Saturday, February 9, 2013

Forty To Forever

In addition to the Amazon Associates program, we are partnering with 'Forty Days to Forever' to wrap up our fundraising efforts. 

Forty to Forever was born out of a desire to help Lina, a special needs orphan grow her adoption grant and more importantly, help her find her forever family. God moved the hearts of two wonderful ladies and now they are doing more than just fundraise for Lina… they (along with other advocates and families) will be fundraising for 40 orphans, growing adoption grants and advocating for waiting children to find families and help the families in process to bring home a special needs child.  And our family is one of those families.  We are hoping to raise $400.00 for Gemma's adoption through this fundraiser. 

This fundraising effort is centered around the period of Lent. (For a short explanation of what is Lent, see here.) During this 40 days of Lent, everyday will feature a different child with a fundraising goal, a daily Lent devotion and discussion.  Gemma's special day is Tuesday March 19th.  Any donations made to Gemma's fund THAT  DAY will earn the donor entries into the giveaways.

Give $2………………………………………… 1 entry
Give $3………………………………………… 2 entries
Give $4………………………………………… 3 entries
Give $5………………………………………… 5 entries
Give $10………………………………………. 12 entries
Give $25………………………………………. 40 entries
Give $50………………………………………. 100 entries

You can check out the amazing giveaways they have here.

Each of the 40 children will have their special day of fundraising where donations earn entries. Read about the children/families who would benefit.  And get ready...Forty to Forever starts on Feb 13th, 2012, Wednesday.
  

Why NOT them?!

Well, we are back to the routine after my first trip to meet Gemma.  I have my little ones at home (ages 6 and 2 1/2) keeping me busy.  We are solidly after Christmas now for homeschooling and extracurricular activities to be starting again.  I am happy to be home and engaging in it all again.  But in the quiet moments my mind drifts to Gemma.  I wish I could say I wondered what she was doing.  I feel like I have a pretty good idea what she is doing day in and day out.  :(  Not much.  Mostly, my mind drifts to what life will be like with her home.  Our family gets more anxious as the days go by.  More often sentences start with, "When Gemma is here..."

I have told my trip details to many people in the past 2 weeks.  Their eyes usually get big, when I tell of the conditions of the children.  They get misty, when I tell of the bonding Gemma and I experienced.  And many eyes get inquisitive and ask about the adoption process.  I am hopeful of each of these responses.  May many seeds be sowed.


There are two children that I would like to plead for today.

UPDATE:  Emmitt has a family after 15 years of waiting!! You can follow his family's journey of adoptions at www.bakerbarrel.blogspot.com.
First we have Emmitt.  Emmitt only has 11 months before he is sentence to a mental institution for the remainder of his life!!!  His only need is that he can't walk.  He has spina bifida.


"Emmitt is a sweet boy.  He is living in one of the mental institutions, and has been for many years, yet he remains sweet, intelligent, and kind.  Two of our adopting families met him while they were there, and are pleading for a family to save him.
From one of our adoptive families:  ” Emmitt has a severe deformity of his legs.  He cannot walk at all.  He is very friendly, funny, and talkative. He desperately seeks out attention.  He was talking to my husband, and holding Zack’s hand, which he then put on top of his head for Zack to rub his hair.  He is extremely intelligent, and just precious!  I brought him paper and crayons, and he drew me a flower :)
We hope someone out there will see this sweet young man and know his kind and loving spirit.
Update 2012 from someone who knows him:   He is clever. He keeps some books and toys in his bed, and talks about his life to volunteers. I think he desperately needs parents and better life, if it is any hope for him."

A smart, promising, loving boy and no one has come for him because he is older and he can't walk! This just can't be the end for him!

Lovely Iris, is 12 year old girl.   She is living with HIV.  I first read about Iris on Amy's blog Tiny Green Elephants.  There are many additional pictures of Iris on Amy's blog, many of Iris playing with her dolls!  So precious.  She is a caring young girl that often is found tending to the younger children in her orphanage.  There is a missionary that has been visiting Iris's orphanage and she created the following video of Iris.




"Iris is a lovely young lady; she is described as curious and enthusiastic.
From someone who met Iris in 2012:  Iris is a sweet girl who loves attention and physical affection. She loves to be hugged and will play with your hair and sit in your lap. She is a big helper within her group, and is a good friend (more like a big sister) to many of the other kids in her group. She is very affectionate with those kids, and will play with them and try to pick them up. She has great play skills, and loves dolls. She also enjoys playing with balloons (hitting them back and forth to other people), and coloring with markers. I have been told she was not burnt, but that she has a birthmark. She is taking medication for her hiv. Her cognitive abilities and social awareness are not what you would expect from a child of her age, and I am not sure how much of this is due to orphanage delays."


Both of these children are living in an Eastern European country.  More info on the adoption process can be found at www.reecesrainbow.com.  But highlights of the program...
  • Married couples only
  • No parental age restrictions
  • No stated family size restrictions
  • Total with travel approx $25k
  • Both parents for 2 1/2 weeks to attend court
  • Both parents return home for 10 day wait
  • Only one must return to complete the adoption for approx 14 days
  • No history of mental health conditions or infectious diseases
  • No criminal history
  • May adopt multiple unrelated children
  • This is a very fast program! Start to finish is an average of 7 months. Families committing to children in this program, especially the children at risk of the institution, should be in a financial position to complete the adoption quickly. It is a blessing to be able to adopt so quickly, but leaves little time for major fundraising efforts.
CANADIAN FAMILIES WELCOME TOO!