Orphan Sunday: What are you Waiting For?

I was honored to witness a miraculous thing this evening. The Esther's Hope Ministry at Mission Community Church of Gilbert, AZ hosted a celebration for families who are fostering, have adopted, or are interested in either. http://www.mission68.org/ Everything but the food was completely free including bounce houses, face painting, balloons, cotton candy, petting zoo, pony rides, a picture booth, and live music. The miracle was getting to see so many happy, smiling kids of all sizes and colors. When I think about the conditions that my two adopted children  were in years ago, I am simply speechless at the metamorphosis that has occurred before my very eyes. See, children don't just need their basic needs to be met, although that is certainly important, they also need the love and security of a family. The amazing thing is, that not only have they changed, so have I. For as many sacrifices that I have made, financially, emotionally, physically; the joy and abundance of love that I have received back from my children is ten fold. When Pat Robertson made his comments about adopted children being "weird", he was clearly very misinformed. We are all weird in our own way, and the vast majority of the most self-centered, poorly motivated youth that I have worked with were not adopted children. Has our path in international adoption been easy? Definitely it has not. With each of our children, we have had to work through different losses, histories, and memories that haunt them even if they cannot remember. We gave everything we had for Vanessa and we did not end up being the best fit to be her forever family. But in the process we did witness and facilitate incredible change and growth, change that helped prepare her for the family that was meant for her.

And so today on Orphan Sunday, I challenge you to answer the call that has been given. How can you make a difference to the 147 million orphans on this earth? It could be adoption, or foster care. But it could also be to sponsor a child internationally, to volunteer or mentor locally, or to support another family who you know who may be wanting to adopt or foster but are faced with the financial roadblock. It only takes one to make a difference one child at a time.

Medical Visa Denied, Please Help!



Picture from Tony Czech 1/11

 It is time for me to speak up. To speak up on behalf of a amazing little girl who needs our help. I feel like doing more then speaking up, I feel like shouting from the mountain tops of Colorado! So here I go..... Let me introduce you to Vanessa. Her name is the same as that of a beautiful butterfly genius and I believe that she is destined for great things. I believe that just as a butterfly goes through metamorphosis, Vanessa's body will be changed and healed by a miracle. You see Vanessa was born with a physical disability that is becoming progressively worse with age. It is called Blount's disease and at age 9 her legs are so bowed out from the knees on down that she cannot walk normally or for more then a few very short distances. In fact when we saw Vanessa on our trip to Haiti in June of 2010 she was not walking at all. She was in a extreme amount of pain from the pressure on her joints and was only able to crawl or pull herself around. My husband put together a wheelchair for her that the orphanage had stored away, but the size of the chair was way to large for her and not at all appropriate to independently maneuver around the orphanage grounds. I do have a picture of her legs which shows the extreme nature of her disability, but out of respect to Vanessa I am not posting it here.

From the time that I first met Vanessa I was struck by her beauty, personality and strength. She was brought out to join a counseling session that I was doing with a small group of school age girls, who were showing signs of trauma after the earthquake. I took time to get to know each girl and to do some play therapy. Then the issue of the earthquake came up. Some of the girls could not talk about it without crying, but Vanessa very bravely looked at me and shared her story. She was living at a school for special needs children when the earthquake happened. She explained to me that the school building collapsed on her and she was buried but three days later a miracle happened when she was pulled from the rubble alive. I asked her if she was afraid and she told me no because her friends and Jesus were with her. I later learned that she was the lone survivor. I am sharing this with you because I believe in fate. I believe that Vanessa is going to do something amazing with her second chance at life. But, she needs a little help from us to reach that full potential.

