Start TODAY!

There are times you see something or read something and think, how???  No possible way is that true. 

There are times when your heart just breaks and it takes all you have to move along in your day.  I recently purchased the book "Silent Tears"  It is about an American woman whose moves to Chin@ for her husband's job.  Her daughter is in school during the day so she finds an "in" into the orphanages to volunteer.  The book is written documenting different journal entries she wrote about after a day of volunteering there. 

The book starts out stating....
"A two-year-old child dangling precariously from a third-story window....alittle boy tied to a chair for hours....abandoned children begging for a crust of bread....most of us will live our entire lives without witnessing such blatant cases of emotional or physical child neglect and abuse."

Here are some parts of the book.

"I pulled back the covers to examine her and was horrified at what I saw: her feet and legs had begun to turn black-by far one of the worst things I've ever seen on a baby's body"  ---  And there she sat in the orphanage.  No pain meds no medical help.  No rushing her to a hospital.  There she lays all day.  Surviving, fighting, pleading with her  eyes to anyone who notices her for help.

"...a cart was wheeled in with ten bottles....There are usually about twenty-two babies, so they must always share this meager bit of nutrition."  These caregivers give them a few minutes and then remove the bottles.  What they are able to suck down is what they get.  If the bottle slips from their mouth while propped up....they will not receive more until next feeding.

"Later she wouldn't eat her rice, which was also unusual.  The ayis decided her problem was constipation and took her to her bed.  Next, four of them gathered around her and proceeded to perform the most barbaric so-called medical treatment you could imagine for a small child with obstructed bowels.  Three ayis held her down while a wiry older woman repeatedly pushed roughly on her abdomen.  She screamed and cried hysterically....After producing no positive results with this treatment, one ayi held her arms back as another tried shoveling rice into her mouth.  Finally, they gave up."

"one of our cleft palate babies died.....last week while I fed her, she was having a terrible time.  It was taking too long and finally one of the staff took the bottle away.  She died simply because of her inability to take in nutrition.  That happens far too often with babies born with a cleft lip or cleft palate."

"I showed her the room where the most severely disabled children are hidden away......we peered through the window and saw them sitting there, zombielike, in the cold, barren room, with absolutely nothing to stimulate their minds or bodies.....The children are hidden from everyone; they miss the human contact that is so critical for them. "

"I watched helplessly as she beat and kicked the kids, while screaming at them like a drill sergeant.  these children are ages four to ten and very active, yet they're supposed to sit in cramped wooden chairs in the hallway all morning without moving.  They are allowed no toys, no singing, and no touching one another."

The book goes on to show how these volunteers helped the ayis.  Simply there are too many children with just not enough hands to do the jobs.  The volunteers were able to get surgery for some and help during the hardest, busiest time of the day; feeding and baths.  After reading this you will never be the same. 

These children need people to step up.  They need us!  You don't have to adopt (although I would love to talk to anyone who feels called ;-) )  There are so many different foster homes that are able to take some of these children and not only lighten the load for the caregivers in the orphanage but also provide surgeries, nutrition and better ratio of caregiver to children.   They can only do this with donations.  Sponsor a surgery or a child.  Sponsor some of a caregiver's salary.  EVERY single dollar counts.  Please stop thinking this is someone else's problem.  This is someone else's calling.   EVERY single person who calls them self a christian, believer, born-again; whatever you want to say, is COMMANDED to take care of orphans.  I don't  care if you choose Chin@.  There are so many countries to pick from...Russia, Ukraine, Haiti or right here in your back yard through the foster system.  Take your children and help fill the local food pantry.  Go to reecesrainbow.org and donate to a family.  Talk to your church and help a family adopting hold a fundraiser.  Dig deep, pray and then pray some more and find out where God is calling you.  Don't close your eyes.  Open them, open them wide and know that in this day and age you can't claim ignorance.  The proof is everywhere.  Innocent, pleading, starving, abused, neglected children need our help.  You need to start today.  It's easy to put it off and think yep I need to do that someday.



Don't get me wrong.  I DO NOT believe everyone should adopt and I made it clear there are soooo many ways to care for orphans just take that first step.

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Take some time to read Julia's post.  It is a story of a girl SAVED from a mental instution.  Please take time to look into this little girl's eyes.  Look and see what love can do.