Call to Prayer for Russian Orphans

My children, perhaps like many, are playing "Olympics."
They are sliding around in stocking feet making the "beep-beep-BEEEP" sound (ready-set-go) and clinging on to each other's shirts riding imaginary bobsleds, they are pretending to be speed skaters, and even getting their bikes out and riding attempting to ride on the ice-covered driveway.
They are so fun!
And then, I remember HIM.
Vitaliy.
You can read a post I wrote about his can't-be-family HERE.
And recently, I received a plea from his mama to pray.
He has been transferred to a mental institution.
{my breath sucks in at this reality.}
Putin will not allow Americans adopt their orphans.
I cried and cried.
Oh God, RESCUE!!!!
^{Psalm 10:17-18} O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

This is a story done by a German TV station about the state of Russian orphanages. Vitaliy is mentioned in this piece. You can view this here: German TV report.

Photo by Kate Brooks

Then I stumbled onto these images by Kate Brooks. They are REAL and they are PAINFUL.

Photo by Kate Brooks

And we must pray.
We know Vitaliy is one of these children now.
Pray with me on his behalf and for all the orphans in Russia today.
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses^[a] and renounces theLord.
⁴ In the pride of his face^[b] the wicked does not seek him;^[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
⁶ He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
⁷ His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹ he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹² Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 10

What Will It Take??

I am burdened to the point of tears.
My heart is so, so heavy within its cavity.

Named Connor James, by his hopeful adoptive family, he went to Jesus last night.

Another orphan has died in the orphanage.
This precious one HAD A FAMILY. (This is their family blog. PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM!!!) 
Oh the many that do not have families.
They who die unnoticed.
Unloved.
Some known only by a number, never having a name!
CHURCH, WHERE ARE YOU??????????
Do we not simply understand?
There is a GLOBAL ORPHAN CRISIS going on!!!!!!!

Do people simply turn away? Do they scroll past the posts I share on Facebook? {yes, i know certain ones have actually unfriended me to avoid it.}
"If I do not know, then I do not hurt over them."
Is that what we think?
How can we???
A very uncomfortable verse lies in Proverbs:
"Don't excuse yourself by saying,  "Look, we didn't know." For God understands all hearts, and He sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve." (Prov 24:12, NLT)
I shared this post from a blog yesterday. The title is "It's Easier Not to Know."  It's not a happy comparison of what is happening to children in Russian orphanages.
This is a boy BEFORE he was transferred to a mental institution because no family came for him. And AFTER he had been in the Russian institution longer.

It got shared many, many times over.
So we are AWARE. We SEE.
What are we doing????
Are we stopping in our tracks and asking ourselves: WHAT CAN I DO????
What CAN you do, anyway? 
Can you sell your boat? Can you go on a mission trip? Can you support a family who is adopting a child from an institution? Can you take a meal to a family who is involved in foster care? 
Can you avail yourself and your resources to the Lord to do WHATEVER HE MIGHT in your life because YOU CANNOT STAND WHAT YOU SEE?????
Yes, you can.
You do not need to have a big house. You do not need to have other children (experience). You do not need to have a double income, a rich savings, or a big minivan.
You do not need to have off the charts patience or Pinterest mommy crafts.
You just have to have your heart BROKEN.
You have to make yourself AVAILABLE.
You have to turn your life over to your Creator and ask, "How do you want to involve me in help alleviate the suffering of the fatherless ALL.OVER.THE.WORLD????"
He will give the patience.
He will take care of your finances.
He will take care of giving you ALL YOU NEED to raise up His treasures.
This orphan crisis is SO GREAT that if you were able to gather up all of them together, they would form the 10th largest country in the world. 163 Million of them worldwide. That should knock you off your chair.
Are they all adoptable? No.
Are they all real people? Yes.
Are they all in desperate need? Yes. Will it matter to the one you parent? Oh my YES! YES! YES!
Can you alone need to solve the orphan crisis? No.
Can we together? That just might be a yes.*

*I am aware that the Global Orphan Crisis is incredibly complex. Adoption is not THE answer by any stretch. But I am an adoptive parent who has seen the lives of 2 orphans radically change. Their futures are marked with hope because God has chosen to not allow them to remain in orphanages. We did not do the choosing, God did. We couldn't sit back any longer and not act. Join us. Be a family for an orphan. They are waiting. And dying as they wait. And that's NOT OKAY WITH ME. **Addendum: are you from Canada? Would you be willing to stand in the gap for some of the pipeline children caught in the Russian ban against Americans adopting orphans? YOU might be the very person I've been praying for. Read THIS ARTICLE to get started!!

Moyer Family Update

Oh my dear friends...

WE MUST KEEP PRAYING.

My friend Jenny has shared with me that things are NOT going smoothly in their efforts to get Vitaliy out of Russia and into their family.

More than likely, he has been transferred to a very ugly, frightening place. They do know that he was NOT admitted to the monastery where they hoped he would be able to go. :(

They are NOT giving up, but their options are incredibly limited. Their most recent attempt to bring him home was met with a big fat NO.

How would this affect you? I'd be incredibly crushed.

On top of this, their domestically adopted daughter has a half sibling who was about to be born. They were asked to adopt him.

They rejoiced with this news!!

They named him Solomon Robert.

His nursery is ready.

And then...birthmom changed her mind.

Double whammy.

Can you believe it????

Neither can I.

We must keep praying, sweet friends. We cannot let up. This family is under fire. They have their hearts open to children who are in need of a family both domestically and internationally. They have not said no to special needs. They are denying themselves and following Jesus.

And it's gotten messy.

And their hearts are broken and achy.

Jenny said, "I feel depressed, but functional. I am so grateful for the 3 kids here to keep me going."

Please, please keep praying.

She also said like the warrior she is, "Faithwise, I am not shaken. For the first time I'm asking God why but I still know this is for our good and His glory. I just don't see it. It's so dark."

They also have maintained a commitment to continue going to Russia to visit Vitaliy until it is no longer possible.

Will you take on this family to pray for them? My heart screams that we need more prayer warriors on their behalf!!

Maybe you would be willing to send a message or prayer of encouragement to them? You can contact me on Facebook to do this or leave a comment here.

One Thread of Hope Left...Vitaliy's Story

My sweet praying friends, we must continue to PRAY!

Precious dear little Vitaliy was not ruled for in a Russian court of law last week when my friends Aaron and Jenny Moyer went to try and adopt him in spite of the Russian ban on American adoptions.

Due to this horrible decision to ban adoptions, this beloved orphan with down syndrome WILL BE TRANSFERRED to an insane asylum.

Within. the. month.

Does anyone else burst into tears at this news!??!!

Worse yet...they had to say goodbye and LEAVE HIM BEHIND.

In Jenny's words, "It was horrifying."

Understatement of the year.

Statistics are that 65% of children will die within the first year at the insane asylum.

Anyone else ready to fall down on your knees to wage battle against the enemy for the sake of this child??

There is one final hope:

The Moyers have filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights to appeal the Russian court's decision. No date is set for this hearing.

Will you please petition the God of the fatherless on behalf of the Moyers and Vitaliy?