On my trips to several third world countries, it is the images of the disabled children and adults who haunt me the most. Life is hard enough when you live in poverty, but it is even harder when you are disadvantaged by a mental or physical disability. To often disabled children are abandoned or hidden away, only to become beggars on the street if they survive. Thankfully this has not been the case for Vanessa however without treatment her life will be very limited. The frustrating thing is that Blount's disease is something that we don't see much of in the United States. That is because if Vanessa had been born in the US she would have received braces and therapy to correct her legs as a toddler age child. If that did not work she would have received surgery as a young child. These things are not options in Haiti where even basic medical care is a privilege. And so it is that Vanessa at age 9 has never known anything other then her physical disability. From the loving care that she has received at Maison orphanage she is now stronger then she was in June and is actually walking on her bowed legs. This not at all ideal however. The amount of pressure that is placed on her hip and knee joints is causing damage and I am told that at some point she will no longer be able to continue walking. If she gets much older it will be to late to perform the needed surgery to straighten her legs and reconstruct her knees. Even now at this age the corrections from the surgery may not be permanent, but the sooner the surgery is performed the more likely that it will be successful.

So here is where you and I come into play. When we met Vanessa in June we approached with a offer to FHG that we were ready, willing and able to care for and house Vanessa should she be able to come to the US for surgery. We live about one hour from the Denver Children's Hospital and work even closure. A physician was contacted at Children's, then the appropriate committee and one thing after another fell into place. We even have a organization that has a refurbished wheelchair picked out and waiting for Vanessa. We bought another bed at our house, picked up some more girl clothes and talked to our kids. Over the course of the last 7 months everything has been prepared for Vanessa to receive this life changing surgery.

So why am I writing this today, why am I yelling from the mountains of CO? At 8am this morning Vanessa had her visa appointment with the US Embassy in Port au Prince, Haiti and she was denied! Yes that is right, all the paperwork was in place and there she was and she was denied. The reason given was none aside from a form letter stating that she did not qualify for a US visa. Well, that is NOT acceptable to me. I will not accept that from my government and I will not give up hope for this child. A physician has examined Vanessa in Haiti and stated that she needs to receive surgery in the US. The procedure that she requires is complex, painful, and will require extensive post-operative care and follow-up.

So if you are out there reading this and you have any contacts, information  or resources that will assist us please help! We are researching the next steps and I will be in process of contacting our state Senators and Congressman. Please also contact your own representatives so that we can obtain as much attention for Vanessa as possible. If you can, please spread the word to others who may be able to help. Feel free to pass on this blog post, tell your friends or do some of your own screaming from a mountain top. And please pray, pray that Vanessa will not loose hope herself. You see she had some idea of what was happening when she excitedly made her trip to the US Embassy today (being carried in by the owner of the orphanage) and was then denied hope for her miracle. Please join with me in keeping that hope alive for this child who has already survived so much!

******If you have information or would like to offer assistance please drop a comment to me with your contact information and let me know if you would like your contact information to remain private from this blog. All comments come to my email first before I approve them for posting on the blog. 

Image from Angie K at Vanessa's 9th birthday in Haiti

Watch "Adopting Haiti"

I encourage you to head on over to Hulu.com to watch a documentary free online. The film, titled "Adopting Haiti" features the same orphanage that we served at this summer. The documentary shows footage of Port au Prince after the earthquake and follows the struggles that the children, nannies, and volunteers went through in the weeks following the earthquake. It features the events and actions leading up to the evacuation of the majority of the children who were being cared for at Maison des Enfants de Dieu. I want to point out that, in the film you will see a few children who have disabilities. These children are still living at the orphanage and waiting for a forever family.

Here is the link to the full video on the Hulu website:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/202472/adopting-haiti

Feed Them

Please head on over to this blog  http://www.mission82.blogspot.com/ and consider chipping in. The missionary at our daughter's orphanage in Haiti is challenging folks to give a mere $10 to go toward the goal of $2,500 which will feed the entire orphanage and staff for one month. Can you help? They have approximately enough money in their account to fully fund the operating costs of the orphanage for only one more month.

Check out These Families........

