A little boy who has a family

This is Andriy.

Andriy is blind. However, he does not need a family. His family, the Burlinghams, are planning to go and bring him home soon. But Andriy's needs didn't end when he found a family, as great as that is. Andriy's mom and dad, like most of us, didn't have $25,000 or more in the bank account when they committed to adopting their son. Andriy's family needs a lot of money so that they can go get their boy.

Maybe you aren't called to adopt or advocate. But if you are reading this, you are reading because you care about these kids who don't have families. So I challenge you to examine if perhaps you are called to give something--anything--to help Andriy come home. Twenty dollars. Ten. Five. No commitment; no monthly donation; no guilt-inducing letters later pleading for more. Andriy's mom helped me decide I wanted to commit to my daughter M. If you've been reading hoping to donate to me, don't. Just give it to Andriy. He needs it more. M. is getting home. There really is a chance Andriy won't. Unless my situation changes drastically, I will never be on here begging you to donate to M.'s adoption fund. But I am asking you today to send what you can to Andriy's family.

They have a giveaway too. And pie.


If you do want to adopt a little one who is blind yourself... this is Jeanne:


Jeanne has a birth defect of her eyes. She is definitely vision impaired; right now RR does not know what the nature of her disability is or how much vision (if any) she has. More information could be obtained if a family had a complete homestudy. Jeanne is 5 and has a $3000 grant. She lives in Russia.

Older kids need families too

Jack is 11.
He still needs and wants a family. The fact that he wants a family could make a huge difference in how he adjusts to a new family. It's not "easy" to adopt an 11-year-old, but lots of these kids grow up dreaming of families... families that will never come.

Here's what Jack asked one visitor to his orphanage:

"Do you know anyone who would like to take a boy like me. I would really like for a visitor at least, because I am all alone and I have no one."

All his life he has watched mommies and daddies come... for younger children. Crying, he asked one adoptive family:

"What do I need to do for a Mom to come? Do you know where she is? Is she looking for me?"

Are you looking to adopt an older child? This boy needs you. HIV is a very manageable need (comment if you want to know more). He IS NOT likely to die young or pass the infection to other family members.

Malnourishment

This is Sasha:


He is 7 years old. Seven! His profile says 6, so the picture may be a little older, but this little boy is badly malnourished. He needs a family to save his life. You shouldn't adopt a child just to save a life. You have to want that little boy or girl to be part of your family. But sometimes, these kids do need their lives saved. Sasha might just be strong enough to hang on another year, maybe even another decade in whatever institution he's in. But sooner or later he will die alone and hungry and bedbound. Love won't take away Down Syndrome, or cerebral palsy, or autism (at least not on its own, and maybe at all). Love can't erase all the effects of seven years of institutionalization. Love will never make Sasha's first 7 years go away. But only love can save his life.

A short trip and some pocket change

I have apparently already used "Another sweet little boy" and "A little boy who needs a family".... suggestions for future posts?


This is "Chandler." God planned his birth from the very foundations of the Universe. He loved Chandler so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross so that this little boy could know God's grace and eternal life in heaven. Think about what Jesus did for Chandler--and for you. Almost makes 2 trips to Eastern Europe and twenty-five thousand dollars seem inconsequential. Almost.

But if God is for it, who could stand against it?

Look beyond the picture

Look beyond this picture.

He has crossed eyes. Probably that will need correction.

He has Down Syndrome.

He isn't smiling.

But...
Dmitry is a five-year-old boy who desperately needs a loving family. He needs someone like you--not a perfect mom (or dad), but ANY mom or dad. He needs a chance. Could you give him that?

Because I guarantee you, whatever little you could give him here, he's not getting there.

Sweet girl in a Minnie Mouse shirt

Brittany is 6 years old. She is able to walk and speak at least some, but she is quite delayed due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. My daughter Hannah has the same shirt she is wearing (and loves it). A family would make a huge difference to Brittany. Are you that family?

Two kids you won't see on Reece's Rainbow (and one you will)

This little girl, Anja, is actually 3. Her picture is clearly out of date.



Her records list enuresis and vesicoureteral reflux (I don't know much about this condition--it can require surgery but she might have outgrown it by now). She is also expected to need corrective lenses.

And this is Pyotr:

Pyotr will turn 2 in December. He is lactose intolerant and has a posterior tongue tie which was repaired but then grew back--the condition should not require medical treatment. He exhibits some pica (eating non-food objects). The records say Pyotr has some words but is hard to understand. He is not toilet trained.

Here's another picture:

Anja and Pyotr are actually siblings. And they don't look miserable or asleep all the time.


They can walk. They can play creatively.


And they are actually brilliant. Pyotr has a vocabulary of over 20 words. So what if he's hard to understand? So what if he's not potty trained? So what if he eats dirt? He's not even two yet.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Anja and Pyotr are my biological kids, Hannah and Peter. Everything I wrote about them is true (Hannah has outgrown her vesicoureteral reflux). Enuresis--bedwetting--is common up until kindergarten at least. Posterior tongue tie is pretty much irrelevant once the child is no longer nursing--well, maybe it would affect French kissing, but not a big deal. Lactose intolerance is an issue, but not as big of an issue as I might have thought.

The fact that I can make my fairly typical kids (who, of course, are brilliant and a joy) sound like risky, medically needy kids can tell you a few things. It tells you that some diagnoses aren't as scary as they sound. It tells you that a bad picture can make a big difference in how you perceive a child. If the first picture you saw was 1 1/2 year old Pyotr playing ring-around-the-rosies, or 3-year-old Anja tracing the alphabet, you would have had a totally different impression of them. I see the first picture of my daughter and I know that's Hannah when she's unhappy; you might look at it and assume Hannah is an unhappy girl. I look at the picture of Peter and remember him falling asleep in the playpen when I gave him a timeout; you might think he lives in that playpen and his legs are stuck in that position.

Now, you also might realize that having children by birth can give you something you didn't expect too. I never would have chosen a child with lactose intolerance. Can you believe that? I would not have picked my own son. That's painful to think about. But now that I understand it (and am dealing with it anyway) it's a non-issue to me.

I've been wanting to do this post for a while but hadn't found time to do it; I hope it helps bring home what a picture and a description of a child's challenges (rather than strengths) can't tell you.

One more picture.

This is Amie. She has Down Syndrome.
She doesn't look very happy. Maybe she doesn't have a reason to be very happy--or maybe this picture doesn't show how happy she is. There isn't any medical information about Amie. If a family adopted her they could end up with just about anything.

And they would end up with a daughter.