The Advocation Station

Should I rename Speaking for the silent the Advocation Station? LOL, just kidding. Speaking for the Silent isn't just my catchy, self-penned name. It's got biblical roots in Proverbs 31:8, which reads "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." In retrospect I could have named it after one of the many verses that says something along the lines of"Unless you are as the least of these, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven," Since I heard that verse as clear as day when I stood in the Ukrainian Orphanage where I first felt a serious call to orphan care. But this isn't a post about names. This is an advocating post, pure and simple.

There are literally hundreds of families in the adoption process through Reece's Rainbow right now, and much as I would like, I cannot keep track of all of them. Even Andrea told me she has a full day trying to keep up with all of them. But there are a few who catch my eye for whatever reason. Maybe I've met them. Maybe their story just hits me in all the right places. Maybe their fantastic writers that give, honest, humorous accounts of their adventures. Some of the people I'm gonna plug are just advocators like myself.

First off, we have the Gibson Family, adopting our precious Antonio, now Carter. Jake and Ashley are followers on Facebook, and there's a million different reasons I just love how their journey has progressed. Firstly, Antonio has been a little RR cutie we had hoped and prayed for for months. Secondly, it ends up I actually know close friends of his parents (the Birshbach family) and actually met his new Grandma in Ukraine! Most of all, though, I have a quirk for young couples adopting. As a young person trying to make a difference, young couples that don't have 20 years of marriage under their belts and throw themselves into this crazy test of faith and love just make me smile a little wider. Check out their blog, by one of their fundraiser T-shirts, do whatever you can. They're awesome. And in case you're somebody blessed with a photographic memory, I talked about the funny coincidence of how they found S4TS in this post a while back.

Next we have the Spitz Family, going back (for the 2nd time!) to adopt Sweet Michael, now Gavin. Ah, where do I even begin with the Spitzes. Well, for starters, my family has been blessed to know them for almost a year. Our moms have connected so well you'd think they were sisters. Both  of our dads were in the Marines. Us kids? Well, for people who didn't know each other from Adam, we hit it off pretty well. Getting to meet them this summer at the RR reunion was fantastic. We didn't have that much time together, but we treasured the time that we did. I admire them for so many reasons- but their steadfast dedication to their call stands out the most. The Spitzes originally committed to a little girl on Reece's Rainbow known as Lyla. A few months into their process for her, Lyla's medical conditions took a turn for the worse, making her adoption status impossible until she is doing better. To watch the Spitzes re-commit and complete one adoption process, and go back for another blessing, and still remain faithful to
dearest Lyla, well, it shows, to me at least, that God's got his hands on them. And as luck would have it, I had coincidentally added Gavin into our Facebook Collage photo shortly before they committed to him! Ah, God and his sense of humor.

Next we have the Eubanks Family, Adopting Shawna and Lindsay. The Eubankses are special for so many reasons. To start, they are adopting two little girls from Julia's Orphanage, who I had hoped and prayed could all be resuced along with my dear Sonya. Now, it seems like that is a reality! Carrie and Lee were kind enough to e-mail me months before they officially committed because of financial reasons. We are so honored they thought us worthy to know way ahead of time, and we support them wholeheartedly!

Coming down the home stretch of our list, we have the Tadema Family, adopting Baxter, an older child who's one handsome dude! I don't really know the Tadema's or their story as well as I should, but I had a friend tell me about them and ask me to get the word out.

Which brings us to our next honorable mention- my new but close friend Taylor! One of the afore-mentioned Spitz clan, for only having met her for a couple days, she made such quick friendships with everybody- she's definitely your social kinda gal! Anyway, she came home and started a blog- and literally made how much she had enjoyed meeting my family the topic of one of her first posts. Anyway, She's a fellow Ukraine-lover, fellow, special needs advocate and an awesome writer. Nowhere will you find a more honest and heartfelt account of a teen/young adult trying to seek out her calling.

And speaking of great writers, ya gotta check out my good friend Molly's Blog. Molly is an inspiration to me for a lot of reasons. A) she works with older special needs kids and LOVES it. Not an easy task at times, let alone with vigor and love. She also showed me how far the power of one can go- literally raising awareness, money, and all else to bring the small RR celebrity, THE Mr. Aaron Nalle home to his loving family!

Last but definitely not least is my sister Elizabeth- she's a girl in love with her God, her family and her Life, and I love her to bits! If you want the shorter, sweeter version of what I normally post and much much more- she has a far better ability to get her point across in fewer words and STILL write a fantastic post!

In the world of RR, that love for special needs people is like a superglue between us. We all help each other out and rejoice in the good and in the bad. And to all those associated with the RR community that have supported us here at S4TS, this is our favor for you! Thank you all so much and God Bless!