What Happens When You Give | Reece's Rainbow Families

I want to share with all of you what God has done recently, and why I believe - no, I know that when we choose to give out of nothing, God multiplies our gifts back upon us.

Before the beginning of this year, I was essentially unemployed.  I worked odd jobs for friends whenever I could, but I wasn't even making ends meet.  As the new year started, I was blessed with a wonderful new job, which would not only make ends meet, but leave some left over.  It took me a while to catch up, but by the start of Spring, I had room to breathe.  Wise advisers told me to put at least one month's worth of expenses in savings, in case I fell ill or lost my job, but no matter how hard I tried, that didn't happen.

It didn't happen because of the faces.

These faces.

and these faces...

...all orphans, all seperated from their families by little more than money.  When I looked at their faces, and knew I had money to spare in the bank, I couldn't tell them no.

Especially not when I knew what love could do... love that they could only receive after their ransoms were paid.  (These pictures are all before/after adoption shots)

How could I let money sit in a savings account when it could be used to help produce these miracles?

So I gave.  Probably not as much as I should have, or could have, if I'd sacrificed a little more, but I never set aside that one month's expenses.  That need wasn't as real to me as theirs was.  And no, I don't expect an award for that - I actually struggled with how to tell this part of the story because I don't want to sound proud or self absorbed - but the whole story needs to be told to see the miracle.

But then I did get sick.  Really sick, actually.  I had two surgeries and lost count of the days I spent in the hospital.  One of them was my birthday, I do remember that.  I couldn't work for a long time and I stopped being able to make ends meet.

I still didn't regret the choice I made.  But I did wonder... how am I going to make things work?  My family helped me through the month of May, which was in other ways a dark time for me, while I waited for a paycheck that had taken longer than usual to come through.  Still though, I knew it wouldn't be enough to get me through June... and the whole time I agonized, not because I was worried about myself - I knew I'd figure something out - but because all the while I was watching Mamas and Daddies beg for the money needed to pay their children's ransoms, and I could do nothing.  That was worse than being broke.

Last night, I went upstairs in the middle of the night to find something to eat, and checked the unopened envelopes sitting on the counter.  So many of them have been medical bills lately, I haven't been particularly keen to open them.  But one caught my attention - it was from the surgery center where I'd had my wisdom teeth out in November.  I was puzzled because I knew I paid that bill - was there some expense I'd missed? So I opened that envelope to see what the damage was, and instead of a bill, I found a check!  It was then that I remembered that I'd actually overpaid and never collected my refund - but how much could it be?  Surely only pocket change.  Then I checked the amount.  Not only was it more than pocket change, it was probably enough to get me through June... and probably enough to have a little left over, maybe to finally give to one of the families I had been shouting for!

This is what God does when you give to the least of these, when you put them before yourself.

I have an amazing friend who is on a plane at this very moment on her way to meet her three newest children, halfway across the world.  They are the first three children whose pictures I posted, and they are in desperate condition.

Carson has hydrocephalus and had shunt surgery relatively recently.  He is vibrant and lively at six years old, but if he isn't taken out of that place quickly, his spirit will be quashed.  He needs to come home.

Presley is three years old and has severe autism.  There's no way to tell until she's in a family how much of her behavior is due to her environment, but right now she shies away from social interaction and self-stimulates instead.  There is no one to help her learn how to function any other way.  And she is small - weighing about as much as an 8 month old baby.  She needs to come home.

Thad is in the most desperate condition of all.  Though you can't see it from the picture, Thad is lying in a crib - where he spends all his time - and he is nine years old.  You couldn't tell it from looking at him - the poor boy weighs only 18 pounds and his joints are severely contracted.  He suffered a brain injury after being beaten into a coma at the age of four by his birth father.  He is terrified of even being taken out of his crib.  He really needs to come home.

Though she is traveling to meet them now, my friend Amanda still needs a significant amount of money to complete the adoption.  More fees will be due when she comes home and faces what is probably the hardest part of adopting from this country - having met and held your children, having seen first hand what their lives are like, and having to wait months longer to bring them home.  I can't even imagine what that must be like - and to have to try to raise funds for the rest of their ransom during that time - how does anyone do it?

If I could, I would lift the entire burden of getting funded from this family's shoulders - but I can't... not by myself.  How wonderful would it be for Amanda to come home from this trip to a significant bump in her fundraising efforts?

But I need YOU.  Amanda needs YOU.  Carson, Presley and Thad need YOU.

They need you to have faith... that when you give out of nothing, it will be multiplied back upon you.

I can attest to this.  It happened to me.

