Let's ACT!!!!

November is Adoption Awareness Month.  Many of you know that already and if you are FB friends with me you know that I have been sharing some pretty sobering statistics so far this month.  

The good news is that I have also been getting lots of questions along the lines of "what can I do to help?"  I love these questions.  My husband always cringes when someone asks me something like this face to face and then he does one of those hiss type whispers in my ear and says, "Don't overwhelm."

He knows me well.  

So, in an effort not to overwhelm, but to give a very specific answer to the questions I have been receiving, I have come up with a list.  We all love a good list, right??   So along with some pictures I have included for your viewing pleasure, I am also including some links to various ministries that I know for a fact spend your money wisely. Because, let's be honest - everyone wants a piece of your bank account.  I get it.  Honestly, I do.  And you can not give to everyone.  I get that too.  And it is ok to be comfortable enough with yourself and in tune enough with God's will for your life to say no.  Truly, it is ok.

I gave up being a pleaser a long time ago and it was the most freeing decision I have ever made.  You do not have to please me by donating to "my" cause.  If you and God have discussed the orphan, I guarantee you that He has given you a place to ACT.  Do that.  The thing is, most people don't do anything.  Most people do not even know that there are 163,000,000 children right now going to bed without a family.  Sit on that for a second.  

Most people don't know that the silence in orphanages all over the world is deafening.  Of all the horrific stories I have heard about orphanages all over the world, the one common denominator, the one most haunting thing that everyone comes away with is the SILENCE.  Children who know that no one is coming stop crying.  Children should never ever stop crying.  

So today I am going to make you a list.  The organizations on this list are personally known to me.  I could pick up the phone and call the people who head these organizations right now.  I know them personally, I know they are the REAL deal.  I know they love the Lord and the orphan and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they spend your money wisely.  You can give to them without hesitation. 

First I want to quickly introduce you to my family.  Right now we have five children in our home.  Two seniors in college, one senior in high school, a 13 year old and a 5 year old.  Our oldest daughter is getting married in August.  Our first experience with adoption was when Stan and I got married 20 years ago and our two oldest were just 19 months old.  We had been abandoned by their birth father and Stan instantly became their daddy.  Our five year old came to us as a newborn in a domestic adoption, and he is the one who totally wrecked our entire family for the orphan.  All of our kids love adoption advocacy, desire to adopt themselves one day, and desire to spend their lives ministering in some capacity to "the least of these."  Our oldest daughter and her fiancee met working with a human trafficking ministry in NYC, and hope to do that again in a few years. Trafficking rescue has way more to do with adoption than you see on the surface.  Our youngest daughter desires to mother special needs children and she will be amazing at that.  I can not wait!!  I could not be more humbled that God gave all of these amazing kids to me.  

This precious one is our #6.  He is coming to us sometime in the next few months from China.  We love him so incredibly much already.  I mean, seriously, look at that smile!!

In his honor, the first ministry I want to recommend to you is Shanghai Healing Home.   SHH is an NGO (non-governmental organization) run by American missionaries in Shanghai.  They provide excellent care for special needs orphans, and provide necessary surgeries and post-operative care until their forever families are found.  They have child sponsorships available or you can make a one time or ongoing donation.  I completely and 100% trust the integrity of this ministry.  You can click the link to find out more about this organization and their needs and you can donate online.

This is our daughter Bryce and a young man by the name of Benyam.  Bryce met Benyam when she was in Ethiopia on a mission trip with the next organization I want to recommend to you.  Ordinary Hero  has the motto "change the world for ONE" and I love that.  Sometimes when you hear the number 163,000,000 it just seems too much.  Too big.  Too impossible.  But, when you hear "change the world for ONE" it brings it back into focus.  ONE.  You can do that.  I can do that - and together, together we can change the world.  So, Benyam is ours.  We love him, we pray for him, our picture hangs on his wall in a frame that reads Family.  We support him and one day we hope to bring him home to our family forever.  But, there are lots more children just like Benyam in Ethiopia and OH offers child sponsorships, short term mission trips, and many other opportunities for you to get involved.  Click the link and see what you can do to help.

