Matthew is Going HOME!!!

Do you remember Matthew??? 
Well, I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!
He has a family! And that family has FLOWN through the China adoption process!
And guess what?
Matthew ages out THIS THURSDAY...
but his new mama is getting on a plane TOMORROW to go get him!!!
YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to plea with you to pray for her.
She will be traveling to get "Matthew" whom will be named Levi Matthew, by herself.
But WE KNOW she isn't really going alone.
Jesus, Almighty God and lover of the fatherless, is leading her, guiding her, going ahead and behind her and filling her with His presence.
Please pray that nothing hinders her path to get Levi Matthew!!
I would also ask you to be in prayer for Matthew himself as ALL HE HAS EVER KNOWN in this world will drastically change.
Oh yes, he wants a family.
Oh yes, he wants to be adopted. To belong. To have a mama.
And he will...but there is such a loss also that dear Matthew will endure, that we really must uphold his precious heart and emotions in our prayers.
Suddenly all whom he has known, everything he has ever experienced, the food, the language even his name (his Chinese name is not Matthew) WILL UTTERLY CHANGE on a dime.
Once he comes to America, or perhaps even before, grief will need to be experienced. 
And as one who has walked the road of grief (albeit a different kind), I will tell you it is WORK.
HARD WORK.
Matthew (Levi Matthew that is!) will be desperate for our prayers. 
Please join me in praying for him, his adjustment, his grief work, his acclimation to his new family, his bonding time with his new mama in China, their details of the adoption to be smooth, their trip home and then ALL THAT IS AHEAD of them once he comes home.
You will probably want to read THIS POST from his amazing mother-to-be as she writes from her heart (on her family blog) about what song she will sing to her new son when they meet! (Oh, this post MELTS MY HEART!!!!) Be sure to follow their journey!
What a JOY: He is going home!! 

Precious Marlena...let's FIND HER FAMILY!!

It has happened again.
I've fallen in love.
{My husband is probably so happy I do this with orphans and not men...hahahaha}
I know that for us, we are max capacity.
Emotionally.
Financially.
Spatially. (our house...our van can take more!)
So I'm going to blog about HER.
Seriously, I even posted a plea in our agency's Facebook group BEGGING for families to RUN to her page and see if she might be their child!!
I am not able to paste her sweet face here...but you can go HERE and see her adorable face and watch her cuuuuuuute video!!!
I beg you to go and see if precious Marlena might be YOUR daughter. She is someone's...I am JUST SURE!!!
Some really wonderful people met her in person and go one with exclamations about her "Awesomeness!!"
Marlena is 11 years old and loves to recite poetry and sing. She has a beautiful voice. She has an even temperment, is gentle and very sweet. She is very much desiring a family. (AND DID I MENTION SHE IS AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!?!?) Seriously, one look at her sweet face and I was gone.   GONE.
Marlena has cerebral palsy of all four limbs and low tone in her trunk. She uses a stroller instead of a wheelchair because her upper body is not strong enough to roll the chair. After she is home and receives therapy, she will be an excellent candidate for a power chair. I believe that this may look like a "severe special need" to some, but when you see her...WHEN YOU SEE HER...you realize what I did about Toby...and then Esty:
"She is mine. It doesn't matter about her challenges. That child needs to be here and OUT OF THAT ORPHANAGE so she can thrive!!"
And oh will she bloom. The girl's got blooming potential!!
So you've taken this much time to read about this treasured child, will you just click and SHARE this post with your networks so we can try and locate her family???
By the way!!! I've got some GOOOOOD NEWS!!!
MATTHEW (from this post and this post) HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! (Please say a prayer for them, they are in RUSH MODE to process their paperwork so they can have adoption day BEFORE September 12th, his 14th birthday. Seriously, even IF he has this dedicated family coming for him, if they cannot beat that deadline, he stays an orphan.) 
PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
{Please go share about Marlena now!}

Pleading Prayers for Matthew

I have advocated for several orphans over the past year.

Usually I choose the ones that particularly grab my heart, and in some cases completely break me.

Matthew is one of those.

Ever good natured and kind, Matthew needs you!

I want nothing more than to find his family.

I have sought God's face intensely about him becoming a part of OUR family, but God's answer was no.

There MUST be someone else.

Where are you, sweet family?

If you are like me, my precious Toby was advocated for by many, many bloggers and I never saw it.

So you, future family of Matthew, may never see these words.

But friends, prayer is POWERFUL.

You are seeing this.

You can pray.

"Oh Lord of heaven and earth, please bend your ear and hear our prayer! We call on your defensive nature of the fatherless. Your child, Matthew, has grown up without the love of a mother and a father. He is a fine young man. You have blessed him with a great experience at a camp for orphans and then beautifully orchestrated Rob's following summer to reunite them. Lord God, please draw his family to him! We pray with all our hearts that you will bring them quickly. Allow the doors to blow open between them and Matthew. Allow the time to work out. September is coming so fast, Lord. Yet you know you have plans you have for him. Plans to give him a hope and a future. Please provide a loving family for this treasured young man. Please do not allow him to enter the world alone...at age 14.   We ask these things in Your Name, Jesus, Amen."

"The prayer of the righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

"Defender of the fatherless, defender of widows--this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families and sets the prisoners free and gives them joy." Psalm 68:5-6

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...speak up for the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8 and 9

Please, I beg you to share the story of Matthew with your friends. Keep on talking to Jesus about him too! Here are a few places you can go to read about him: Reece's Rainbow (donate here towards his specific adoption even though his family has not been found, the money will be held for him in particular!); Rob's blog sharing about personal time with Matthew: here, here and here.

Is Matthew Yours?

Dear friends, nothing breaks my soul more than when a treasured orphan ages out.

In China, it's young.

Age 14.
(Can you fathom never having your heart trained for life and being pushed out on your own at age 14?!)

After that  14th birthday...a most dreaded birthday as an unwanted and unchosen orphan...he or she is forever deemed "unadoptable" by the government of China. They will never be able to become a son or daughter. There's way to much "UN" in that sentence.

Oh. My tears come again.

Dear Matthew is a boy in danger of this fate. He lives in China and is so dear. Watch his video. He is PRECIOUS!

Is he yours??

If so, please do not waste a MINUTE MORE!!! His 14th birthday is marching towards us quickly! Today is May 1st and his birthday is in SEPTEMBER!!!

Do not walk, RUN TO CHINA to scoop up this love!!!