Our first OH banquet.....a huge success!!

I am so thrilled to announce that our very first kick off fund raiser was a huge success!! I have many pictures coming from the event from our photographer but in the mean time I am borrowing my sister's pics that she took.

We held the event at the amazing, historic, Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. There was a silent auction before the event with 50 different items. The event opened with Stacy Case, news anchor/reporter for Fox News, talking about the story she did on Ordinary Hero for the news this past year and what it meant to her. She was awesome! I then spoke and shared the heart of Ordinary Hero and how it started. There were then 3 Ordinary Heroes that came up and told a 5 minute version of their story. We had one on international adoption in which we helped connect a child from Ethiopia to his family here in the United States. There was another family which spoke about being a foster parent to a child we connected them with. There was also a story from an outreach volunteer who shared what reaching out to help meant to their family. After they spoke, we followed that with this video that I put together which captures the heart of what we are doing. We then had our chairs of the event come and ask for people to prayerfully consider giving to our organization. That was followed by Tyrus Morgan, an awesome artist who also has adopted from Ethiopia, who came up and sang 3 songs for us all to end the night.

So there you go. You now have a feel for what the night entailed. "But I never received an email or notice about it." you say. Well, there is a reason for that. I have such an awesome event committee that by the time they got done selling tables for the event.....we were sold out! That is a good problem to have but we realize we will need to go to a bigger venue next year.

I am just amazed! I am amazed at God, who brought such amazing people on board with this event. And I am amazed with how smooth everything went for our first kick off fundraiser for Ordinary Hero. I feel more and more people are catching the vision to help children who need them to be an Ordinary Hero. By the end of the night, especially after the video, people were moved to action. I feel God has some amazing things in store for our organization and we will continue to change as many lives as we can.

You may watch the video below but you will have to silence the music at the bottom of the blog or you can CLICK HERE, to go directly to the link to watch. I wanted to show what we are all about and what our mission is through this video.

Also, if you are saying "Oh, poop! I would have loved to have gone to that banquet." and you still would like to make a donation and sew into the foundation of our organization please click on the donate button on the right side of this blog to make a donation. We are headed to Africa in July which will take a LOT of money to get us there as well as the clothes and donations that we would like to supply the children. We are also excited about working directly with waiting children once we get there and plan to find these children their families. We then plan on planting a financial seed into the adoption of those special children with whom we connect. Lots of great things going on and we welcome you to be a part of it through your giving. Thank you, as always.

Now enjoy the video. (silence the music at bottom of the page first)

Local opportunity to help in Nashville

Ordinary Hero has been asked to find volunteers to serve in the play room that Bright Spaces donated to the Nashville Rescue Mission's shelter for women and children. They have an anticipated move in date of the updated facility on the 1st of May. At that time they will need volunteers to help oversee the children in the play room from 8:30-11:30 and then again from 1-3:00, 7 days a week. There are computers for the older children and toys and books for the younger children. This is a great way to reach out as an encouragement, happy face, and light to these children residing at the mission. You can help bring hope to those who need it most.

If you would like to volunteer or if you have friends, co workers, and you would like to come together as a group then please go to the site listed below to sign up as a volunteer. You can list Ordinary Hero as the group name. A volunteer application must be filled out for each person. You will then be contacted. If you have any questions you can contact Mary Crutcher, the director of the women's mission, directly at 312-1571. Also, please reply to this post at info@ordinaryhero.org if you plan to volunteer so we can keep track of you in our data base and get you on the schedule. Let us know which days and times you would be interested in. You can choose any day and any time frame you like.

http://www.nashvillerescuemission.org/page.asp?SID=1&Page=32


Also, items needed for the new updated facility (which is awesome...I took a tour!!) are twin flat sheets and pillow cases, plastic pillow covers,new twin mattresses that have a plastic cover.

Also, pictures and art for the walls. If you are a local artist that would like to donate your work to be hung in the mission, contact us. Also, plants are needed.

One last thing, if you know of any day camps that would host these children in the summer please contact us. They desperately need things to keep them busy during the summer.

Thank you for volunteering and helping to change the world for one. You never know what a difference you can make in a child's life by the simple gesture of spending time with them and giving them the encouragement they need. This can be that "something" when we say to ourselves, "I just want to do something to help, but I don't know what to do."

Blessings,
Kelly

Heaven rejoices today

My friend, Lane Ann, has gone to be with Jesus. Please continue to pray for her family. She was such a true example of Christ on this earth.

http://laneannmiller.blogspot.com

Hit Your Knees For My Friend

I first have to give a little praise for the Ordinary Hero family. It is so great to see, when a need goes out, that all of us Ordinary people join together to help make a difference. There are children finding their forever families, there are children getting help in difficult situations, there are people rising up to help needy families. This is what it is all about.

