I borrowed this from a kindred spirit friend blogger- http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/if-not-usthen-who.html
Adeye speaks volumes as to why we ALL need to have our eyes opened and our hearts moved and our bodies ready to go- If you can read this and not be moved to action....... My children all have had some reactions to this post ( all in favor) and some just had to comment on her blog to others who commented . I will be sharing my children's stories and then also their feelings about this.....
if not us...then who?
I have typed and edited this post a few times. Trying to find the right words—the ones which don’t offend people or stir up a hornet's nest when it comes to tough issues--is hard. I am not the most eloquent person when it comes to sharing what’s on my heart. Sometimes words escape me. Like today.
This is going to be one of those posts. The kind that’s hard, raw, emotional, and difficult to put into words. So if you are the kind of person who can’t handle seeing the hard things, it would probably be best if you stopped reading now. This post is not for you. Be warned before you read any further—the images in this post are hard to look at! They will almost rip your heart out. If you feel that you cannot handle it….stop here!
That’s my little disclaimer.
There is no way to share what is on my heart in a watered-down, peaches-and-cream kinda way. There just isn’t. And even if there were, I totally couldn’t be bothered with trying to find it. Perhaps it’s just the frame of mind I’m in these day. You see, this week I have watched in utter amazement as the world has been in a complete frenzy of grief, emotion, pain, and sadness over the loss of Whitney Houston. The pop icon overdosed. And the world went into deep mourning. Millions and millions of people grieved the loss of the singer while our televisions, social networks, and radio stations spoke of not much else. We were bombarded by her legacy, her talent, her fortune and what will happen to it, and the sad loss to the world.
Today almost 30 000 people died of extreme poverty. And we never heard a single word about it.
Today over 160 000 000 orphans lived in appalling, filthy conditions and went to bed hungry [again]. And we never heard a single word about that either.
Today children were confined to cribs like caged animals—left to lie in their own waste for hours and hours, banged their heads on the bars of the crib to self-soothe, bit their fingers until they bled, rocked endlessly just for something to do, and consumed a diet of not much more than cabbage broth. But it’s too hard to speak about this reality---so we don’t.
Today children who turn five throughout Eastern Europe will be given a death sentence—also known as a transfer to a mental asylum for children and adults. There they will spend the rest of their [numbered] days confined to beds or cribs and will never feel the warmth of the sun on their faces or the cool breeze blowing. Shhhhh….we don’t want to talk about that either.
Sadly, even those of us who do know about the atrocities that happen to orphans in faraway lands, we too don’t want to talk about it. We’re afraid of what people will think if we share too much. We shy away from posting graphic and tough images and stories on our social networks just in case it offends a friend--can't be ruffling any feathers, now can we?
Sometimes it’s just so much easier to get on with our lives and pretend that this stuff doesn’t really exist.
I guess it’s easier to talk about the things that don’t hold us accountable to actually DO something. It’s easier to talk about other people’s “issues” when there is not a single thing that we can do to make a difference. That gets us off the hook.
But how vastly different it is when we come face to face with calamity that we CAN do something about. That, my friends, is a whole different story. Why? Because the Scripture is as clear as daylight.
Proverbs 24:12 tells us, "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."
God holds us responsible to ACT!
I know how it goes. I used to be that person. I never wanted to see the hard things in this world. I was happy and content within my cushy four walls. The hard things made me feel so darn uncomfortable. Pain and suffering were something I did everything I possibly could to avoid for most of my life. After all, conviction would mean I would actually have to do something about it…and that was just too hard, required too much time, there are too many things on my plate…yada, yada, yada.
That was until the day I prayed a simple prayer…not really knowing or fully understanding that God would take my words at face value and He WOULD do as I asked. Because He’s God—the Almighty Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth—and He loves to answer our prayers.
“Break my heart for the things that break yours, Father!”
That was all it took. God rocked my world! He turned it upside down and inside out. He opened the eyes of my heart and I began to see…truly SEE!
I shared earlier in the week that something occurred to me as I was praying over the 119 children who got quickly added to this list. I remembered that there was a time in my own life when I just had absolutely no idea about what the word “transferred” meant next to a child’s name. I was completely clueless…until God began to break my heart for the things which shattered His. I began to do research. All of a sudden I wanted to know what happened to orphans. I needed to know.
The more I learned, and the more my heart broke, the more I came to realize how very little the orphan crisis was spoken about in churches. I could not remember a single time in all my years of being a Christian and sitting in church faithfully every Sunday that I had heard a sermon taught on their desperate plight. Not once. I realized that the ones who did know the truth were like an army being sent into battle with very little reinforcements—facing a giant far bigger than anyone was talking about—yet with very, very little help to gain any significant victories.