As you can see I am beginning to add in links for organizations and missionaries living in Haiti as well as families who have adopted or are adopting from Haiti. Most of the links so far I have stumbled on through Internet connections associated with the organization that supports the orphanage where we are adopting from. One of the adoptive families posted a link to this couple that is living in Haiti. I really encourage you to check them out at http://goatpath.wordpress.com/. Not only is his writing eye opening and smart but he has a great sense of humor as well (despite the conditions that they see all around them). Plus their story is amazing, as she was buried in the rubble of their home in Haiti when the earthquake happened and survived and is still there now working. Check out his amazing post about the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake http://goatpath.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/6-month-later-changes-or-the-lack-thereof/ 

Wow, makes me think back on what I was doing with my life at the young age of 23-25. At that time finishing my masters degree and getting a real job was my priority. I really wish now that I had instead did exactly what this and so many other young couples are doing. Packing up and making a real difference in the world. Well maybe someday. For now I have kids to raise and miracles to make, one at a time. But that really is not a excuse either is it, since families like this with 6 or more kids are living abroad!    http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/  Now if only I could find a way to make those nasty doctoral degree school loans disappear and perhaps..........

Hike For Their Home

From For His Glory Adoption Outreach:
"We are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual "Hike for Their Home." On July 18th, at 3:30 am, a team from Cheyenne Mountain Resort is dedicating themselves to hike the 14,000 ft Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado all in the name of the children and families of Maison des Enfant des Dieu orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Last year the group hiked and helped with the rent of the facility. This year they are even more excited to help with the purchase of land and the building project for the orphanage."

I am late on this post as the event that I am talking about actually happened last Saturday, BUT anyone can donate to the cause at any time by going here: http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/hike_for_their_home.

It is all about raising money to build on the land that has been purchased in the countryside so that the Maison des Enfants de Dieu orphanage in Haiti can have a new home. But not just any home, a faith filled community where the children who cannot be adopted can be raised in a setting where they will receive love, education and life skills in safe building structures outside of the city center. To hear the details as written by the orphanage director himself go to Pierre's blog at http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/pierre_s_blog

Here are pictures that we took of the current orphanage facility which they rent, the first shows the building which houses the infants and toddlers and the second is the building that has school rooms on top for the older children and sleeping rooms on the bottom:

Here is a bridge being rebuilt in the street just outside the door of the orphanage, the previous bridge fell below during the earthquake. On the other side of the bridge is piled of accumulated garbage since the earthquake.

Now here is the land that has been purchased to build the new community. There is much work to be done but it is promising and hopeful that with the help of many it can happen.

Hurry, Blitz Ends in One Week!

Hurry before you miss out on ordering your awesome "Haiti In Our Hearts" Simply Love T-Shirt! The online sale ends in one week at which time we will be bording a plane with supplies to head to Haiti at 12:30am on Tuesday June 15th. 100% of the proceeds will go towards the mission trip including the purchase of supplies for the orphanage and baggage fees to get those supplies on the plane. I will be voluntering all of my time in Haiti providing professional mental health services and consultation to the orphans and staff while my husband will be doing much needed construction work and education with the children. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this effort so far! You truly are making a difference in the life of a child directly impacted by the earthquake. Together we can bring hope to the orphans of Haiti!

Haiti in Our Hearts T-Shirt Blitz!!!!!!!

O.k. our "Hearts are in Haiti" fundraiser blitz is active. The shirts are great quality, attractive and comfortable. 100% of the proceeds will support my medical mission trip to Haiti where I will be volunteering my professional services to provide much needed mental health care. More specifically I will be conducting mental health counseling and consultation to the staff at Maison des Enfants de Dieu orphanage and I will be implementing group play and art therapy with the children (there are approximately 125-130 children living at the orphanage). I may also complete developmental evaluations with the children as needed. To read more about why this is such a great need right now please see my previous post titled "Answering to the Call".

Now about the shirts, they come in two styles, one for women and one for men. In the women's style there are two sizing options available. I am offering the espresso color in the women's slim cut and the black color in a unisex cut. The slim cut runs long and lean so you may want to purchase one size larger then you would typically wear in a looser fitting shirt. The men's shirt is a unisex size and comes in army green. On the front of all the shirts is a picture of Haiti with the verse Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) wrapped around the country. The back of the women's shirt says "Love will always find a way" and the back of the men's shirt says "Man up, protect and love the fatherless".