This is Emma.  Emma is our favorite missionary in all of the world!!  Her story will blow you away.  Seriously.  She received the call to Uganda at just 6 years old.  And three years ago, at 19, she moved there.  Since moving to Uganda, Emma has founded The Gem Foundation.  Emma and her husband Josh care for 28 special needs orphans.  She is sweet, humble, and selfless - and she is strong, brave and absolutely fearless when it comes to her trust in God and her willingness to follow His call on her life.  She is a true hero and an inspiration.  Daily she lives out the admonition in Timothy to "let no one despise you because you are young, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."  Emma is an example worthy of emulating.  She is the real thing and we are honored that God allows us to call her a personal "in real life" friend.   We know that one of (if not THE) main reason He moved us to Arizona was to meet Emma and her family.   Your money would be WELL used if you choose to donate to The Gems. 

Ok, bear with me -- I know I am overwhelming just a little.  I have two more and I can't bear for you to miss out on either of them.  This is Emma again, before she moved to Uganda.  The little girl she is holding is her baby sister Ruby.  I am not going to give away much of Ruby's story, because you can read it for yourself in her book - Rescuing Ruby.  Seriously, go order it right now.  

Ok, now that you did that, let me tell you a little about Ruby's Mommy and Daddy.  Dwight and Linny Saunders are the founders of International Voice of the Orphan.   IVO is on a mission to care for orphans all over the world.  Click this link to find out about their feeding programs, programs to provide surgeries for needy orphans, mission trips, child sponsorships and so much more.   Personally, Dwight and Linny are some of our very best friends - they are mentors, inspirations, shoulders to cry on and pray with.  Our kids love hanging out together.  They are currently in the process of their 10th adoption.  The picture you see below is just one example of the miracles they have seen unfold since their family set out on a mission to care for the orphan almost 30 years ago.  They also are the REAL thing - and your money would be wisely spent if donated to IVO.

This is the Saunders Family with their children who still live at home.

The last organization I want to tell you about is a brand new one.  It is called Care 4 the Orphan  and a friend of mine started it just a few months ago and asked me to be a board member.  So, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that this one is one I am very closely involved in.  Actually, I will be honest, all of these are the ones our family chooses to support.  But, what I love love love about Care4theOrphan is how absolutely mind blowing the concept is and how absolutely ANYONE can participate.  The mission of Care4theOrphan is to find 1 million "giving units" that donate $1 per month.  That's it.  ONE dollar per month.  Anyone can do that - even my "poor" college students, even my 5 year old.  Once we reach one million $12 per year donations that gives us 12 million dollars a year.  We want to donate $250,000 per month to four different orphan ministries every month.  How awesome would that be????  So our social media "challenge" is for you to click the link and go to our page and click the "Give Now" link and donate your $12 for the year.   Then take a picture of yourself (like Patrick's below) holding a sign saying where you are from and that you donated $1 per month at Dollars4orphans.org -- the tag at least three friends and challenge them to do the same.  You can also like our FB page.

So, there you have it.  My very favorite orphan ministries and links to each of them.  From the very bottom of our hearts, Stan and I want to thank you for prayerfully considering how you might help.  These precious children deserve a family.  They deserve a mommy and daddy to tuck them in at night.  They are literally crying out for someone to hear them.  

And the thing is, once you know......  once you know, there is really no turning back.  As David Platt says, "Orphans are easy to ignore before you know their names.  They are easy to ignore before you see their faces.  It is easier to pretend they are not real before you hold them in your arms.  But once you do, everything changes."   

With only a couple of exceptions, every child pictured in this blog post is a previous orphan.  Now, they are sons and daughters - of God and of mommies and daddies who love them more than life.  They are cherished, treasured, and whole.  They have a family.  They ARE our "whys."  And we GET to.  We get to be a part of God's sovereign plan.  There is no greater JOY on this earth.   

