Our Two Little Buddies

As Speaking for the Silent has developed over the last year and a half, we have advocated for children in many different ways: child of the week, children from different countries or orphanages, etc. Our most recent method of operation, however, was putting two or three of the children we felt most drawn to and putting them into a collage we shared on an almost post-by-post basis. Our most recent collage was our three musketeers, Brigita, Lilianna/Lyla and Ilya P.

I am extremely happy to say both Brigita and Lyla/Lilianna have families, both of whom I know. Brigita's mom Dee has been fund raising and working to bring her home for the past couple months, and Lyla's story....well, that's a post soon to come ;)

But that still leaves our little dude. Ilya P. Mr. McCutesy. Little guy's still hanging around on the waiting lists for a family, and we are praying that this changes soon, because it MUST.

But in the name of camaraderie and trying to pray for/advocate for more than one little guy at the same time, we've given little Illya a buddy: meet Russell!

Ain't he just adorable? Look at those CHEEKS! anyway, Ilya and Russ are a couple years apart, with Ilya in '06 (6 yrs old) and Russ a teeny 2 1/2! The picture of Ilya is probably pretty outdated. God knows where he is or what physical/emotional/developmental state he's in at this point. As for Russ, and updated picture shows him as looking pretty good-

Regardless, both of these little guys need homes. They need families. They need love. Ilya's already lost 6 years of it. Russel is still so small and hasn't had to feel that heartache, that loneliness yet.

Thus, these are our two little buddies. Until they are both in the arms of their Forever Fams, they're going to get the 5-star advocating treatment. Mentioned in every post, here, Facebook, and elsewhere. We might even dip our toes in the fundraising water and try to do some of that for them!

Welcome to the S4TS family, Russ and Ilya. Here's to your future families, and that they come for you soon.

Resurrection (Preparing for Action)

It feels good to be blogging again. While I'm regretful to have missed the months I did, I feel beyond blessed to have gotten the opportunities I have, from going to Texas, to meeting Adoptive Families through other avenues of communication in those months where I was not as loud for The Least Of These as I should have been.

So now that the story of my Texas adventure has been told, it's time to get back to what the name of this blog/ministry states that I/we do: Speak for the Silent.

At the end of this month, I will be hopefully launching a large attempt to help my fellow advocators raise their voices higher, as well as raise my own voice for those little angels I feel drawn to shout for. During that time, we will be advocating, partnering with other advocates, sharing more encouraging stories, and making our first attempts at fundraising.

As I/we prepare to begin this project together, I am going to ask each and every one of you to Speak for the Silent in your own way: share our page/mission or that of a similar organization with someone who might not have ever considered Orphan Care. Blast the message of James 1:27, Proverbs 31:8, and so many other Bible Verses from the rooftops. Together, we can make this happen, make it a success. To draw attention and compassion to the Orphans we so love here at S4TS, the families that are stepping forward in faith to adopt them, and the other advocates after the same mission as us.

I hope you have all had a very happy, healthy, blessed Easter Sunday. Just as Christ has risen from the grave today, let today mark a new breath of life coursing through not only this blog, but in the life of every orphan, adoptive family, and advocate around the world.

An Opportunity Part 6/Finale: Free to Love (This is not Goodbye)

Monday, March 12th, was the last day me and Dad would be spending in beautiful Dallas Texas.The yucky rain that had pervaded Saturday and most of Sunday fell away to blue skies and sunshine, with temps in the high 70's. It was gorgeous. We spent our morning with Marj and the kids, enjoying our last bit of relaxation and visiting time together before me and dad were off to visit the wonderful Burman family that evening and then leave early Tuesday morning. I was more than happy to have some quiet with a family that had turned from acquaintances to family for me in less than a week before I was thrust back into life back home. Poor Colvin was still feeling under the weather, but he took it like a trooper and we all had a fun morning playing together one last time.

       Lil' Georgia :)

                               

For lunch, the Ochs took me and Dad into a gorgeous little Southern Home Cookin' restaurant called Babes in a local shopping square. The area itself feels like a modernized set from an old western movie, with little shops, restaurants and salons lining both sides of the street, with little porches and awnings and such. It was gorgeous.

