Sarah...Only Weeks Left To Find a Family

Little Sarah still needs a family, friends. And if she doesn't find one within the next few weeks, the Bulgarian government is going to take her file back and she will lose her chance. She will be locked away in an institution for life.

Sarah has grown up in the same facility as Samantha. She has literally never known love, in all of her 6 years on this earth. Please please please pray for Sarah. There is so much more to this life that what she knows. Pray she will get a chance to see that there is good in the world. And pray that the Bulgarian government will see Sarah, and all other adoptable children from Pleven, being snatched up by loving families, so they can begin to understand that these children have worth!

Our love for the children of Pleven is a beautiful picture of Jesus for all of Bulgaria to see. Let's raise the banner high today and show Jesus' love for Sarah.

Here is her precious little face one more time. Pray that her mom and dad find her TODAY!!!

Read more about Sarah here. If you are interested in adopting Sarah, please contact Reece's Rainbow.

Tired And Weak As We Are...An Urgent Need For a Family

Heeding Jesus' call to care for the orphan and the widow is not easy. And to be honest, it often hurts. It hurts knowing there are people all around the globe, dearly loved by God, who do without while we have more than we could ever need. Some days I feel so emotionally drained that tears fall without any particular reason. I'm sure you all can understand. In fact, I know that many of you have had your hearts completely broken by stories of children languishing in cribs, starving, and without love.

So why should we continue to subject ourselves to such heartache? Wouldn't it be easier to turn a blind eye? Wouldn't it be easier to go back to the way we were before we knew?

Believe me, there are times I when I don't know how to continue.  Samantha already occupies the majority of my thoughts, and I often feel like I don't have the emotional capacity to carry the burden of the many suffering children my eyes have been opened to. So, if you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of children who need families, who are starving, who have been abused and neglected...I completely understand. I'm overwhelmed too.

BUT.

I want to encourage you today that your tender hearts and your compassion truly are making a difference. Your prayers. Your sacrificial giving. The way you've spread the plight of the orphan near and far...you are changing the world. Really and truly you are! And this could not be so if it were not for your broken heart.

So please don't give up! Please keep giving. Keep praying. Keep advocating.

Your work for the Lord may very well save a life. It may save this little girl's life.

Please please please spread the word about 16-year-old Harmony. Her time is quickly running out. If she is not adopted IMMEDIATELY, she will be transferred and will spend the rest of her days in a mental institution. No human child deserves a life sentence in an asylum- without human touch or proper nutrition, without education or any kind of stimulation at all, without love and without family.

God can rescue Harmony from the impossible depth of this despair. Of course He can, because He can do anything!! And He may choose to use us, tired and weak as we are...if we will only heed his call. So, let's press on. Let's get the word out. Let's unite under the name of Jesus and pray her home. Nothing is impossible with God.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

Grab A Box Of Kleenex For This One

Adeye is famous in the adoption community. Her blog attracts thousands upon thousands of visitors with each post. She advocates for orphans as a way of life. She and her husband Anthony have adopted 4 orphaned little girls, one of whom came home from Ukraine at 5 years old, weighing 15 pounds.

You will NOT BELIEVE what Adeye and Anthony are up to now!! 

The tears keep coming today as I think about it. God is writing a magnificent story, and I can hardly believe that He is allowing me to be part of it. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!

Now let's keep praying until EVERY captive from Pleven is RELEASED!! God is doing this, friends! He is good!!!


Praise the one who breaks the darkness
with a liberating light.
Praise the one who frees the prisoners,
turning blindness into sight.

Change. Is. COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our months of praying...

Their YEARS of waiting. In agony...

God is making sense of it all.

We KNOW He's been working on this since the very first cries went up. (Read Daniel 10). But NOW, prepare to see the fruit of our prayers, the fruit of HIS labor. The battle is raging on, and a victor has been declared.

JESUS CHRIST, risen from the dead, Savior of the world, defender of orphans... ALL GLORY BE TO YOU!!!!!!

Read the full story here.

And that's not all!!! One of our beloved Pleven families received a court date today in what seems to be record time!!! AND, little Carissa has a family. Sarah has a family seriously working toward committing to her. And GOD IS IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING A MIRACLE FOR SAM!!

Please don't stop praying!!! We are weak, but HE is strong and able! Pray that Sam can come home SOON!!!!!! And continue to pray for her protection and wellbeing in the meantime.

Also, there continues to be MANY meaningful ways for us to care for the orphans of Pleven. Please visit this blog to learn how you can help to provide the care of 10 nurses for 6 months at the Pleven orphanage. Or read this post to see how you can still contribute toward diapers and nutrition. Or, send me an email @ grayc77@gmail.com if you would like to contribute toward buying formula or diapers to be given while I'm in Bulgaria this month.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers!!!!!!!

Love to all of you.

How About A Second Look

Hey y'all, if you would, please keep praying for the two sweet little girls from Pleven who are waiting for families. There have been very few inquiries about them, especially little Sarah. Please pray that the LORD will raise up families for them. HE can do this! And maybe He'll use us to help! Would you mind spreading the word that these little girls need rescued?

Here they are again:

This is Sarah. She is 5 years old, has Congenital Cataracts (blind), Cerebral Palsy, and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Because she was raised in the orphanage in Pleven, she is quite small for her age, likely due to malnourishment and neglect. But look at that smile! This looks like a little girl with hope! Sarah deserves a mommy and daddy to love her!

This is Carissa. She is 4 years old. Don't you love this new picture of her? Carissa is also small for her age because of neglect and malnourishment. She is delayed in all aspects of her development, although she is now walking and beginning to pronounce sounds. She is a happy child with a good disposition. Carissa deserves a mommy and daddy to love her!

But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans. Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them. Psalm 10: 14, 17-18

I'm Going to Bulgaria!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey world, I go my written referral this morning!!!! I'm going to meet Sam!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!

My travel dates are April 21-28.

I am WAY BEYOND excited!!! This is really happening! And this means I'm one step closer to breaking her out of there!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!

Thank you everyone for praying. We love you!!!

More later.

Getting Much-Needed Supplies To Sam's Orphanage

Hi there friends and family!

I just received word that there is a DESPERATE NEED for supplies at Sam's orphanage. We now have a charitable organization, One Heart Bulgaria, working directly with the orphanage so we can get these VERY important supplies where they need to go.  If you would like to help there a few things you can do.

1. Read this blog to find out how to donate toward diapers, food, and even extra staff (babas and nurses)! The author of this blog is a woman I trust very much. She is on staff at About A Child, my adoption agency, as well as Reece's Rainbow. She is also an adoptive mother to children with special needs from Bulgaria.
2. Send me an email at grayc77@gmail.com if you would be interested in either A.) helping to supply some special formula which is high in demand for many malnourished children in the orphanage, or B.) helping to defray the cost of traveling with extra suitcases full of formula (the only surefire way to get it past customs). I will take as much formula as I possibly can!

Also, please keep me and Sam in your prayers. I hope to have our written approval notice THIS WEEK! This approval will allow me to travel to meet Samantha for the first time.  I promise, I will let you know just as soon as I hear anything. 

Love to each of you.