Need to Start Fresh

Those of you who are still reading (or would be if there were anything here to read) might have noticed my lack of posts recently.  I could say the same things over again... that I've been discouraged, that I've had a lot going on in my life, that I haven't been quite sure what to do with my blog... but you've heard it all already.

One thing that I do need to get out of the way is that Annie, the darling girl I advocated for who is basically my A's doppleganger, had a family, but they were not able to proceed with her adoption.  This is sad news as they very much loved Annie and wanted to bring her home.  But on a positive note, not long after my friend's family discovered they would be unable to proceed with Annie's adoption (due to circumstances beyond their control), they found out they are pregnant after years of infertility!  Your prayers are much appreciated for my friend Amanda and her growing family, as well as for Annie and whomever her family might be - that they will find her and bring her home!

Now, that said, I don't exactly have a specific family to raise funds for right now, so I would like to focus for a while on finding families for a few special kids.  Finding Annie a new family is a priority... she is at a prime age to be adopted and I think she will bring so much joy to a family... but they need to find her before she spends more time in an orphanage, which is no place for a child to grow up.  At any time she could be transferred to a place that does not care for her as well as it seems the current facility does.  I want her family to come for her before that can happen.  Another priority remains finding a family for sweet Brett, who has waited 12 1/2 long years for a mama to call his own.  I do not want to be yelling for that boy at the 11th hour, when he is near aging out.  More and more families are bringing home older children with down syndrome and wondering how they lived so long without them!  Brett's profile states that he is not aggressive and it is believed that he would do wonderfully in a family.  NOW is the time to bring him home... I can't imagine that poor boy having to go through the teen years alone!

Annie

Brett

Besides those two, who are very near and dear to my heart, there are still four children, who are available for adoption (and 3 of whom are listed through Reece's Rainbow), living in the orphanage known as "The Bad Place".  A couple years ago when little Katie Musser came home at 9 years old and 10 pounds, children from that orphanage were being scooped up as quickly as they could be listed.  Everyone wanted to do something for a child like Katie.  But now... where have those people gone?  And so four children, some very able, some very young, all precious and beautiful... continue to wait.  In a place that, despite the improvements the new director has made, no child should be.

These children belong in families.

So for now - I think my focus is going to be less on fundraising and more on finding families.  Once families are found for some of these little ones, I'll be ready and set to do what it takes to help them bring their little ones home.  That doesn't mean I won't occasionally post a link to a fundraiser, or plead on behalf of a family in dire straits - (incidentally, the Harlin family is stuck in limbo in a certain tumultuous Eastern European country right now and stretched very, very thin... they were never completely funded anyways and now the children's father has used up all his paid leave from work due to the delays in country - not to mention that their son Sergei, who they just adopted, is very medically fragile and needs to get to the US for medical care ASAP - but can't, without a stamp from a region that is in complete chaos.  Your prayers, and even donations if you feel so led, are coveted for them.) - but overall, right now, what we NEED is for families to step forward.

Another thing I'd really like to spend some time focusing on in the coming months is the reality of what it is like for orphans with special needs around the world.  I have noticed more and more new people coming 'into the fold' so to speak, learning about the plight of orphans, and I would love to help express to more people what things are really like for these kids.  I will likely be reaching out to friends, maybe even guest bloggers, to assist me with spreading the word.

I can't promise that posts will come at a steady pace right now - there is still a lot going on in my life - but I am going to try to post more regularly.  In the meantime, won't you please join me in prayer, and maybe spread the word, about the needs of Annie and Brett, and for the Harlin family?  Prayers for Ukraine would also be deeply appreciated as this country is dearly loved by many of us in the international adoption community.  What has gone on there is certainly sad, but perhaps even sadder is the humanitarian crisis unfolding as thousands of orphans are now effectively 'stuck' in Crimea as Russia claims it has reabsorbed the territory, thus causing Crimean orphans to fall under the Russian ban of most international adoptions.  For many of these children, international adoption is their only hope, as their special needs render them invalid by their own country.

Innocent casualties of war...

In any case, that's where things stand right now.  I apologize for anyone who was unhappy (or even noticed - I hold no delusions that my blog posts are something magnificent to look forward to) with my absence... I am hoping to do better in the future!  For now though, the best thing any of us can do is PRAY!