A Day for the Motherless

Today is a beautiful day of celebration for mothers and children around the United States. For some it is also a day of sadness, a day of mourning and remembrance for those who have experienced loss of a mother or the loss of a child.

And then for others, like me, it is a day of mixed emotions. Celebration and gratefulness for having a supportive mother in my life, an amazing step-mom, and grandmothers here and in heaven who have weaved love into my life from childhood. But I am also overwhelmed with a sense of longing. Longing for the children that my arms have yet to hold, and for those I have held in my arms and hold in my heart, but are separated by distance. 

As a childless mother on this day, I cannot help but think of all the motherless children in the world. Today it is for these children that my heart truly breaks.

Here are the beautiful faces of some of these children, representing others from all around the world. As you celebrate your moms today, I ask that you also remember the orphans, the one's waiting, hoping, and longing to know the love of a mother.

(Some of these children are waiting for a family, others who do not have this opportunity are simply waiting for a sponsor and mentor to pour into their lives. For more info on any of these children and how you can help them specifically, click on the name below the photo).

 

Panashe
 

Yelena

 

 

 

Farai

 

Tadiwa

 

 

Clara

 

 

Brandon

 

 

Agina

 

 

Owen

 

 

Kuda
 

 

Pamela

 

 Happy Mother's Day!

 

 



My Fiesty Girl

Today I received a wonderful email. My friend Joanna, who it seems has endless connections, was able to get in touch with a family who has met Yelena! This is so exciting! Yelena is the only child from her orphanage listed on Reece's Rainbow, and there is very little information about her. What an amazing gift to receive more recent photos and information about this little girl who so desperately wants and needs a family.

Yelena with her head shaved short, most likely due to lice.

Yelena is described as not shy. She is sweet to adults and hungry for affection, but is the odd-one-out among her peers. She needs a family to teach her through example how to build positive peer relationships.

Yelena is also described as fiesty. She has most likely picked up some of her fiestiness as a survival mechanism from orphanage life. I know with the love, nurturing, and the modeling she will receive from her family, Yelena's fiestiness and strong spirit can be molded and refined. These  are positive attributes that God will use in mighty ways!

Yelena is listed on Reece's Rainbow due to her positive HIV status, but likely has no other delays.

Please, please, please, share this post so we can find this sweet girl's family!

Check out Yelena's profile page for more information or to donate to her adoption grant.

 

 

Daughter

In Eastern Europe, less than 50% of orphans
will live to see their 20th birthdays.
- The Orphan Foundation

Will you stand in the gap with me as I fight for Yelena? Let's build up an army of warriors for this little girl. She has waited too long to be called "daughter."

To help fight this battle for life on Yelena's behalf:

*Share this blog post or Yelena's profile so that her sweet smile will be seen by as many people as possible. Help me share until it reaches her heavenly appointed family.

*Give to Yelena's adoption grant. When it reaches $2,500 she will join the "moving mountains" category on Reece's Rainbow, which means her profile will be seen by more people. You can read more about the importance of adoption grants in the post Breaking Down Barriers.

*Remember Yelena in your prayers. Pray that God would stir the hearts of her forever family and for protection and love to be poured out over Yelena while she waits.



 

Rejoice

It is odd that God would choose today to fill me up with some of His goodness, as I woke up this morning with a stomach bug thinking nothing pleasant could come of this day.

I have been so rushed and overwhelmed since going back to school that I have taken very little time to be still and take in all the blessings in my life. With that said, I now see that today has been a gift in disguise.

First of all, I clicked over to Yelena's profile page, and I am so thankful to say that she is more than half way to the "Moving Mountains" category. Moving Mountains children have $2,500 or more in their adoption fund. The higher that amount goes, the more likely they are to be seen and adopted, as the monumental task of raising the money to bring them home has been cut down considerably.

If you want to help me move some mountains for Yelena, you can do so here.

After a stressful week of trying to register for classes for next semester in time to apply for scholarships and getting the run around, I finally received a call today and figured out the problem. Without boring you with the details, I am being forced to take July off of school due to overlaps and prerequisite requirements. At first this did not sound like a good deal to me, as I am trying to get through school as fast as I can, and this will set me back a month. But honestly, work has been extra challenging lately and doing school and doing it well has been a daunting task. I woke up this morning counting down the days until my next break....graduation...in 18 months. Today I count down the days until July when I will have some time to breathe and maybe even go for a hike. That number seems much more doable and I must admit, I am relieved. 

Finally, today I received a new photo of my Compassion son, Lorkens. I began sponsoring Lorkens about 9 years ago through Compassion International, and it has been such a huge blessing to see him grow both in stature and in faith. To give you the full impact of his new picture, I am also including the first picture of Lorkens that I received when I became his sponsor in 2004. 

Lorkens, 7 years old

Lorkens, 16 years old

My cup overflows. 

An Over-Abundance of Happy

This Christmas Dasha and Leana experienced their first Christmas at home.

Leana got to be a birthday princess for the first time.

For the first time ever they celebrated New Years with their family. Dasha had her first dance, an experience every little girl should have with her daddy.

And on Monday Dasha went to school for the first time!

I am so proud of these girls and so thankful for the amazing family that God created for them to be a part of.

Now I hope and pray that next year at this time we can celebrate these firsts for this beautiful girl, Yelena. I know it is possible!

And remember how I mentioned a missionary friend of mine who gets to hug one of my sponsored children on a regular basis? Well, there are many perks to that, and here is one:

Miss Tadiwa on Christmas. My friend said that she was undoubtedly the happiest child in the orphanage that day!