There were around 10 people who stepped up to help donate items to baby Tiffany, whom I posted about in a previous post. Thank you, thank you to all of you who stepped up to help.

Now, I must ask for your prayers for a friend who has literally caused me to stop and evaluate everything that is important in life. Her name is Lane Ann and she shines with the courage and strength of Christ as she fights for her life. I met her a couple of years ago in my hometown. She is a bible teacher at a Christian school.Her faith has inspired and brought many teens to God. She is around my age or so and she is also the sister in law to one of my adoption friends whom I've grown to love in my community. She called me and had me come in to share my testimony in an assembly to speak to all the highschool students in her school. Her faith radiated then and it is her true hope now. She has always lived her life to the fullest and never had any problems. Last year, she had some pains that she went to the Dr about. They discovered cancer that had already spread to a stage 4. As this completely shocked and rocked their world they have remained such true examples of Christ through their painful walk. Her husband is in the ministry and she and he together started a blog and have been so real and so candid and so transparent to show everyone truly where their strength comes from as they paint a picture of their lives through this struggle.

This blog needs to be read by everyone. We all feel we have problems at times and we all need to be reminded that God is with us through our storms even when we feel we don't see HIM. It has reminded me that our problems in life don't compare with life itself......and after life... there is God and that's it. He is the one with us now and waits for us then to live free of problems and pain.

Please pray for the Miller family as Lane Ann is said to be growing weaker. Pray for her, her husband, and their children. May God wrap his arms around them during this time. And may their faith continue to inspire and draw others closer to God as their blog radiates God's strength in them through such an unthinkable time.

One thing we can all do is pray....it is what get's them through this.

Get your tissues and visit their blog to get an idea of how to pray and be reminded of where all our strength comes from. Go back to their older posts as well. The picture her husband paints and his perspective of God as his heart is being ripped out is just awe inspiring. You will be changed.

www.laneannmiller.blogspot.com

Good news

The 7 mo old boy I posted about has a new family. Birthmom chose a family for him and is in the process of meeting them...Yay!

Also, we sent out a Speak Up about a sibling group in Ethiopia whose father was dead and their mother had recently been murdered. They were a boy age 3, a girl age 2 and another girl age 1. They were in desperate need of a family and they now have gotten 5 inquiries. Yay again!!

We will be sending out a Speak up soon about a little girl. I am still waiting on her age and medical prognosis but she is beautiful and very fragile. She is extremely malnourished and needs a family. She is little bitty....can't be older than two.

I am working with a director of an agency who goes into extreme poverty stricken areas in Ethiopia and finds these children. She travels once a month, herself, and finds these children in very run down orphanages. We will be meeting up with her on our Ethiopia trip in July and personally meeting these children and advocating for them. They are all in great need. I can't wait to get my hands on them and share their personalities and their needs with all of you. I am confident that children will get adopted through our efforts of traveling to Ethiopia and connecting with them and making the orphan cry very loud and real.

Stay tuned for the upcoming Speak up email. If you are not on our list yet, you can contact info@ordinaryhero.org and just say "Add me to Speak Up" .

Blessings :)

A local Nashville Opportunity to help a young mom

I just received this from my friend, Kristi. They are pastors of an inner city church in Nashville. Their family moved to east Nashville in order to serve the people within the inner city of Nashville.

She is requesting items for a young mother who recently gave birth to a preemie.

See her email.....

Kelly,
Here's the info on the young woman, Jasmine, I was telling you about.
If you need any more information, let me know. We, through our
non-profit The Greenwood Experience, along with The Edge East, have
worked with this family since 2007.

Jasmine is roughly 19 years old. She has given birth to a 24 week
premature baby. The baby's name is Tiffany. Jasmine has
consistently held a job and is a high school graduate. She's lived on
her own since graduation, handles independence fairly well. She has
always had a means to provide for herself though she probably does get
some public assistance.

Baby Tiffany should be able to come home very soon as she now weighs
4lbs. The Grandmother is hosting a baby shower April 17th at 4 pm.
We are hoping to gather some gently used/new items to help give this
baby and her mom a great start!


Thanks Kelly!
Kristy

If you would like to donate any baby items to little baby Tiffany and this young mother please contact
Kristi Spring via email at kpsalm139@aol.com to let her know what you would like to donate.

Also let her know that you saw this on the OH site.

Thanks to all of you Ordinary Heroes for giving so generously to those who need your help.

Changes for Ethiopia adoptions

I was made aware of this info regarding Ethiopia adoptions. This is all from
Parents For Ethical Adoption Reform blog

You will see below the mention of all adoptive parents now having to be at their child's court date which will more than likely require a second trip to Ethiopia in order to bring your child home.

Also, there is mention of several orphanages that have been shut down after investigation. I am looking into whether my son's orphanage is one of them. It has the same name....hmmm??

