Just Look at That!

The ChipIn fund for Liliana's ransom has already ended because her RESCUE is FULLY FUNDED!!!!!  Hallelujah!  107% of Liliana's ransom was raised in about 24 hours!  Liliana now has $23,555 in her rescue fund, and word has it that she also has a committed family (actually several who expressed serious interest in adopting her).  Praise God for His faithfulness, His miracles, His mercy, His grace, and His love.  Thank YOU for chipping in, for caring, for praying, for spreading the word about this inhumane case of neglect and malnourishment.  Hang in there, little Liliana, the family God has chosen for you will be coming as quickly as they can. 

Please continue to pray for God to move mountains to RESCUE Liliana from the hell hole she's been living in.  She's hung on for so long, 11 years, so please pray that she'll be able to make it a few more months until her earthly rescue can be completed.

Some of you were unaware that situations like this actually exist in other countries.  While Liliana's case is extreme (most children die before they get in this bad of shape), it is considered "normal" in many other countries.  How extremely sad is that?

I know many Americans who get stuck in the cycle of encouraging others to adopt "kids from our own backyard".  While I agree that ALL children deserve a loving forever family (and we have several from our own backyard), I disagree that parameters should be placed upon where the child comes from.

What many people don't understand is the harsh mistreatment of orphans, particularly special needs orphans, that often occurs in many other countries, outside of America.  In America, we would seriously be incarcerated for treating even an animal the way many children are treated in other countries.  And, the most sickening thing about it is that the governments of most of these countries actually condone this type of treatment. 

You see, many other countries view special needs children as being substandard.  Many of them, like Hitler, would like to "wipe out" all substandard genes.  Many of them view special needs orphans as a threat to society, a curse upon families, a threat to the future.  It is ignorant, I know, but it is the truth of what occurs in many other societies.  Truth be told, that ignorant view is alive and active around the world, including America, it's just that we Americans aren't allowed to harshly mistreat others by withholding food, water, clothing, and by tying these children into metal cages where they rot in their own feces and bodily waste until their death.  We would be tossed in prison for doing such things in America, even if we did those things to animals.  These are HUMANS.  These are REAL LIVES.  These are TREASURES, living in inhumane conditions in other countries.  It's not just one life, not just Lilian's life, it's COUNTLESS lives, waiting for their rescue.

That is why I advocate for the RESCUE of orphans around the world.

"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we do not know what to do.  God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows we know and holds us responsible to act."  Proverbs 24:12

Have your eyes been opened?

Please do SOMETHING.  Anything. 

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is within your power to act."  Proverbs 3:27

Remember, you may not be called to adopt, but God does hold you responsible to act.

Thank you for acting on behalf of Liliana.  Please continue to act on behalf of the 147+ million orphans who still need forever families.  Each life is precious, each situation is desperate.  Each orphan is depending upon us to be their voice, to act on their behalf, to pray, to advocate, to donate, to support families who are willing to go, willing to rescue.

Make a difference.

Do something.

Act now.

Seriously in DESPERATE Need of being RESCUED

You MUST click HERE to read about a REAL life in DESPERATE need of being RESCUED.


I know at one point, there were some readers who were offended when I used the term "rescued".  I continue to use that term when I advocate for a child who is truly in NEED of being rescued.

I hope these photos demonstrate why I use the term RESCUE.  If anyone is offended by this term, I pray God will use these photos to stir you up, to move you to action, to break your heart for what breaks His.


Liliana is ELEVEN-YEARS-OLD and weighs just TEN pounds, due to neglect and malnutrition.

How is that possible?

How is this little lovie still alive?

I believe she DESPERATELY wants a family to RESCUE her from the hell hole she's living in.

This is not a joke.

This is not a lie.

This is not exaggerated.

This is REAL.


This is a REAL life in desperate NEED of being RESCUED.

Do you realize that's an INFANT BOUNCY SEAT that this sweet 11-year-old "baby" is pictured in?

Desperate.  In the most REAL sense of the word.

Liliana has hung on to this pitiful life for ELEVEN years.

ELEVEN.  YEARS.

She weighs LESS than her age.

ELEVEN YEARS.

TEN POUNDS.

