Six Day Miracle

----Reposted from A Perfect Lily

I read the words of a friend last night, and as is typical of posts written by mamas rescuing their babies from orphanages across the world, it cut me to the heart. I read it with my girl tucked safely in the crook of my arm, her golden head laying softly against my neck, and I gulped back hot tears trying to read the words out loud to Sam.

"You read it," I said, because I knew it was pointless to go on.

There is something beautiful and powerful about mamas and daddies sacrificing finances, time, and energy to rescue a child who is going to require extraordinary amounts of care and effort once they are home. There is something amazing and rare about families who will put everything on the line, including and especially their hearts, for a child who by the world's standards is broken. There is something pure and noble and absolutely right about that kind of love- the love that says it doesn't matter what it takes, I am going to rescue this child, and nothing is going to stand in my way. The love that faces seemingly insurmountable costs and mountains of paperwork and risks what family and friends will think about traveling across the ocean to save a child you've never met before, one that many people might say wasn't really "fit for life" in the first place.


So when I read this mama's account of the very first time she met her little girl- it didn't matter that I've read several dozen similar stories- they get me every time. I want you to read this account, that of a mama rescuing her daughter. I want you to listen to the words spoken by a five year old little girl...

...and if you're a parent, imagine your child saying them...




About 5 minutes in, the door opened and someone pushed our girl in the door and shut it.

She was stunned. It seemed she had not been made aware of what was happening or why, and she regarded us quizzically at first. We were stunned.  The picture had turned in to a person! My mind was literally swimming, I could not remember a.single.word. of Russian. I couldn’t remember how to greet her, or how to tell her she was absolutely gorgeous, or how to say I am your Mama.  Nothing. Just complete shock.

Then I remembered I had a Disney princess doll in my bag to give her. I pulled it out, and she smiled.  I asked if she wanted to sit on my lap, and she did.  The director and doctor began talking again, but all I could do was stare at the sweet, brown pigtails swishing in front of me. Her little hands turning the doll over, as she began to speak a little bit.  She began to realize what was happening.

We were there FOR. HER.

Our sweet little Vi.

She looked up and asked me “What is your name?” in Russian.  I told her “Lora. Mama.”  She looked straight to Dean, “What is your name?”  He told her “Dean. Papa.” She looked to the director and smiled “Mama! Papa!”

Everyone was absolutely beaming, and perhaps had just a glint of tears in their eyes.

“I kept asking for you!! Mama? Mama? Mama? When will you come??” she said, according to our translator. 

Five years is a long time to wait for this.



Or this...

Or this...

I can't imagine Lily never knowing the security of having a mama to tuck her in every night, to hold her when she's hurting or comfort her when she's sad, never knowing how it feels to be desired and loved.

I can't imagine what goes through a little girl's mind for five years, wondering when her mama will come take her home, waiting for the day she will walk through the doors of her orphanage, dreaming about that elusive, imaginary angel....

Mama? Mama? Mama? When will you come??

Yesterday I received an email from a friend...another amazing mama who traveled last year to rescue not one, but two children.

Patti,
I wanted to see if you could help me out by posting on your blog about the Dirkes family. You see she contacted me today just heart broken and at her wits end. Her faith is shaken and my heart has gathered her burden. She leaves in one week. Yes, 7 days and she still needs at least 7k for this trip. Grand total is still about 17k. I am asking for your help because I was in her shoes not long ago and it is heart wrenching. It takes all you got to get through a day. The tears seem to never end. You pray there will just be one person who hears your cry. You pray until you have no words left just hoping someone will help. Patti, financially I cannot help her, I have made donations but not nearly enough to help. I have heard her cries and I cannot just sit back and hope she gets her funds. Her daughter Charlotte holds a special place in my heart; she was the one I would of chosen if we didn't choose Varvara. So, this leaves me to contact people who I know can help. Please go to her blog and see if you can help. Post a story, anything you can think of....
Ann Plummer

I went to Ann's friend's blog, and recognized a sweet little face I donated to a few months ago...and again a few days ago, in honor of another friend's birthday wish. Little Charlotte met her mama and daddy last November. They are traveling in six days to see her again, and go to court to make her theirs.

Six Days.

 Six days to make a miracle happen.


Do you think we can do it?


With God's help, I believe we can.


Charlotte's mama, Kelly, emailed me yesterday, after I said I would do everything I could to help.


There are no words to thank you and the others who have stepped up and spoken out for us and for my girl. I knew this journey would give me the opportunity to learn a great deal about being a momma and about Down Syndrome...but I didn't know just how strong this community is.



Well, Kelly- you're about to find out. I say that not because I have confidence in Lily's blog, or in my own words, but because I serve a BIG God. And I'm part of a faithful and generous community, one who rallies around its own.