Keep in mind that all of these changes are to better protect the children in Ethiopia that are getting adopted.


Ethiopia
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues

---

Adoption Processing at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa

April 13, 2010

The Federal First Instance Court of Ethiopia has announced that as of May 9, 2010, adoptive parents must appear at the federal court hearing for their adoptive child in order for the adoption to be approved. This new requirement will affect all pending and new adoption cases that have not yet been presented to the court. If there are two adoptive parents but only one parent can attend the hearing, the attending parent must have a power of attorney from the other. However, please note that if only one parent meets the adoptive child before the court date, the child will qualify for an IR-4, not an IR-3 visa (which means that the child will not become a U.S. citizen upon entry to the United States).


In addition, the Government of Ethiopia recently announced that they have revoked the licenses of nine orphanages in different regions of the country. Those orphanages are:

• Adera child orphanage
• Agar Lewegen orphanage
• Almaz orphanage
• Biruh Zemen orphanage
• Bitania orphanage
• Help for the Needy orphanage
• Holy Savior orphanage
• Kunket orphanage
• Tsega orphanage

The Government has informed the Embassy that all children in those orphanages have been moved to accredited orphanages, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has stated that those children should still be available to be matched for international adoption. Prospective adoptive parents should contact their agency or the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) if they wish to confirm that the child with whom they were already matched is still available for adoption. When contacting MOWA, be sure to include the name of the child, the orphanage name and the adoption agency’s name.


Adoptive parents should be aware that in all adoption visa cases worldwide, an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ethiopia until they have confirmed with their adoption agency that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed. Adoptive parents should be aware that at any point that a consular officer encounters information that indicates that a child’s history may be different than documented, the consular officer is obligated to investigate the case further until it can be confirmed that the child meets the definition of “orphan” under U.S. immigration law.


The Embassy's Adoptions Unit can be reached at adoptionsaddis@state.gov.


Please continue to monitor http://adoption.state.gov/ for updated information as it becomes available.

http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html

Update on baby girl and new 7mo old AA baby boy available

BABY GIRL
I know many have prayed for the newborn baby girl i posted about that was up for adoption. Amazingly that birth mom went from having no files to look at, to several files to look at, to choose a family for her daughter. She was taking the first few days to look over profiles when baby became ill. She had some mild complications that were then resolved. But the end result for that baby girl is that the mother decided to keep her and take her home. This is always the risk with domestic adoptions. It is always heartbreaking for the family involved trying to adopt the child but we can never judge until we have put ourselves in the shoes of a mother who just saw part of her own flesh and blood come into this world and then be faced with the brave choice to hand that child over. I am very grateful that there was not a family that had been involved in this adoption from the beginning. I think this is the way it should be. I think that adoptive families should always be notified for the first time after the child is born for the simple fact that the mother might always change her mind and it is less heartbreaking to be involved for a few days and it go south than to be involved for 9 months. But, that is ideal. There are many adoptions that do work out from the beginning but there are those that don't and it is very heartbreaking for the adoptive family. I have seen it many times.
BUT.....that child was prayed over more than she would have ever been because of all of you.....and the end result was that she went home with her young mother. So we must rest in the fact that that was God's will and then we must continue to pray for her and the life she will live with her biological mother. My guess is that the mother bonded with the child when the child became ill. I pray they have a beautiful life together. And God's hand is still on those whose profiles the mother was looking at. He still has a beautiful child waiting for them in His timing.

NOW....THERE IS ANOTHER BABY AVAILABLE

The director of this same agency contacted me about a 7 month old African American baby boy that is available now.
The birthmom prefers an African American or Interracial couple but will consider a Caucasion couple with AA children.
There was no alcohol or drug use during the pregnancy, however, the birth mother suffers from depression and there is a birth grandfather and uncle who are bi polar. The mother needs no financial help. The estimated cost of this adoption is $20-23,000.
The director only wants to see homestudy ready couples and those with profile/dear birthmother letter.
If you are a full Caucasian couple with no African American children then you would not qualify. If you do not have your homestudy ready then you would not qualify.

If you think you might be a great fit for this baby boy then contact
Jane Bareman
Executive Director
Adoption Associates, Inc
baremj@adoptassoc.com
616.667.0677
www.adoptionassociates.net

Now let's pray that this baby boy is guided into the arms of his new forever family.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I am following up from yesterday's post.......

Birthmom had a beautiful baby girl today and thanks to all of you AMAZING ORDINARY HEROES and adoption advocates and prayer warriors, birthmom went from having not one file to look at, to 3 files for potential adoptive parents, in a 24 hour period of time!! I am just amazed.....and the emails keep coming as well with other potential matches.

