Marshall!! How can this be?

This little sprite was two years old when I first spotted him last year:

Click my photo for more info!

I never in a million years thought he'd still be waiting at the age of three, but he is still in the orphanage, a little, perfect boy needing a family:

Marshall, when oh when will it be your turn? I will not stop shouting for you till you have found your family

God bless you, sweet boy! Stay strong!

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Sweet Iris (with a huge adoption grant!)

The older children with HIV are heartbreakers to me. It is so unjust that they sit without families, languishing in orphanages, when they should be doing what every other child at their age does, beloved by mom and dad, perhaps with siblings, growing strong and happy and healthy.

Iris is a young lady (born 2001) with a beautiful smile and a heart of gold.

Read what one visitor said about her just last year:

"Iris is a sweet girl who loves attention and physical affection. She loves to be hugged and will play with your hair and sit in your lap. She is a big helper within her group, and is a good friend (more like a big sister) to many of the other kids in her group. She is very affectionate with those kids, and will play with them and try to pick them up. She has great play skills, and loves dolls. She also enjoys playing with balloons (hitting them back and forth to other people), and coloring with markers. I have been told she was not burnt, but that she has a birthmark. She is taking medication for her hiv. Her cognitive abilities and social awareness are not what you would expect from a child of her age, and I am not sure how much of this is due to orphanage delays."

This precious child has over $16,000 available in her grant, which can be used to fund her adoption. The rest could easily be raised by a few strategic fundraisers. Iris has many Reece's Rainbow followers who love her and would be happy to help a family bring her home.

Please click on her photos for more information, and please, spread the word and pray for Iris to find the family she has hoped for!

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Simon is my son's age. He hasn't got much time.

I have a son, Paul, who is just a few months younger than Simon. My son is a freshman in  high school, making good grades, enjoying sports and leisure and the love of a stable family in a cozy, safe home. He has every chance in life.

Simon, who might have been my son's friend in another life, is experiencing his own life very differently. When he turns 16 in October, he will have lost his chance to be adopted. He has about six months before his hope for a family is gone. I am begging you to spread the word about this young man, and let's rally to find him a family before it's too late.

Click my photo for more information.

A wonderful woman named Jane George met Simon last February and took the pictures you see here. In her own words:

Simon on Reece's Rainbow is as bright as a button. Somehow he found my bag, he had found my phone, he was mortified...he had broken it. Actually he had taken the whole phone apart to be more accurate, it sat in pieces. The look on his face as he brought it apologetically to me said an awful lot about this boy, he was crestfallen, mortified, just so sorry. But that twinkle was still there, I suspect if I had spent more time with him I would have liked him very much. I suspect I would have seen a boy of great potential, a fun spirit and a dreaming vision. 

This is a boy who wants a family, the workers who do spend time with him, who do know him even say this! But Simon is running out of time, he needs somebody to act now....right now, before he ages out! He has only till this October to be adopted.

Watch this video where you can see his twinkling eyes and bright smile and listen to his voice (he has a special message)….

I am told by another lady who knows him that he dearly wishes for a family and is getting more and more discouraged. Please don't let Simon be lost forever, never having known a real family. Spread the word, and please pray. His family must be out there somewhere, but they need to act fast.

God bless you for not turning a blind eye to Simon in his urgent need. As the mother of a spirited teen boy his age, I know what a blessing he will be for some wonderful family.

Sometimes you just wonder...

…why someone like Griffith is not adopted already? He is four years old -- described as "a very nice boy!" -- with minimal hydrocephalus.

That's it? That's doable!

What an amazing son he would be! Imagine him outside of an orphanage and safe and loved in a family of his own!

Click my picture and come get me!!

Please share Griffith on your facebook, twitter, email, blogs…. he is just precious, and ready to start his new life!



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Tears and prayers for Marina Z

There is a beautiful little four-year-old girl who lives across the ocean and who is loved very much. We know her as "Marina Z", and although she is an orphan, there is a family who would take her into their home in a heartbeat, but they do not qualify for her country's requirements. Sadly, her country is now closed to all Americans wishing to adopt.