Update on Previous Post

I just have to briefly say how incredibly amazed I am by our dinner last night.  The quick background is this....my husband made a declaration this past Sunday that from now on our family would be "all in." (more on that later) We would be open to God's leading for our family, whatever that is.  This is the answer to a word for word prayer I have had for him for years.

From the moment (and I do mean moment) he uttered those words in prayer, the enemy slithered into our home.  My husband and I had an argument before the hour was up.  The kids began to snap at each other, and three days later, they still haven't stopped.  My respiratory junk turned into a cough the likes of which I haven't had in years.  In other words, we are a mess - physically and emotionally!!

Therefore, when we made the decision to eat beans and rice for dinner once a week, I have to admit I was expecting some resistance.  Not because my kids expect filet mignon for dinner, but because they are used to veggies (at my insistence) and a few of them are just big eaters and a few of them are picky. They didn't say anything when we made the announcement, but as they day approached I was a little apprehensive.  I cooked the beans in the crock pot all day yesterday and they did smell really good.  When dinner time came, I boiled the rice and that was it - easy, peasy.  That makes me very happy as well.  We filled our bowls and sat down to dinner.  Immediately, the two I was expecting the most resistance from took a bite and said, almost simultaneously, "These are so good.  I could eat these every single night."  Y'all, it was pintos and rice.  The only seasoning was some sauteed onion and garlic.  It was not special, it was not fancy, it was not garnished.  They each ate two bowls, rinsed their dishes and went away happy and satisfied.

I truly could not believe it.

God is good, and He does care about the little things.  He welcomes our meager and silly "sacrifices" when they are offered with a heart for the things He cares about.  I am so excited to see how He multiplies our offerings as we "struggle" through with our delicious meal of beans and rice once a week.  And hey, if they want it every night, I just might be able to make that happen!!

FUNdraising Idea

This looks pretty yummy doesn't it??  Did you know that I can feed this to my fairly large family for less than $5??  That's $5 total, not per person.  That's organic beans and rice.  There are seven of us in our family - four adults, one teenager, one 10 year old boy who eats like an adult, and one 2 year old boy who also puts it away pretty well.

Less than $5!!!! 

Did you know that beans and rice is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids?  It is healthy, it is filling, and it is what a huge part of the world eats as a staple food.  

Our family has recently come to realize that while we claim to love orphans, we don't really sacrifice all that much to care for them.  Yes, we adopted a precious baby boy - but we certainly haven't suffered any doing that.  Yes, we donate money to sponsorship programs, missionary support, and other ministries.  Yes, we share needs on our Facebook pages and donate to adoption fundraisers.  I'm going to be frank though, we haven't really done anything that has caused us to miss any meals.  Recently, my husband and I have decided that we are "all in" now.  We are open to whatever God calls our family to do for the least of these.  We have decided that it is past time to budget our money a little more carefully and see what we can come up with at the end of the month.  This is our first month on a strict budget.  The first month where we set aside a sum of money for groceries, gas, extras and said to the kids, "When this is gone, it is gone."  They have been troopers.  We ordered take out Chipotle for them on Valentine's Day and hubby and I went out.  Otherwise, we have eaten all of our meals, snacks, and Starbucks at home.  If you don't know us you don't know how huge this is.  Too many times because I am lazy and they are whiny I run through the Chik-Fil-A drive through - chicken meals times six is a lot of money wasted.  

It has been great.  This month we have cooked together more, we have eaten at the dinner table more, we have played more board games instead of going out for frozen yogurt.  And you know what?  We are really not "suffering" for it.  We have still had home made treats, we have still built a fire and roasted marshmallows, we have taken walks and gone on hikes.  We have been to the park and the library.  

Another thing we recently decided to do is eat beans and rice once a week for supper.  Healthy, fresh, and mostly organic food is very important to me.  I believe that it does make a difference in long term and short term health and if at all possible, I want to continue to buy it.  There are other things I would rather give up.  But, it is expensive.  In figuring up how much we spend on meals in our house, the amount is pretty significant.  I'm not talking about eating out - that amount is ridiculous, but even cooking meals around here can get expensive.  It varies depending on what meat we have, but we spend well over $20 just to grill hamburgers.  Buy the time we buy the meat, bread, a side, and make guacamole - which is a staple for us on our hamburgers, the price can really add up.  Much, much less than taking the family to a restaurant of course, but still not cheap.