This is how it works people. This is how we all come together to SPEAK UP for those who can't speak for themselves. A simple email forward or click on the blog can mean life and a family to a little one who has no hope. There is just a simple gap in communication and getting the word out to the right people and we are trying to fill that gap through our SPEAK UP campaign. SO WATCH OUT!! YOUR INBOX COULD HAVE SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL WAITING FOR YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW :-)

If you would like to sign up for SPEAK UP, to receive email notices about waiting children looking for their forever home please email info@ordinaryhero.org and mention SPEAK UP!!

Many thanks to all of you who passed on this info. I look at the picture above and just think of the life that God has chosen for this precious baby, and how exciting it is that He uses all of us to help connect the dots.

If you are one of the families on the list for this little one then please email me and let me know how the email, phone call, or blog post got to you.

The most rewarding part of being an adoption advocate is seeing it work right before your eyes.

Blessings to you all!!

African American or Interracial family needed for adoption of newborn

Some of you may remember one of my previous posts about adoption of full African American babies and the great need for adoptive families.

WELL HERE IS A GREAT NEED......

I was contacted by Adoption Associates in Michigan with an urgent request. There is an African American birthmom who is scheduled to have a C section TOMORROW. She requests a full African American family or Interracial couple for her baby and there is still not one file to show her as far as an adoptive family that would like to adopt her baby. I can't imagine that, first of all, she chose life for her baby, and now wants a better life than what she can provide, and there is not one file to show her. So I am putting the word out. Yes, there is a cost involved and if you have ever decided to adopt internationally or domestically then you know of the costs of adoptions. I will tell you up front that the cost of this adoption will be somewhere between 16-20K. But for those of you in the adoption world, you know that it is part of it. We are in the works here at OH to start an adoption grant fund to help those of you called to adopt and this would be a perfect situation.....but we have to get money in the account first :) We are working on that and have our first fund raiser on April 29th which is already sold out...whoo hoo!! If you would like to donate toward our Adoption Grant Program and help us get it built up then click on the donate button at the top right of this blog. Put "adoption grant" in the memo and we will put it where it needs to go to get us one more step closer to helping those who help these little ones.

So until then, I would encourage any of you interested in this sweet baby who needs a home TOMORROW, or knows someone who might be, to spread the word or contact
Jane Bareman, Executive Director of Adoption Associates at
baremj@adoptassoc.com or call her at 616.667.0677 for more info.

The sex of the baby is unknown.

Thank you to all of you amazing people in the adoption world!

New T shirts Are In!!

Our new tshirts are in!! I LOVE THEM!! They are just what I wanted......so soft. They are made by Alternative Apparel and are their vintage soft brand. They are white and say CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE in gray. Our red OH logo is on the back as a tag print like our first shirt. These shirts really get the message across. They are the vintage soft sheer so you see me wearing the one pictured above with a white tank underneath. This shirt comes in different sizes and has a great fit. Not too tight. You see me pictured above and below wearing a medium which doesn't hug me too tight at all. I could have gotten away with a small too, I believe.

Click the "white shirt" link to the right on my side bar to order your CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE white shirt today. Also don't forget our original gray shirts as well, which include men's sizes. If you have any questions regarding the shirts, email Charlene at
charleneordinaryhero@comcast.net

Ethiopia trip 2010

I am excited to announce our Ethiopia mission trip, July 15-24, 2010. We will be serving the orphan and the street children in Addis Ababa and outside the city in the countryside. I am sending info out to those interested in more details of the trip. Email me at kelly@ordinaryhero.org if you are interested in receiving more info on the trip.

You can click here to watch a quick video that will allow you to take a glimpse of what our trip will look like. Or you can watch below. (You might want to silence the music at the bottom.)

Siblings Needing A HOME.....PLEASE READ

(Pictures have been blurred according to agency recommendation.)

Here I am.....putting a giant call out to those of you who are wanting and willing to lay down your lives for others and drastically change your life for the better as you step up to the call of adoption in a way that very few do at once. I have been asked by the agency director of Celebrate Children International to help advocate for these two groups of precious waiting siblings.

I know there are families out there that have been called to adopt sibling groups and I know that God will lead two of those families to these precious children. If you have been praying about adopting a sibling group don't automatically assume that these kids are probably for two other families and not yours just because the time is not right or finances aren't necessarily great, or you are just not ready yet. Because let me tell you from experience and from talking with just about every other person whom has adopted.....you always have to step out in faith, the time is mostly never perfect, and you will almost never have the money :-) That is what stepping out in faith is all about. But the most amazing thing of all is watching God in action. Suddenly when you have enough faith to say "Yes, we have room" you watch God's provision start to take place. He meets all your needs.

Here is a brief description of these sibling groups.....please read!!