Here is the black unisex fit, front and back:

*The back and front design is the same on the women's espresso colored slim fit shirt

And here are the awesome men's shirts, front and back. The color is army green (not as shown):

So there they are! Get them while they are hot! I will run the sale starting today and ending at 11:59 pm on Monday June 14th which is when we will be at the Denver airport getting ready to board a plane to Haiti!You can purchase directly on my blog using the Pay pal buttons on the side or if you live in our area of Colorado just drop me a line and we can make arrangements for payment and pick-up.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD FOR US! My goal is to sell 100 shirts or more.

Answering to the Call

Imagine that you are a young child living in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. You live in a crowded shack and most nights your stomach aches with hunger. The only comfort you know is the loving and warm touch of your mother. Then just like that you wake up in the middle of the night and you are in a strange place, your mother is no where to be found. You are taken to a unfamiliar compound filled with noise and movement. There are many children there and few adults who seem to do their best to take care of you. You get food and a roof over your head, you start to feel safe but nothing will fill up the empty void left by the loss of your family. Then one day something happens and your world is shaken, literally to it's core. The other children scream and cry, the nannies do their best to move all of you, but it all happens so fast. The roof of the building shakes and cracks, a wall collapses and the very earth that you stand on moves beneath your feet. When it is all done everything looks different and the adults are afraid. You wonder who will take care of you now? For many, many days there is little water and food. Some children are hurt, and some of the nannies are not with you anymore. You wonder what happened to the family that you used to know. You don't believe there is any hope any more. You are scared. And then the earth shakes again and the adults are even more scared. They do not want to go into the building where your things are, the building that is supposed to protect you. Things eventually start to settle down but inside of you, nothing is settled. You are afraid and anxious and don't know who to trust to take care of you. The hope that had started to rekindle before the earth shook is now gone. So far gone that you don't even cry anymore because there are so many others crying that you know the adults will not respond to you. The numbness sets in and you are now invisible.

This is how I imagine the orphans of Haiti. It is not a true story, I based it on my own experience of visiting orphanages in Africa and reading first hand accounts of the earthquake in Haiti. As a mental health professional I know the risks that the people of Haiti face. The children are particularly at risk because so many of them were in vulnerable situations before the earthquake occurred. What we do know from research is that not everyone reacts the same way to trauma. The more that a person is exposed to stress and traumatic events then the more likely they are to present with more severe symptoms and longer term mental health problems when faced with a traumatic event. Most troubling for people are the forms of trauma that are out of our control and inescapable. Some individuals will however, not only servive following a trauma but thrive. This is where resiliency comes into play and why it is such a important topic in psychology. If we know what makes people resilient then we should be able to foster resiliency. We do know that children are more resilient after a trauma when they had a stable, safe and predictable life before the trauma. Unfortunately, for the children and orphans of Haiti the odds are stacked up against them. There is hope however, if they are able to receive consistent and responsive care after the trauma from familiar adults then they are better likely to recover. Also if they are able to learn strategies to help themselves cope with stress and emotions they will regain a internal sense of control even if the external environment is still something that they cannot control. But for the children to receive predictable care then the adults need to care for themselves as well and that is usually where things get complicated. Clearly, many are struggling in the aftermath of the quake http://www.uscatholic.org/news/2010/05/mental-health-needs-quake-survivors-pose-risks-haitis-recovery

This is why I have been asked to come to Haiti. Asked to spend a short time doing what I can to help the adults and children at a orphanage assisted by For His Glory Adoption Outreach http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/. I closely followed their updates after the earthquake and now I can't say no. Yes, it seems crazy that in the middle of my husband loosing his job and then getting a new job that will require us to either move or live separately, that we should now at this time spend money that we do not have to travel to a country in turmoil. Odds are that our home is not going to sell anytime soon or for any amount that it is worth. Someone kindly suggested to me at the end of the school year that I should go on a nice vacation this summer. Instead I am choosing to volunteer my professional services for one full week and my husband has agreed to do the same. Why? Because the need is great and we have knowledge and resource to give. So we are both taking a leap of faith and going to Haiti on June 14th. This is where you step in, we need your help. Honestly, we desperately need you help to at least partially fund our expenses to get there. Airfare from Colorado to Haiti is surprisingly expensive and so is the cost of lodging due to a shortage of safe places to stay.