Charlotte is our own, friends.

 She's been waiting for her mama all of her life, waiting and hoping for someone to come and take her home.

“I kept asking for you!! Mama? Mama? Mama? When will you come??”

 Lily's readers have responded so many times to the needs of orphans. You've given so much to help these families find and rescue their children. Will you help me again?

Will you help us make a six day miracle happen?


Will you help save a little girl?


Because Charlotte is our own.

I know Lily's readers, and I know it doesn't even take a giveaway to move you beyond compassion, and into action. I know the face of one beautiful little girl who desperately needs her mama is enough to move you to give.
But a giveaway full of amazing prizes is always nice too:)   (and thank you, Kelly, for letting me hijack your giveaway!)

Here's how it works....

1 chance=$10 donation

5 chances=$25 donation

20 chances=$50 donation

All donations are tax-deductible and go directly to the Dirkes's grant fund through Reece’s Rainbow.  They can be made using the Chip-In at the top of my sidebar on the right.

Kindle Fire

Canon Rebel DSLR camera (with lens)

Petal Knot Dress from Willow Bean Creations

Custom made t-shirt from If You Say Sew

Starfish necklace from The Vintage Pearl

Pearl, bracelet, and earring set from Kay Jewelers

Insulated Tote from 31

Autographed copy of Alton Brown’s book “I’m Just Here for the Food”

Autographed “Hopkins” from Rachel Coleman of Signing Time

$150 gift card for Kimberly Wilson's TranquiliT (an amazing line of clothing for anyone who loves yoga...or comfort)

$50 gift card for Planet Jill

$50 gift card for Scentsy

$50 gift card for Hanna Andersson

$50 gift card for Target

$25 gift card for The Adopt Shoppe

 

$25 gift card for Wal-Mart

$25 gift card for Starbucks

$25 gift card for Olive Garden

A jar of Renee Tam’s famous toffee

A batch of oReshki, traditional cookies from Charlotte’s country

Kelly sees who donated on her chip-in, so you do not need to leave a comment to be entered to win. She will announce winners on her blog on February 6th, the day they leave to see Charlotte....


We need that chip-in (posted on Patty's blog) to be at $13,300 for the Dirkes family to travel on February 6th. 


I believe in miracles.

Do you????

----Reposted from A Perfect Lily

Six

Yesterday Danila turned six.

Nobody celebrated her birthday.  Nobody gave her gifts, or even stopped to give her a hug.

The reason nobody celebrated this sweet girl's special day is because she has Down syndrome, and because she was born in Eastern Europe.  A place where people with disabilities are written off, discarded, hidden away, orphaned.

Danila has been waiting for a family for far too long.  And unfortunately there are many things working against her being adopted.

First is her age.  Six.  Hardly old, but old enough that some people won't want to take a chance on her.  Maybe she'll have too many orphanage behaviors, maybe she won't bond with her new family, maybe she'll be too delayed.

Sure, it's possible.  But it's also possible that she is wishing day in and day out for a family.  For someone to love her.  To celebrate with her.  To wipe away her tears when she cries. She deserves a family.

The other thing working against Danila is money.

International adoption is expensive in the best situation, and Danila's region is far from ideal.  Her region requires 4 trips and costs on average $40,000.

$40,000 to save one little girl.

Even if a family is willing and financially able to care for her when she gets home, not many people have $40,000 sitting around.

Danila has over $12,500 in her grant fund.  A huge grant, but still a long way from her $40,000 ransom.

Please help me celebrate Danila's birthday.

My friend Julia is holding a giveaway for children who have been passed over too long, and Danila is among them.  Please click here....look at these faces.  Donate a minimum of $5 to 2 or more children and you will be entered into a giveaway with over $600 in prizes.  If you donate $35 or more, you will also get an ornament with Danila's picture on it.

But that's not all.  My friend Patti is also holding a Pure Love giveaway (click here).  When you donate on Julia's blog, you also get an entry into Patti's giveaway, with over $1000 in prizes.

$5 doesn't seem like much, but trust me, it all adds up.  The Angel Tree is Reece's Rainbow biggest fundraiser, and this is the last year Danila will get to be a part of it.  Please help her grant fund grow, as this is her best chance at finding a family.

Toffee

I posted this a couple of times on Facebook, but if you missed those, you really don't want to miss out on your last chance to get some of this toffee.

My friend Renee is adopting Paisley from Russia.  They will be traveling on their first trip soon, and still have some more funds to raise.  To help with the fundraising, Renee opened Paisley's Pantry. 

Her first Pantry offering is White Chocolate Toffee, and to say it is amazing is an understatement!

My jar arrived last night. 

This morning the toffee is half gone.

And I was the only one home last night...

