What is Your "Something"?

 Warning!

This post is kind of heavy.  BUT believe it or not, it was not written from a place of hopelessness, but rather with a hope-filled-to-overflowing heart.  I know with all my heart that God is on the move.  I know with all my heart that nothing, no one is beyond His reach.  I know with all my heart that He is opening eyes, turning hearts, moving mountains.  

So, with that in mind.....you are free to read on.  :)

Friday I saw this face for the first time.  My heart broke and now I have to act.

Meet "Porter":

Porter is a 6 year-old little boy that has been listed on Reece's Rainbow since February 2011.  It's strange, but I had never noticed his face until Friday when I found out the news.  Porter has recently been transferred from his baby house to The Lost Boys institution.  My heart is broken.

Here's what his profile on Reece's Rainbow says:

BOY, Born August 10, 2005

Don’t mind this pink shirt, Porter is a BOY.    He is HIV+, stage 3.   He is mildly cognitively delayed as well.

From his medical records:   HIV stage 3, without immunosuppression, delay of psychomotor and speech development, bacillosis

For more info and parent support on adopting and raising a child with HIV, please visit http://www.

projecthopeful.org/

Someone who met Porter in February said:

 "...he is an absolute doll who uses his hands, stands, walks, plays, and feeds himself without difficulty.  I don't know any more than that, but he certainly didn't "act" delayed. "

If you know Jed and I personally, or if you have read our blog for long, you know that the Lost Boys are extremely special to us.  We LOVE them.  God is up to something.  Ever since I first read about the boys here I have loved them.  Most of you probably remember the highlight of our trip in April when we got to see the Boys.  Oh my word!!!  God had to move mountains to get us in those gates.  All of you prayed and prayed...and we got a few precious moments to touch the Boys, to look in their eyes, to pray silent prayers.  It was a day I will never forget.  How incredible it was to stand there face to face with the ones who God first used to prick our hearts for the least of these.  I could go on and on about that day...but I won't.  :)  You can read about it here.

All that to say, the Lost Boys and their village hold a special place deep in our hearts.  When I found out on Friday that there was a new sweet soul added to their numbers I wept.  No child, no person should have to live in that mental institution.  Yes the Boys are kept basically clean, they are fed, but they don't truly LIVE.  They have nothing to look forward to, nothing to play with, nothing to hope for.  Their days run in to each other, each one the same.  Boredom, rocking, vacant expressions, childhoods wasting away.  It is a place without hope.  It is a sad place that feels desolate- physically and spiritually.  This is Porter's new home.  He is 6 years old and will remain there until he is at least 18 years old when he will be transferred to an adult mental institution.

Without a voice he is lost. 

My Ezra is 6.  I can not fathom it.  

Well, guess what Porter?  You are no longer without a voice.  I'm going to scream my guts out about you until your Mommy and Daddy see your face and get on a plane to rescue you.

Look at that sweet baby!  He is such a love.  Please, please share Porter.  We simply cannot let him waste away.  We can not let his spirit be broken.  He needs a Mommy and Daddy NOW.

(Porter is the one in the gray shirt)

Are you the one God is calling to rescue Porter?

What if??

If you are not  his Mommy or Daddy you can still give him a voice.  You can share his picture. You can donate to his fund at Reece's Rainbow so that when his parents do find him they can get to him as quickly as possible.

You can pray.

We can all do SOMETHING. 

 I watch that happy, carefree baby laughing and dancing....to think of where he is now is almost too much to bear.  Please don't think "someone else will do it".  What would God have YOU do?

Many of us doing our "something" will add up to a lot!  That's how the Body of Christ works and it's beautiful.

And while you're at it, can you please remember Heath and Hanson?  They are Lost Boys who are available for adoption as well.  Hanson probably lives in a crib.  He most likely never feels the sunshine on his face.  Heath sits in boredom in a wheelchair and has waited far too long for his rescue.  

These kiddos are real.

We have been to their home.

Donate.  Pray.  Go.

If not us, who?

If not now, when?

Check out other advocates who are also sharing about the Boys today.  Sometimes it helps to have another perspective.

Becki

Julia

Joanna

 Daneille

Beth

Leila

Lydia