This weekend our adoption consultant and 2 other wonderful ladies arrived in DRC to take supplies and love on some sweet children there. I'm in a private Facebook group where all the adoptive moms (and dads) stay connected and the adoption coordinators send us updates. Yesterday they went to some of the orphanages and posted the pictures on the private page. What I knew to be true suddenly became more of a reality to me. In this poverty and war-stricken land, little children sit and wait for someone to come for them. My heart literally hurt as I read the updates from these ladies. At one orphanage they went to they saw younger children being fed while older children sat and watched because there wasn't enough food for them. They gave the younger children the food first because they can't survive as well without food. She posted pictures of blankets on concrete floors, wooden bed frames (without mattress or sheets), and dirty floors. This was where they laid their heads at night. Many of them do not have beds at all. I kept scrolling through the photos and came across 2 very small, frail frames that were twin girls. They were laying on a blanket placed on a concrete floor. They are 8 months old but look more like newborns because of the malnutrition. I just began to sob. They don't know if these little girls will make it or not. They are very sick and their bodies are incredibly thin. My heart hurts so bad for these children. Many of them don't have clean water, more than 1 set of clothes, or even a blanket to lay their bodies on at night.
Here is a picture that I have been given permission to share. These are the kids eating at the orphanage. What you can't see are the older ones in the back who who are watching the younger ones eat while they can't. Thankfully, our adoption consultant gave the orphanage some money to buy the older ones food as well.
I'm convinced....adopting 2 little boys is not enough. I MUST DO MORE. The truth has now become a living reality to me as I have come face to face with the pictures of these people living thousands of miles away. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I looked through the pictures and read about the conditions of the orphanages. All I could do was sob. I felt so helpless. Why don't more people adopt!? Why don't more people want to give money to help these people?? This is where I'm flooded with emotions. I'm extremely saddened at the helpless state that these children live in and completely mad that more people don't do something to help! I'm angry that parents spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on toys that their children will just put in their "playroom" and never play with again while children in other parts of the world are dying because there isn't enough food for them to eat. It's not fair. In the midst of my emotional meltdown Justin reminded me that our world is in this state as a result of sin and no matter what I try to do I can't fix it all. It's out of my control. Thank you Mr. Voice of Reason. Justin always seems to have something to say when I'm ready to combat the entire world. At the end of the day I'm glad he's there to keep me under control. I know if he wasn't I would have probably said more things to people that I shouldn't, sold all of our stuff and moved to the DR Congo.
He's right. I can't fix the entire world. 147 million orphans is out of my control. But I can save 2. You can save 2. I wish I were allowed to post the pictures of these children and the devastating reality of where they live. I'm not so sure they really care about having toys or more than 1 set of clothes. They just want to be loved and cared for. Please pray about how you can get involved. Maybe it's not in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Maybe it's in Ethiopia, or China, or here. There are needs to be met and we turn a blind eye to them everyday. I can't do it any longer. I can't act like I don't know. It would be a sin to do so.
Have you thought about adoption? I know what you're thinking. Yes, I know it's expensive. By all means, I KNOW IT'S EXPENSIVE. You can't use that as an excuse. God WILL provide a way. He always does if it's part of His Plan. He isn't limited by the those things. I think about how much I've cried over these children and how much I hurt for them. God loves them so much more than I ever will or could. I wonder what He feels like. His love and tears run much deeper than mine ever could. He aches more than I ache. He longs for them to be cared for more than I long for them to be cared for. And guess what? He calls us, his church to do the caring for. We are plan A in His redemptive plan. He commands us to care for the orphans and widows and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves (James 1:27 and Proverbs 31:8-9). So what are we going to do? Continue to be comfortable or choose to make a change? I just pray that God will keep them alive and healthy until someone can come to them. Please, someone come to them.
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