The Restaurant itself, Babe's, is a restaurant that specializes in Fried Chicken and Chicken-Fried steak (for any of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it's a Steak in breading like fried chicken) with all the important sides, like your mash potatoes, hot biscuits (with butter and honey of course), etc etc. My mouth is already watering just reminiscing ;D Needless to say, it was DELICIOUS. And I officially became part southern.

    Babe's

After we got back form lunch, I got ready to head out with Dad to meet the lovely Burman family at their home. I first met Shelly (Mrs. Burman) when I was assembling the slideshow presentation the Lindquist Family put together for their adoption of Ethan. I got to talk with Mrs. Burman here and there, exchanging a couple e-mails back and forth. While I can't remember who it was, someone along the way reminded me as I was planning my trip that they were in the DFW area. As soon as I thought of it, however, I remembered that Shelly and the Burman's eldest daughter, Madelaine, would be traveling to Eastern Europe to meet the two handsome boys they are working to adopt, Kelten and Teagan. Still wanting to let them know they were in my thoughts and prayers, though, I sent Shelly a message saying that while I'd be in Texas if they were around and available, giving them the dates I'd be open to meeting up. Shelly responded saying that they would be home the night of the 11th, and would be more than happy to have me and my Dad over on the 12th for a visit before I left. From there on, I realized just how truly amazing this family was/is- inviting two guests they'd never met before over for a visit the day after they returned from a week-long mission trip to Europe! I don't know how they do it, but it's a pretty amazing thing to see :)

After about an hour of driving amidst some interesting traffic, we arrived at the Burman's to a living room full of smiling faces waving and looking up at the two new people who had just arrived. For the next couple hours, we enjoyed dinner and plenty of conversation with this amazing family and their 7 awesome kiddos.

Just for Maddie- "Carrginton's Like a Tiger!" pose ;)

And one extra bonus: a little video of Princess Carrington herself :)



The Burman's are one great family, and I am beyond happy I got to spend the time I did getting to know them and their story.

As we were heading home, I could feel the pangs of sorrow from a happy journey ending driving into me. So in stead I thought back on the trip and all it had entailed, affected me, changed me, moved me, opened my eyes, my heart, opened up new opportunities, etc. Had I known the song at the time, I probably would have thought of Aaron Shust's "We Are Free," a song talking about opportunities to overcome our weaknesses and become more than we ever thought we could be by being Christ's hands and feet to people.




When we got back to the Ochs' that night we said goodnight and goodbye to the toddlers and enjoyed one last night of conversation and quiet time with Marj and Ryan. It was so bittersweet, as it felt like part of the happy routine my days had fallen into, but with the knowledge it would be a while before it happened again. We said our goodbyes that night as well, as me and Dad would be heading out around quarter to 7 the next morning to get into DFW Airport on time.

Going to bed that night was hard. There was a part of me that was eager to get home and reunite with mi familia. There was another part of me that did not want to leave the new family I had found here. Alas, teleportation devices to bring one group to the other aren't in existence yet ;) I went to sleep that night thankful for the times I had enjoyed, saddened that they had come and gone, ready to head back to NY, and eager to come back again to Texas soon.

~*~

Tuesday morning me and Dad got ready in the most silence as possible in the hopes we wouldn't wake anyone early. We finished packing and got everything into the car, where the dew was still fresh on everything around us. Looking back, the song "This is not Goodbye" from Sidewalk Prophets plays in my head as we pulled away one last time.

"This is not Goodbye
I know we’ll meet again
So let your life begin
‘Cause this is not goodbye
It’s just “I love you” to take with you
Until you’re home again"

They say home is where the heart is.  If that really is true, as I believe it is, I've come to realize home doesn't have to be a house you live in for X amount of days/months/years, Or one certain place you call your "hometown." It's wherever you feel loved. Wherever the people that you love are. It's wherever you see God working. Where you know He's using you for some greater purpose. With that conclusion, I've come to realize my home isn't just in Rhinebeck New York. It's in Rhinebeck New York, as well as the Dallas/Forth Worth area of Texas. It's in Camp Veritas. It's in Northeast Ukraine. It's with every adoptive family that has ever called me a friend. It's in my church, and every place Christians gather across the world. 