Please stay tuned, tomorrow I will reveille a fundraiser to raise money for our Haiti mission trip. Thanks to the help of a amazing fellow adoptive mom, we will be selling beautiful custom designed t-shirts. 100% of the profits will fund our services and supplies for the orphanage in Haiti. Not only will you get a really cute or handsome shirt but you will also be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity to make a difference for children directly affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

March Madness for Rwanda

Here is a notice that I received from Heifer International:

Dear Kari,

1 = 3, Our math isn’t wrong. Gifts to Rwanda will be tripled to restore communities to peace and prosperity.

This project initiated by the Rwandan government is aimed at lifting over 6,000 families out of poverty with the gift of sheep, dairy cows, and pigs. Each family will receive extensive training on sustainable agricultural methods that also help preserve the fragile Rwandan environment.
When you give… One cow becomes three, Three goats become nine, Hope multiplies
And remember, as with any Heifer gift the impact won’t merely be tripled. As one family passes on the gift of livestock and training to another, your gift will grow exponentially until a whole community is lifted out of poverty. Join the matchness. Make your Heifer gift today! Thank you for your compassion and support,
Ashley Michael
Heifer InternationalHeifer Internatioanl

Any donation of $10 and above will be matched to assist families in Rwanda with the Kirehe Community-Based Watershed Management Project – a special initiative that will empower families in Rwanda. Each family will be given livestock and extensive training in animal husbandry and sustainable farming techniques that will help restore the fragile Rwandan environment. To learn more or make your donation go to:

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.5871027/?msource=EB3C100002&tr=y&auid=6127201

Keep a Child Alive

I watched a documentary tonight called "We are Together" http://us.wearetogether.org/ about a group of orphans residing at Agape Child Care Center in South Africa. They were a inspiring group of kids affected by the AIDS epidemic in South Africa who with some help put together a music cd. At the end of the film was a plug for a organization called "Keep a Child Alive" http://keepachildalive.org/, which provides life saving anti-retroviral medications, care, education and food to HIV positive youth in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and India. They look like a great organization and on the home page of their website they are featuring a chance to be one of 5 individuals who will accompany Alicia Keys on her second trip back to South Africa. All you have to do to enter, is text ALIVE to 90999 to donate $5 to the organization.

Buy a Raffle Ticket Now for the DRC and Haiti!

Go to this blog for your chance to win a ONE WEEK stay at a condo on the beach in Destin, Florida. The raffle tickets are only $10 and ALL proceeds are being split between a organization in Haiti and a orphanage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The fundraiser ends today so you do not have much time. Their goal is to reach $4,000 and they are only a few hundred dollars short!

http://terryhousehold.blogspot.com/

Christmas Gifts that Pay it Forward

In the middle of all the excitement of our adoption in Rwanda the holidays are also creeping up upon us. So I thought I would feature some great alternative gift ideas. I was looking through my most recent magazine from Heifer International, "The World Ark", and it featured a interview with Austin Bailey the founder of Tom's Shoes. So I did some Internet research and learned about this amazing and growing business that truly is all about paying it forward. For every shoe sold they produce and give away a shoe to a person in need in a specific country. The project started in Argentina and has spread to Ethiopia. They primarily choose Ethiopia because of the high occurrence of a specific disease that most people in the US or Europe have never heard of. It is called Podoconiosis. It is a terrible disease that is contracted simply by having a set of risk factors including not wearing shoes on volcanic soil. It is common in countries of East Africa and very prevalent in Southern Ethiopia where our daughter is from. Here is a video from Tom's that explains why they choose Ethiopia.



Now if you have been impacted, then check out the Toms website at http://www.tomsshoes.com/default.asp. Many of the shoes are made of organic cotton and they have T-shirts as well. For every shoe, T-shirt, or Hoodie purchased they donate a pair of shoes. What a great Christmas gift idea!

Order some great coffee!

