Tags
Adoption, advocacy, Awareness, Church, crisis, Jesus, Orphan Care, orphanages, orphans, redemption, Ukraine
A couple of days ago I began putting out some of the questions I believe is common among Christians when they come upon the issue of the plight of the orphan (https://generationalvoice.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/why-ill-give-you-147-million-reasons-why/).
Why should I adopt?
Why should I become a foster parent?
Why should I spend $40,000+ on adopting a child overseas?
Why should I get involved with the plight of the orphan? Why is it my problem?
Why _____? (you fill in the blank)
This was my answer to that in it’s simplest form: Because if not you, who? The Humanism movement? The World? Darkness? the Enemy?
Because if you don’t do something, they will.
Because Jesus paid the ransom (His life) to rescue you.
Because if you don’t answer the call and step in, then the Enemy will.
147 million orphans. That right there is 147 million reasons why you should do something.
There are children in Russia and Eastern Europe who right now lie in their cribs literally wasting away. They get no nurture, no love, no stimulation. Some children are constantly drugged to keep them asleep- sleeping the days away. Some of the children result to banging their heads on their cribs, knawing at their cribs, biting their hands just to self-soothe and get some kind of stimulation. They deteriorate each day. Statistics show that kids who are transferred to the institution (or mental asylum) do not live past the age of 5. There are other orphanages out there where it’s completely silent….eerily silent. Do you know why it’s quiet? Not because they are enjoying some sleep, but because these children have learned that no matter how much they cry, NO ONE will come to their rescue. No one to come them. No one to love them. No one to hold them.
This. Is. Reality. This is their reality. This is all they have known as life.
I want you to see pictures of this reality. All these pictures and their description is from nogreaterjoymom.blogspot.com (to see the full blog post that these pictures/descriptions came from go here: http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/power-of-one.html)
This can NO longer be considered “not our problem” anymore!
Here are just 9 reasons for you to get involved.
Beautiful Knesia. Transferred to an institution and no longer even looking like the same child. A horrific transformation. Desperately needing someone to come and rescue her as soon as possible.
Ekatrina–Once a gorgeous, healthy baby who has Down syndrome. Now–nothing but skin and bones. Neglected,malnourished, and living in the confines of a crib 24/7.
six-year-old Jeannette–living in a mental asylum and hidden away in a CRIB with no hope at all. Forever!
Melissa-once a blonde-haired beauty with a great curiosity. Now with a shaved head and is confined to a crib for the rest of her life.
Nathan– Neglected, malnourished, and deteriorating more with each passing day and is forced to remain bedridden.
sweet little Nicky–once a handsome little chubby-faced baby. Now–transferred and not a single person has ever inquired about adopting him. So sad!
darling Sasha. Nearly eight years old and literally hanging on by a thread! he rocks, bangs his head, and bites on his hands to self-soothe! Oh, but how that would all change if only he was given a chance…to live! Trust me on this one thing…I just have to look at my sweet daughter to know it to be truth.
Oh my goodness gracious! There just are no words to describe beautiful Alexander (and she is a girl). Almost ten years old–with no light in her eyes. Bruises, dark circles, nothing but skin and bone. Who will love her?
And gorgeous little Ivan. Also living in an institution–bedridden and wasting away daily. How he would blossom and grow in a family!
Can we really look at these faces and still say that it’s “not my problem”. It is our problem. 147 Million orphans. We cannot afford to silence our ears any longer to the cry of the orphan. The Church has walked around far to long with their fingers in their ears saying “la la la la I don’t want to hear the sound” (as Misty Edwards says in one of her songs…though the song isn’t about orphans, it applies here to).
These kids are crying for one thing. Not the most expensive car. Not to go to the nicest restaurant. Not for toys. Not for a nice house. Not for money. They are crying out for one thing…
A family.
Friends, we must stop saying this is for someone else- and even praying that God would raise up someone else. Am I saying we shouldn’t be praying for God to raise people/families up to take up the cause of the orphan? NO! But we can’t use that as excuse and be waiting for someone else to stand up because quite frankly that “someone else” you’ve been waiting on is YOU….For alot of you, it’s you. And as you’ve been praying for God to raise someone else up, God has been trying to raise you up. He does that alot of times. :)
But we can’t afford to do nothing any longer. These children cannot afford you to do nothing anymore. This is real. This is their reality.
They need YOU. It takes only one.The Church must wake up.
Think about this.
Right now, this moment your reading this, children are lying in cribs. They have been there all day. Some lying in their own filth. They haven’t been loved on. Some not even held- no mother to nestle against. No one has talked to them. No one sings to them. They haven’t been rocked probably their entire life. All day today they have stared up at the white, blank ceiling. Others have been drugged throughout the day to make sure they keep on sleeping. Their mental capacities are diminishing. Physically, theyare growing weaker. The motoric ability they may have once had is deteriorating quickly. For others, they have stopped crying. They are hungry, but they don’t cry out for nourishment. They just wait until they are brought the broth they are to eat or whatever that particular orphanage gives them (poor diets). They long to be held- to nestle their head against a mother’s chest and feel her warmth, hear her heartbeat. But they don’t cry out or reach out to be held. Some have a dirty diaper- they have been lying in their filth all day. But they don’t cry to be cleaned. They just wait. They don’t cry. They use to cry I’m sure. Day after day they would cry, but quickly they discovered that when they cried, no one responded. No one came to their rescue. So, they just stopped- no one apparently could hear them.
Please Friends. Like Paul says many of times in the New Testament, “I plead with you”. Hear their cry. Hear the cry of the Father’s heart for these orphans. 147 Million children. 147 Million of God’s favorites. 147 Million children who are the Dream of God’s heart. Honestly, my goal tonight is not to intellectually persuade you. It’s not just to simply make you aware with just a glimpse of what many many children are enduring right now and the life that they know. I hope that through Holy Spirit “the eyes are of your hearts [are] enlightened” to the plight of the orphan- to the Father’s heart for the orphan. That we, as the Body of Christ, would be carriers of the DNA of God’s heart concerning this plight. That our hearts would be gripped. That not only would you become aware but you would be provoked to action and your heart would scream “What can I do?”. Becoming aware is the first step but don’t stop there. What does that really profit these children, yourself, and even more the Kingdom. Let your awareness compel you to action. In the revelation of what Jesus has done for us (in giving up His life as a ransom to rescue), Love compels us to what’s on the Father’s heart- which are these Orphans.
All of Heaven is looking to us. God is looking to us. God is calling out to us to answer the cry of the orphan. To take up the cause of the fatherless (Is 1:17). To care and look after orphans (James 1:27).
What will we do with all that has been given to us? These children are entrusted to us as the Body of Christ, as the Bride of Christ.
If we don’t get to these children first (internationally as well as locally), the Enemy (and the World) will.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me: jomaheli21@hotmail.com ( put on the subject line: Orphan Crisis). I will try to answer you as best I can