I have been home since Monday night. But so much of my heart is still wandering the country side of Latvia... lingering in hallways where children walk and wait. My heart. Christ's heart. Some people say, "It takes a special heart to do what you do," and my response inside is, "No, no it doesn't, it's Christ's heart, it's available to every believer, it's available to you." You see, my heart wanted to crumble about 10 different times... right there... in a heap on the floor... story after story... face after face... life after life. My heart wanted to say it's just too much, there are just too many, why... why try... what can we really do? My heart wanted to stay in bed and cry for a couple of days and just mourn how expendable children have become and how blind so many can be to the fact that they are there... children... waiting and wanting to be loved... to be wanted. I do not have a special heart. But what I do have is a desire to be obedient and to live my life for the LORD and His kingdom and not for my own comforts and desires. His heart lives through my heart. I'll give you that.
The stories roll around in my mind when I lie in bed at night, when I walk the isle of the grocery store, when I am making meals for my family and standing in my closet. One precious girl who lives on a farm with her foster dad... she has been there since she was small. She is now 13... 14. Her foster mom was killed last year in an accident on the farm. She doesn't have many girl friends, they say she is ugly. She is beautiful. A little shy. Freckled. Heart shining through her eyes. A smile that giggles. She needs a mom. Oh... she needs a mom.
Then there is this boy... young man... 14. He had a half brother who was adopted out to France but he wanted to stay because he had family... his grandfather came to visit him at the orphanage. His grandfather has since remarried and the new wife wants nothing to do with him. So the grandfather has stopped coming... walked away... rejected him. And now he thinks he wants a family. And he needs one. Oh how he needs a family.
Then there is a group of three. They were in a foster family that treated them like slaves. That's all I will say about that. They were rescued. Praise the LORD above. He opened the eyes of a director at a conference who saw something wasn't right. The situation was investigated and the children removed. They are with a grandmother to recover and then will soon be on their way to the orphanage. Oh they need a family. They need to know the ONE who rescued them and has plans for them... plans for a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11~
That is a sliver. A small grain of sand on a beach of endless seas. Five of 160 million.
But it is five I have been given to be a voice for... a voice for hope. The LORD'S voice and he says to take care of orphans. Not too many ways to get around it. Not really.
I have decided to give even more to Project One Forty Three and am now a coordinator for the families in the south. It is a privilege to share their stories and to watch God unfold the paths of hope in their lives. I have been working on the photolisting this week and am hoping to have it complete by the end of next week. I will share some photos this week as well.
You can find out more information at http://www.projectonefortythree.org/
You can also start praying... every child needs your prayers.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!