Most people over the last several months have heard Dan and I talking about adoption...probably constantly ;) But most people probably haven't had a chance to have a long enough heart to heart conversation to realize WHY we've been talking about adoption. Do we just want lots more kids? Well, yeah...actually, but that's NOT the main reason why we are pursuing adoption.
We are looking into adoption in Eastern Europe...now most people would be wondering why not China or some other place that they've heard of people adopting from? Well, of course ALL orphans need homes; all children need to be raised in a family...but my friends, the conditions for a child in a former Soviet bloc country is vastly different than any other area we've ever seen. Most people aren't aware of the plight of the orphan unfortunate enough to be living in Eastern Europe.
--Babies that are born with special needs in Eastern European countries are in most cases automatically placed in orphanages. There is no place in society for them there. This can be as simple as a healthy child with down syndrome, a child with a repairable cleft palate or a child that is blind.
-- Sometime around that chid's 4-8th birthday, if that child has not be adopted, they will be transferred to an adult mental institution....yes, I said that right- An Adult Mental Institution. In many cases, that is IT for that child....their chances of adoptions have become slim to none.
Our daughter is 4 1/2 yrs. old right now. Take a look at her...
If she had been born to an Eastern European family & had been born with any kind of special need at all, even a slight one, she would be sitting in an orphanage right now. If she were lucky enough to still be at a baby orphanage, then she would be living on borrowed time. At any point, they could transfer her to an adult mental institution....no toys, no friends, no more outside...grown, abandoned, handicapped people sitting in rooms rocking themselves frantically for comfort....I can't even explain any more- its real, people. Its out there and its not fit for ANY human life that Our Lord created...especially not my baby girl. And not any baby girl or boy that God created.
So...we know. Are eyes have been opened.
"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." (Proverbs 24:12)
And so we need to act. We need to be God's hands and feet so that this next scripture is proven true-
Psalm 68:5-6
New International Version (NIV)
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,[a]
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Our God is a God of truth....and He says He sets the lonely in families...and He leads the prisoners out...and these little ones ARE prisoners. He is just waiting for us to hear His call and do the work He has set before us.
Please pray for us...as we discern all that we have prayed about and become aware of.
Will you please pray for our family? Pray that we, in some way, are able to do whatever God calls us to do? We want to adopt...but ultimately, that is God's decision and He will help us to do whatever big or small that He calls us to do.
I will post more later....and I plan to post videos on the blog at some point. I just wanted to at least get something done here so you all would know what we are thinking and where our hearts are at.
Blessings,
Kimberly
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