No, that doesn't say much about my will power, but it does say something about how delicious this toffee really is. 

Friday, TOMORROW,  is the last day to order this treat.  It comes packaged in a jar, ready for gift giving.  It would be perfect for end of the year teacher gifts!  I've also been told it freezes very well, but I don't think any of my toffee is going to see the inside of the freezer.

Just click ORDER THIS TREAT and you will be sent to Renee's blog for all the details. 

Trust me, you will only be sorry if you miss out on this toffee!

Day 15: Share a Bible Verse

I had a different post planned for tonight.  One about Claire's 15 month appointment, complete with a cute video, but my computer is not cooperating AT ALL.  So, I'll just continue with these posts until I can get the glitches figured out...

Day 15: Share a Bible Verse

I shared one of my favorite verses (Isaiah 41:10) the other day, but another verse has been running through my mind a lot lately. 


Paisley, being adopted by the Tam Family

 I follow many Reece's Rainbow families.  Adoption, especially of a child with Down syndrome, has been on my heart a lot lately.  These children have been abandoned, left behind simply because they have Down syndrome.  Because they are like Claire.  And that hurts my heart.  These children need and deserve families.

The international adoption journey is hard.  While I haven't done it myself, I've talked to other families, I've seen them frantically fundraising.  And I know that adoption is a journey of faith.  And until, or even if, I am able to join them on a similar journey, I will support these families as much as possible.


Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

Will you Tweet for Reece's Rainbow?

We really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just have been very busy.  We spent the weekend at the farm, and that means the only internet access was on my phone.  Phone service can be spotty, so that means I was pretty much offline for the weekend.  That's not a bad thing, but it does mean I come home to a reader over flowing with blog posts!

I don't use Twitter much.  Blogging and Facebook take up plenty of my time as it is.  But, for Reece's Rainbow I will make an exception.

Patricia Heaton (the actress from Everybody Loves Raymond) has tweeted an amazing offer for RR and all it takes is you clicking the follow button.

Are you following @ReecesRainbow on Twitter? @PatriciaHeaton is donating $1 for every Reece's Rainbow follower up to $10K! Help kids find families! PLEASE SHARE and follow on Twitter!

A Day to Save Olga

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18


Today is Olga's day.  I am pretty sure Olga has never had a day where she was the star.  But today is different.  Today there are mamas who will probably never meet her, yet are spending the day blogging, sharing her beautiful face on Facebook, and we are PRAYING. 

Olga has a family coming for her, yet they still need help to bring her home.  International adoption is always expensive, but some areas are more costly than others.  I know many of you have blogged, donated and prayed for Olga before, and today I'm asking for your help again.

My friend Patti has a way with words, so I will leave you with her post for Olga.

***************************************

Dear friends,
So many of you already know this beautiful little face....



Olga turned five last month. She has spent the last five years in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, without the love of a mommy and daddy- simply because she arrived in life exactly as God designed her. One chromosome too many, and her fate was sealed from birth.





Sealed, because in Eastern Europe, babies who are born with Down syndrome are deemed unacceptable at birth. They are discarded as cast-offs of society, and when they turn five they leave the only home they've ever known...




And I wish I could say that for most of these children, leaving that home meant going to a place of safety, a place of happiness, a place where they would finally know the love of a family...know what it meant to be cuddled or sung to or read to, tucked in at night, prayed for, loved.

Instead, they are taken to a place that most people wouldn't leave their family pet.
A place of living hell, where they will never know the tenderness of a parent, never know the security of being raised in a family, and there they will stay, one ugly, pain-filled day at a time...until they die.




I read a post last December that stayed with me to this day. It was called from baby dolls to bedstraps.
The blog author wrote about Elizabeth, an orphan on Reece's Rainbow who had been transferred to a mental institution, waiting for a family to step forward for her. Her words still haunt me.

I wonder where she thought she was going as they led her out of the orphanage that day. Did she think that maybe it was finally her turn? That they were taking her to her forever Mommy and Daddy?

And when they instead took her inside that dreadful place, when they shaved her head and tied her to a too-small metal crib

when they turned their backs and

walked

away…



when they left her confused, terrified,

in a room where the wails of schizophrenic adults echo through the cold air

what was going through her young mind?



Did she wonder if she was being punished?



How long did she hold out hope that this was only temporary?

That any minute, they would come and take her back to the baby house

to her baby dolls and teddy bear,

to her best friend, Angelina?


Did she long to free her arms from the restraints

to cover her head with her hands to drown out

the scary noises

the scary sights

the scary smells?



That could be my Lily….


It could be your child.

And what if it were?

What if you woke up one morning

and by some hellish, twilight-zone twist of fate

your child wasn’t still tucked into that warm bed down the hall,

what if your child was trapped

across the dark sea

in that nightmare that is

the institution?