So who is with me?  Who is going to step up and help an amazing family - the same family, by the way, that made one of those transformations I showed you above happen.  This is their son Keith, home less than a year, who weighed only ten pounds when he was taken from the orphanage and is now a healthy little boy who is nearly walking.

With your help, soon we'll see similar transformations in Carson, Presley and Thad.

But only with your help.

Don't say it's too much to ask.  Don't let yourself believe that any harm or misfortune will come to you by giving to the least of these.  Trust.  Trust whatever you believe in - God, Karma... that the gifts we give are multiplied back upon us.

Oh - and did I mention you could win an iPad?  Check out an awesome fundraiser for this family here.

If you prefer a tax deductible donation, you can also give to their Reece's Rainbow Family Sponsorship Program account here.

You won't be sorry.  Trust me, for I have held in my own arms the greatest reward of this type of giving.

Me and precious Keith, March 2013

Go on.  Experience with me all the rewards of giving.

Edited to add:  The Unroes have been offered a $20 matching grant by the very family I blogged about last week who are trying to raise their own commitment costs - what did I tell you about giving from nothing?  Donate ASAP so we can turn $20 into $40!  And meet the amazing family offering the match here.

A Family in Need | Reece's Rainbow Families

I have been blessed recently to know a family who, though not planning an international adoption before, fell in love with a child on RR and decided to jump in with both feet.  This is amazing because they are acting on faith.  You see, sometimes families hesitate to commit to children because commitment costs can be so overwhelming, and not every child has a large grant already waiting for them.  Some children don't have a grant yet at all, therefore to even start the process to rescue the child, families have to come up with a large sum in a short amount of time.  This is one of those situations - where a family is taking a leap of faith to try to raise commitment costs in a short amount of time, knowing all the while that a child's life rests in the balance.

A Family Sponsorship Program can be set up with Reece's Rainbow, but not until after commitment costs have been paid.  The visibility and tax deductible status of the FSP has helped many families raise needed funds - but not before commitment.  Here we have a family who is ready to jump in and rescue a child, maybe two, and MONEY is the only thing holding them back.

We can't let that happen.  We just can't.

A lot of people will say that it's the family's responsibility alone to raise commitment costs - because if they can't come up with the initial money, how are they going to fund the rest of their adoption?  But there is a fundamental flaw in this logic.  Many, many adoptive parents were not planning to adopt, therefore they were not setting money aside for this purpose.  It's great when a family knows they intend to adopt and can set aside funds beforehand, but sometimes God taps us on the shoulder, and ready or not, families go.  That's what this family is doing.  It will take time to get further fundraisers in place, for the family to reassess their expenses to save as much as possible for their adoption.  But the kids - they don't have time.  Some children's files are returned after only two months with an agency if a family is not found for them.  Other children are in such desperate condition, that a family must be able to move as quickly as possible.

This is where we come in.  Those of us who can't adopt can still help.  We can help that family raise the initial ransom for their children, giving them time to formulate a plan for the rest of the adoption expenses.  We can donate, or do a fundraiser for them, or share their need.

Sadly, I have seen situations where families were unable to raise commitment costs in time and had to release a child.  This means more time waiting for those children.  We can't let that happen anymore.  If we're not willing or able to jump in and go get these kids ourselves, we need to rally around those who are.

So here I want to introduce you to my friend Amanda.  She and her husband are just starting out their adoption journey, hoping to rescue one, maybe two children from Eastern Europe.  These are children who do not have time to wait around.  They are also in a place where initial commitment costs are high, so a family's work is really cut out for them.  Amanda has started a blog recently to write about their need, their fundraisers, and hopefully one day their children.  I encourage you to visit her blog.  Note the paypal link on the right hand side.  Could you contribute just a little bit - maybe swap out Starbucks for a home brew, or skip pizza night, to help ransom an orphan?  In situations like these, every little bit helps!  Check out Amanda's posts too - she is also a 31 consultant!  I have to admit I have fallen for 31 bags recently, as have many people, and if you order through Amanda, her commission will go straight toward ransoming an orphan.  It's a win-win situation!

One day, hopefully one day soon, I hope to be able to post a picture to show you the face(s) of the child(ren) that this family is bringing home... but it can't happen without you.  Right now, right here, is where you can help.  So many of us have hearts for these children but cannot adopt.  This is our opportunity to DO something.  To be a part of bringing orphans home.

Visit Amanda's blog here.

And remember these faces.  Faces of children across the world who have no hope without you... as you do.

Donate.  Share.  Pray.  Do something.

Which group will you be in?  The one that steps up... or the one that walks away?

I Bet You Won't Click This Link | Reece's Rainbow Waiting Child

If you've gotten this far, you've already surprised me.

