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

New Year's Eve is coming and I can't wait to party

For the last few years I've attended a unique New Year's Eve party that's right up my alley.

The dress code is casual and comfy, the food is bring your own, and it's also very family friendly, in fact, most of the night is centers on families and children.

Did I mention this party also takes place online? That means you're invited too!

Parties  are a lot of fun and this one is no different. There always seems to be a few jokes, some reminiscing, and a good time all around. Unlike most parties, this one is a party with a purpose.

December 31st is the last day of the Reece's Rainbow Christmas Campaign (I know, I can barely believe it either) on New Year's Eve a group comes together to give one last push for the wee ones who have captured our hearts this year.

We celebrate those like Walter, Brandi, and Elinor who met their goals financially while still pushing for the ultimate goal of their forever families

      

We push for the ones who are still short their financial goals, children like Priscilla, Emma, and Ginny knowing that each share could be the one to help them come home and every dollar helps ease  the burden on that family.

    

We also celebrate the children who were part of this campaign and are now home because sharing these families burdens through donating, prayer, and practical support if you're local and sharing these kids and bringing light to the situations facing thousands of orphans around the world. It works. It honest to goodness works and there are hundreds of families who can attest to how their lives have changed since meeting a  child in a picture and saying yes.

I know New Year's is a busy time but maybe when you're people out at the party of have a minute to spare while you're sitting in the passengers seat, come and spend a few minutes with us and see what a difference the smallest actions can make.

Christmas with special needs may not look like a traditional celebration.

It may mean cancelling family gatherings despite desire or disapproving relatives because your child simply cannot handle even one more second of new sensory input.

It may mean learning new ways of making dinner to incorporate different food needs.

It may mean grieving expectations and celebrating every little victory, even when others think you're nuts for celebrating something they don't understand.

It may mean massive coordination to set  up therapies during holiday hours and find time to start filling out the funding paperwork that comes up every new year.

It may mean facing the holidays like any other day.


You know what though, love covers all.


We planned our pj and cartoon day with weighted blankets and extra naps. We learned new recipes.
This Mama even has no shame admitting I cried when our little man excitedly wanted to dance during our Christmas Eve service, joy shining in his eyes before totally sensory overload hit that night on the phone with Nana and Papa.


Our little guy came to us after an absurdly long labour that left this Mama sore and recovering for months (seriously pregnancy and I do not get along and labour is worse). Over his 3.5 years we've gained more insights into what makes him tick and how to best meet his unique needs and I'm not going to lie,  it's hard work, frustrating work, and sometimes you just don't know so you take it minute by minute.


In so many ways adopting a special needs child is even harder.
Your life is completely turned upside down as financial costs are faced, medical needs  are assessed and treatments are devised, the child is faced with the loss of their environment, their culture, a language, the family is faced with the loss of their structure/time/finances/sleep.

Adoption is risky love.
 I have to wonder how many of us have become afraid to risk because I know how easy it is for my own spirit to sink back into the safety of complacency.

           

We're afraid so we do nothing and real children sit waiting. We're  not all called to adopt internationally but we can do something. There's domestic adoption, volunteering with local CAS, prayer, fundraising for international adoption through organizations like Reece's Rainbow and the MACC. you can share a child's picture you may not be the family for Priscilla, Walter, Ginny, or Anna but maybe someone you know is  - the power of sharing is underestimated every time.

When you can't

"When you can't run, you crawl ... and when you can't crawl, when you can't do that... 

 'You find someone to carry you.'" 

(firefly)

I remember as a child being utterly fascinated by the thick newspapers that graced my Great Grandpa's footstool every weekend. Not only did they have the best comics  and word searches which he continued to pass along to me until he passed away my first year of college, but, for many year the local CAS would feature a child or sibling group in need of a family.

Adoption was something I always remember being aware of, let's face it, as a Canadian everyone up here has heard of a certain red-headed orphan girl from P.E.I. But I was the weird child who read a story and needed to know what was behind it so I started researching. 

I found vague statistics that saddened me as a child (yep back in the pre-google days) and mostly put it to rest due to a lack of connection. When college came I stumbled upon Reece's Rainbow and that interest was renewed  only this time with more passion. Now there was internet, research, I could double and triple check the facts (did I mention that the term nerd is often used when describing me? I think it's pretty accurate and usually loving). I didn't like the facts.

Did you know that if  orphans founded their own country they'd be the 10th most populated?

Did you know that many children with special needs will not face happy futures after aging out falling victim to trafficking, drugs, gangs, poverty, suicide, or wasting away in an institution?

Did you know that the brain develops differently when faced with trauma or lack of human interaction?

How does one face a situation when hundreds of thousands of lives are being set up to fail and falter.

I remember reading a blog,

It  told the starfish story and I allowed my thinking to shift. 

How  do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

How do you help the orphan crises? One step at a time. 

It's really the only way to do anything. One step and then another, walking in faith.

But sometimes it wears on me and I see that weariness in others too. 

Life keeps us firmly unable to do anything but write, shout, and try to help raise funds to brings these kids home before it's too late though my heart aches to do more.

But sometimes it feels like I'm standing on a beach covered with starfish and no one's getting to the water.

My first Angel Tree girl has aged out. She will never have a family and faces life in whatever system her country has  established. We shouted and fundraised but no mama or papa stood up.

My second child still waits with a larger grant than most. She's waited 2 years already and continues to wait, her file has information, though dated and yet no one steps up.

My current girly is sitting at the bottom of the  tree

With so little information and a dated picture, interest just isn't there despite my efforts and my heart breaks as i see her slipping through the cracks.

I'm tired and  weary and my heart longs for things I can't  control. Today would you help me out and share this little girl, share the Christmas Campaign, because I'm weary and heavy hearted  and could sure  use someone to help carry me today.