URGENT: 5 yr old Josh fighting for his life!

My dear friends, we must pray.

My friends' precious little boy is in bad shape. He needs the prayers of us all.

This is 5 year old Joshua Wilson.

He's so cute, isn't he?

He is a twin and a beloved son of my friends, Roger and Renee Wilson. They live here in our same small town in Ohio.

Last weekend, he fell and hit his head. He was life-flighted to the University of Michigan where they performed emergency brain surgery.

Yesterday, he couldn't stop seizing. They escalated into full body seizures, they intubated him, medicated him, performed bedside surgery (who knew?!?!) finally put a central line in and finally had to resort to forcing his body to rest by putting him into a coma.

The news this morning is that he will be kept in this comatose state for another 3 days. He's also had another blood transfusion!

O friends, can you IMAGINE how his precious family must be feeling?

Roger and Renee have an abundant life with 6 sons! These are dear Jesus-loving people who have adopted 4 of these boys from the US foster care system. Josh and his twin are two of them. These are the real deal kind of people. Hearts as big as the God they serve.

And now, this family needs our love, prayers and encouragement!!

Please please join together with us in asking for TOTAL healing of Josh.

Please pray for Roger and Renee's hearts to rest in God's amazing peace during this storm of life.

Pray for all his brothers who wait at home and are apart from their parents.

Pray for the wisdom of the doctors who are handling Josh's care.

Do you want to have a hand in encouraging this family? Their church family will be assisting them with meals, but I KNOW their medical bills will be piling up and feeling insurmountable.

Please consider giving a generous donation to help this family pay for medical expenses. Please use the "chip in" widget on the side of the blog underneath Josh's picture. We will keep this fundraiser up until the 4th of July (next week!)

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."   ~James 5:16

"The Lord protects them and keeps them alive.

He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies.

The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health."

               ~Psalm 41:2-3

And please, share this prayer need and fundraiser on social media! SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!

2nd Annual Cupcake Sale--SUCCESS!

What a perfect day we had!!

 Incredibly adorable cupcake kids were all around...and their cute mommas too!

 The table was festive and the people were amazing...especially the boys! :)

Grocery shoppers added cupcakes to their stashes...

and a little someone tried to make off with a cupcake!

 And another was caught RED HANDED!

How could anyone resist this crew?!

 Special thanks to Chief Supermarket in Wauseon for permitting us to be there!

 The lemonade was thirst quenching and the cupcakes were undeniably delicious!

 See those red raspberry topped cupcakes? They were filled with raspberry too...

BEST CUPCAKE EVER! (thanks, Suzann!)

Friends helped educate the public about the plight of children in Uganda...

 And made funny faces at the camera lady...

Bubbles and proper signage were important for the day's success!

Money was lovingly donated and meticulously counted...

and the grand total was $761.21!!! (note overjoyed DQ in the background!)

All our leftover cupcakes were donated to the homeless in downtown Toledo.

 What a sweet ending to a great project! See you again next year!!

(Click here if you want to boost our stand's donation amount to Sixty Feet!

Our online sales are increasing our amount! Check it out! Yippie!!)

Why We "Cupcake" OR Why Kids Are in Prison in Uganda

How does a child end up in a prison in Uganda?

Great question.

Let's follow a common story...

A beloved child is born to her mother...

She is a delight and a joy!

But her parents' lives are stolen early by disease, HIV/AIDS, war or even struck by lightning. (I heard this so often from street children while in Uganda! Lightning kills many parents!) This once loved child is now an orphan.


Often children are left to fend for themselves while a grandparent or other caregiver works in a field to provide for the children.

When their caregivers die or if a parent remarries, the child must then make their own way in the world. 


This means leaving the village and all they have known...

And trying to make a life in the big city.

 The city is a big, scary place when you are just a child.

 








The child sees the abundance of food at the market, but has no money to pay for any.

So they must scavenge for food...

The police periodically do "sweeps" of the area and pick up the children and take them to one of the 8 prisons in Uganda for children.

 They are locked up in facilities that are under financed and under staffed.

 
 Food only comes once every other day.

                                               Their bedding is old, moldy and soaked in years of old urine.

Despair doesn't begin to capture how they must feel.

At times, the facilities may go without water for months at a time.

There is nothing to do but wait...hoping that you will be allowed freedom...someday.


This is the common path of a child who sits in a prison in Uganda. Others are there because of a family's poverty, or because they were rejected for their special needs (physical and mental), or because they were unwanted by new step parents. Some are there for petty crimes mainly driven by their poverty.


But now, a group of Jesus-loving people have come together and formed Sixty Feet...all for the purpose of bringing hope and restoration to these very children in Jesus' name.

They lead them in worship...

They bring the gospel message into the prisons. Children learn of TRUE FREEDOM that is for them no matter if they are locked behind bars or not!

