Please.

~Note~ If you are going to read this and then completely forget about this child I do not want you to read it. I only want those who are going to DO something to read this. Duncan doesn't need you to sit here and feel sorry for him- he needs you to DO something. So, if you are willing to get down on your knees, I beg you to read this. I beg you to remember him, and to mention him to your friends. Blog about him yourself, print out his picture to keep in your Bible, post about him on Facebook,- what ever you do is appreciated. So long as you do it. Thank you.

Dear Readers,

 

 I love children with special needs. I wish every single child knew how much they are loved. But the sad fact is--they don't. There are many children in the world who don't know they are loved, and it tears my heart to pieces. A lot of these children were given up for adoption because of their special need. There is nothing wrong with them, they are not defective, they are made exactly the way God wanted them to be. Yet some of them don't know that.  Duncan is one of them.

  

He actually worried someone who saw his picture would decide not to adopt him
because he was ugly. Break. My.Heart. (again!)

My brother Mason, and my shadow signing I love you to him. :)

Duncan is almost 16. Once he turns 16, he will be sent to a mental institution. A mental institution is a terrible place. For many, it is a death sentence.   I picked him to write about because he reminds me of Mason. Duncan has Cerebral Palsy and uses a walker to walk. He is very smart and compassionate. He does not deserve this life. He did not choose this life. And I am going to do everything in my power to make sure the rest of his life is different. I beg you to do the same.
Here is what the family who met Duncan said about him:

"Duncan very much wants a family. He is smart and works hard. He gets along well with others. Duncan struggles with facing the future here in his native country. He knows that unless a miracle happens and he gets adopted (or a family commits and gets USCIS approval) in the next few months, he is going to be sent to a mental institution, even though mentally, he has no issues. Duncan appears to have CP, and he is small for his age (about the size of a 13 year old). Duncan's medical information is en route from the orphanage now, but the family who met him and who he approached to ask for a family and the facilitator want to go ahead and get his information and picture out there.

Duncan uses a walker to walk and is independent in mobility. Duncan is a compassionate teen and one who says he "fears even to hope for a family, because he doesn't think anyone would want him because he isn't handsome". In fact, when it was time to pose for this picture, Duncan worried that someone would see it and then not want him. Duncan needs a family to show him God looks on the heart to see beauty (even though he's a quite handsome boy regardless)- and so do Christian families. Duncan's heart is big, and he is well-loved in this orphanage. Many worry for him if he doesn't get adopted before he turns 16 and it is too late."
 
  Wow. Are tears streaming down your face?? Duncan has so much to offer the world. Please help him.
 I realize there are lots of people hurting, and the orphan crisis might not be your "thing" you want to support. Trust me, I get that. But look at Duncan. How long does it take for you to post his picture to Facebook? To print out his picture? To pray for him?
 There are so many children in the world who don't know how much their Father loves them...I can't imagine a bigger blessing than showing them He does.
Your Blogger,
 Claire
  

My week and random thoughts from Claire

  Dear Readers,
  Just have to say...sometimes ( I mean a LOT of times!) I can't believe all the pain of the world, and it crushes my spirit. But then there are times like this week, when I can't help but jump for God's greatness! Times like when Mason goes to Special Ministries with me, and we get to worship with 17,000 other Christians, and --oh, yeah- you read that right! He went with me!!
 
  He has wanted to go because every night I come home with bunches of stories to tell, and he has been wanting to meet all these people who have become so dear to me. So...he went. And I feel so thankful that he did go. Of course I have many  reasons for this, but the main one is that now he gets it.  When I come home from Special Ministries, I feel like I want to laugh and cry at the same time. You see, these people make me laugh with their hilarious jokes, and I can't help but smile as I think of all the ladies who told me my brother was "pretty cute". I love going there and helping the other people at our table sign the songs so our Deaf friend can feel more involved. I love going there and meeting new people every week who love so much and seem to have enough hugs to go around four (or ten!) times. I love hearing everyone praise the Lord together, and I  love singing "Silent Night" in February because its one of the student's favorite songs.

  But it also makes me cry. Sometimes I just have to cry because I can't believe God has brought me here. I  can't believe He has let me use this beautiful language to bring His Word to someone else. Sometimes I just cry I feel so blessed my heart could burst.
 But   sometimes my heart bursts and a  torrent of tears comes out. Sometimes I look at this woman I'm interpreting for and realize "Oh.. she has no idea what I just said!"--because she doesn't know enough ASL to get by. Sometimes I'll feel so helpless and upset that she has no means of communication with those around her.
Sometimes I hear stories that break my heart.  Sometimes I watch a girl have a seizure.
 And  when those  things  happen,  I go home and write it all down in my prayer journal, praying for each of them. 
   And Mason got that. He started telling Mom that is was hard, but that he loved it. And, of course, I finished his sentence and said "You want to laugh and cry at the same time, right?" I feel so blessed to have these triplet brothers of mine who really do get it. And I'm blessed to have a place that contains so much joy as  Special Ministries! I'm learning so much and treasure each minute.