Home is where the Heart is. 

 "But lay your treasures up in Heaven,  where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:20-21

An Opportunity Part 5: Reaching Out- A Sunday Mission Trip to Dallas

On Sunday morning, Me and Dad were up early to get ready for another awesome opportunity with Compass Church: a mission trip. But this, unlike some spring break mission trips, wouldn't require thousands of dollars in Airfare to travel to a different country or even a different continent, but only an hour-long car drive into the heart of Dallas to serve fellow Christians there. Late Saturday night as I was talking with a couple of the great guys from Compass, Matt (their youth pastor) was telling us what his group would be doing when they went to a different place than the one where I was going. It would involve going to a church of Burmese believers, worshiping with them in their Sunday service, eating a traditional Burmese-cuisine lunch with them, doing some community service, and journaling about it. When I asked Matt how or what they'd be journaling about, he offered an explanation for the basic format in a way that hit me like a ton of bricks: "So Caleb, tomorrow your group will be going to a Sudanese Church, where you'll worship with them, do Sunday school with the younger kids, and just have a great time with a bunch of really cute toddlers." I nodded my head with excitement. "Now," he said, "the thing we're going to ask teens to think about in their journals is this: Who is that child or group of children in your community, and why haven't you done anything to help them?"

That question plowed through me like a sledge hammer. While there might not be as many "organized" efforts in my area of Upstate NY for outreach work, I thought about my younger siblings that I'm helping with on a daily basis. Do I try and mirror Christ's love in the way that I interact and play with them? Sometimes you need a new place or a group of people can cause you to consider things you never would have thought about, or you think about them in a different way. The group at Compass did that for me. I now felt like I understood on a deeper level what I would be participating in on Sunday.

We arrived at Compass Center shortly after 8 a.m., to a whole flurry of people going this way and that, signing in for the Spring Break Trip, which would actually last for 3 days. Unfortunately I was going to be busy Monday, and leaving early Tuesday. Nonetheless, I felt honored and privileged to get to be a part of it as much as I could. As I was holding the doors to Compass Center open with some fellow teenage Men of God, we all made small talk and introduced ourselves. As I was telling the brief version of how I had ended up coming from New York all the way to Dallas Texas, I briefly mentioned how I had talked with CM and had gotten to spend a lot of time with him yesterday. All of the sudden, one of the guys I was talking with exclaimed, "Wait, my Dad is the reason you're down here?" As it turned out, one of the guys I had just met and was going to be spending the day with (named Mitchell) was CM's son! Needless to say, we all had a good laugh at our ironic "moment of truth."
 
After a everyone signed in and CM and Shawn had given a brief intro to the trip, everybody boarded the dozen or so 12 passenger vans Compass had rented to get us all to our various locations. The group I was in was so large we easily filled up two vans. While me and Dad didn't get to go in the same van with CM and some other kids closer to me in age, me and did quickly struck up some conversation with the wonderful couple driving our van, Brian and Angela Newbie. Brian and Angela are 5 months pregnant with their little baby boy Andrew, and I cannot give them enough credit for volunteering to cart a bunch of teens around the DFW area of Texas and minister to their brothers and sisters in Christ during such a crazy and exciting time in their married life.

After about an hour's drive, and a stop to Target to get some baby food packs to donate to one of the churches we'd be visiting, we arrived at the first location on the day's itinerary: a Mediterranean restaurant. While we wouldn't be eating our meal with the congregation of believers that we'd be worshiping with, we would still be getting a taste of some of the things they ate in their native country. Marj and a man named Nathan Bogue met up with us there, as Marj is part of the Youth Ministry team at Compass and Nathan is an employee of Aid Sudan who has great relations with the Sudanese residents of DFW. The restaurant seated us in an outdoor (covered) porch with an ingenious heating system that kept us warm as we ate our meal on the cool, rainy spring day.