Our "Just Love Coffee" store is open for business. Just Love Coffee is a umbrella business started by a adoptive family to help other adoptive families. The best part is that all of the coffee products are free trade and fair priced. They carry Ethiopia and Rwanda coffee as well as a Africa blend (most likely coffees from various East African sources). We receive a portion of the proceeds from each bag sold from our store. We will in turn utilize our profits to support our adoption as well as to continue supporting humanitarian efforts in Rwanda. I have added a gadget to visit our store at the top of the blog or you can access the URL at: http://www.justlovecoffee.com/AfricaInOurHearts

Non-Profit to Support Home of Hope

One of the families who adopted this year from Home of Hope Orphanage, the same orphanage where we will be adopting from, has started a non-profit organization to support the orphanage. Some of the posts are hard for me to read, but this is the reality for these children, a reality so different from the one we know every day. When I think of what my children have and the birthday party that we just yesterday celebrated and then I think about these children living as orphans, real orphans in a real orphanage and I really feel and process this information, my heart is broken. It frustrates me that there is so much we take for granted in the US; education, medical clinics, paved roads, grocery stores...... So when some people are surprised that we are adopting two more and will have a "big family", by American standards, I don't even bother to explain because they don't get it, they have not processed the reality, they do not want to see. The things that Laurel speaks of, this is why I have been buying donations for the orphanage even though I am going to have to charge our airplane tickets. If you can please read this post from the website and then do what you can to help by going to http://www.four4-more.blogspot.com/

Laurel:
Ever since Peter and I left the Home of Hope the last day with our precious Myles Mugisha , we have been haunted by the images of the children we had to walk away from. To finalize our adoption, we were in Rwanda seven days. Three of those days we had to return Myles to the orphanage by 5pm every evening. Peter encouraged me not to enter the orphanage until the final day that we had our son and could take him home.

The last day came, and we carried Myles down to the orphanage room where he spent about 5 months of his life, to say "goodbye." As soon as we entered the hallway that led to the different rooms of age-grouped children, I was hit with a smell-mix of dampness, wet diapers, and musty unopened windows. There really is no explaining it. When I entered Myles' room, I saw dark aqua walls, the smell of urine-soaked mattresses, rows and rows of tiny basinets, each one holding a child, an orphan with a story, a child who needed/s a home. Most of these tiny beds had a string across the top with dangling toys for the babies to look at. The only empty basinet was the one that had held Myles for those months of waiting. It was the length of his little body, no wonder he still, at 7 months, had no idea how to turn on his side. After spending some time visiting with the babies in the room, and trying to control the depth of anguish I felt for the orphaned children in the room and for the 2-3 care takers who were trying their hardest to feed, clothe, bathe, change, and care for the 35 infants in the room, we left to look into the other rooms of the orphanage. Next we walked into the 12-24 month room. Oddly enough-and I've never experienced anything else like this in my life, but I have NO memory of this room. I believe that it was too hard to see these children and my memory is blocked. The other room that I remember was full of 2-5 year olds (I think) and there were many rows of cribs, 2 children to a crib. It was 11am when we were there and you could have heard a pin drop in the room. It was nap time, in the morning. I took in the room for a moment: nothing on the walls, not toys to be seen, nothing. Nothing. A few children saw a visitor standing in the doorway (me) and peaked up without moving their precious heads, smiled, and did mini-waves.
There is so much more to write, but the end result is how we felt when we left. As we backed out of the Home of Hope driveway, I vividly remember waving to a small group of 2-4 year olds--and remember especially a bright-eyed little girl in a worn yellow dress, smiling and waving to us as we left. While we were so happy to be leaving with Myles, we were leaving many many more.

Coming home: I shared with my friends the grief we felt (and many other families feel) for those children left behind. What can we do? How do we start? My friends Christina and Heather, right away, responded with: "we can." A month and a half after we had settled into our new life with our baby Myles, they began talking about the action plan again. "We can do something." Even if it's sending an excersaucer for the infant room, which I got approval for...Myles had very little muscle tone in his legs from non-use.. The sisters at the orphanage and I found a small spot in the infant room where an excersaucer would fit perfectly. My mind went back to the children waving goodbye to us, standing in the dirt outside the Home of Hope, they weren't wearing shoes. "We can" send shoes. We can work together, with the help of others who have same-heart-desires for change.