(Unlike Dasha, Leana, and Yelena, Tadiwa is not eligible for international adoption. But, she is eligible for sponsorship. This sponsorship helps her orphanage give her the care that she needs to thrive. Tadiwa still needs sponsors at the $25 and $30 monthly levels. Join Tadiwa's dream team or check out other Zimbabwe children who need sponsors here.)

Girls

Recently, as I have been praying over kids on the Reece's Rainbow website, the older girls have really captured my heart. The girls who have mild special needs, such as Yelena who is HIV+, will eventually age out of the orphanage (around the age of 16), and at that time go out on their own, most with little or no education.

Yelena is 8 years old. I am her advocate, you can give to her adoption grant here. 

Being a teenage girl anywhere in the world is vulnerable place, but for these girls, every odd is stacked up against them. I hate statistics because these children are not numbers- they are human beings, wonderfully made children of God. But the truth is that the statistics say these girls will turn to crime, become victims of sex trafficking, or lose the will to survive and commit suicide when left out on their own.

Diana is 10 years old, is described as artistic and socially active, and needs an advocate!
Update: Diana has an advocate, but she is still waiting for her family.

These beautiful girls who were created to be loved and wanted, sisters and daughters, mountain movers, most will not be given a chance to become.

Jeanette is nine years old, only has $10 in her adoption grant, and needs an advocate!
Update: Jeanette has a family! You can still donate to her adoption through the link above.

As I look at these faces and read more statistics, I can't help but think that someone needs to step in. These statistics have to change.

Kate is 11 years old. She just watched her best friend go home with her family, and desperately longs for a family of her own

Something has to change.

Let's be that someone. Let's be the change.

Celeste is 8 years old and needs an advocate!
Update: Celeste has a family! You can still donate to her adoption fund through the link above.

I have been following this story of adoption that has rocked my world and sparked my hope of family for each and every one of these precious girls. Although raised in orphanages and institutions, they were created for family.

Olivia is 13 years old, is described as a fighter and a leader, and she needs an advocate.
Update: Olivia has a family! You can still donate to her adoption fund through the link above.

I challenge you to take a day to pray, fast, meditate on what the Word has to say about God's heart for the orphan, and listen. I hope he will break your heart like He has mine.

Octavia is 10 years old and needs an advocate!
Update: Octavia has been adopted!!

He may ask you to give, or advocate, or adopt. He may even give you crazy dreams of changing the world.

Whatever He asks, I pray you listen.

Clicking on a picture above will take you to the Reece's Rainbow profile of the child pictured, where you can learn more about them, give to their adoption grant, or inquire about becoming an advocate. 

Celebrating Life

Can you believe this little girl is already 3 months old?

 I am so proud of her momma, who stepped into the role of
motherhood as naturally as possible.

Today Aleah got to meet Jerrie, who is one of my best friends and a spiritual mother.

They had some good conversation. I hope Aleah is soaking up all of that wisdom :)

Also in this week's news...

On Wednesday my grandma turned 86 years old.

Although quite the feat for anyone, I am extra thankful for this woman. Two years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and given a few months to live (if that). Today she is cancer free, and she did it without chemo. I am proud to say that I inherited a bit of her stubborn streak, as she is living proof that it can be a good thing. Now if only I inherit just an inkling of her faith, I'll be able to move mountains.

Just a quick update on Yelena's adoption grant.

In the last week since I posted Breaking Down Barriers, $400 has been added to Yelena's adoption grant! As the amount keeps growing my body is having a hard time determining if I should jump for joy or break down in tears. Either way, thank you so very much to each of you who have shared Yelena's profile or given. Let's keep the momentum going!

Last but not least, God has entrusted this beautiful one here (another daughter of my heart) with a son who we will be welcoming into the world on Monday.

If God puts her on your mind or impresses her on your heart in the next few days, please pray for a safe and healthy delivery for both mom and baby, and just for lots of goodness to be poured into this little family. 

I'd love to hear what you have to celebrate this week!

Breaking Down Barriers

As many of you know from my recent post Calling on Angels, I am now the advocate for a beautiful little girl in Eastern Europe who is waiting for her forever family.

As part of my advocacy I will occasionally be holding fundraisers and making pleas to raise money for Yelena's adoption grant. Yelena does not have a family working towards adopting her (yet), and I just wanted to take a moment to explain why her adoption grant is so important.

As most of you probably know, adoption is expensive, and international adoption can have many additional costs. There are many families out there who are open to adoption, but the money obstacle can stand in the way. As a result, many families only search for children or only consider children who have considerable grants available to help with these often overwhelming costs.

As Yelena's grant grows, her chances of being seen and being chosen will also grow. I believe that God has a specific family hand selected for this beautiful girl. My goal is to create as much awareness and give as much financial and prayer support possible to help Yelena become visible to them.

If you feel a tug in your heart to give to Yelena, I would not only encourage you to do so, I will do a happy dance in your honor. If you would like to donate to her adoption grant now, you can do that here.

Thank you to all of you who have already shared Yelena's profile. If you would like to add Yelena's button to your blog, you can do that by copying the code from one of the grab boxes below and posting it as an html in your layout. (I made a second button that has a smaller width to fit more easily on most blogs).

<a border="0" href=" http://reecesrainbow.org/12873/yelena5904" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x376/shebecomes/Yelenathumbnail.jpg "/></a>

<a border="0" href=" http://reecesrainbow.org/12873/yelena5904" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x276/thebeccalynn7/yelenasecondeditbutton.jpg "/></a>

And if you haven't joined our facebook community yet, please, come on over!

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Tomorrow

This beautiful little girl here will start kindergarten!

And this sweet one here is focusing on getting all of her medical needs taken care of.

Praise God they are home where they belong, but please continue to keep these precious ones in your prayers.