A Very Special Day

"Six Years Ago"

Six Years ago this morning, 

God gave the world a gift.

it was wrapped in a little 

pink blanket, in an orphanage 

she'd sit.

For Five long years, that baby girl, 

was stuck in that place there,

in an orphanage, where life was

tough, a place filled with despair. 

But God's plan for this little girl, 

was hardly over yet. Her deep blue eyes, 

and joyful smile, God would not just forget. 

God knows what thoughts

that baby had. All that time she sat and spent

in a few small rooms in an Orphanage, 

but her story wasn't over yet. 

One cold winter, not too long ago

two families came and went

to that tiny little orphanage,

that little girl, they met. 

She changed the lives of all of them, 

with whom she laughed and played. They prayed 

a family would bring her home,

and rescue her one day.

And then one day, it WAS her turn!

The nannies came and scooped

a little boy, and that little girl, out of their cribs, 

and LOOK!

A family waiting 

down the hall

to love and hold them close.

Two orphans less, forever more, 

O Praise the God of all! 

And now they live so happily, 

in their new family life.

New brother, sister, mom, and dad, 

and not for temps, for LIFE! 

So on this day 6 years from then, God gave 

the gift of you, 

and one thing I can say for sure, 

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 

TO A VERY SPECIAL YOU! 

Happy Birthday little miss Sonya! Your winning smile captured my heart and put me on fire for the least of these. Because of the miracles that have happened through and around our chance meeting on Christmas Day 2010, I am changed forever! God Bless you, Dusty, and your new family I LOVE!

Of Happy Dances and Plugging Causes

My blogging of late has been weakest of weak sauce. I promise I'm not going to post about every two weeks on a regular basis. This month has been consumed with prepping for PSAT's (which went well) and then transitioning into "normal" school life.But just because my little part of the Orphan World has frozen, doesn't mean the rest of it has. Indeed, I have had plenty of reasons to do a little happy dance in the last few weeks, and plenty of causes and families needing prayer.

In the world of exciting news, blessings abound in every which way. Two families I've prayed and longed to see home have been home- one for almost a week, one for almost 3.

More recently, I had the joy of seeing a family who labored for two long years to bring their little girl home, finally get to see their hard work come to fruition. The Moreno's, who adopted little Baby J from the same region as Tori's little sister Evan, got to bring their baby girl home. Congrats Moreno Family. You were one of the first families we put on our "praying home" page, and now you're home. God Bless you :)

Shortly before, at the beginning of this month, the fantastic Maddex Family  brought home their precious Zeke, formerly Danil on RR. This family was a joy to experience the journey with. Despite the fact that their trip went longer than planned, they remained so joyful and energetic throughout. And the fact that little Zeke is from the same region as my little sister Julia makes it even better. God Bless you, Maddex's, you guys amaze me.

In the mean time, however, we also have two families ALMOST home! The Gibson's, adopting PRECIOUS Carter, have met and loved on their boy, have passed court, and are waiting out their 10 day waiting period as I type. If you've followed me for a while and HAVEN;T checked out their blog yet, I highly recommend you do. The posts are funny and realistic at the same time, the photos and videos are gorgeous, and they're a gorgeous family! And just to ice that cake, they have a comrade of mine in the Orphan World, Rachel, along for the ride. We can't wait for them to wrap 'er up and bring their boy home.

Also in that post-court-almost-home slot, the Rogers family are wrapping up their process in-country! Insanely happy for them, AND for the two adorable little kiddos they're bringing home! Praying for you Rogers fam!

And in other news, it seems to be a giveaway season of late! You can check out our buddies the Guardian Angels doing one here for the Morriss family, who we happen to have on our "Children We're Praying Home Page!" But go enter QUICK! You've only got 5 or 6 days!

You can also check out our buddy's the 4Girls4Christ doing one for the Dellevoet Family bringing home a little sweety named Angela! There's still a month to enter, but hey, the sooner the better! :)

Finally, I ask you to pray for a large portion of RR's families whose wait for a travel date has been lengthened. One of the main countries RR facilitates adoptions through is in the middle of a power transfer that has halted everything for a long bit. Pray for these families AND for the children they long so passionately for, that they may be kept safe in the Father's arms until that fateful day in the near future when they get to meet. In particular, I ask you keep the Eubanks and Spitz families in your prayers. And finally, continue to keep our special three Orphans in your prayers. We pray deep down in our hearts that their families may come soon.

They Deserve Happiness

So firstly, foremost, and above all, my deepest apologies for not writing for 2 1/2 weeks. Life's been NUTS, and unfortunately, blogging has gotten sidelined as I prep for PSAT's, try and keep up with school, and just life in general. I was hoping to launch a big campaign/movement this month, but I guess it was God's plan for it to wait a month. So here I am, typing away again after a LONG time of no blogging.

While my life may be dominated by school and schedules of late, Orphans, Orphan Ministry, and Adoption are never far away from my heart, mind, or life. So many of the families I've had the privilege of meeting as they sign papers, complete their homestudies, and mail their dossiers, are now in country or getting close to travel. It ROCKS. Right now, the Gibson and Rogers families are IN country, loving on their sweeties. The Eubanks family, Whiteakers, Spitzes, and Lindquists are getting close. I'm pumped for all of them. I'm also insanely pumped for the Maddex family, who just got home with their precious Danil (now Zeke) from the same region that my family adopted Julia from. And finally, I'm REALLY excited for the Moreno family, who, after two long years of trusting God, are finally getting to bring their baby home.

I've mentioned before how much I love working on the ground amongst fellow Special Needs Advocates and people with Special Needs too. This weekend I got to experience my first buddy walk, a blast of a fun time for sure.

 

I love events like the buddy walk and the Reece's Rainbow get-together earlier this summer. A time for people with special needs and their families to get together and celebrate each other. A time and place where we can be ourselves and not be afraid we'll be judged for our differences. I wish I could say all places in the world were like that for everyone.

When I got to meet the Hinz family earlier this summer, all of us older kids took the little ones in the pool. At one point, my friend Molly got out to take pictures of Mr. Dusty's laughter when I would raise him up into the air. Needless to say, the turned out adorable.

 As me and Molly scrolled through the pictures (after the rain had forced us inside) Molly looked at me and said "every child deserves to be this happy. Every child should have that smile on their face at some point in their life."

At that moment, it dawned on me what besides feeling Called drives those of us in nonprofit work on a daily basis: the happiness. The happiness it brings us, and the happiness we pray it brings to others, that it forever changes their lives. And so I ask you to continue to pray for our 3 lovies we're praying for here at S4TS. Illya, Liliana, and Brigita.

I want to see them laugh with joy as they jump around in the water. I want to see somebody wrap their arms around them and never let go. All 3 of them are in or close to the red zone of soon-to-be-transferred. When I started S4TS back in January (almost a year ago!?!?!?) I was honestly afraid I'd watch Sonya, Shawna, and Lindsay all be transferred in one foul swoop. Yet by God's grace, Sonya's been home since May, and Shawna and Lindsay have a mommy and daddy eagerly awaiting their chance to travel. I honestly believe in my heart of hearts that if we all band together, we can see these three rescued before that fateful car ride as well. Because they deserve happiness.