But I bet most people won't click...

Because then they'd have to care.

They'd have to care about Della...

...a beautiful TEN YEAR OLD GIRL...

...tied up - tied to her crib, arms tied into a bundle...

...just because she likes to explore, and that's not allowed.

And if they cared, they might feel compelled to do something...

...and we can't have that, right?  Everyone knows we're all busy with our own lives.

But who then...

...is going to save Della's?

Be a part of the solution here.

Those Eyes | Reece's Rainbow Waiting Child

Look at those eyes.

I know those eyes.

I knew them the first time I saw this picture.

Those are my A's eyes.  Big and dark... with that look in them... that look that just pulls you in...

...and never lets go.

I know, because I saw those eyes, in a different child... years ago.

That's not Annie.  That's my A.  But those are the same dark brown eyes.

"Orphan eyes", my friend called them once, after seeing that first picture of A looking so solemn.

That's her at around the same age Annie is now.  Seven.


But there's a big difference.


My A has so many people who love her.  So many that sometimes it's almost like I used to joke with her - everybody's going to tug at once and see who gets the bigger half.


Annie needs you to love her.  Because although people love her - I became one of them when I looked into those eyes - nobody loves her like a Mama would.

She really is an orphan.

Those eyes really are orphan eyes.

Annie needs a Mama.

Could it be you?

Inquire about Annie with Reece's Rainbow here.

And hurry, before her file goes back to the government and it becomes that much more difficult to save her.

Those eyes need you.

Nobody's Child

I wish I could command inspiration to strike me when I needed it, but I can't.

I wish I could conjure up the most eloquent blog post ever right now, but I can't.

I'm actually pretty preoccupied by my health tonight, and I didn't really want to write a blog post.

But then it occurred to me.

While I sit in my warm bed in my warm house, not wanting to type on my laptop...

...a little boy sits, and maybe he's cold, having nothing that's really his own... not wanting to be an orphan.

And I owe it to him to write this post.

Around a year and a half ago, for some reason and without ever intending to, I fell in love with this little boy.

Back then, he looked more like this:

I don't know what it was about him.  Maybe his picture.  Maybe his story.  But I think, mostly God.

That little boy is Brett, and he lives in a mental institution in Eastern Europe, because he was abandoned at birth because he has down syndrome.

And when I say abandoned at birth... I mean it quite literally.  Most of the children in orphanages or institutions were born in hospitals or at home and surrendered from there directly to the orphanage.  Not Brett.  Immediately after giving birth, Brett's birth mother left him to lie in a field.  He became hypothermic and unresponsive, went into shock.  When a stranger came upon him and took him to the hospital, he was covered in bug bites.

Brett very nearly didn't make it through his first day on this earth.  If that stranger hadn't come upon him, for whatever reason, by whatever twist of fate... he would have died, a nameless baby who belonged to no one.

But that didn't happen.  He was saved.  Saved... and then taken to a hospital... and then to an orphanage.  At three years old, he was transferred from the orphanage to an adult mental institution.  Adult.  Three years old.

Saved... but for what kind of life?

This is the question I ask myself every day - and it can only have one answer.  Brett's story isn't over - not yet.  He was saved that day, on August 23, 2001 (yes, I have his birthday memorized), for something greater than the life he's living now... and all he needs to get there... is you.

You.

Yes, YOU.

If you've been waiting for a sign, this is it.  Brett needs YOU.

He's eleven years old now, still waiting in that mental institution, legally free and available for adoption and listed with Reece's Ranbow with a grant over $2,500 to aid with his adoption.  I can personally promise to help raise the rest of the money required for the family who adopts him.  His country is really a great one to adopt from - easy travel, inexpensive, very stable program, Hague country, I've heard nothing but good about the facilitators and agency staff.

What are you waiting for?

Recently, one of the adoption facilitators traveled to Brett's institution.  The report came back that he has some nonverbal communication skills, is extremely flexible (typical for kids with DS), and would likely do very well in a family and is not aggressive (something that has been seen in many institutionalized children).  Brett also has alopecia, which is why he lost his hair.  No big deal.  I shaved mine for him on New Year's this year!  There are all sorts of fun things to do with a bald head.  And this little detail of his appearance... should absolutely NOT be what stops him from having the family he deserves.  From my own limited experience with institutionalized children, I suspect he would be a wonderful and loving son.  Others with more experience seem to concur.  More pictures and videos of Brett are available from the agency.

There are two possible outcomes for Brett.  Only two.  He doesn't have the limitless opportunities we have in this country.

