Chicken A La Carte

Happy 4th of July everyone! Please remember those less fortunate today. Watch this award-winning short (as in, a couple minutes long) film: Chicken A La Carte.

HIV Adoption

If you are:

(A) Interested in HIV adoption currently...

(B) Might consider it someday...

(C) Want to learn more about HIV adoption to see if it would be an option for you someday...

(D) Ignorant about how manageable HIV is today (All the parents with HIV+ children say the healthcare-side is easy, the hardest part is the stigma--due to ignorance about current HIV care)...

...then you need to keep up with Erin Henderson's blog. She is the adoption coordinator for HIV+ children at Adoption Advocates International, and has several children, 2 of whom are HIV+ that she shares openly about! It is her desire to show the world how healthy and amazing these kids are! Plus, her large family is just plain fun, so add her blog to your reader/subscriptions!

Follow the link above, and she links to an article she wrote, Why HIV, and she links to an opportunity to help fight the stigma.

I would venture to say that if you're considering adoption or are in the process, and are open to special needs you should look into HIV! 2 years ago I was almost completely ignorant about the current state of HIV care. Now I know! Now we know that it's definitely on our list of special needs we would consider. (HIV adoption is not currently allowed from Kyrgyzstan, But it is something we would consider for future adoptions.) Educate yourself!

Evidence that word about today's HIV care is spreading, and bigger than that--that a HEART for these kids is spreading:

...in 2005, AAI placed two HIV+ children for adoption from Ethiopia. In 2006, four HIV+ children joined new families (one of which was my Belane!). In 2007, 13 HIV+ children were placed for adoption from Ethiopia through AAI, and in 2008 there were 28 (one of which was my Solomon!). In 2009 we already have 10 HIV+ kids home from Ethiopia, and another 29 children in process.

--from Erin's latest post, linked above.

This is from Erin's Why HIV article:

[...] I know it is not right for everyone, and I would never encourage anyone to adopt a hild with a special need that they did not feel comfortable with or think that they could handle. That being said, I know that way more people could handle parenting an HIV+ child, and that many that think that they couldn't would be very surprised.

I think people should adopt HIV+ children because there is such a huge need for these children to be adopted. There is a huge number of HIV+ children in the world, and many of them are orphans. Growing up as an orphan is a hard enough fate, but growing up as an orphan with a disease such as HIV is almost unthinkable. HIV+ orphans outside of the U.S. almost always have lower standards of medical care available to them, and of course an orphanage just does not compare with the love and support of a family. HIV+ children are often rejected by their extended families and communities, and are truly alone. Often, adoption for HIV+ orphans can truly be the difference between life and death.

[...]

I think people should adopt HIV+ children because they are just "as good" as any other children, and they are just as deserving of being adopted. Children are not sweaters. They do not come in "first quality" and "seconds". While many in the world see HIV+ kids as having a sort of "Scarlet Letter" on them, making them undesirable to parent, I see them as beautiful, wonderful kids with the potential to live long and full lives that need and deserve to belong to a loving family. For these kids to be discarded and overlooked because they were born with a virus in their blood would be tragic."

Glad to Hear This...

...about a country we care deeply about:

An AIDs center opened in Osh! (by the way, I've read that AIDS experts estimate 6,000 are infected).

Hoping some of those babies, children, and mothers who were tragically infected with HIV can get some help.

Child Brides

Article about the problem of child brides in Kyrgyzstan.

Sweet Letter

Last Father's Day, we received this letter along with a donation:

For many years, we have given our husband and father an ample supply of ties, shirts, socks, hats, pens useful gadgets, and coupon books for Father's Day.

We know he graciously has appreciated and sometimes even worn some of these gifts. We know he knows we love him.

This year we wanted to do something even more special for him. We decided to pool our gift money, and donate it to you for your adoption fund. It is not only a father's day gift, but a gift to our heavenly Father.

Buy Gorgeous Photography Prints :: Help Ugandan Orphan

A wonderful couple we know (met once in person, and the rest is through blog land!) is adding their fifth child--a precious baby boy from Uganda! They are raising money through Jason's photography prints--he's GOOD!

You can go directly to www.jasonkovacsphotography.smugmug.com and click on the "Prints for Adoption" album, or you can start at Shawnda's (the mama) blog posts:

Photos for Adoption
Photos for Adoption part 2

(You might recognize Jason's name from the ABBA Fund--he's the director of ministry development there.)