What

would

you

DO?

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. Proverbs 24:11
 Elizabeth is being rescued today, thanks to the efforts of that blogging mama, and others like her.

Olga is being rescued today, thanks to so many of you...you gave so much and created such a large grant that a family was able to step forward and start the process of adoption.

The Abells have done so much already, towards rescuing Olga. I can't even imagine all the paperwork and prayer and emotion and finances that goes into an international adoption. They have done numerous fundraisers, and will continue to do so until they can bring Olga home.

Through the help of so many, a grant of over $13,000 has been raised for Olga's adoption. That grant is set aside for the final travel costs and fees that it will take to bring Olga home. It will take every penny of that and then some.

Right now the Abells are in need of raising the $7,000 that is needed to submit their dossier for Olga. Without that dossier we don't even know if Olga has been transferred yet. Here in America you just pick up the phone and ask these questions. But here in America we don't tie five year old girls to cribs to keep them from climbing out.

The Abells need to submit that dossier as soon as possible- at the very least to find out if she has been transferred already- because I know an army of prayer warriors who is going to want to know that piece of information as well. And at the very most, it could be able to hold Olga at the baby house until the Abells can rescue her. I wish I could say with certainty that she won't be transferred- truthfully we just don't know that.

Olga has been so heavy on my heart for months- friends, I want you to know that I DO trust that God has a plan here.

I prayed like crazy for a way to help the Abells. I truly believe that there is a network of people who love Olga here in blogland...a net that is woven by God and is stretching out across this blessed country we live in, and even beyond to generous hearts in other nations. I really cannot express enough how thankful I am to be a small part of what God has already done for Olga, Peter and Kareen. But I don't think our job is done.

Olga needs us.

I don't want her to spend one more forsaken day in that place than she has to.

We're not doing a giveaway here today. I don't even think we need to do one- I know so many just have a heart to help and to give, and prizes were never the real reason we all gave anyway.

So I'm just asking- for one day- for you to do whatever you could to help Olga. Whether that's $10 or $20 or even a hundred...if you are able to help raise this money for the dossier, please do so HERE...

This is the link for the Family Sponsorship Page on Reece's Rainbow...every single dollar goes to the Abell's adoption fund, and every single dollar will help.

We're calling this A Day to Save Olga, because there are about 17 of us blogging mamas who have set aside this day to blog, post on Facebook, pray, give and spread the word to SAVE OLGA.

Will you help us?

I know you will:)

Love,

Patti

Thank you, thank you!

Now that year end craziness has subsided, the totals have been calculated.  This year, from Nov 1 to Dec 31, Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree raised over $305,000!!!  This is QUADRUPLE what was raised in 2009. So, thank you! Thank you for donating to Celine, Olga, or any of the kids on Reece's Rainbow.  Every donation helps bring children home. 

During this year's Angel Tree, 30 children had families commit to them.  In 2010, 153 children came home to their forever families, and already 2011 looks like it will surpass that figure. 

While the big fundraising push of the Angel Tree is over, there are still many children that need help getting home.  If you can, please consider donating to a child who is still waiting for a family, or to a family who is doing the final fundraising before they travel to bring home their child.

Only 15 days left...

to get your Angel Tree ornament from Reece's Rainbow.  Donations of $35 or more to the Celine by midnight on December 20th will receive an ornament for your tree.  Celine's smiling face has a prime spot on our tree this year, and I know she would look beautiful on your tree too!

Thank you all who have donated to Celine's adoption fund so far, but she still needs more help from us.  And she needs help NOW.  She turned 5 in October, and she is on borrowed time.  At any time she could be transferred to an institution.  While living in an orphanage is not ideal, it is much, much better than the institution.  The only way to guarantee that she doesn't end up in an institution is to find her a family. 

Russia is one of the more expensive countries to adopt from, and the $33,000 price tag is a huge challenge for most families.  And while it may not seem like much, EVERY SINGLE donation helps.  Whether it's $1 or $5 or maybe more, it adds up.  So, this Christmas season, as we are busy shopping and buying gifts, I'm asking you to stop and think about a little girl who doesn't have a family.  If you aren't able to donate the $35 for an ornament, please give just $5.  This is a cup of coffee at Starbucks, and I while none of us will miss $5, it could help make the difference between life and death for Celine.

There are many ways to donate to Celine.  You can visit her on the Angel Tree, on her profile page, or you can donate via the Chip In. ----->  All of these ways to donate are 100% tax deductible.  If you'd rather not donate electronically, you can always mail a check to Reece's Rainbow at Reece's Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885.  If you mail a check there won't be any fees deducted from it as there are when you donate by Paypal. 

Please, just $5!