Tuesday, April 30, 2013

We need a change


Jay and I have a favor to ask, of all of you. Whether you are family, friend, or just someone stopping by to check out our progress in bringing our child home from Ethiopia, we NEED a favor! We aren't asking for money or donations....Well let me just explain….

Obviously, international adoption is a very big issue to Jay and I.  We truly feel that God called us to bring a child, our child, home from Ethiopia. And along this journey we have learned perhaps more than we really wanted or cared to know about the corruptness of the world and its “leaders”.  You see, the number of orphans continues to rise, while the number of adoptions has dropped 60% in the last 6 years alone. The adoption process has become political, corrupt, and broken. Good people and families are no longer able to adopt, the process has become so long, expensive, and disheartening that many find it nearly impossible to bring a child home. Yet, children continue to pour into orphanages world wide that are not able to care for them properly. 

Jay and I recently attended a special event, the STUCK tour documentary reveal in Columbus. I have posted information about the tour on the blog and on social media sites before we attended, and while we knew it would be eye opening, we had NO idea the magnitude of brokenness surrounding international adoption practices in ALL countries.

We purchased the documentary to share with family and friends and we would love for EVERYONE to check it out. Even if you don’t live close, you can watch the documentary Here, for a small fee, with all proceeds going to help the cause. I encourage all of you to watch and see what is happening around the world and in our country. Please take a moment to at least watch the trailor located at the top of the blog. But this isn’t our favor…


The Stuck documentary is touring nearly 80 cities, and completing the tour in Washington DC on May 17th. They will then march onto Washington to draw attention to this issue, calling OUR leaders to make necessary changes in international adoption practices. You see, it’s not just “the other countries” corruptness that is hindering orphan care; it starts right here, in this country. Our system is flawed, really flawed, and things need to change. Babies and kiddos are dying, they are alone, and they need a voice. Albert Einstein said it best; “The world will NOT be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”.  

So, what is the favor? The Stuck movement needs at least 1 million signatures on their petition for OUR government to take notice of this issue. They currently don’t think this is something worth their valuable time, but every day that a child lies alone in an orphanage, while their adoptive family waits in limbo in another country for paperwork and bureaucracy jargon to be completed, is wasted time. These kids matter. For those of you who are parents, you would never let your child go one day without proper food, clothing, and love, but these kids spend their entire lives without these basic needs being met. What’s worse? Many DO have families pursuing them from other countries, desiring to bring them home, but too much is standing in the way. Personally speaking, we have been on the list for 9 months and have moved 21 spots. At this pace, it will take nearly 5 years to bring one kiddo home. This is devastating.

Here is the petition.  Please sign, please take 10 seconds our of your busy day to call your senator and tell him that this IS an important issue to you and to people you know, and it NEEDS to be an important issue to Congress and to the President.  You can also text "orphans" to 67463. We are  FAR way from 1 million signatures, but every one counts. Please pass the word, it doesn’t take long, and we all need to stand up for what is right. Please visit https://bothendsburning.org for more information. 

Thank you!