"But She Looks Healthy" | Reece's Rainbow Families

This is something that even the most caring, understanding adoption advocates have probably found themselves thinking at one point or another.  Some children CLEARLY need OUT right now.  Nothing more than their pictures is necessary to tell you how dire the circumstances are for these children:

Della is eleven years old.

Hannah is almost five and due for transfer.

Lelani is so underweight she has to be tube fed.  She is four.

Marla is stuck in this position from having spent years that way.

Nehemiah is thirteen years old.

But then there are the other children.  The ones who we know are in orphanages all the same, but who 'look' healthy.

Annie

Bernadette

Otto

Ryan

Shawn

Monet

They don't 'look' sick, do they?  They don't look desperate, like the others.  Surely they can wait a little longer for a family.  Surely their need is not as urgent.

Until you see the truth behind the picture.

Bernadette has epilepsy.  She has complex partial seizures.  She needs expert medical care to prevent permanent damage from being done.

Shawn has HIV.  Without anti-retroviral medications, his disease could progress into full blown AIDS and be fatal.  Or he could age out and be turned out onto the streets, where most girls turn to prostitution and most boys turn to lives of crime, just to survive.

All of these children (with the exception of two) have the same future in store for them.  Years in orphanages and mental institutions.  Some in lying rooms, wasting away.  Not getting the nutrition they need.  If they are not adopted, eventually their pictures WILL look like a child in desperate need.  If they are not adopted, they will ultimately die without ever seeing beyond the four walls of their institutions.

But notice I said 'except for two'.  Have you picked out which two are different yet?

Monet.  Monet is different.  Her given name was Marianna.

Was.

She looked healthy.

She looked like she could wait a little longer.

She was deaf, and she had epilepsy, but hadn't had a reported seizure in years.

Looked.  Was.  Had.

We received confirmation today that Monet/Marianna passed away.

She was three years old.

She died without ever having known the love of a mother.

She looked healthy.

But now she's gone.

Words cannot express the depth of the pain we, as advocates, feel when one of these precious lives is lost.

Rest in peace, sweet angel.  Your pain is gone, you are with Jesus now.

But this loss does something else as well.

It spurs us on to action.  To fight harder.  Until they all come home.

Have you guessed which of the other above children has a different fate than the others yet?

Annie.

Beloved child, holder of hearts.

Annie has a different fate than the others for a different, much happier reason than Monet.

She has a family.

A committed family who stepped out in faith and said "YES, she is our daughter."

But they are struggling.  Everyone is fundraising, the economy is poor, everyone is tapped out.  The blows just keep on coming making their funding situation look more and more bleak.

But she looks healthy... shouldn't we give to a sicker-looking child first?

Monet looked healthy too.

Right now, MONEY is the only thing holding Annie's family back from moving more quickly to get her home.  They recently lost an expected $1,000 matching grant due to the donor's inability to follow through.  We do not blame the donor who initially offered up such a generous gift, but we do need to make up for the loss of expected funding.

MONEY is standing between Annie and her family.

This is unacceptable.

We cannot allow children to wait even one extra minute because of money.

There is too much at risk.

A few days ago I posted about why Annie's family is so close to my heart, and detailed all the ways that YOU can help them bring their girl home.

The response has been disappointing to say the least.

If you, like me, are heartbroken by the loss of another child... one who 'looked' healthy... won't you help us make sure that this child doesn't have to wait longer and face greater risk - simply because of MONEY?

Don't you have just a few dollars to spare?  Can't you skip pizza night and eat a grilled cheese sandwich?

And if you truly don't have two pennies to rub together, couldn't you at least share this post and help us reach the people who may be able to give?

It's not hard.  It's not complicated.  Give.  Share.  Pray.

You can find Annie's family's blog with the YouCaring Give widget on the right hand side here.

Please?