Tears of Happiness and Tears of Sorrow

The other day I had an IEP meeting for Lena at the school for the deaf.   Her teacher and speech therapist raved about how wonderful she is and how great she is doing.  She is at a level two and they said that many children who start at 3, even those in deaf families, are not at the level she is at.   They are amazed by her.  I couldn't help but tear up in that meeting for a few reasons.   I had tears of happiness because I was so proud of her.  She is a smart little girl who, despite her early childhood circumstances, has come so far.  She has such a desire to know and to learn new things.  She loves that she now has a language and can communicate with others.   The second reason I got tears in my eyes was because that meeting was yet one more reassurance to me that we are doing the right thing, we have her in the right school, and though we sometimes feel like we are failures, we are doing the best we can and we have taught her a lot of signs.

And then I cried tears of sadness and worry for the children who are deaf who are still waiting in China and countries all around the world for their families to find them.  Some will age out of the system.  What will their life be like with no language or way to communicate with anyone, no formal education, possibly no chance to get married and have a family of their own?   Will they remain in the orphanages and become nannies?  Will they be tossed out onto the street at 18?  Will they be taken advantage of by someone because of their impairment? Your guess is as good as mine.  No one really can say what will happen to them or how their life will turn out.   I was thinking about my little girl and all that she has learned and how far she has come in 6.5 months with only one month of schooling under her belt and wondered....what if more people opened their hearts and their home to a deaf child?   To any child with special needs for that matter.   The resources we have in our community and in our country are amazing.  We are so fortunate.  I was thinking about all the kids who remain in an orphanage and wondered how many of them would be able to have the chance to communicate with people through a common language and to dream about their future and to see some of their dreams come true.  One of the biggest dreams of a waiting child is to have a family of their own.   Every child deserves to have one- to know what that kind of love looks and feels like.  

So as I sat in that meeting with tears of happiness seeping out the corners of my eyes for my daughter, I couldn't help but to think of some of these kids who are not so lucky and who don't have a family of their own to advocate for them and to help them accomplish their dreams.   Do you have the room in your heart...in your home...in your family?   I am not going to lie and say the process is easy or that it is inexpensive.  It's a lot of work and it's very expensive...but when you fully trust in the Lord and follow His calling and His heart, He will provide.

This was Lena at her orphanage....she spent most of her time in the crib and had no language to communicate with the staff and her friends.  She just pointed at everything.

 

This was Lena about 5 months after coming home.  She smiles about 90% of the time.  She is so happy to go places, see new things, and meet new people. She makes other people happy just by being around her.  She has a mom, a dad, grandmas and grandpas, and a lot of brothers who adore her and protect her.  She has a school, a teacher, friends, a language to communicate with others, and she is learning about Jesus and is the first one say 'Let's pray' when food is set on the table at meal time.   I don't want to think about what her life would have been like if she had to wait longer or worse yet, if she would have had to grown up in the orphanage or aged out of the system.

 These children below are deaf like Lena, but their life is nothing like Lena's.  

They need me, they need you, they need us.  Don't let them be forgotten.

This is Kara.  Kara will age out in March....she needs prayers for protection and for her future.

This is Gary.  He will age out in July if a family doesn't come forward for him.

 http://harmonyoutreach.org/sponsor-gary/

 This sweet girl is Kaiya.  Her pictures are very old. She will age out in October of this year if she doesn't find her family.  

This is Samantha.  She has until July of next year to find her family before it is too late for her.

Look at his smile!

Jonas is in an orphanage a friend of mine volunteered at-

she'd love to tell you more about him!

 Bethie is a sweet girl!

                                                       Bo is hilarious!  He would bring so much laughter to a family!

Adrian's orphanage has waived his orphanage donation fee completely!

 

Quincy is a very bright boy who is well-liked by the orphanage staff!

Rachel needs a mom and a dad's love!

 

Syler is as cute as can be...I'd bring him home if we could go for two!  He currently has a $4,200 promise child grant with the agency he is listed with.

 Cade is a sweet heart....can you imagine a hug from this precious boy?

 Stewart is adorable!

 Mark is precious and still so young.

 These are just a handful of the many children who are deaf and waiting for a family in China.  All of their names are names chosen as advocacy names to protect their privacy.  Please email me at el_lauren@yahoo.com if you are interested in learning more about adoption in general, about adopting from China, or about any of these precious children specifically.  Adoption is my passion and advocacy is my mission.  I would love to talk to you!