And now this dear child who has experienced so much loss, so much trauma is now a student of God's Word! Hope fills hearts!

And THAT my friends, is WHY WE CUPCAKE!!!

100% of the proceeds from our Cupcake Kids sale will go to the imprisoned children through Sixty Feet.


What will the money do? I'm glad you asked!!
*Food--with protein, daily!
*Clean water
*Medical care
*Providing adequate clothing, bedding and mosquito nets (to fight malaria)
*Repairing the facilities
*Initiating justice so that children who do not belong in the prisons can have their cases heard in as little as 3 months by a judge rather than the lengthy 18 months
*Removing the most vulnerable children to a loving foster family
*Provide on-going counseling, mentoring to the children by Ugandan men who love Jesus


All these things are done with your cupcake money!! 


Are you moved to support this ministry but are not nearby? Worry not! We have a virtual cupcake for you!

Click me!

This one has NO FAT, NO CALORIES and will still bring joy to your heart for helping the most vulnerable children! Click to donate directly to our stand!


Thank you to ALL MY FRIENDS who are so selflessly giving and baking and planning on being at our sale this Saturday! Cannot wait!!!

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.
The King will say to those on His right, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!"    ~Jesus in Matthew 25

Let's Save the Adoption Tax Credit!

Many of you know by experience how costly adoption is.

Many of you simply fear stepping out into something so expensive as adopting a child.

A generous federal refundable tax credit ended last year, on December 31, 2011.

Because our adoption was not final until this month, we did not qualify for it. :(

There are 163,000,000 more orphans in the world without families.

Reality is, adoption is not going to happen for MOST of them. :(

However, what if MORE orphans could become sons and daughters? 

What if something like a refundable tax credit made adoption more affordable?

Who knows what might happen! People who had previously thought adoption unattainable might consider themselves as a potential family for a needy child!

Currently, there is a bill in the house that would permanently bring the adoption tax credit back, make it refundable and increase the value of it! If you want to read about it yourself, here is a link. This is a link to the official bill itself.



This is GREAT NEWS!!!

But guess what?

Unless our state representatives hear how IMPORTANT this is to us, it might not pass.

WE WANT IT TO PASS!!!

In the name of giving every possible orphan a family, WE WANT THIS BILL TO PASS!!!!

So I ask you...

no,

I BEG YOU

to please take 15 minutes to email, call, write a letter and let him/her know that you want their vote to be

YES

on this proposed tax credit!!!!

Action is necessary!!

So often I wonder, "What can ELSE I do for orphans?"

Here is a GREAT activity! Make your voice heard! 

Even if YOU personally have no intention of every adopting...

PLEASE...

on behalf of those children who go to bed at night with no kisses, no hugs, no bedtime prayers, no last drinks of water, no one to comfort them that there is no monster under their bed...

PLEASE MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

Here is a link to find who your state representative is!

This is a link to change.org where a petition is being signed as well. This option would be best for anyone outside of the United States. You may read this blog from far away, but you can still have an impact on the future of orphans, at least in supporting giving them future homes in America. (Fellow Americans, although this route will be easier/faster I want to encourage you to contact your state representative personally.) 

Will you take action?

Guest Blogger--My daughter!

I have loved being a mom...been at it now 11 1/2 years. I don't know about your experience, but the child God has given me has blessed me abundantly. Her heart for others is incredible. She is ONE determined, passionate child. When she had a chance to name her autobiography she chose this title:

"The Determined Life of Jensi Shaw."

She is passionate about horses and owning one herself one day. Soon. Like go check in the garage, is it here yet? But, she also has a growing passion for the poor, the orphaned and the destitute. 

With her permission, I am going to share with you her persuasive speech she wrote this week for her 6th grade assignment:

Pets or People?

Let’s say you have some money you have decided to donate. What would you do with it? Would you spend it at the animal shelter where it could help animals who need a good home? Or would you be writing the check to help impoverished people around the world? If you said the animal shelter, perhaps I can change your mind. I believe that we need to support people before animals.

Everyone wants to make good investment. People live longer than animals, therefore your money goes to something long term. People need to have food, water and shelter. They need it much longer than animals. Wouldn’t you like your gift to have a longer impact for a more important cause? I do.

The need of people is huge. 4,500 children will die today because of water related diseases. I understand that animal shelters are important and I am not against them, but human life is more valuable. Does it anger you that people desert their animals? Doesn’t it anger you that people desert their children? 15 million children under age 5 die each DAY because of hunger. We are the ones deserting the needy, the unloved and the poor. We open the cupboard wanting a snack and complain that there is nothing “good enough” to eat. Ring a bell? We are overlooking the hungry people of our world and crying about the homeless animals.