I do think that things are getting better. I do think the message of the orphan crisis is starting to be shared in congregations more now than it did even five years ago. But what a long way we still have to go! I am always shocked when people write to me after I share something on my blog and say, “I had no idea!” Even with all the social media, the internet, and continuous news channels--people still do not know.
We have work to do! The Body of Christ NEEDS to know. The world is not called to care for the fatherless. We are! It’s as simple as that. We’re the ones who are meant to be going, giving, supporting, bringing them home, advocating, praying, and doing everything we possibly can to make a difference. We’re the ones who are meant to be getting our hands dirty and getting uncomfortable (Lord forbid!) for the sake of the Gospel.
IF NOT US....THEN WHO???
You know what I think? I think we need a massive awakening! I think the sleeping church needs to wake up and start talking about the hard things. We need to be talking about the catastrophes which happen not very far from where we live. This is reality, friends. It is not some made-up, Photoshopped picture someone did as a sick joke! This is real life.
This is the face of desperation--of abandonment, neglect and poverty!
These are HUMAN BEINGS we're talking about—with feelings, hurts, pains, needs, emotions, and desires.
Did you know that this sort of thing even existed? I am going to keep this post always, so that I can send it to the next person who writes to me and protests, "But isn't an institution in a child's home country better than bringing a foreign child to this country?" You have GOT to be kidding me!
These are the Father’s beloved chosen people! Created in His image with a purpose and a destiny—each one of them with the potential to become so much more than what they currently are. Every precious child is a gift from His hand. Why can we not see that? Why do we turn away and refuse to get involved? Why is getting the next best gadget on the market so much more important than the life of a child who will certainly perish if he remains where he is?
Why is it so easy to mourn Whitney…but not shed a single tear for the ones such as these?
When people ask me, “What can we do?” I always respond, “What can’t we do?”
We need an awakening, friends! A movement which ignites a fire and a passion in each one of us that makes us want to jump in and do anything we possibly can to help.
Some will read this and say, “Not my calling! Not my problem!” I have news for you today…IT IS! James 1:27, Psalm 83:3, and many, many other Scriptures tell us in no uncertain words that it IS our problem. It’s non-negotiable—it’s not a calling, it’s a COMMAND. Big difference.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am so out of excuses. I am completely over myself! As I sit writing this I cannot think of one good enough reason as to why I should NOT do everything I humanly can to try and help. Those 119 children with the word “transferred” next to their name? They are living on borrowed time. I was once told that 95% of them will die once they are transferred to a mental asylum. For some of them, when that day of transfer comes, so does the word “unadoptable." Their time to find a family has run out. They will literally spend the rest of their days confined to a crib, bedridden!
It IS our problem!
AWAKEN US, Lord! Stir our hearts, ignite passion in us, show us where we can get involved, shift our priorities. Challenge us, show us what truly matters in this life, make us uncomfortable so that the only place we find true contentment is not in the things of the world, but in relationship with You…doing Your will, obeying your commands! Convict our hearts, Lord Jesus!
Wake us up for the sake of the millions who wait…and wait…and wait!
IF NOT US...THEN WHO?
This is going to be one of those posts. The kind that’s hard, raw, emotional, and difficult to put into words. So if you are the kind of person who can’t handle seeing the hard things, it would probably be best if you stopped reading now. This post is not for you. Be warned before you read any further—the images in this post are hard to look at! They will almost rip your heart out. If you feel that you cannot handle it….stop here!
That’s my little disclaimer.
There is no way to share what is on my heart in a watered-down, peaches-and-cream kinda way. There just isn’t. And even if there were, I totally couldn’t be bothered with trying to find it. Perhaps it’s just the frame of mind I’m in these day. You see, this week I have watched in utter amazement as the world has been in a complete frenzy of grief, emotion, pain, and sadness over the loss of Whitney Houston. The pop icon overdosed. And the world went into deep mourning. Millions and millions of people grieved the loss of the singer while our televisions, social networks, and radio stations spoke of not much else. We were bombarded by her legacy, her talent, her fortune and what will happen to it, and the sad loss to the world.
Today almost 30 000 people died of extreme poverty. And we never heard a single word about it.
Today over 160 000 000 orphans lived in appalling, filthy conditions and went to bed hungry [again]. And we never heard a single word about that either.
Today children were confined to cribs like caged animals—left to lie in their own waste for hours and hours, banged their heads on the bars of the crib to self-soothe, bit their fingers until they bled, rocked endlessly just for something to do, and consumed a diet of not much more than cabbage broth. But it’s too hard to speak about this reality---so we don’t.