Calvin's Notecard Project

A few weeks ago, Calvin was watching me work on bows, and he said he wanted to make something to have money to help orphans.  We came up with the idea of notecards, of which he made 9, and then had demand for more and made 3 more for a total of 12.  I might be a little biased, but aren't they just darling?  and GOOD!  I love his little details (click on the pic for an enlargement).  He drew them in pencil, and then I outlined them in black.  I couldn't part with the mom and baby robot, so I bought that one from him.  I'm going to frame it as a symbol of my fun little 4 yr old, who likes little details, and has a heart to help orphans.

He also made a vehicle with two exhaust pipes (love the tiny, curvy exhaust lines!), an alien saying "uh-oh!", mug, mailbox, kite, robot, and a spaceship.  I don't think I'll ever get enough of his robots, aliens, and spaceships (almost daily drawings for him)!

Calvin trying to look like a one-eyed alien:

Calvin raised almost $50 from his 12 cards!  He has some additional money from his allowance--in the "giving beyond tithe" category--that we'll add to it.  I talked with him about options of what he can do with the money to help orphans, and he decided to buy them food.  Well, first, he asked if we can buy them a house.  Then he asked if we can give them a mommy and daddy.  :'''( 

Here's a great opportunity to help Ugandan orphans who are starving.  Please click on the button below, read the post and consider donating.  Your dollar goes so far, when 1 meal is only FOURTEEN CENTS!  7 meals for a dollar!  I know you can afford that!  There should not be people trapping termites and eating feces in order to survive, when the price of only one Starbucks drink here could provide THIRTY FIVE meals for the dying. 

If a 4 year old can donate almost 400 meals, so can you!

How Will We Be Remembered?

Please take a minute and look at Amy's post. It's mostly pictures, it won't take long. Where's your heart? Where's your treasure? Are the things that are important to HIM, important to you?

"We are the first generation that can look extreme and stupid poverty in the eye, look across the water to Africa and elsewhere and say this and mean it: we have the cash, we have the drugs, we have the science- but do we have the will? Do we have the will to make poverty history? Some say we can't afford to. I say we can't afford not to." ~Bono

Oh, how I long to live simply in order to have more to give! What would you be willing to give up, so that others can have more? Monthly car payment? A weekly (or daily!) Starbucks? Frequent nights out at the movies where you don't think twice about dropping a $10 or $20 bill? A house that is less than what you *could* afford?

Big Meeting

Please pray for a meeting that is going to take place in Washington D.C. between many people on this end, and Kyrgyz ambassadors. I'm not sure what day the meeting is taking place, but it's soon, so just pray when you read this! You can check in on Cindy's blog, as I'm sure she'll have updates there. Several of her latest posts deal with the meeting, her heart for these kids, her struggles... Her latest post is from the airport, waiting on their plane to D.C.

There needs to be movement with Kg adoptions...many efforts have been made, are being made, and this is another direct effort. Many adoptive families will be making short talks, and Cindy and her son (adopted from Kyrg a few years ago) are going to be key, speaking as a family who already has children home from Kyrg. She has been heavily involved in all this stuff with Joint Council of International Children's Services and such. She'll for sure be a name we will mention in our child's lifebook of people who helped our child come home. There are so many who are and will be advocating on behalf of the 65 waiting children and the future of adoption from Kyrg--please lift them all up!

Pray for Kenny, who has a big heart to help other children come home from Kyrg, but is nervous about speaking in front of all these adults. His role in this moves me to tears! I'm so proud of him, and I've never met him :) I'm sure his parents are just beaming.

There is a delegation of Kyrgyz officials coming to Washington, DC...members of Parliament. A group of waiting families has been selected to meet with these officials to present their case for allowing international adoptions to resume and release their children to come home. I am honored that Kenny and I were asked to attend as well, and Kenny will be speaking for all the children who have no voice. Funny, isn't it, that the little boy with the speech issues will be the one to speak for Kyrgyz adopted children? [from Cindy's blog]

Adoption Humor

Those of you who have adopted, or are adopting, will totally get this! :) I've seen this around in various places on the 'net.

Enjoy some humor today. . . and the unique, indescribable process of adoption!