I Will Never Stop Praying

UPDATE October 2013: We have learned that Kyle has passed away. He is now in the arms of his Heavenly Father.

Since 1999 some 60,000 Russian orphans were adopted by US citizens. In all of those years, prior to President Putin putting the ban on American adoptions, 19 of those 60,000 died after being adopted by Americans. I can promise you, hand on heart, that more of their orphans have died at their own hands in Russia than that in those years. In a purely political move, Putin banned all US adoptions of Russian orphans beginning in January of this year (2013).

In the 7 years I have been with Reece’s Rainbow, there have been several little girls and one little boy in what we called Region 14 in Russia that if we had the option to adopt, I would have loved to. A couple of the girls have found families and are home in the US as loved daughters. Two girls are still in Russia, having lost their chance for a family, and the little boy is also still in Russia… having been transferred to an institution from the orphanage a few months ago.

To say my heart is broken today barely scratches the surface of what I am feeling. Kyle was the child I chose more than any for our RR banners, promotional materials and slides (NDSC, buttons, banners, slides). I fasted for him a year ago and he found a family but circumstances beyond the family’s control put him back on the waiting child list. Then. The ban.

I made this collage of Kyle, his RR photo and the photo of him now on the Russian database of available children. I have included a sampling of the things I have used his photo on over the years, including a couple of graphics I am using soon as our new awareness buttons for people’s blogs and fb walls.

To say that this feels like my own son is close to accurate. Seeing his beautiful and gentle eyes replaced by terror filled, broken ones breaks my heart. I know it breaks God’s heart far more. Please pray for the kids caught in a political fight. Please pray for those who are being mistreated. Please pray for ALL orphans. Please do what YOU can to help the ones we CAN help.

Please consider posting our ‘I Will Never Stop Praying’ Russia button (below) on your blog or Facebook wall. And please visit our Russia’s Children page. It has the list of which children we CAN help now who received our Russian children’s grants. What a heartbreaking decision that was for us but a way to honour those children who are closed behind the ban by helping to bring these other children home that much sooner. 

As always, thank you for all you do to support Reece’s Rainbow and our Waiting Children and Adopting Families. Our Christmas Angel Tree Warrior Sign Ups will be being posted beginning the 15th of September so also be checking back for those!

<div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/russiaschildren" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/Poppies/russianprayingbutton.png" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://blog.reecesrainbow.org/2013/08/iwillneverstoppraying.html" title="">Grab This!</a></div>

Blessings,

 

Lucille Brown Director of Design and Marketing Reece’s Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Grant Foundation