Today children who turn five throughout Eastern Europe will be given a death sentence—also known as a transfer to a mental asylum for children and adults. There they will spend the rest of their [numbered] days confined to beds or cribs and will never feel the warmth of the sun on their faces or the cool breeze blowing. Shhhhh….we don’t want to talk about that either.
Sadly, even those of us who do know about the atrocities that happen to orphans in faraway lands, we too don’t want to talk about it. We’re afraid of what people will think if we share too much. We shy away from posting graphic and tough images and stories on our social networks just in case it offends a friend--can't be ruffling any feathers, now can we?
Sometimes it’s just so much easier to get on with our lives and pretend that this stuff doesn’t really exist.
I guess it’s easier to talk about the things that don’t hold us accountable to actually DO something. It’s easier to talk about other people’s “issues” when there is not a single thing that we can do to make a difference. That gets us off the hook.
But how vastly different it is when we come face to face with calamity that we CAN do something about. That, my friends, is a whole different story. Why? Because the Scripture is as clear as daylight.
Proverbs 24:12 tells us, "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."
God holds us responsible to ACT!
I know how it goes. I used to be that person. I never wanted to see the hard things in this world. I was happy and content within my cushy four walls. The hard things made me feel so darn uncomfortable. Pain and suffering were something I did everything I possibly could to avoid for most of my life. After all, conviction would mean I would actually have to do something about it…and that was just too hard, required too much time, there are too many things on my plate…yada, yada, yada.
That was until the day I prayed a simple prayer…not really knowing or fully understanding that God would take my words at face value and He WOULD do as I asked. Because He’s God—the Almighty Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth—and He loves to answer our prayers.
“Break my heart for the things that break yours, Father!”
That was all it took. God rocked my world! He turned it upside down and inside out. He opened the eyes of my heart and I began to see…truly SEE!
I shared earlier in the week that something occurred to me as I was praying over the 119 children who got quickly added to this list. I remembered that there was a time in my own life when I just had absolutely no idea about what the word “transferred” meant next to a child’s name. I was completely clueless…until God began to break my heart for the things which shattered His. I began to do research. All of a sudden I wanted to know what happened to orphans. I needed to know.
The more I learned, and the more my heart broke, the more I came to realize how very little the orphan crisis was spoken about in churches. I could not remember a single time in all my years of being a Christian and sitting in church faithfully every Sunday that I had heard a sermon taught on their desperate plight. Not once. I realized that the ones who did know the truth were like an army being sent into battle with very little reinforcements—facing a giant far bigger than anyone was talking about—yet with very, very little help to gain any significant victories.
I do think that things are getting better. I do think the message of the orphan crisis is starting to be shared in congregations more now than it did even five years ago. But what a long way we still have to go! I am always shocked when people write to me after I share something on my blog and say, “I had no idea!” Even with all the social media, the internet, and continuous news channels--people still do not know.
We have work to do! The Body of Christ NEEDS to know. The world is not called to care for the fatherless. We are! It’s as simple as that. We’re the ones who are meant to be going, giving, supporting, bringing them home, advocating, praying, and doing everything we possibly can to make a difference. We’re the ones who are meant to be getting our hands dirty and getting uncomfortable (Lord forbid!) for the sake of the Gospel.
IF NOT US....THEN WHO???
You know what I think? I think we need a massive awakening! I think the sleeping church needs to wake up and start talking about the hard things. We need to be talking about the catastrophes which happen not very far from where we live. This is reality, friends. It is not some made-up, Photoshopped picture someone did as a sick joke! This is real life.
This is the face of desperation--of abandonment, neglect and poverty!
These are HUMAN BEINGS we're talking about—with feelings, hurts, pains, needs, emotions, and desires.
Did you know that this sort of thing even existed? I am going to keep this post always, so that I can send it to the next person who writes to me and protests, "But isn't an institution in a child's home country better than bringing a foreign child to this country?" You have GOT to be kidding me!
These are the Father’s beloved chosen people! Created in His image with a purpose and a destiny—each one of them with the potential to become so much more than what they currently are. Every precious child is a gift from His hand. Why can we not see that? Why do we turn away and refuse to get involved? Why is getting the next best gadget on the market so much more important than the life of a child who will certainly perish if he remains where he is?
Why is it so easy to mourn Whitney…but not shed a single tear for the ones such as these?
When people ask me, “What can we do?” I always respond, “What can’t we do?”
We need an awakening, friends! A movement which ignites a fire and a passion in each one of us that makes us want to jump in and do anything we possibly can to help.
