Saying "no" and finding ways to say "yes"

Last week something unexpected happened. Something heart-breaking to me....

Many of us have looked at files of waiting children while looking for our child. We asked for two thalassemia files from our agency back in Dec. One was for a little boy, age 3 and the other was nearly 5 yr old Ben.

Their files were basically the same. Both had beta thal major. Both were abandoned by their birth parents when they were older than 1. How do you know which one to pick? As I looked at Ben's file and saw a video where he was silent and wouldn't interact, I knew that he needed a family as soon as possible. I also knew that he was older and more likely to not find a family. So we prayed and we chose him.

Choosing him meant saying 'no' to the other child. A beautiful little boy who was equally deserving of the love of a family.

And out of the estimated 712,000 Chinese Orphans in orphanages, I found his face in the photos from a friend's visit to her daughter's orphanage last week in Guangdong province.



I don't know if he has found his forever family yet or not.  I do know that a quote I know well resonates in a whole new way with me today.

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names.  They are easier to ignore before you see their faces... but when you do, everything changes."

I pray for this precious boy, and for so many just like him throughout China and throughout the world... And I renew my commitment to helping in any way that I can.  Right now, I can only pray for him, but I can show you faces of others who need our help right now.  Little ones that we CAN help right now.

My family sponsors three orphans from two different organizations.  Our Pearl River Outreach kids truly touch my heart and we are working hard to grow Pearl River Outreach and move more orphans out of orphanages and into foster homes where they can receive love and affection, individualized care, and understand the meaning of family.  No longer do they stand behind bars waiting to play outside.  No longer do they have to wait for love.  They have foster families who care for them until they can be with their forever families.

Pearl River Outreach has taken a leap of faith and decided to fund more than 10 more children in two more Chinese provinces, but in order to be successful, to keep our commitment and provide for these wonderful kids- We need sponsors!!


We need one more sponsor for this precious girl, Madeline.


We need four sponsors for this little boy, Jack.

There are so many children that we still need sponsor families for.  It's only $35 a month to change a precious child's life!  I hope you will join our Pearl River family by sponsoring a child.  The link to Pearl River is on my list of followed blogs.  You will find more children in need of sponsorship, information, and pictures from Diana's trip to China last month to see our kids, their foster families, and to begin new partnerships.

We sponsor the little boy below, Aiden.  Due to hearing issues, he now has an implant, but needs special education to help him catch up and reach his potential, so during a recent trip to China, our team enrolled him in a special school.  His tuition is $70 a month.  Can you help with some of his tuition?

 
I hope you will consider joining our family in changing lives!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Fannie, Matt, & Katie