After our meal, we traveled a couple minutes down the road to the church used by the Sudanese refugees for their worship center. The group we would be worshiping with was made up in part by a group called the Lost Boys, a group of boys that, as children, fled Sudan when civil war (which included forced child armies) began in the 80's and 90's, and then fled their sanctuary of Ethiopia when civil war erupted there too. They ended up at a United Nations sanctuary in Kenya, where they were given sanctuary here in the U.S. While most of the "boys" are now grown men with families, their testament of courage and trusting God in the most brutal hardships still stands firm.

After we arrived at the church and received a brief introduction, we joined the congregation in their Sunday service, which had just begun. Many of the Sudanese invited us to look on in their hymnals with them (their songs were all in their native language) and they were kind enough to have a translator there to help us understand the sermon better. While the service lasted almost 2 hours, it really was a unique experience to see another group's form of Sunday Worship. While we have Spanish services at my church, I rarely attend them, and having heard bits of Spanish here and there for long enough, it almost feels like some foreign second nature. After sitting in with our Sudanese brothers and sisters, however, I felt moved on a deeper level to try and interact with the Spanish apostelate my church has and to attend some of their services some time.

By the time we got out, the rainy, foggy day had turned into beautiful, brilliant sunshine. the Sudanese children, who had been in Sunday School while we were in Church, were running around in the enclosed yard that was in the center of the Sunday School rooms. Their little laughs added so much more to that feeling of the sun coming out- we had went from quiet rain into sunshine filled with the laughter of children.

 Some of the kids had made that TITANIC paper airplane you can see in the left hand corner- ah, good times :)

While I have a feeling most of us teens could have spent hours playing with all of those cute little kids, it was time to head on to our final location for the day. As we drove into the next area of DFW we'd be ministering to, I was quickly reminded of that "everywhere's a mission field" mentality I'd been praying about with the guys at Compass Saturday night. All of the previous areas I had seen of Dallas were filled with beautiful houses in gorgeous communities, all very nice and well-kept. As we arrived at the community center/church where we'd be working, I began to see the "poorer" side of Dallas: smaller houses on patchy dirt/grass lawns, streets that were going to be in need of pavement soon. To think that such different environments could exist only an hour apart, shook me into place, and made me realize just how in need so many parts of America are for the love, compassion and care of the Church.

Once we arrived in the community center, Nathan gave us a brief run-down of what the conditions for most Sudanese refugees in Dallas is, and what the group would be doing over the next few days to help fix this place up to be an even nicer facility for these refugees and their children. After we had talked a little bit and we got a tour of the center, CM divided the group into teams to teach different age groups Sunday school. Unfortunately at that point, little Colvin had hit a pretty bad fever back at home, so me and Dad would need to head back with Marj so we could get home with them. At that moment, CM pulled up two chairs for me and Dad and called the group together. They all linked arms in a circle around us, praying for our journey, what we were doing, what we had done, what we were yet to do. Sitting in the communal embrace of such a great group of people, many of whom had taken advantage of the small timeline they had to get to know me, was moving to the point of tears. It was the epitome of "The Church United." Needless to say I was more than happy to have a group hug with Mitchell and Marj to recompose myself a bit and recover myself. Shortly after that we left, after heartfelt goodbyes and farewells.

That night back at the Ochs' house we all enjoyed some time to decompress from the days events and enjoy some quiet company. While I felt a pang of sorrow inside that all was drawing to an all-too-soon close, I was beyond grateful for the opportunities and people I had been blessed to meet. So to all my Compass family, if you are reading this, thank you. You are forever in my heart and prayers. 

An Opportunity Part 4: Prayer, Orphan Care, Southern Food and Rain

When my Dad told me to go to sleep at 3 a.m., I thought it sounded ridiculous. I felt fine! I could run a mile! I was clearly running off lack-of-sleep hyperactivity, adrenaline, and a honey-barbeque-chicken-biscuit from Whataburger. 