This sweet sibling set of 4 girls have been relinquished by their HIV positive mother because she has so many children and with her diagnosis of HIV, she knows that eventually they will loose her. Their father has died and she has no family to help care for her children. She has relinquished them for good, hoping that they will have a good future. The youngest girl is HIV positive.

This sibling set of 5 (girl, boy, boy, girl, boy) has a sad history. They were sent to the orphanage by the government for their protection and welfare. Their mother is HIV positive (she may have died now) and the oldest girl is HIV positive. While we hope that they can find a family together, it is possible to adopt the second and third oldest boys together or the oldest girl and the youngest girl and baby boy together as their paperwork has been processed as such.

So here is the next question......How many completely lost interest as soon as they heard that one child in each group is HIV+ ??
We all need to get educated on HIV and realize that with the proper treatment and meds, these days, children can live a very healthy and normal life. There is an organization called Project Hopeful run by my friend, Carolyn Twietmeyer, who can not only educate you but offer support, grants, and all kinds of help when adopting an HIV+ child. Please click on her site and contact her with any questions regarding children and HIV. They have adopted over 10 children, several with HIV. This is their mission to help others realize that these children will lose their lives if they don't have our help, because our help means that they get love and proper treatment, which means they get their life back. You talk about saving the orphan......you are not only giving that child a family....but you are giving that child HOPE.

Also, please visit my friend, Tracy's blog. They are using Celebrate Children and are in Ethiopia right now with their new sibling group of 4 to add to her family of 5. So yes, she will now have 7 children. Her stories of these sweet siblings and how grateful they are to finally have a Mom and a Dad are sooooo heartwarming. If you are considering this, then this blog will encourage you....and if you aren't considering this, then you might be after you read her stories.

Siblings in Ethiopia are very close to one another. How sad for the others to have to watch the fate of one sibling suffer from a disease that could be so easily helped. These kids are precious and they shouldn't be automatically discounted because there are so many of them or because one in the group is HIV+. I have 3 sisters and I can't imagine if we were orphaned that we wouldn't be considered because there are so many of us or because one of us might be sick. I totally relate to those 4 sisters pictured above.....I just can't imagine what they have to deal with, but thank God they have each other. These are children that need a home, love, and desperately need us to come in and be the hands and feet of Jesus. God has laid these kids on someone's heart. Is it you??

If you have any questions for me, you can contact me at kelly@ordinaryhero.org.


To inquire about these children please contact

Sue Hedberg sue@celebratechildren.org
or contact Celebrate Children, International at (407) 977-2810.

God Bless as we all walk together to do HIS will.

Be Sure To Check Out TRS

Be sure to check out the blog at The Raining Season. The team is about to travel home. Don't forget that this is the group that I traveled with to Sierra Leone last September. They are just doing some amazing things to help these orphans. They have had some amazing experiences and God has opened their eyes and led them to many children. This boy's story is just heartbreaking. You can read it here. He and many, many children residing at the Covering still need sponsorship. Pray about what you can do to help one of these little ones in need.
Thanks so much!!

Update from the Team in Sierra Leone

If you kept up with our wild trip last year to Sierra Leone you might recognize some of these children in these pictures. Erica's husband and a team are back in Sierra Leone right now. As you may remember we worked very hard to fight for all of the injustice to the children that we encountered on that trip. If you missed those posts you can click here to get caught up from that trip last September. There were several children that did get moved out and taken to another orphanage. They stopped in yesterday to check on those children which you will see pictured here. The conditions of this particular orphanage is still very poor. It was a blessing to have the children moved but they are still in a lot of need as you will see that all of the orphanages in SL are overcrowded and operate on very little money. I heard that several of the children's families have been located and they are working to get them reunited with them. Our team will follow up with them as well. It was a very humbling day for the team to go in and see the children in these conditions, especially after they had just left the children in the new center that the Raining Season has set up. They were all doing fabulous and even greeted the team with a song. You can read all about the trip that is currently taking place in Sierra Leone by clicking here and going to their blog.

It is so great to see some of these familiar little faces.

A neat surprise from the troops

I wanted to share this email I received from Amy regarding a package she received from Jerry and his fellow troops from the Middle East. Amy and her family took time over Thanksgiving to make some goodies for Jerry and his team and sent them a package, thanking them for all of their service for our country. To see that story click here.

What a neat surprise they received this week from the troops in return.

Hi Kelly

I just wanted to let you know that we received the most unexpected gift in the mail this week from Jerry and his team of soldiers. He sent our family 3 American flags (one for each family represented that helped with the packages we sent at Christmas). The flags were flown over Afghanistan during actual MEDEVAC missions to assist wounded soldiers. We are humbled at their thoughtfulness and act of kindness on our behalf. It was truly our pleasure and a wonderful gift to our family to come together to do something for the true heroes of our nation and we did not expect anything in return. We will display this flag proudly in our home in honor of their dedicated service and sacrifice for our freedom. Thank you again for making us aware of this opportunity…we would love to participate again next year.