So....we have decided that at least once a week - it may end up being twice when I see that grocery bill going down - but, for now, once a week we will eat beans and rice for dinner.  Less than $5!!!  I am excited just thinking about it.  Our plan is to donate $20 to a feeding program for every meal of beans and rice that we eat.  We prefer International Voice of the Orphan, but of course it can be anywhere of your choice.  This would be a great way to challenge your friends for adoption fundraisers as well.  I have heard of people who do this once a week and spread out a blanket outside (weather permitting) and let the kids eat with their hands, the way lots of kids around the world eat.  Sounds like fun!!

So, I challenge you - beans and rice once a week, donate to a feeding program like IVO or an adoption fundraiser like my friend Hayden's.  Be sure and leave me a comment letting me know that you and your family are participating!

Until They are ALL Home,

We Have A Winner!!

Congratulations to Cameron Trader on winning the Thieves Oil!!

Everyone who donated is also my Facebook friend, so pictures of my 10 year old drawing the winner are on my Facebook.

Thanks so much to all who donated - one step at a time, that is usually how God works this fundraising stuff.  He wants us to trust Him, even when we think the amount is overwhelming.  He's got this, and Luda will be home soon!

Please keep checking Hayden's blog - there are other fundraising opportunities going on over there, one of the easiest is Amazon shopping.  It doesn't cost you any extra, but if you use their link, then Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase price to their adoption.  Check it out!!

One More Day!!

I just want to remind everyone that we will be drawing for the Thieves oil tomorrow night.

Not only is this amazing stuff - the cause is AWESOME!!!

Luda doesn't even know yet that her forever family is coming for her.  Please, please help make this little girl's dream come true.  I'm not sure that any of us can even fathom what it would feel like to be 14 years old and not know that there is anyone on the planet who loves you completely.  I have a 14 year old daughter and I can not even bear to think of how her tender heart would hurt if she lived in an orphanage and longed for a Mommy and Daddy above all else.  Oh my goodness, I have tears just thinking about it.

A Mommy and Daddy.  It seems like such a basic thing.  A thing that most of our children take for granted.  A thing that children should not have to think about.  Someone to tuck them in at night, to kiss their boo boos, and to wipe their tears.  It just shouldn't be that this little girl sits on the other side of the world while her mommy and daddy are separated from her because of money.

Recently, my dear "bloggy turned real life" friend Linny wrote a blog post titled Was God Just Kidding?  In it she posed the question, "Do we really, really care about how many children go to bed each night without a Mama and Daddy?"  Do we really???  Because if we did, wouldn't we DO something about it??  If every person who reads this donated just a bit of money, like the amount you spent at Starbucks this week, then in just a few short months Luda would be sleeping in her very own bed, in her very own house, with her very own Mama and Daddy and brother and sisters.

Her.very.own.

The thing she has dreamed about her entire life.  While our children want to go to Disney World or want to buy the latest style of jeans or shoes - Luda, and millions like her, just want a Mama and Daddy.  Really, is that too much to ask??  I don't think so.

Please consider donating.  God can take your seemingly small offering and multiply it a thousand fold.  He can and He will.  Luda will come home to her family - there is NO doubt in my mind.  Don't you want to be a part of that?  Aren't you honored to be asked??

Let's DO This!!!

Ok friends - we are going to have a little FUNdraiser here on my blog and on Facebook.

I'm not going to claim that this was a divinely inspired idea, but I did come up with it while I was praying for my friend Hayden and her family, so I decided I better go with it.