Seriously.  Our 10-month-old baby weighs 25 pounds, and she no longer fits in her infant bouncy seat.

Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please won't you DONATE NOW to help RESCUE this precious princess?

She is treasured by our Abba Father, and I know, I just KNOW, He has a very special family already chosen for her.  We don't want finances to slow His chosen family down.  We CAN work together to raise the ransom for this sweet treasure who has clung to life for so long, waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a family to RESCUE her.

HELP!

To put a cherry on top of this desperate plea, there's a HUGE gift waiting to be given to a lucky someone.  Click HERE to see the list of gift items donated in honor of raising the ransom for sweet Liliana.  YOU can be entered in the drawing and YOU can help RESCUE a treasured child.

Donate.  (Any amount will help.)

Spread the word.

Pray.

Be sure to leave a comment HERE if you want to be entered in the drawing for the fabulous giveaway.

Here's the Chip-In so you can DONATE right NOW:

Happy 19th B-Day, Naomi!

Happy 19th Birthday, Naomi Faith!

God surprised our family when He brought Naomi (from Haiti) to our family on June 19, 2010, just one month after Princess Chrissie went to live with Jesus.  Matt was the one who eagerly accepted God's call to have Naomi join our family.  I was more hesitant, as we were grieving so deeply, and the thought of parenting a 17-year-old, particularly while grieving the loss of our precious 4-year-old, was simply too much for me to fathom.

But, with God, all things are possible.  He promises.  And He is faithful.

So, even through our grief, we pressed onward in obedience to His call, and Naomi officially became our oldest child when her adoption was finalized in August, 2010. 

Since then, hundreds of people have asked us what our plan is for Naomi.  We've been asked why in the world we'd adopt a 17-year-old.  We've been asked if Naomi is going to college this year.  We've been interrogated time and time again about what the future holds for Naomi, and what the benefits are to us to adopt such an old "child".

The truth is, we don't really have the answers to all of these questions.  But God does.  All we know is that He asked us to love and care for this treasure He delivered to us, and her future is in His hands.  We don't make the calls, God does, and all He asks of us is our obedience.  Only God knows His plans for Naomi's future, and in the meantime, we are to love her, parent her, educate her, and help her to know Jesus, to love Him, and to love others.  We are to try to prepare Naomi for life as best as possible, even though she's already 19.  The rest is up to Him, the One who knit Naomi in her mother's womb, the One who has a hope and future for Naomi, the One who knows the number of hairs on her head, the One who plans to prosper Naomi Faith Patterson.

When Naomi came into our family, she didn't know any English.  We worked diligently to teach her English by immersion, as well as using Rosetta Stone English, primary phonics programs, language games, literature, as well as enrolling Naomi in an ESL (English as a Second Language) course for adults in our town where she received 155 hours of ESL instruction.  Naomi has severe learning disabilities, so learning English has been extremely difficult for Naomi, but this doesn't matter to our God, and it's no surprise to Him.  God knew this about Naomi, and He knew she should be a part of our family.

In our culture, we tend to have certain expectations for people.  We tend to look at people's ages and set a standard for them.  We tend to examine people, and if they don't appear to look "different" or "disabled", then we put them into our little expectation box, into the category of our expectations based upon appearance, age, and other factors.  Because Naomi is 19 now, most people in America expect her to be graduating from high school with plans to attend college. 

But God has different plans for Naomi.  After visiting with Naomi's biological mother and brothers in October, 2010, we learned that Naomi didn't have the privilege of attending school while living in Haiti.  This means that for the first 17 years of Naomi's life, she didn't receive an education.

Since Naomi has learning disabilities and no prior education, she doesn't fit into the same category that most 19-year-olds in America would fall into.  Instead of heading off to college, Naomi has 17 years of education to catch up on.  Naomi will stay with our family until she is capable of living independently, or until God reveals other plans for Naomi.  For now, Naomi is being educated in a safe, protected environment in our home where she is not made fun of simply because she's not graduating from high school and attending college this year.  Naomi is allowed to learn at the pace that God sets for her.  When a child has never attended school or received an education, it is imperative to start at the beginning.  This means the child must begin with Kindergarten work, demonstrate content mastery, and move to the next level.  When a child has severe learning disabilities, the child might not progress as quickly as our society would expect, but in our family, that's perfectly fine.  What matters is that Naomi is safe, she is loved, and it's OK for her to be educated at whatever pace God allows.