Blessings,

Amy

Adoptive Families Needed For African American Children

I am on a bit of my soapbox for a bit....

I am completely blown away by the fact that there is a need for adoptive families for FULL African American infants in not one agency, but two, here in the United States....and I'm sure more than that, that I am not aware of. There are inner city women who make the brave choice to not abort but to choose life. They choose a better life for their children than what they are able to provide. They go through the emotions associated with choosing life, carrying life, and then being willing to hand that life over to another out of an ultimate sacrifice of love. AND YET......they show up to these agencies ready to make the ultimate sacrifice but there are NO files for them to look through. There are NO families standing ready, waiting to be chosen as the adoptive parents . There are NO families waiting in line to adopt their FULL African American children. I have heard many say that they will adopt a mixed child, and that is wonderful. But why not a FULL blooded, African American child? There are some that won't even consider that, yet they consider a mixed child. I don't know....does it come down to how dark a child is? If so....WHY? I was at a party the other day and there was a picture being passed around of a waiting child and someone actually said " he is just too dark". "My other kids are mixed and he wouldn't fit in." Well, I seriously doubt the mixed kids look like their white adoptive momma, either. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But the fact is....when it comes to a child needing love, needing a home, needing a family, it does not matter how dark or light or half African or full African or half American or full American the child is. The child needs a family and God looks to us as Christians to step up and be His hands and feet. Thank God that He does not choose us by our color, by our shade, by how light or dark we are as to whether or not we can enter His family. He chooses us as members of His family based on His unconditional love......and yet WE are made in HIS image....aren't we??? We should have unconditional love toward another who is made in the image of Christ....shouldn't we??

I must admit for some it is nothing more than just ignorance. When I say ignorance, I don't mean stupidity....I just mean, not knowing, not having been enlightened yet. We lived in that bliss ignorance ourselves when we first started our adoption journey. We thought the perfect child to fit into our family of 7 would be a 2 yr old girl from Ukraine. Our youngest child was a 4 yr old boy so we thought "how perfect a 2 yr old blond from Ukraine would fit into our family just fine." We had considered Africa early on as that country is what made me sit and sob my eyes out after seeing an Oprah special on orphans.....but quickly ruled it out because we thought in our little minds that one child in a family of 8 that didn't look like the rest of us would make him feel awkward. It would put "too much pressure on him as the different child". So we pushed it aside and applied to Ukraine. Well, the country shut its doors to adoption and we waited for two years for them to open. They didn't open back up so we decided to switch countries. We didn't know which one....we were "praying" about it. Funny how lots of time to wait does something to YOUR plans, and the picture YOU had in your mind for so long. You start to become open to "other options....whatever God wants". Then you are stretched out of your comfort zone. We got a call out of the blue while we were "praying" about it by someone who suggested Africa to us.They were leaving to go work in an orphanage in Africa the next day. On a whim I just said "email me when you get there and let me know what you find." Mind you, this is almost three years into the process and we were tired of waiting and ready to get something moving. She immediately found a boy in Nigeria that we tried to adopt and supported for one year. Well, we are in the beginning of year #4 in the adoption process now and the country regulations in Nigeria put an end to that adoption. We were devastated again. Back to square one but this time our hearts were now not only wrapped around that little boy....but wrapped around Africa. For one year we envisioned this child joining our family and we couldn't imagine it any other way. So after wanting to give up all together and much prayer again we pressed on and then, one last time, applied to an agency for a 4 year old boy... and got a referral in two weeks. After the long drawn out journey, he was home with us within 5 months of when we applied. When it is time....God moves! We then realized that the very month God laid adoption on our hearts and we decided to adopt our perfect little girl from Ukraine, was when our son, Nathan, was born. Two years later when we got the most random call ever asking us if we had ever thought about Africa was the very month when Nathan was placed in the orphanage. That year that God used the other little boy to turn our hearts toward Africa was the year that our son sat waiting in the orphanage to be picked. The whole time we thought God was taking too long....He was actually working on our hearts and preparing us for what was to come. THEN, at the perfect time....for us....and for Nathan....God brought us all together. Our hearts were where they needed to be, finally, in order for God to add to our family the way He intended.....not us. How funny that we thought we had it all figured out. But let me tell you that our 2 year old little blond girl from Ukraine was actually a 4 year old very dark boy from Africa. And we could not have hand picked him any more perfectly to fit into our family. He was our missing piece and and the perfect match for our family. I love the fact that we spread God's message about adoption every time someone looks at our family without ever having to say a word. I LOVE his dark skin....I now think the darker the better because it is just one glimpse of what we will all look like once we get to heaven. Every tribe and every nation, and all one family....But you know what? We all bleed the same color. And it is what's on the inside that counts. I thank God that our eyes were opened and that we stuck it out and let God lead us...even in our bliss ignorance. There are children in every tribe and every nation that need to be adopted. Some God has chosen and they will look like you, but some He has chosen and they may not. Just be careful not to quickly rule it out if they happen to not. God wants to use us more than we could ever imagine. It is so much more than what we think. It is His message of unconditional love that He is trying to spread across the nation.....no matter what it looks like :-) I'd say God's view is perfect.