Some will read this and say, “Not my calling! Not my problem!” I have news for you today…IT IS! James 1:27, Psalm 83:3, and many, many other Scriptures tell us in no uncertain words that it IS our problem. It’s non-negotiable—it’s not a calling, it’s a COMMAND. Big difference.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am so out of excuses. I am completely over myself! As I sit writing this I cannot think of one good enough reason as to why I should NOT do everything I humanly can to try and help. Those 119 children with the word “transferred” next to their name? They are living on borrowed time. I was once told that 95% of them will die once they are transferred to a mental asylum. For some of them, when that day of transfer comes, so does the word “unadoptable." Their time to find a family has run out. They will literally spend the rest of their days confined to a crib, bedridden!
It IS our problem!
credit: all photos from google
AWAKEN US, Lord! Stir our hearts, ignite passion in us, show us where we can get involved, shift our priorities. Challenge us, show us what truly matters in this life, make us uncomfortable so that the only place we find true contentment is not in the things of the world, but in relationship with You…doing Your will, obeying your commands! Convict our hearts, Lord Jesus!
Wake us up for the sake of the millions who wait…and wait…and wait!
IF NOT US...THEN WHO?
9 comments:
Oh My! I do believe you just crawled into my head and wrote the exact words I have spinning around! My heart is broken for each and every single 160 million. Thank you for sharing your heart and not being afraid of what the rest may think. It MUST be said.
Hi Jeane,
We've been reading Adeye for a few weeks and so moved by the truth in this. I was brought to tears this morning at church as the pastor spoke about having faith in God...what are we afraid of????
I am looking forward to hearing from your children on this sad reality.
Love, Mary B.
Dear Briggs Family,
Do you know if your Dr Standard can help Anya from Russia? http://creatingmyownlittlenirvana.blogspot.com/
She aged out of her orphanage before her mom could adopt her and bring her home.
Since then she was in a bad accident and hurt her leg. She had an external fixator, but it got infected and now she is likely to loose her foot.
Love to your family,
Claire
Hi Claire,
I do know about this situation . Wasn't the daughter shot ? I do not know but I can always ask for you. I will generate something and try to give him a call. I know that he would do it pro bono but the facility he works at might not. Then she would have to travel, get a visas and all of that...but God is bigger than the limits we see. I will run it by him though.
Hi Jeanne,
Thank you!I just thought he may be able to help or know someone who can.
Yes, she was shot at point blank range.
Love to you and your family.
Claire
I read your post and through each sentence you are screaming for justice. please do not stop yelling.
I wish you were standing in front of Congress reading your blog. You have a clear message that needs to be heard by many outside of the "blog" world.I still have nightmares about what my husband and I saw in 05 when we were in Russia and that is why I in my own helpless way continue to try and adopt from Russia. The challenges are endless, we are between trip one and trip two with yet another delay for some unknown reason with expiring paperwork and a child who goes to bed yet again....alone.On the home front,My five year old adopted son who has always reminded me of your Andrew has not eaten solid food since November 10th. We just received a diagnosis of Achlasia and he will have a dialation surgery on Tuesday. I wonder if these are tests?? Like in school, during a test you must take it alone. I wonder if I am being challenged to pass the test.Maybe this is your test, the test for justice. justice for all children that they may see the face of Christ in everyone they encounter and that we can be the hands of Christ for these children. I ache as well...
I found your blog through a friend of a friend. Thank you for posting this. I am one of those that despite having the world at my fingertips had no idea this went on with orhpans. I am definitely sharing this information.
Jeanne, my heart breaks for these children. Why are naked children sleeping on concrete in a room full of beautiful cribs???? I've seen these pictures before as I've read MANY adoption blogs over the past few years. I can't imagine anyone having the audacity to question if the children you've adopted would be better off in an orphanage~ even if they thought it was a decent one~ just to be in their own country! That makes no sense! Anyway, adopting a child with Downs has been a pull for me for 12+ years, but never could get my husband on board. (He's not against adoption~ he adopted my oldest two after we married. We have six daughters between us and eight grands. He is a very good, Christian man, but has degenerative arthritis.) Also, the children I checked out (on Reese's Rainbow) had age restrictions on their adoptive parents and he is over age. :( Our pastor is in the final stages of adopting from an orphanage in Peru, so our church does get their plight out there. We are, however, a very small church for our area. We (my husband and I) have donated time, money, and things to help them raise all their funds, but I still would like to do more to help the orphans. If I can't adopt, I'd like to be able to help someone else. Larry has also taken an early retirement after being transferred twice in six years at his age. That, and his lower paying job, has severely lowered our yearly income. Still rich compared to these children, I know, but still limits how much we can help. Any suggestions?
amen!
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