 I had told my dad I would only sleep from 3 to 4 in order to try and miss as few people as possible, and be around for as much of it as I could. When my dad came to wake me up at 6, however, I realized I had needed more sleep than I thought. While part of me felt like careless for sleeping that "late," I was glad to have gotten a few solid hours of sleep in before I got into a busy Saturday, filled with manning the prayer station, and meeting up with adoptive families.

 When I came back to the main lobby, CM told me that a Men's Breakfast was going to take place in the adjoining cafeteria area, and he wanted me to meet Mr. Groom, the man who runs the breakfast and the Mission Trips at Compass. Mr. Groom introduced himself, and then, in the most polite manor, asked me if I wanted to speak to the group of men about Orphan Care. This would be a group of grown men, probably about 60 of them, who were total strangers to me. My first thought was to kindly say no. How on Earth would I, a teenage "advocate" for Missionary Work and Orphan Care, come across to a bunch of grown men 2 or 3 times my age? Regardless of my own doubt, I said yes and had breakfast with the guys before getting up to give the short version of my story and encouraged them to come visit the information table. To my utter surprise, I managed to carry out exactly what I meant to say without any slip-ups whatsoever. Praise the Lord!

After the breakfast finished, CM and a couple of the other men came over and patted me on the back and told me what a good job I'd done. Some of the men came over to ask questions, hear more of my story, and grab a brochure. It was both extremely satisfying and a major relief that a group of men I had never met before respected me as a fellow man and admired what I was doing.

For the next few hours, things remained pretty quiet, with almost no one coming or going. Around noontime me and Dad decided it was time for some lunch, so we decided to get our first ever Chick-fil-a meal. My adoptive family friends were supposed to be arriving within an hour or two, so I figured it would be better to be running on a full tank before they arrived.

Shortly after Dad left, however, I began to notice the color of the pavement in the parking lot was growing darker. And puddles were forming. And that there was a steady, driving ripple sound on the roof. It was rain. Torrential, pouring, driving rain. Looking at my watch, I surmised that the Moreno family, who was travelling from about an hour away (who adopted Baby J from Russia), probably hadn't left yet, and the Eubanks family (who adopted Shawna and Lindsay from Julia's room) was probably about half-way through a three-hour trek. Not the weather I had hoped they'd be traveling in.

I decided to go into the worship center and say a prayer or two for my friends who were traveling in this crazy weather, as well as for my family and friends back home. When I came back out, Matt (the youth pastor from the 7-3 shift) had dropped by to make sure we were doing well, and I met the other youth pastor who had been working with CM to get me down to Texas, Shawn. As Matt left to get himself some lunch, Dad came back with the Chick-fil-a, which forever changed my standard for fast food.

Thus the waiting continued. Matt eventually came back, as did a few other teens from the night before. After contacting both of the families to see where they were at, I realized the waiting was going to last even longer, due to traffic and weather. That afternoon of waiting taught me to patiently wait, pray, and enjoy where I was and what I was doing while it was happening, and to trust God with whatever experience He intended me to have.

Within an hour, the Eubanks Family arrived, amidst much hugs and hellos, even in the pouring rain. Both of the girls, from when I had last seen them over a year ago, had grown so much. Both were healthy, happy, growing little girls, far beyond my wildest dreams for what I hoped they would become. Naomi (formerly Shawna) was quite the snuggle bug, cuddling with anyone and everyone she could. Hannah (formerly Lindsay), on the other hand, loves her running around and exploring. The Eubanks' three biological children, Sarah, Nathan, and Joseph, clearly love their little sisters and were a joy to meet.

An hour after the Eubanks arrived, Marj dropped in to meet the Eubanks family and the Moreno's, who were on their way. Ashley, Ethan, and Juliana arrived in an hour or so, and the joy continued to build as the Reece's Rainbow population did. We were quite the site for all going in and out of the prayer vigil, but there were few better ways to prove the cause I was advocating for then to have 3 children adopted from that situation sitting right there in the flesh, a living proof of the miracle of adoption.

