Rejoicing and weeping

A couple of reasons for rejoicing today.

 

Natalia has been found by her forever family!! I first heard this a few weeks ago unofficiallly, but now Natalia is on the "My Family Found Me" page of Reece's Rainbow. I am so happy that this precious girl will soon be in the arms of parents who adore her.

 

 

This is not a good picture, but you can get the idea... Maia actually picked up the wrap that Mark made her for lunch and attempted to feed herself. That's definitely worth rejoicing about! 

 

 

But while I am praising God for the happy news, my heart is also breaking. Children left behind in orphanages have been heavy on my heart recently. Reading the posts of a two of my bloggy friends has left me even more heartbroken with tears flowing regularly.

 

 

Meet Harvey 

This precious boy is three years old. He is fed by a feeding tube. According to Adeye's post, the hair in his arms is most likely due to malnutrition and a "total lack of human contact." That is beyond comprehension to me. How can children be placed in cribs and left there for YEARS with not even their basic needs met?

This is Thad.

Thad was born into a family. He lived with them until he was four years old, enduring who knows what. At four, Thad was beaten severly and left in a coma. He suffered severe brain damage and was brought to an orphanage. There he was placed in a crib and left with not even his basic needs met. From one horrific situation to another equally unfathomable existence.

 

 

And now, Sonny

Sonny has Down Syndrome and was born in a country where he was placed in an orphanage. He aged out of the detsky dom and was transferred to an adult mental institution. There, Sonny is bruised and beaten. No child deserves such treatment. This will be his life until a family steps forward to claim him as their forever son OR until death claims Sonny.

 

 

I was reading Adeye's post the other day while eating lunch and I literally almost vomited as she talked about praying for a little boy. These are her words, "I lie in my bed. Haunted by their sweet faces. Desperate to do more…and more. I think about each one I met, touched, laid hands on, prayed for...and begged the Father to take home to be with Him. I wonder. Is he still alive, the precious one with untreated hydrocephalus that has left his head the size of two watermelons? That amazing little boy. Created in the image of a God who adores him. His head literally splitting open and oozing water and blood from the extreme pressure it can no longer contain. Incomprehensible suffering!"

It was all I could do not to lose my lunch, this was too personal. Hydrocephaly... this could be our Maia if she had not received treatment. The thought of her experiencing something like this angel made me sick. To think about this sweet boy who has no one to comfort him, to hold him, and tell him how loved he is has brought me to tears frequently since hearing about him.

I know I have asked this before, but please search your heart... what can you do to make a difference in the lives of children who are waiting for their forever families? Have you considered bringing a precious child home? You don't need to be rich, you don't need to have a big home, you don't have to have all the answers. Kids don't care about that. They need love and commitment, someone who is willing to see them as God sees them. Can you help someone who is adopting right now? Can you pray, advocate, shout these children's names to the world? Please, please - do SOMETHING to help the kids above or other children who wait for their forever families.