None of this comes as a surprise to God.  He knew Naomi's needs.  He chose our family to shepherd Naomi's heart, and what a privilege that is.  What matters most is that Naomi loves Jesus, loves her siblings, loves her family, and loves others, which is God's most important commandment, according to Matthew 22.

God knew that Naomi would need to be with a family who wouldn't feel like she's a failure if she was unable to attend college.  God knew that Naomi would need to be with a family who would support her, nurture her, love her, and encourage her, even if she never becomes fluent in English, even if she struggles to pass first grade, even if she isn't able to get a job or live independently.  Because, you see, none of these things really matter to God.

God's Word doesn't tell us that we need to achieve the goals of our worldly standards.  God's Word tells us that above all else, we should love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  And we should love others, too.  This is the most important thing to God.  He doesn't care what grade we're in or how much earthly knowledge we've accumulated or what level education we have or what type of job we hold. 

God cares about our hearts.

And I feel grateful that God has entrusted us with Naomi's heart.

May Naomi's heart be filled with joy as she celebrates her 19th birthday, and by the grace of God, may we continue to nurture Naomi's heart as He would have us, setting aside worldly standards, and embracing God's plan for Naomi, according to Jeremiah 29:11.

Happy 19th birthday, Naomi Faith!  We love you!

Monday's Meditation: A Boss Your Heart Message

Many thanks to Kirsten Walkup for his message today.  (Kirsten persevered and bossed his heart when Satan gave him computer problems which tried to steal this message for today.)  Thanks again, Kirsten!

************************************

Do you know what I don't like about paying for some types of insurance? You don't know if you'll ever use it. It's possible to spend thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on health insurance, fire insurance, earthquake insurance, automobile insurance, unemployment insurance and on and on -- and never have to file a claim. It's almost like legalized gambling: you say "I've got $50 that says I might total my $10,000 car this month," and the insurance company says, "We'll take that bet." And just like the house in Vegas always wins in the long run, the insurance companies are always the ones that come out ahead on that deal.

But there's one type of insurance that has always made perfect sense to me: Life insurance. I have a policy that pays my family x number of dollars when I die. Notice that I said "when", not "if". That's because the mortality rate for humans has, throughout the ages, remained consistent at 100%. Everyone dies. It's not a question of "if", it's a question of "when". Even though I have some types of insurance that I may never file a claim against, I am absolutely certain that eventually my life on earth will end.

I've never sold life insurance, but from what I hear, it's not an easy job. Even though everyone knows that someday they will die, they tend to avoid life insurance salesmen, and they tend to put off the decision to become adequately insured. In fact, I'm sure those who sell life insurance would say that most people are tragically under insured in this area. We probably all know stories of families who experienced financial hardship because the primary breadwinner died uninsured. It's a shame that this ever happens, because one of the few things we can be sure of in this world is that life is temporary and we're all here for just a little while.

In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about insuring yourself against another certainty--the certainty of meeting him face to face. This is not a matter if "if", it's a matter of "when". In chapter 24 Jesus tells us emphatically that he is coming back. In chapter 25 he tells us about the final judgment. Whether or not we're alive when Jesus returns, we will ultimately stand before his throne on judgment day. We need to live this life in such a way that we prepare ourselves for that moment in eternity. The parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 25:1-13 tells us how to do that.

This parable is a slice of life from first century Palestine. Weddings were then, as they are now, huge occasions filled with ceremony and symbolic customs. One such custom was that the bridegroom would come for his bride at an unexpected time--sometimes in the middle of the night. It was a custom that maidens would wait with the bride for the bridegroom to arrive. It was also a law that no one was allowed on the streets after dark without a lamp. So, in order for the maidens to accompany the bride to her wedding, they needed to be prepared for the bridegroom to come at any time, and they needed to be prepared to make the journey to his home (where the wedding would take place), even in the wee hours of the night. Jesus uses this wedding custom to illustrate the kingdom of heaven. He's not just talking about the second coming; he's also talking about heaven, and what it takes to get there.