Now....on to the agencies. These agencies have both said they have urgent needs for adoptive families interested in Full African American infants. Let's take care of the children in our own country as well as abroad. Where are you called to adopt?

http://www.adoptionassociates.net/ this has the urgent need listed on their site. This agency is in Michigan. I have a reference contact if you would like it.

The other one, I believe, is a crisis pregnancy center that aids in adoptions and has an urgent need right now for adoptive families.

http://www.covenantcareadoptions.com/ This is out of Macon, Georgia.

Blessings in your adoption journey :-)

Urgent Need For Asian older children

URGENT

Extreme Emergency Adoption

Girl from Asia, Blind, Aging Out March 9, 2010

Agency Fees waived*

Do you already have a dossier and an approved I-600 (not I-800) logged-in in China- including singles? Are you approved to adopt two children? Are you approved to adopt an older child with special needs? Do you have a cooperative USCIS office? If so, please contact us immediately regarding this girl.

She will age out on March 9. This child’s adoptive family must have a dossier already logged in with China, with an I-600 approval, in order to complete her adoption before she turns 14.YTY. Girl. Despite her small size, she is 13. She has been able to make the most of the opportunities offered in the boarding school for the blind which she attends. She has learned Braille, enjoys studying language and makes good grades. However, a family who can offer her love and attention as well as a full spectrum of resources for the sight impaired, will help her blossom. She has some vision in her left eye; she does not have a right eye and she has a heart issue (involving bicuspid II SM). When she turns 14 she will no longer be able to be adopted domestically or internationally. Agency adoption are waived for eligible families* for this adoption. PLEASE ask about possible additional assistance. Please contact a Family Finders Case Manager for more information.

WACAP (www.wacap.org) is a non-profit adoption agency. Please email us at FamilyFinders@wacap.org 1-800-732-1887 or 206-575-4550

Emergency Adoption

Boy, Aging Out in May 2010

Agency Fees waived*

Families who already have a dossier logged in, regardless of whether or not they’ve already been assigned a child, should inquire if they are interested in adopting this particular child.

13-year-old MX shared that, while living at the orphanage, he has seen many younger children be adopted. He also shared that he has had many friends about his same age at the orphanage, but they have all either been adopted or have a family coming for them. He is sad to be left behind. After visiting him, our staff said, “He is very good-looking and seems like a normal teenage boy.” MX is very motivated to be adopted and traveled from another orphanage with many younger children as the only older child to meet and discuss any adoption opportunities with us.

While he appears to be quite shy, he is engaging and has a very charming smile. When asked about what he likes to do, he responded that he loves to play basketball, and his favorite player is “Kobe.” He is currently in the appropriate grade for his age in secondary school. His favorite subject is language. He speaks a little English. When he grows up, he wants to be a cartoonist because he loves to draw. He gave WACAP staff pictures that he had drawn. He likes to watch cartoons on TV. When asked what he would do if money was not an object, he said he would have a house and a car. When asked how he reacts when he’s upset with someone, he wisely told us he doesn’t speak with them until he has calmed down. When asked to describe his ideal family, he said he would like a large family. Clearly that is what this boy needs—before he turns 14 and becomes ineligible for international adoption. He still remembers what it is like to be part of a family and wants to be part of that again soon.

The agency adoption fees are waived for eligible families* for this adoption and there is possible additional assistance. Please contact a Family Finders case manager for more information. His ID is MX.0596.16737.01.WACAP is a nonprofit adoption agency (www.wacap.org). Please email FamilyFinders@wacap.org or 1-800-732-1887 with any questions you may have.

A Baby Girl Needs Our Prayers....Please Join Me

CALLING ALL PRAYER WARRIORS!!

If you visit Ordinary Hero you will quickly understand that we are all about helping a child in need, no matter where the child is, local or abroad, no matter what the circumstance. Well I would like to introduce you to a child in need. Her name is Izzy and she is in need of a miracle. She was born on Christmas day and she was not due until April. She is fighting for her life and she needs our help. She needs our prayers right now more than ever. Below you will read the email that her mother sent out asking for prayer for her little girl. This mother's heart cry of selfless love for her child describes what any of us would be feeling if it were our child. Please lift Izzy up in prayer today and let's believe that by the power of prayer and God's healing touch that she will pull through this and be a testimony to Him.

