Hosting a Child

I've been learning more recently about this really cool organization called Project 143, an orphan hosting program. It works, from what I can tell, like this - a family chooses an orphaned child from the photolisting (that also tells a little about the child), and then hosts that child in their home for 4-8 weeks over the winter or summer. The children from P143 are typically older kids (ages 8+), who have a much smaller chance of being adopted than a young child. I've been pouring over the photolisting and have fallen in love with so many of these sweet faces.

It may seem cruel to bring a child into a family for just a short time and then send them back to the orphanage. But it's actually such a blessing for these kids - if even for a few weeks to know the love of a family. And their chances of being adopted dramatically increases because of hosting. This doesn't mean that the host family adopts them (though I'm sure this happens) - but more that the host family can act as an advocate for the child in their community to find an adoptive home.

There is a cost (about $2750 for the hosting family, which is tax deductible) but many have referred to it as a "reverse mission trip" and an amazing opportunity to love an orphaned child.  To learn more, visit http://www.projectonefortythree.org.

The Lengths We Go

I've been told many times by many people how they couldn't imagine going through a long strict bed rest as we did when pregnant with Ezra. In total I was in bed, laying on my left side, and getting up only to shower (twice a week with a chair), go to the bathroom, and go to my doctor (and the hospital, twice when things got scary) - for four months.

The toughest time by far was the time I lost with Canaan. It's so crazy to think about the loss of that time, and the loss of time with our daughter. There is so much of her life I am missing right now. It's a big part of why his time without her is tough, feeling like I am loosing precious time with another of my children.* Every night when I rock Ezra to sleep, I think of her, willing her to know in that moment that I am rocking them both. I am holding him and holding her, and dreaming of the day that all of my children will be home, safe, and in our arms. 

Our time of bed rest was extremely tough, but now it seems like a very distant memory. And here we are with the funniest, wildest little man that we completely adore. And of course I'd do it all over in a second for him. And, even though so many say they couldn't do it, I know they all would. Because I know the lengths we all go for our children. 

And so we face this road with confidence in having, in a way, been here before. We know that one year from now we will have this amazing little girl in our family... and we know that we'd travel this road a hundred times over to find her. 

This song has been running through my mind all day...

"I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world
Just to find her

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world
Find out where they hide her"

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* I feel guilty explaining the difficulty of this process, because I know that our daughter is the one who has really lost the most. She has lost her first family, and she will lose her country, and current care givers. She will come to us with having suffered trauma from these losses - more any child should ever have to go through. 

You did WHAT?!!!!

I am trying to get ready for work this morning, but I can't. I'm so sick and sad thinking of this little girl (please watch the video!) and the MILLIONS like her. Without a family, what will happen to her?

She will be sent out soon, on her own. With nothing and no one.

You can only imagine what might happen next.

Prostitution to survive and drug addiction to cope, are the reality for so many little ones like her. 60% of orphaned girls who age out become prostitutes. And there is no way to track how many are trafficked, though the figures assumed are high (because it is a lucrative illegal business). She would be a perfect target for traffickers because... who will miss her?

And so many don't survive until their 18th birthday. Many will commit suicide. And the average lifespan of a child once they are trafficked is 2-7 years.

A family for this vulnerable girl - who has only a short time before she ages out - would truly mean her life being saved.



Sorry for the heavy post and the title to trick you into reading it. But my heart is heavy with the reality of these children and their desperate need for someone to care.


"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes..."

- David Platt, Radical

DTC

Trumpets are blasting, birds are singing and squirrels dancing in the street to "Oh Happy Day". Okay, maybe not. But it feels that way because we. are. DTC!!! 

DTC means, "Dossier to China", which is a HUGE milestone in our adoption and one BIG step closer to our baby girl. Now we wait to be "Logged In", which means we are officially in China's system... and then we wait to be matched!

(Actual date today is 9/13 - Friday the 13th) :)

Today I'm in Chicago with a group of girlfriends and was so excited to get the call we've been waiting for! 

Indy!

It's been over a week now that we finally got that LAST piece of paper needed to complete our dossier for China. That paper, the "I-797" is our approval from the US government to adopt from China. And just about 20 minutes after my last blog post, it arrived. :)

I saw our mailman drive by (from my perch), and RAN downstairs and out the front door. The boys were being watched by our friend Amy (as I worked from home that day). I found the boys in the driveway and we walked together, hand-in-hand down our long driveway to the mailbox. I wasn't expecting to find this sweet moment with my boys at the end of this wait, but there it was. And I soaked up. :)

About 15 minutes later I was on the road to Indianapolis to have the 797 notarized, copied, certified by the Secretary of State, and then sent off via UPS to be authenticated by the Consulate in Chicago. After 35 minutes of circling the block looking for parking spot, and then going to the wrong building (twice), I finally got everything done that I needed to. It was a HOT day, and my feet were killing me (why oh why did I wear flip flops), but I just kept singing a made up tune, "I'll do anything for you my baby girl. Anything to find you my baby girl.". :)

I read this today and it made me smile - imaging our world -- and hers -- one year from now. :)