My husband and I have been involved in international adoption for a long time - more than 10 years now. We've been to three different orphanages/baby houses and walked out each time, leaving hundreds of children behind. It was heartbreaking. And while the children we left behind in the past lacked a family, and that is always a tragedy, at least their basic needs for food and comfort were met. And from what we could see, they had caregivers who tried to give them some attention and stimulation. They would eventually go to school.
But God has shown us things these past few months that have blown our little world apart. There are orphanages and institutions where children live where none of those things is happening. Where children are neglected and malnourished, with no hope of any attention, let alone an education, all because they were born with special needs. Through the facebook page of a great organization called the Spoon Foundation God led us to the blog of an amazing woman. Her name is Adeye and she and her husband are adopting two children from an Eastern European country. One is a 14 year old who weighs 14 pounds! My heart was forever changed when I read about this child. Oh, the anger!!! We treat animals better than children! God couldn't be any clearer if he sent me a personal email or text. These children were my responsibility. And so began our journey to our newest-to-be daughter who resides in an Eastern European orphanage. Out of respect for her, I will not list all of our medical issues here. However, if you would like to see her, you can click on this link. Her medical issues are really not what is important here though. What is important is that she lays in a crib day in and day out with no love, no stimulation, no nothing but misery! She is not changed on a regular basis. Her medical says that she does not smile. Really?!?! Why would she smile? She was thrown away at birth, unwanted and considered less than human and for three years has lived in a cage, but I'm supposed to be worried because she doesn't smile? Oh, God, forgive us for the blindness of our hearts.
Friends, this is just the beginning of our journey and I will be posting much more about the forgotten and abandoned children and what we can do for them. God is a father to the fatherless, and while the world may have locked these children away, he has never forgotten them! He calls each one by name. And he is calling his church to do something! We have to wake up!
I will leave you today with a girl named Tsveti. She was twelve when she died in her crib alone yesterday. Yesterday while I watched TV and ate three healthy meals. While I did whatever I wanted, she took her last breath and no one around her cared. I am so angry and I pray God will use my anger! May God forgive me for all of the time and money I have wasted on myself when these children are crying out for love.
Adeye is someone I follow with great interest and I am so happy that her eyes have been opened to the horrors of that place. When we were considering a waiting child from Bulgaria, we had 2 to choose from. One was younger than the other by a little bit. Both were adorable and both had needs we felt we could parent. One little boy's needs were greater than the other, and that's when our agency asked us to consider where he lived. We began to look at pictures and videos of that place. I remember saying aloud, "THAT IS NOT A NINE YEAR OLD CHILD" when seeing a tiny infant-like creature in a crib. It was clear to us that, of the two boys we prayed about, we had to cross the ocean for the one who needed to be rescued the most. It was our future son, and it was that awful place. I will travel there soon and see it for myself. I am frightened but resolute that I must visit so that our future son can LEAVE.
ReplyDeleteI feel Jesus tears for these children.
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