To all of my Sweet Izzy followers:

Our little baby girl is still very sick. She is actually much worse. I recieved a phone call at 4:30 this morning giving me an update on her status and she had gotten worse. They had increased her medicines, put her on a different ventilator and continued to give her more blood in order to help her blood pressure.

They called me again at 6am letting me know to come to the hospital. She was once again even worse. She has become tremendously swollen from all of the fluid and blood products but they have to continue to give her volume in order to deal with her low blood pressure. Later in the morning they changed the ventilator she is on...once again and added another machine which is supposed to help open her veins.

So much has happened today, so many tests have been run, numerouse and continuting x rays. She continues to swell up...although I do not see how....she is probably the equivalant of at least a 5 lb baby right now. They are trying to tweak every way they can...with the ventilator, her medicines, etc. The unfornutate thing is that they are just about to the limits of what they can do to help her...as far as tweaking goes...on some things....they are to the limits.

I am not sure what else to say...there has been so much today. Our sweet little Izzy is fighting for her life...again! This time she is continuing to linger at the crossroads. It is going to take her little body working to help get thru this but the fear is whether her organs will continue to function long enough to do it. She has made progress at times but then gone backwards again!

Please, Please, Please continue to pray! Miracles do happen...I truly believe that and have been fortunate in my day to see a couple thru all of this! It is truly going to take just that...a miracle...to turn things around at this point!!

I will say this...I have been on my knees several times today praying...praying for his will to be done which right now is the hardest thing to do! I wish more than anything for her to beat this and get better...I have prayed this as well! But, if it is his will for her to come join him...I pray that he would not let her suffer! I ask that all of you would pray with me in this...whatever his will be done!

With much love and thanks,
Danyel and Paul

New Waiting Children

Just an fyi for some of you looking to adopt. I just updated my OH site with new waiting children from Ethiopia under the Celebrate Children tabs. There are new waiting children under the boys, girls, and sibling tabs.......and let me tell you, they are precious. Click Here and then scroll down to the Celebrate Children tabs. Let me know if your hearts are pulled in any direction for these kids. I love hearing the stories of God calling people to adopt. And don't forget to pray for these kids and all the waiting children on the list.


Also....another fyi....There will be more info to come on our upcoming OH mission trip to Ethiopia July 22-31st, 2010. I am very excited about this trip. It will be solely focused on helping the orphan and street child. More to come....

Latest Update

This was the latest from the Catholic Charities meeting that I mentioned in an earlier post. I hope you find this helpful.

Info on Haitian Adoption

There will be an informational meeting given by Catholic Charities of TN. See info below....

INFORMATION REGARDING HAITI ADOPTIONS

We are all devastated by the recent earthquake suffered by the Haitian people. Of particular concern are the many orphans already living in Haiti and the children who are now orphaned as a result of this earthquake. We have received many inquiries from families willing to temporarily house children from Haiti as well as families who are interested in adopting a child from Haiti who is orphaned. In reaction to the many inquiries regarding this issue Catholic Charities of Tennessee will be holding an information meeting to discuss the current situation in Haiti and the international adoption process.

This information meeting will take place on: Wednesday, January 27, 2010

at 4:00 p.m.

This information meeting will take place at: Catholic Charities of Tennessee

30 White Bridge Road

Nashville, TN 37205

352-3087

Contact Person: Julie Bolles, MSSW

International Adoption Counselor

552-3087 ext. 266

juliebolles@bellsouth.net

There is no need to RSVP for this meeting. We will look forward to seeing you then and answering any further questions.

Also I wanted to pass on an email I received to give you a look into how some of this is going about.
This is just one person's take on what they have experienced so far.

Kelly,

I followed a couple of contacts regarding haitian kids being transported to Indianapolis. The contact was Safe Families associated with Bethany. I sent an email to the Atl office not expecting to hear anything. The very next morning I got a call from the Atl office of Bethany, the director of the Safe Families program here. She sent me an application & said it was very probable that GA would be "called up" for the next influx of kids & they were expediting the process for families willing to help. We were not on any foster care list, no home study on file etc but told her of of original "plan" to start our adoption within the next year. We immediately filled out the form, have our online class link to take & have an emergency home study scheduled for next week. The same day I also followed something in the local paper & had called the GA dept of human services. Again not thinking they would actually call (the request in the AJC was for creole or french speaking families willing to emergency host). Today I received a call from DFCS. They are forming a list, not doing any training etc just had a brief questionaire & will have the list ready for when GA is "called up."

So just wanted to pass this on. Since Fla is activated the thinking by these agencies is that more movement will be happening & even in the last 72 hours, rules are already being bent in order to facilitate the placement of more children. I knew this was too much for a comment but wanted to let you know of different things happening.

April