are questions why one would advocate to take a child out of their home country, why don't people support change overseas, why not  be happy with the family  that is given?

Thanks to my tendency  to either have a severe case of silence or word vomit (one day I will find a happy medium, in the meantime be patient with me) and the fact that there isn't a clean, clear answer the answers to those questions can be  messy so please bear with me as I stumble through my  thoughts.

We advocate adoption, be it local or international, because lives are on the line and  those lives are precious. The  sanctity of human life is reason enough and if reading stories and seeing families is  what  it takes to drive home the humanity of these children and the need that is out there, then that is a reflection on our society and advocate we will.
Sometimes the need is obvious, when you see the  stories of children who have been institutionalized - starving and injured or wasting away under lack of resources or treatable conditions- the  urgency cannot be denied  the reality is accepted or turned off our screens as  we move to more comfortable things.

Yes, it would be wonderful if there were the resources, the supports,  the acceptance  for these children to remain in their own countries but the fact is, in most cases, that support network has not been established. There are some wonderful organizations working the front lines supporting families and making new inroads with children who are in their local systems. They need support too. Change, sustainable change, takes time though, especially when it needs to shift at legal and cultural levels and the hard truth is most  and more  likely all of the children currently listed will age out, die, or live their lives in institutions  before these changes can be made. Change cannot come quickly enough to  make a difference for them, but a family can.

Adoption is expensive though, in  each and every way. With changing laws, financial requirements, travel times, not to mention the adjustment afterward - the grief, the  trauma (oh complex trauma,  there's a class I wanted to weep through), the catch up on medical care that has  long been left aside. Adoption is messy because it is lived out in every aspect. Life and love are messy business.

So we advocate through the mess. We advocate for change for the  parents who wish they could have kept their family together, we advocate for orphans who could literally face life or death based on that choice, and we advocate for families  who live out a messy reality of family born out  of grief and trauma.


This year Reece's Rainbow marks another round of MACC the Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign. Families select one child to advocate  for who's already waiting  and  for who local change will not come quickly enough. The goal being to help families learn about adoption, raise money to grow the grants of 105 children, and help these kids find families willing to step up.

Each year RR asks volunteers to select three children for MACC assigning the top choice of the three who are eligible.

   

These were my three choices out of hundreds Cadence, Clair, and Marissa (not their real names). One is mine to advocate for but the reality is they are all worthy. In the end debates will always remain. Let's face it, humanity loves to disagree. These children and others like them are fighting a clock though and, debates aside,  they deserve so much more out of their futures.

Not everyone can adopt, not everyone can donate, not everyone can pray but everyone can do something  and as someone pointed out to me this week, we never know the ripples are actions will make. 

Sunday Spotlight 17 for 2017

Sunday Spotlight is back and what better way to start than to highlight a few of our 17 for 2017 :)

First up is Merida

Merida will be turning 14 this year meaning she could qualify for a 10 000 grant from RR to help bring her home. Her file lists her as having hearing loss  but little else despite her being listed for 4.5 years. This is most likely due to her having been moved to an institute or older children facility.

Next we have Shirley

This sweet girl will be 13 this year meaning she has just 1 year left before her country's rules place as being to old for adoption. According to her profile

Shirley is a sweet girl who has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and high muscle tension in her legs. She has had surgery to help with the tension in her tendons. Shirley loves to play dress up with her dolls. She is currently attending a primary school and is learning a lot! Shirley has been living in a foster family since 2006 so that she could get more individualized attention. She go to therapies every day to make her body stronger. Shirley is able to take care of all her personal needs and is very independent. She has been taught about adoption and would like to be adopted!

Third is Nadene.

Miss Nadene turns 12 this year and is also eligible for up to 10000 from RR to help her family bring her home. Miss Nadene has been waiting for so long and has regressed since being transferred. 

Finally, we have Charissa

Look at that smile! It one of those light up the room types. How this sweetheart has been listed for 3 years I cannot fathom. Could she be the missing piece at your table? Charissa has 2 years before aging out and is also eligible for a grant from RR to help families with the financial aspect of adoption.

16 . . . 17 for 2017!

It's that time of year.

Christmas is over. The decorations have been put away. Daddy's back at work. The day to day mundane yet chaotic reality that is our life has returned. In our world this means, therapy pre-school (homeschool style), and learning our way around another new town (third town in 2 years, hoo boy).

That also means that MACC is over for another year.
This year was so exciting.
 Each child in the campaign met their $1000 grant goal and 9 children found families in those 2 months (with another stepping forward since the new year).
In some ways, after such a big push, it can feel tempting to put aside the advocating as the new year and all it brings comes rushing in. Although this year was successful I couldn't help but reflect back on the kiddo's who had been part of prior campaigns and were still waiting or who had aged out.

Can  I be honest? It hit me hard to get confirmation that  my Christmas kiddo had, in fact, been moved to an institution.
Sometimes you wonder if one voice can make a difference . .  .

Which is why anything worth doing is always better with a few like minded friends! One dear lady suggested picking 16 kiddo's to focus on throughout the year. 16 faces to bring forward in blogs and social media in order to help keep these kiddo's from being forgotten.

And here are my 16

16 precious children who deserve to know that they are loved daughters. 16 little  girls who need families, medical care, and love. 16 little ones who don't deserve to be forgotten

Merida, Brandi, Waniya, Priscilla, Lucie, Hana, Shirley, Emma, Harlowe, Charissa, Nadene, Claire, Elinor, Christina, Cadence, Dolly

Well, since it is 2017, it only makes sense to add one more Ginny!

Here's to 2017