However, the woman who introduced me to her -- the woman who wishes she could be Marina's mother -- wants you to know her and pray for her. Here is Michelle, in her own words:

It is tough to write about my Sweet Marina Z without crying. Since I started advocating for her 2 years ago, so many people have said that they were surprised that they had not noticed her. She is so beautiful and such a good girl and last year in April she turned 4 and was transferred away from the only home she had ever known to an “older child” facility far away from her Baby House. Even before the ban on U.S. adoptions in her country, my husband and I did not qualify to adopt her, so I pray and fundraise and pray and pray that she will finally catch the eye of her Mommy and Daddy and they will bring her home. Even with the adoption ban, I continue to pray—for her to feel the arms of God around her and feel comfort; for her country to come to their senses and remove the ban; for her Mommy and Daddy to find her and go and get her… She is such a sweet girl. I hope that those who may read this can join me in praying for her future family. I cannot lose hope. I love Sweet Marina Z so much. Thank you.

Marina Z's profile describes her this way:

Marina is another tiny munchkin who needs a loving family to help her be as active and mobile as she can! … Blonde-haired, inquisitive, sociable, happy. Enjoys educational games. Dances. Loves to play ball, rolls and throws a ball. Compassionate, feels sorry for a crying child.

Dear readers, prayers transcend time and space, and God can do miracles if he wills -- even the miracle of letting a little orphan girl feel waves of love from people she cannot see and will never meet. Thank you for praying, both for Marina Z and for the officials in her country, that their hearts may be softened and the adoption ban lifted.



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Two months ago, Henry died. His mom is asking you for a favor.

Reprinted from wonderful Carla's blog today. Please consider sharing….

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Two months ago today, Henry died.

As my pastor Fr. Greg said at his funeral, "He went from hell to the heaven of your arms to the heaven that never ends."

Today I bring you Darren...

Another little boy living in Henry's country....who needs to come to the heaven of a family before being transferred to the hell of an institution.

He SHOULD have been transferred to that institution NOW because he just turned 5 years old...

but an advocate friendly with the director at the baby house got them to give him 6 MONTHS before transfer.

He has 6 months to find a family or the rest of his life will look like this.

According to a family who met him in late 2012 (while adopting their child), he is gentle with others. He listens to and follows basic directions from caregivers. He has a developmental delay in all areas. He has "clubfeet" and walks with help.

Abby has met him before and blogged about him HERE and she took this precious photo and wrote these words: "He is in this photo. You can't see his face, but you can see affection. He used the small fence around the play area for support to walk over to this little girl and gently rub her hair."

Today I am going to ask you for a favor.

PLEASE share Darren....

in honor of Henry...

to find him a family before it is too late.

A friend has provided a $100 Prepaid Mastercard. If you share Darren's Reece's Rainbow profile:

http://reecesrainbow.org/439/darren405

you get an entry to win the card (leave a comment below telling me how you shared).

If you share Darren's Facebook Group:

Darren Needs a Family

you get an entry to win the card (leave a comment under my FB post)

If you blog about Darren on YOUR blog (and leave a comment and link to your blog here) you get 5 entries to win the card.

We are running this "SHARIN' DARREN GIVEAWAY" from today until February 28...

or until he finds a family, whichever comes first :-)

We are not asking for money for his Reece's Rainbow grant fund...but if you want to go to his Reece's Rainbow profile page linked above and click the "Donate Now" button on the bottom left and put in a little something today to show his family that we will support them when the time comes...

well...it would make this grieving momma's day a bit brighter.


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Tatiana, the little dollie!

I've been following Tatiana for as long as I have been following the Reece's Rainbow children, and like everyone else, I fell in love with this beautiful face. Who wouldn't?

A family had hoped to adopt her, but when they arrived in her country and met her, Tatiana's needs were far greater than what they had expected. Reluctantly, they had to let her go (and they did go on to adopt another orphan more suited to the level of care they could give). 

So, Tatiana is sill available, and waiting for that very special family that can take on a child with FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) and possibly other conditions or behavioral issues that have been exacerbated by life in an institution. She is just six years old, and I pray that by her seventh birthday, she will have a family committed to bringing her home.

If you might be that special family, please click on Tatiana's photo for more information. 

If you are not her family, consider sharing her on your blog or facebook page, as exposure (and lots of it!) saves these children. 

And please, don't forget to pray for her. 

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