The first one, the one I want for him, is a happy ending.  A family.  A mom and dad, or maybe just a mom, to say YES to Brett... where others have said no.

Lately, there have been a string of older boys (the most at-risk group of orphans) appearing on the My Family Found Me page at Reece's Rainbow.  And every time a new one shows up, I rejoice for him, but my heart says, "Why not Brett?"  Fifteen year olds, aging out in a matter of days, have had the adoption community rally around them and been adopted just in time.  Teenagers, on the cusp of being fully grown adults.  By comparison, Brett isn't 'older'.  He's eleven.  I remember eleven.  We traded pokemon cards, danced to music, played dress up in our parents' clothes, loved board games, had sleepovers.  Brett is still a child.  And he has Down Syndrome.  His developmental 'age' is likely much lower.  He's just a little boy... in the body of an eleven year old.  So I ask again... Why not Brett?  Why, never Brett?  Why is he not one that people rally behind?  Because he doesn't come from the 'right' institution?  Because no adopting families have met him?  None of these things are his fault!  No more obstacles than have been overcome in previous cases.  

He's just another little boy, locked away in a place he doesn't belong... probably very rural, from what we know, which is likely to increase his hardship, especially during the winter.  Heat and food can be hard to come by in rural areas without reliable routes of transportation for all seasons... so while you're celebrating Christmas, instead of celebrating with you, eyes lighting up brighter than the Christmas tree, he's probably cold, and hungry.

'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'   ...whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

If Christ our Lord was sitting in that institution... would you not save him?  

But He is.

He is in every one of us... especially the least of these.

Which group are you in?  Those who do, or those who don't?

Because, the second possible outcome of Brett's life is unimaginable.  I don't need a long paragraph to describe it.  He will spend the rest of his life in a mental institution with sub-par care, until one day, he dies there.  He will rock, chew his hands, bite his tongue, stare at blank walls, shiver, maybe starve... and then he will die.  He'll be buried in an unmarked grave, or maybe a grave marked only with a wooden stick and a number.  Again, nameless, and again, belonging to nobody... the same way he started out.

That is not the life he was saved for.  I refuse to believe it.  That can't be his future.  Not after all the obstacles he's overcome already.  Brett is a fighter - in a good way, of course - but there's only so much he can do for himself in his position.  Right now, he needs you... to help him fight... to get him out... to save him from fading away as alone as he started out.


They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me allow the pictures to illustrate the stark contrast between these two futures.

Here's the one he can have if you say YES to him.

And here's the one he'll have if you turn away.

I've been pleading for Brett since the day I saw his picture.  Like the day the stranger came upon him in that field, I believe it was fate that I saw him.  But I can't adopt him.  I'm too young for his country's requirements and I always will be.  The law requires parent and child to be at least 15 years apart in age.  I've posted his picture everywhere.  I've written countless blog posts for him.  I've done fundraisers for him.  I shaved my head for one of them!  Since that day a year and a half ago, his grant has grown by over $2,500 (although certainly not by my own hand).  But I can't save him.  Not alone.

I'm a realistic person.  I know not everyone can or should adopt... but I also know that people do, every day... and sometimes they choose older boys, just like Brett.  Why not him?  And if you're in that group, like me, who couldn't adopt him no matter how hard they tried, that doesn't mean you can't do anything!  Brett needs two things.  He needs money in his Reece's Rainbow account, to help the family who commits to him. You can donate to him here.  But more than anything, he needs to be seen.  So I beg you to share this blog post... far and wide.  If you never do anything I ask again, please, please do this.  Just this would be enough. And if not for me... do it for the abandoned little boy in the field, cold and alone and covered in bug bites.  Or do it for God.  Just do it... please.  This is our chance to get Brett seen... before it becomes an aging out emergency.

Donate.  Share.  Pray.  Adopt.

Be one of those who gives to the least of these... not one of those who turns away.

Please.  I'm begging you.  Don't turn away.  Don't let him stay the way he is right now... nobody's child.

Other blog posts about Brett:

• http://callmecrazycbus.blogspot.com/search/label/Brett
• http://crazy-arewethereyet.blogspot.com/search/label/Brett

Inquire about Brett at www.reecesrainbow.org.  

Do You Want...

All of us - well, okay, most of us - try to be relatively frugal most of the time... but don't you ever have days where you think, "Wow, it would be really cool if I could have a ___________!"  Because I know I do!  It would be really cool if I could have an iPad - or any sort of tablet-type gadget.  It would be really cool if an extra $50 or $100 dropped out of the sky for me to spend as I pleased.  Honestly, it would be really cool just to have a neat little trinket that makes me smile that I didn't have before - say, one of those things I pick up in the aisle at the store and then put back thinking, "I don't really NEED this."