       I feel the need to caption the photo above. Junie decided she wanted to be a photographer like her new buddy, and luckily momma had a camera on hand that she traded her in place of mine. As you can see, she was clearly trying to copy my intense concentration :D

   Dad, all four of the Ochs (Colvin's the mysterious blue rain boots and coat) And Junie+ camera. Love it. 

After the Moreno's had been around for about a half an hour, me and Dad had to quickly bow out for Mass down the road. Luckily, Marj, Ashley, and Ethan (the Eubanks were heading out when we were) were more than willing to run the table and keep the video running while we were gone. I was beyond grateful for their understanding, support, and willingness to fill in for us.

After braving torrential rain to and back from church, we got back and hung out together with everyone for another 45 minutes or so before Ashley rounded up her crew to head back home, as it was getting pretty dark. I couldn't thank all 3 of these families enough for braving the rain and traffic to come and see me. As I was quoted as saying this summer at the RR reunion, On the Internet we're close friends, in real life we're family. It really has proven to be a true statement :)

After everybody had left, Marj and Ryan were awesome enough to bring us some hot barbeque briscuit to fuel our tired bodies as the prayer vigil was done by then. It was AWESOME. I had hoped to get a real taste of southern food while I was down there, and little did I know there was even more awesome southern home cookin' to come.

Thus a 24 hour period of endurance, love, prayer, advocating, friendship-making, and so many other great things came to an end. It really had been an amazing, powerful, growing experience that I will never forget. I was still excited to get back to the Ochs' house and get some rest though, as tomorrow would bring an awesome opportunity to go with Compass on a Mission Trip around Dallas.

Little did I know the fantastic experiences that awaited.......

An Opportunity Part 3: Of Toddlers and Prayer Vigils

After a great night of solid sleep, I woke up to a gorgeous Friday morning, as well as to the sounds of excitement coming from down the hallway, where the Ochs' two youngsters, Colvin and Georgia, were waking up. After briefly cleaning up, I joined Marj and the two littles out in the playroom. Both were quite excited to have me and “Mr. Tom” (Dad) visiting, and we played trains before going downstairs for breakfast.

 After breakfast, we played in the living room and visited some more. It was a morning well-spent, laughing, playing, sharing stories, and relaxing for a little while before some of the big events of the coming days came into action. 

 After pouring over some scripture for a while in the afternoon, I got ready for the prayer vigil and had a quick dinner with Marj, the kids, and Dad before me and Dad would be off for the prayer vigil. Getting to compass was pretty easy, and we arrived at Compass Center in perfect time.  Things were pretty quiet when we arrived, but one of C.M.'s fellow youth pastors, Matt, was there to welcome us and help us get set up.

 Things were pretty quiet after we set up, and initially it looked like it was going to be a long 24 hours. But by the grace of God, a group of fantastic teens came to keep vigil from 7PM to 3AM, and we quickly got caught up in introducing ourselves and talking for hours. There has only been one other time in my life when have I felt so instantly and warmly welcomed by a group of Christian Teens, and I will never forget how great that feels. They all proved to be such smart, nice, funny, Godly teens. At 1 in the morning, me, Matt, and two other teens guys decided to read scripture and sing praises to our Savior by the light of a few dim lamps. Later, when we all got a little hungry, they even went out at 2 A.M. and got us all a bite to eat. I could already tell they were a great group to be with.

  That night, from 7P.M. Friday to 3A.M. Saturday, God had blessed me with some of the best opportunities to share my story, advocate, and meet fellow Christian Teens. Around 3 A.M. Saturday morning, after C.M. arrived and I got to meet him in-person, I went back to the “green room” behind the stage of the main worship center to catch some sleep. “So far, so good,” I thought to myself. Almost half-way through the prayer vigil, I had already been blessed by so many people, and prayed that God would help the words I had spoken and would speak to be wise, used for His greater glory, and to inspire others to advocate and consider missionary work. All that was left was to persevere and lay it all in His Hands.