The difference between the wise virgins and the foolish virgins was very simple: the wise virgins brought oil for their lamps, the foolish ones didn't. It wasn't because they didn't have the money to buy it, and it wasn't because oil wasn't available to be purchased--they just didn't do it. A seemingly small detail, but it had significant consequences.

Here's a modern day version of the parable, and it's true. I had a friend named Larry who was several hours late for his wedding, and almost missed out completely on getting married because he let a couple of details slip through the cracks. Here's how it happened.

Several months earlier his automobile license plate came up for renewal, but he forgot to pay it. The renewal was only about $30, but he just never got around to taking care of it. The license plate expired, and eventually he got stopped and ticketed. The ticket for driving with an expired tag was probably about $50, but guess what--he never got around to paying it. When the DMV was informed that Larry had defaulted on a traffic ticket, they revoked his license and sent him a letter informing him of this. But guess what? Larry had moved a few months earlier and had never sent in a change of address, so he didn't get the notice.

Now it's the day of his wedding. He's on his way to the church, and he's in a little fender-bender. As the officer writes the accident report, he runs a check on Larry's driver's license, and discovers that it had been suspended, so Larry is arrested and taken to the jail house. Larry kept saying, "But it's my wedding day! Can't you let me off the hook?" And the officer said, "Likely excuse!"

Maybe the cops were just a little mischievous about this, but after they booked him, finger printed him, and strip searched him, they let him sit in a jail cell for about three hours before he was allowed to make a phone call. By then everyone in the wedding party was in a panic. You can imagine what they were thinking. He was finally able to get in touch with someone who was able to help secure his release, and he made it to the wedding. Needless to say, he got off to a great start with in-laws. A p.s. to this story is that since his license was expired, the insurance company wouldn't cover the accident claim and he had to pay it out of his own pocket.

Do you see how neglecting this one minor detail--an expense of just a few dollars--created a domino effect that resulted in all kinds of trouble for Larry? Not very many people are so careless in this area of their lives, but I'll tell you what I see. I see many people who are much more careless in areas of even greater importance. Like their families. Like their marriage. Like their spiritual life.

I was at a Promise Keeper's Convention in Dallas several years ago and a man told me about his daughter's upcoming wedding. Just a few days before the convention she said to him, "Dad, in less than a month I'll be moving out of the house, and I feel like I don't even know you." I can pretty much guarantee you that every detail of this man's financial life was in meticulous order--but one of the most important areas of his life had been neglected to a tragic level.

I've also known many people who spent their entire lives working toward success, building wealth, accumulating things--and have never given serious thought about things of eternal nature.

Life is a process of taking care of the details. We're all probably pretty good at balancing the checkbook and getting the yard mowed and the laundry done and getting to work on time and paying the bills and all the other mundane necessities of life--but there are more important details that we need to tend to.

We need to realize that there are many areas of life that are not a question of "if", they're a question of "when" -- and we cannot let these details slip through the cracks.

Don't let the important things slide. Your relationship with God matters more than anything else in the world. Tend to it. Devote time each day to pursuing a closer relationship with God. This is why I'm constantly challenging you to make daily prayer and daily Bible study a priority in your life. It's how you keep the lamp of your spiritual life burning--even through the darkest nights. Life is a process of tending to the details; don't let the most important ones slip through the cracks.

Boss your heart!

J330

k

kirsten@kswalkup.com

Always Something

Thursday morning we took Vlad and Dima to the airport for their flight back to Ukraine. Dima woke with a stomach ache and severe ear pain, so I spent the morning getting him antibiotics for an ear infection. The last thing I wanted was for Dima to have to return to Ukraine with severe ear pain and no medicine.

On the way to the airport, amidst our crazy antibiotic chase, Vlad starts yelling for us to stop. Within seconds of Vlad's warning, Dima vomited everywhere. Projectile. I scrambled for rags, while gagging, since that's what I do when I see/hear/smell vomit, only to find one of Selah's burp rags, which, in case you didn't know, is not designed for 6-year-olds. Burp rags are small because babies are small. Nuff said.