I shared last week about my childhood friend Hayden and her family and their daughter Luda who they are in the process of bringing home from Eastern Europe.  You can read their story for yourself.  They still need quite a lot of money to bring her home and as I have already shared, I believe with all my heart that this is the responsibility of the body of Christ - to jump in and help our brothers and sisters when they are following God's command to ransom these precious treasures.  This is not a case of what we have to do, but what we are allowed to be a part of.  It is a privilege and an honor to come alongside God in His redemptive work.

So.....

All that said, I am offering just a small incentive to those who will donate to Luda's ransom fund.  I have shared before about the essential oils that our family uses.  One of my very favorites is Thieves Oil from Young Living.  This stuff is potent - and you definitely need some on hand for the remainder of the flu season.

This bottle pictured above retails for $41 plus shipping.  

For every $5 you donate to Luda's adoption fund, your name will go into a drawing for a FREE bottle of Thieves, shipped right to your door.  You can read more about essential oils, and specifically Thieves in this post.  

So, let me recap the "rules."  The fundraiser will last until Valentine's Day (Thursday, the 14th) at 5:00 pm.  One of my kids will draw the name that evening - and I will post a picture.  Go to Hayden's blog and click on the "Ways to Donate" tab.  You can donate through the Eli Project for a tax deductible donation or you can just use the "Donate" link on the sidebar.  Then, leave me a message in the comment section of the blog or if we are "friends" on Facebook send me a private message telling me how much you donated.  For every $5 increment your name will go into the drawing.  ($20 = 4 chances to win!!)  Share this blog post with as many people as you can.  IF we get over 75 people to donate, I will add another bottle of oil to the drawing so that two people get a chance to win.  Remember to let me know that you donated because I don't have access to their account and won't be able to see who made the donations.  

Friends, fundraising is hard.  It is stressful and it is sometimes frightening.  The enemy's attacks are fiercer and fiercer the closer you get to bringing a child home.  He makes you doubt and wonder if God was ever in this whole adoption thing in the first place.  Financial issues are usually the #1 reason people give for why they don't pursue adoption.  It should NOT have to be this way.  I know that many of you have ministries that are near and dear to your heart and that you already donate to a lot of really good things, but let's face it, five dollars is not that much more than your daily cup of Starbucks. I don't think that I personally know anyone who couldn't afford to donate just $5.  That's all I'm asking you to do today.  $5

Please, let's get together and DO this!!  Luda's adoption could be fully funded just one $5 donation at a time.  Please share and please give.

Thank you - truly, thank you.

Can you guess what we made this week??

Yum, looks good, doesn't it?  I was told it was delicious, but we didn't have any for dinner.

A friend of mine from Florida and her daughter came up with a fantastic fundraiser idea and the kids and I copied it.  We decided that since this time of year people are busy and often end up running through the drive thru at the last minute, spending $30 dollars or more for junk food, that just maybe a home cooked meal, complete with a loaf of made from scratch bread delivered to their door, might be a more appealing dinner idea.

It seems that we were right.  Our first day we received orders for six lasagnas and ten loaves of bread!!

So, off we went to the grocery store, stocking up on pounds of beef, boxes of noodles, herbs, four cheeses, and lots of sauce.  Assembly line fashion, we put together the lasagnas and filled the house with the aroma of freshly baked bread.  I used to bake all of  our bread, but in recent years I have dropped the ball.  Of course, we had to make a few loaves for ourselves and we are HOOKED again.  Not sure anyone will eat the store bought stuff again now that their taste buds are reacquainted with the real thing.  YUM!

 I am happy with the response to our first fundraiser.  We made over $100 for International Voice of the Orphan, a ministry founded by our personal friends, Dwight and Linny Saunders.  Every penny donated goes straight to the children - no administrative costs are taken out of your donation.  Not many organizations can say that.  Knowing the Saunder's family personally, I can assure you that they are the real thing.  ALL IN for the orphan.  If you feel led to donate to IVO, everything is done online via Paypal and it is all tax deductible.

Maybe you and your kids could spend a Saturday baking bread or muffins or making lasagna and donate the money you earn to IVO.  Pretty please??

We had a great day laughing in the kitchen together - all for an amazing cause!!