Orphanage Donation Drive

We are keeping ourselves busy right now by collecting donations that we will take to the Home of Hope Orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda. It is my understanding that there is a definate need there. When we traveled to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter we brought two huge suitcases full of donations for her care center as well as for the AHOPE orphanage. This is the best way for them to get the items that they need as shipping to Africa is obviously enormously expensive. So we are filling up bins again that we will disperse into our luggage when we travel to Rwanda. The following is a list of the items that we are collecting. If you have any of these things laying around that you would like to get to us just drop me a line.

Infant Motrin or Tylenol /Children's Motrin or Tylenol
Children's Cough Medicine
Antibacterial Cream
Antifungal Cream
Latex Gloves
Infant/Toddler Blankets
Bedding for Cribs or Toddler Beds
All Children's Sizes Clothing, Undergarments, and Socks
All Children's Sizes Slip on Shoes (Crocs)
Infant toys (Washable only, No Stuffed Animals)
Toddler Developmental Toys (Shape sorters, stacking toys, large legos, plastic building blocks)
Simple large piece puzzles
Sturdy Board Books
Coloring Books andColoring Paper
Crayons, Colored Pencils, Washable Markers, and Pencils

Miraculous Monday

Check out the organization that my coworker, fellow (previous) graduate student and friend has founded with her husband to assist children in Latin America. I worry, in particular, that since Guatemala stopped international adoptions that they may have also lost some humanitarian support coming from those traveling families. So check out their work at: http://www.service-usla.org/

Miraculous Monday

Check out "Kids for Africa" and the "Change Exchange". Your children can learn about Rwanda through information, videos and games at http://www.learntodream.org/changeexchange/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=13

and adults can learn how to help send a child to school at http://www.learntodream.org/changeexchang

Miraculous Monday

I am going to focus on my own little world today for "Miraculous Monday". And the miracle is my witnessing my daughter's first day of kindergarten. She looked adorable in her new school-girl uniform. I was apprehensive at first when I learned that her school was going to uniforms this year, but I have to say that those kids all looked so great in their outfits! She was not the least bit nervous but as usual very brave and excited to be going to school with the big kids. When she got home from school she told us all about her day and got out her "homework" that is to be done everynight. The goal is for all the kinders to be able to write their name and count to ten in the next two weeks. We already achieved that this summer so it is nice to say that she is starting out ahead of the group. You would never know that just over a year ago she barely spoke English and we thought she was 2 years younger then she is.

But not just one but two miracles ocurred today. At the end of my work day I quickly checked my email and guess what? News of the adoption!!! Apparantly the Ministry's office in Rwanda has requested the email address for ourselves as well as several other families with dossiers in Rwanda, most of them arriving late spring to early summer. Our agency sounds optimistic that we will SOON be receiving a email directly to us with news of our approval. But I am cautious as well because we could certainly be contacted to provide more info and soon may mean another month instead of another week. If anything, after almost 5 months since our dossier arrived in Rwanda and 8 months since starting our homestudy, I have learned that time is a very relative concept that I have little control over. If we do in fact receive our approval the end of this month that would however mean that we may possibly be traveling in December which would be great since our whole family has two weeks off work and school for Christmas Break.

Miraculous Monday

How much do you spend at Starbucks or your local coffee shop every month? Well if you give up approximately 2 mochas a month you can join the Mocha Club and make a difference by donating $7 a month to your chosen project. Yes, that is correct, only $7 a month. This sounds like pennies to most of us, but in most places in the world that small amount of money can make a enormous difference. And as a bonus (o.k. now this is sounding like a infomercial) if you join by the end of this week you get to choose a free t-shirt! The specific causes that you can specify your contribution to include: Child mothers and women at risk, clean water, education, HIV/AIDS and Health Care, or orphan care and vulnerable children. So whatever your passion, they have a way to make a big difference from a small sacrifice. Some examples of just how far your money goes: $5 provides lifesaving antiretroviral medication to one person for a month, $1 provides one person with clean water for a year, $10 provides a mosquito net to prevent malaria for a whole family. The core of the program is about making connections and building bridges throughout the world, so after you join you can invite people you know to make a team and then stay connected with your cause in Africa. Now that's worth giving up to mochas a month! Go to: https://www.mochaclub.org/