So, what do you daydream about having?  Electronics?  Books?  Crafty stuff?  Gift certificates?  Something you can use to pay it forward?

Well, friends, I have good news for you.  I have a way for you to be frugal - more than frugal - generous... and still get a chance (a whole lot bigger than the one you have now!) of owning that 'whatever' that you want!  In fact, the only money you'll spend will be tax deductible donations (size is up to you) to go toward uniting orphans with their Forever Families.

The 2013 Mulligan Stew has arrived!

Do you want an iPad mini?  A Wii U deluxe set?  A Kindle Fire HD?

Do you want a $500 Visa gift card?  How about a Visa or store gift card of up to $100?

Or would you like to share the wealth even more and win the chance to give up to $250 to the Reece's Rainbow child/family of your choice?

And these are just a few of the amazing prizes available!

But the most amazing prize... is the one you get just by entering.  The opportunity to change the life of a child, a family, forever.  That prize is guaranteed when you enter.

For more details on how to enter, please check out the Mulligan Stew details here.  Earn extra entries by sharing!

Please?  It's my birthday tomorrow... do it for me?  And you never know... you could win big!

Adopted

This is by no means a new thought - in fact, the urge to write this post came to me after seeing someone else express a similar opinion tonight - but though it is not new, it bears repeating.

I am adopted.

No, I've never been in an orphanage, or even in foster care.  I went home from the hospital with the very same mother who gave birth to me, the very same mother who I've lived nearly 24 years of my life with.  I was not adopted by her, or even in this country.  In fact, you could perhaps call my adoption the ultimate international adoption.  I was adopted by someone out of this world.

As this Easter day comes to a close, I am reminded that centuries ago, when Christ died on the cross... it was my adoption that killed Him.  He gave His very life to bring me home.

Think about it.  In the act of adoption, a child who has somehow been deemed unworthy or too difficult to care for, is chosen by a parent who says "I will love this one.  I will bring her home.  I will be her family."  I, who am not worthy of His love or grace, who have sinned time and time again, have also been chosen by my Father in Heaven, who has said "I have made this one in my image.  I will give her love and grace."

When a parent sets out upon the journey of adoption, many sacrifices must be made.  Time and energy go into paperwork and homestudies.  Enormous sums are spent on agency fees, travel, various certificates and documentation, on and on.  The sacrifices start right away, and they never end - because we all know that being a parent certainly involves them!  And then I look to the greatest sacrifice in history - the one made by Christ for me... the sacrifice He made to adopt me.  He was beaten, mocked, ridiculed, tortured and crucified because He said YES to my adoption.

After all that sacrifice, all the struggles and pain and frustration and waiting, wishing, hoping, dreaming that is the adoption process, 'Gotcha Day' finally comes.  The day parent and child are united forever.  The day a child who was once cast aside by society, a person, a situation - is welcomed into a family for eternity.  This is a glorious day full of joy, a day when the fruits of that sacrifice begin to be seen.  I would argue that all of us who call ourselves Christians have a 'Gotcha Day'.  I remember mine clearly.  I've certainly considered myself a Christian my whole life, gone to church, read my Bible... but when I was 14, I went through my Confirmation ceremony.  That was the day I accepted Christ's adoption of me in front of my whole church.  In that moment I was filled with such a joy that I can not even describe... for that was the day I came home to Christ - my 'Gotcha Day'.

Then, when many people consider the adoption to be 'over', as a family settles in at home, the truly rewarding part of adoption comes.  Children who were ill, struggling, malnourished, unloved, alone, lacked proper care or treatment for their needs, are finally given what they need to flourish.  Remember little Katie?

 

Look at the truly unbelievable progress she's made in sixteen months!  And how about sweet Keith?

 

Home only 8 months and already such a transformation!  And countless similar stories, of children brought back from unthinkable circumstances and come to life... stories of redemption.  The same sort of redemption I will experience through Christ's love, through the grace He bestows upon me that absolves my unthinkable circumstances - my sins - and recalls me to life - true, eternal life.

I once read a quote that sticks with me, for I think perhaps no truer words have ever been spoken:  "My friends, adoption is redemption.  It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous.  Buying back lives costs so much.  When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him." ~Derek Loux

So yes.  I am adopted... and my adoption, yours too if you have chosen to accept Christ in your life, was the most costly of all.  On this Easter night, I simply want to say "Thanks" to the Father who adopted me, who gave His very life to redeem mine; "Thank you", to Christ whose resurrection we celebrate on this day.  I couldn't be more proud, or grateful, to have been adopted.