I had Vlad and Dima dressed in matching UT shirts that said, "Property of Texas", but those were ruined in the vomiting episode. I was able to pull an outfit out of the suitcase for Dima, but I couldn't reach one for Vlad, as I had vacuum packed their clothing into the bag. So, while I was picking up the antibiotic at Walgreen's, I purchased Vlad an adult size small shirt (since they didn't have any youth shirts). Anyway, we arrived at the airport in time, praise God, and we said our goodbyes. The boys held up well. Vlad reassured us that they'd be fine, and they'd be waiting for us. Sad times.

Thursday evening, we left for Colorado to attend a family camp at Horn Creek, specifically for adoptive families. Five of our kids were able to attend for FREE since they were adopted within the past year. Still blows my mind that God brought us 5 kids in 2010!

So, we're now at family camp, where I don't have Internet, so not sure how often I'll get to update. (I'm using my phone now to write this post, which is a little challenging. Please forgive the typos and auto-correct errors!)

Please pray for us as we've gotten off to a rough start. Kiefer has had fever with vomiting, Matt has severe altitude sickness, Selah's been super FUSSY, Meribeth has a severe cold/cough, Mattie had had several asthma attacks with severe coughing spells, and I've had some severe allergies with a horrible cough and congestion. I took a Zyrtec last night, which ended up putting me in a MAJOR fog for the entire day today. I seriously stayed in bed ASLEEP all day, while trying to muster up the strength to check on Matt and Kiefer (we're in separate cabins), while also trying to make sure Selah was taken care of. Ugh. Thank God for our older kids who were SO helpful today with taking care of everyone and everything!

I had to laugh when I was told by another mom that Kiefer wandered out of his cabin today when he was supposed to be asleep with Matt. His fever had gone down with the Helpnof Motrin, so Kiefer decided to go check things out in just a diaper! (He sleeps in a diaper, but he's potty trained during hours that he's awake.) Kiefer decided he needed to pee, so he just pulled down his diaper and peed outside where all the kids were playing at the camp! Thankfully, some of our kids discovered him and ran to the rescue!

It's always something. Nothing like giving large adoptive families a good name by demonstrating all of the positive things right off the bat, huh?!?! :-)

Tomorrow-Tomorrow

These were the first words spoken to me this morning:

"Mom, tomorrow-tomorrow, me bye-bye (insert sad face)". 

~Dima, age 6, spoken on his 36th day in Texas.  

(When he arrived on July 28, Dima didn't know any English.)

Of course "tomorrow-tomorrow" means "the day after tomorrow", and on that day our hearts will be very heavy.  Thursday, August 4, is the day that our two Ukrainian host boys must return to their home country, to the orphanage they call "home".

When, at the very last minute, we agreed to host these two Ukrainian boys (after their original host family fell through), we truly had NO idea that God would bless us so greatly by having these two boys in our home.  We thought we'd be doing the boys a favor, but it ends up that God planned to do us a favor by sharing these two hidden treasures with us.

In just 36 days, God has given us rare glimpses into the hearts of two boys who have never known the love of a family.  One would think that after spending the majority of their lives in an orphanage, these boys would be little savages.  And I think that's what most people who considered hosting them were somewhat afraid of.

Dima's passport photo, age 6 years

Vlad's passport photo, age 9 years

The boys' passport photos are not exactly endearing, but we felt, with God's strength, we could surely host these boys for 5 short weeks.  After all, we could endure most anything for just 5 weeks, with God as our Rock. 

It is with much pleasure and great surprise (to us!) that I announce to you today that our family is pursuing the adoption of both Vlad and Dima!  They also have a younger brother, age 4, but we do not yet know his legal status (whether he is available for international adoption or not).  If little brother is available for adoption, we will pursue his adoption as well.

On day 2 of the boys' arrival into our family this summer, my sister told me that the moment she saw the boys with us at the airport (when we picked them up), she knew they belonged, that they were Pattersons.

We weren't quite as convinced, especially since on day 2, the boys were both really wild.

But, even through the crazy and unruly boy behaviors, God has given us such rare and beautiful glimpses into the hearts of both Vlad and Dima.  They are truly rare treasures, diamonds in the rough, who have tender and compassionate hearts, created by our mighty Father. 