  This week we went to the Rock and Worship Road show. It wasn't nearly as fun as it could have been because my Dad wasn't there, but it was still pretty amazing. My favorite part was the crowd. 17,000 Christians worshipping the Lord together is a powerful thing! I palpably felt the Lord's presence.  Arms in the air, voices lifted, so and so band playing glorious music--I felt  that must be what Heaven is like! Although... when I first heard Lecrae, I didn't like him. But his love for God was so strong he ended up winning me over! I just hope I never have to interpret a rap concert. :O
   
    I read a few blog posts on a girl who shares my name. Only this girl has rhabdomyosarcoma, and has just been told there is nothing more they can do for her. It breaks my heart to hear the anger, fear, and  brokenness  in her mother's posts. The fact that she shares my name serves to remind me how easily she could have been me. And I hate how ugly, and scarred, and bruised our world is! But then I have an experience like last night, and I realize that no matter how many tears are shed, lives are taken, or babies abandoned, this world belongs to God. Satan is not going to win!
 So stay strong this week, friends, as you want to laugh and cry at this temporary home. Please remember that it is all in God's hands, and that He will have victory! One of the hardest things about advocating for  orphans is that I can't help but wonder "If God has a perfect plan for everyone, what is His plan for those who are stuck in an institution for their short life??" And although I still don't have an answer, I kow this- God is going to take those little ones into His arms once they are in Heaven. Even if their life was so short and so broken, He is going to make all of that disappear when they reach Heaven. I know He is, in the end, going to take the victory as He holds His precious child! And the Marcia's of the world will realize, once and for all, that they are loved. I find peace in the fact that even in the most hopeless situations, God will win!

Much love,
 Your Blogger Claire

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:
   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~Romans 8:31-39 (taken from Biblegateway.com)

I love my Readers! : )

 

Reece's Rainbow and you

Dear Readers,
I hope all of you have been having a nice February! We are enjoying the nice weather as much as we can-- taking bike rides, roasting marshmellows--it has been so much fun! I love my family and all the fun things we get to do together.

February is here, and even though I am still shocked by its arrival, it is time for me to write my 'child of the month' blog post! I have some good news... Marcia now has $ 907.50 towards her adoption! This means that the family who adopts her will have that much less to pay to bring this precious girl home!

Marcia needs a Mommy and Daddy!

Please, please help me find her a forever family! She is four years old and will be sent to an institution when she's five. Once there, her chances of ever getting out are dim, and she will be bedridden for the rest of her short life. She is a cuddle bug and is not thriving in the orphanage- she really needs a family to cuddle with. So if you are her mommy or daddy please come quickly and rescue this sweet girl! Also, for those of you who do not feel called to bring this sweetie to your home, please lift her up to her Heavenly Father! I pray that she knows He has not forsaken her. Even if she is sent to the institution, she has a Heavenly Daddy who loves her. But my goal is for her to SEE that love in the form of an earthly mommy and daddy!

Now, I know I said I would be blogging about different orphans each month. But I just can't get Marcia off my heart! So, until she goes home, I will continue advocating for her and beg you to do the same. Please share her story with everyone you know, mention her on your blog, Facebook, Twitter- anything! Please pray for her and the family that I know God has ordained for her.

This is my orphan of the month blog post. Here is the definition (from Webster)of the word orphan; "one deprived of some protection or advantage". It also says abandoned means " forsaken or deserted" Marcia is both.

What is the Bible's definition of an orphan? You. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. " Romans 8:14-16
We were adopted into God's family. We, the Gentiles, were not His Chosen People. He took us in, adopted us, if you will. So, then- if we ourselves are orphans, how could we NOT have compassion for others who are? Marcia is one of thousands. I am one of thousands. You are one of thousands. We all are children of the King. So, please- show Marcia and the other orphans of the world His love for them.

Your Blogger,
Claire


"He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them." ~ Mark 10:14-16

Momentary Troubles

Dear Readers,
 I miss you! I am just so busy with school right now, I don't have time for a real post. But I NEEDED to encourage all of my dear ones this morning, so thought I would post a devotional from Joni Eareckson Tada.  It really touched my heart, and I hope it gives you perspective on whatever is going on in your life right now!  Much Love,
 Your Blogger

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. --II Corinthians 4:17

When Vicky's husband abandoned her and her two-year-old son, she needed to find work. On one fateful day of job hunting, she was brutally attacked-and shot through the neck-by a man pretending to hire her. Later that day, lying in an emergency room, she knew she would live... but as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

In the years that followed, Vicky's anguish and bitterness finally began to melt under her friends' prayers, warming to the Word of God and its promises. "But sometimes I wonder," she once told me, "about the fairness of it all." I explained to her that it took the most unfair act in history, the execution of Jesus, to satisfy divine justice in a world full of injustice. That event made it possible for the least deserving of all-a convicted thief on a cross next to his-to gain an eternity of undeserved happiness. One day the scales of justice will not only balance, but they will be weighted in our favor, all for our good and God's glory.

Vicky now understands that, even in her wheelchair, she is no better than that thief on the cross. By all that's "fair," she knows she should be on her way to hell, and that there was nothing "fair" about Christ paying the penalty for her sins. She doesn't deserve such mercy. And neither do we.

This present life of ours is infinitely shorter than the blink of an eye compared with the eternal beauty, purpose, and joy we will experience in the Father's house. Let your thoughts linger on heaven for awhile, and then give thanks to the One who made it possible-by the great injustice of dying on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

Lord Jesus, I praise you for enduring the humiliation, the injustice, and the unspeakable agony of your crucifixion to win an eternity of light and hope for me.