Source: maximsnews.com

People are most important because we are created by God. And yes, I agree, animals are too! However, only humans are created in God’s own image. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created human beings in His own image.” Because of this, we have the desire and ability to make a difference in our world. How do you do that if you are living in the slum? How are you able to make the right choice if you are only taught to steal in order eat? These people need our help. 1.3 BILLION people live on less than ONE DOLLAR PER DAY. God didn’t make us to sit there and be a couch potato. He wants us to care, because He cares. Proverbs 28:27 says, “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing but a curse will come upon those who close their eyes to poverty.”  Proverbs 19:17 says “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord and He will repay you.”  Proverbs 22:9 says, “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” The Bible does not tell us that we will be blessed by saving animals.

[Play video from Tear Fund.org “What is Poverty?”]

Now are your minds changed? Giving to the poor is the right thing to do. Although giving and caring for animals is a good thing too. But I strongly feel we need to make people our first priority and then animals.

She was  pretty stressed working on this and was alarmed that she only had 2 days to get this done. Why? Because she wanted to not just change people's minds, but she hoped that by her giving this speech that kids will go home and ask their parents to donate to organizations that bring clean water or help the poor. She saw it as something greater than just an argument to win or an assignment to get done. I quote, "I want to get an A, and that's great and all, but what I really want to do is make a difference!"

I was also incredibly proud of her research. She did that herself! 

Sorry...

              am I being a boastful mom? 

I'm okay with that! :)

Countdown is on! November 6 is Orphan Sunday!

As you will see, just because we adopt one child does not mean the work is over. Orphan Sunday will be held on November 6, 2011.

I hope to help raise awareness for the needs of these precious ones around the world.

Will you join me?

Just a THANK YOU!

It's been a whirl-wind around here since we got home...but I just gotta say...


if you had ANYTHING to do with this...

then I just want to say...

THANK YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART!!!!!

Become part of our family puzzle!

Hey everyone!! We have a brand new way for you to become part of our family story!!

See this lovely guy?

Ohhhh! I love him so!

We have this glorious lion who will one day hang in our future children's bedroom in a double-sided glass frame. The front will be so he can see out and watch over my kids (hee hee) and the back will be so we can turn it over and show our children how ALL OF YOU became a part of our story to bring them home!

You can "buy" a piece of the lion puzzle for $10 each. For each $10 you donate, we will write your name (or the name of someone you choose--one of your children perhaps?) on the back of a puzzle piece. If you give $100, we will write your name(s) over ten pieces. As pieces are purchased, we will begin to fit them together. I will periodically post pictures of our puzzle so you can see how we are progressing. You can watch him come together--just like you will be helping to bring our family together! Isn't this such a cool idea?!!! Yes! But no, it wasn't mine!! ;)

So, how many people/pieces do we need to "sponsor" in order for this king of the jungle to be complete?

750! A TALL order, right? Well guess what? SO IS ADOPTION!!! And our great and mighty God specializes in things that are WAY too big for us. I have story after story to prove it. Someday over a nice cup of java, I'd love to share with you and hear your God stories too! :)

To be clear, when you give to our puzzle project it is a donation that will directly benefit two children who are currently orphaned in Uganda and are destined to become our Shaw children. All monies will be used solely for our adoption costs. They are not tax deductible.

If you are feeling that you want to make a donation toward our adoption but you would like it to be tax deductible, you can do that too! Our church has graciously set up an account called "One Less Orphan." All donations are received through the church and are then divided among the families who are currently embarking on the adoption journey.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU in advance for your help in bringing our family together!!! You are a CRITICAL part of our family puzzle!!!

Cupcakes for Uganda!

We had a wonderful time selling cupcakes for the imprisoned children in Uganda. We were blessed to be able to host our sale outside of the Chief grocery store in our hometown. So many wonderful and generous patrons of the store were willing to learn about and eat cupcakes in honor of the children 8,000 miles away!

The flyer we passed out to all who bought cupcakes!

Although they will never know about us, we have the joy of impacting the children who live at M! These precious ones who remain locked away simply because they were street children or abandoned there by their distraught parents.

By the time our sale ended, we raised $253!! We rejoice that in our small efforts of baking and selling that we can make life a little more hopeful for these children in Uganda!

All of the money we raised will be sent to the non-profit organization known as Sixty Feet. You can visit their website by going to: http://www.sixtyfeet.org (Due to the fact our blog is not working I am writing out the address! Hopefully SOON we'll get it figured out!) None of the money collected is for our personal adoption.

I hope that next year we can have another sale and see the great progress in the remand homes in Uganda. These cupcake sales were held nationwide and the current total American kids raised is $42,447!! And we get to add ours to that too! Isn't it incredible what our kids can accomplish?  Nobody said you have to be a grown up to make an impact!!