This picture, which is obviously not the greatest quality photo, is a treasure because it captures the quality of who these boys really are.  I snapped this photo with my iPhone after a full, H-O-T, and tiring day at Fiesta Texas last week, as Dima and Vlad sat on the railing by the park exit to enjoy the firework show.  This is the real Dima (left) and Vlad (right), the boys God created in His image.  The boys who have never known the love of a family, the boys who have lived most all of their years in a Ukrainian orphanage, yet they have hearts full of tenderness and compassion.  Truly rare treasures.

Thursday, August 4, is going to be one of our hardest days of goodbyes ever.  No, it won't compare to the day we told Chrissie goodbye when she went to dance eternally with Jesus after 7 months in our family, but it will nonetheless be hard.  Very hard.

We are truly in love with Vlad and Dima, and we cannot imagine them NOT being with us.  After spending just 36 days with us, these two boys are cherished, valued, and treasured members of our family.  (It only took about a week for these boys to captivate our hearts!)  We really had no idea what God had in store for us.  We thought this was about the boys, but it turns out it's about all of us.

Vlad and Dima must return to Ukraine on Thursday, August 4.  They will live in their orphanage while we diligently work on adoption paperwork.  We do not know how long this process will take.  It could be as short as a few months, but it could also take much longer.  We're praying for Godspeed, for Him to move mountains to get these boys home quickly.  We don't have anything current right now with the adoption requirements, but we've been working feverishly to get everything done.  We've had our home study, done most of the medical stuff, state fingerprints, gathered required documents (marriage certificates, etc.).  We'll submit our stuff to USCIS this week for the I-600A, and then we'll wait for them to set up our biometrics appointment.  This is most likely the longest part of the process.  After we have our I-171H, we'll ship our dossier to Ukraine for translation, then it will be submitted to the SDA (department that processes adoptions) in Ukraine. Then the ball will be in their court.  Knowing it's all in God's hands brings comfort to our souls, but doesn't replace the urgency we feel in getting these sons of ours back into our home, where they belong, as cherished members of our family.  Forever family.  Thank you, Jesus.

Monday's Meditation: A Boss Your Heart Message

Thank you, Kirsten Walkup, for today's message:


I was having lunch with a friend who was facing some very serious decisions in his life—decisions that would affect his career, his family and financial future. The weight of this decision was bearing down on him, and he said to me that day, "I don't know what to do...I simply don't know which decision is the right one." I didn't know either, so I just kept eating and said nothing. He thought for a few minutes, then said, "I know there is a right decision to be made. And if I thought I had to make this choice on my own, without God's help, I would crack under the pressure. It's not a matter of me having to make the right choice, it's a matter of me learning what God wants me to do." By the end of the meal, his entire attitude had changed. One of the last things he said that day was, "I don't have to fret over this. I know that when I need to know, God will let me know."

This is the way we can approach life. Look at the promise God made. Isaiah begins chapter 60 by saying...

(v. 1) Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Isaiah is saying, "Get up! Be excited about life! God's glory will shine on you, and you can live your life in the light of his truth...you can see things from his point of view. Your light has come."

Because we live by the light of God's truth, we can approach life with a clarity that people who don't know God simply do not have. When you follow Christ you begin to see the difference between right and wrong much more clearly. When you're living in God's light, you don't stumble around in the darkness. Isaiah said...

(v. 2) Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

If you ever watch a show like Politically Incorrect, or even Nightline, (or, dare I say, Jerry Springer) it quickly becomes obvious that many people live in darkness. They have opinions about what's right and wrong; more often than not their sense of morality is based on feelings that easily change depending on the situation. They'll often say something like "Who can say what's right for someone else? What's right for me may not be right for you."

When you begin to follow Christ you soon learn that right and wrong is not a matter of personal choice, it is a matter of God's truth. You also learn that we don't have to make decisions based on our own limited understanding. The Bible says "Your light has come." God will make his will known to you; you don't have to stumble in the darkness—you can walk in his light.

Now, let me ask you a question. If you were certain that God's light is always with you to give you direction every day, how would that affect the way you live your life? Would you approach life with more confidence? With more certainty? With less fear?

Jesus said, "You can know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) This gives us a whole new approach to life—we can approach life with the certainty that God will give us answers to the hard questions of life, because truth belongs to him and he gives it freely to anyone who seeks it.



J330

k

kirsten@kswalkup.com