But missing the news every morning and/or night has meant missing important events. I do mean major. This would not include Brittney Spears shaving her head or Paris Hilton getting released from jail. I’m talking about real news about the world around us.
Missing the news meant that I was clueless to the earthquake in Haiti until someone mentioned it last night. My heart aches for the people of Haiti. Their loss is beyond anything I could ever fathom. But my mind quickly shifted to the orphanages in Haiti. Haiti has a very large number of orphans approximately 380,000 according to UNICEF. I wondered about the teams of people leading the orphanages. Were they safe? Did they lose their staff? Were they able to get the children out? Were all the children safe? How will these small staffs be able to comfort each child as they process this tragedy?
Then my thoughts drifted to all the families in process of adopting a little one from Haiti. There are so many unknowns in adoption. Your wait can be heart wrenching. I spent 17 months holding a picture of our sweet peas kissing their faces as I wept and prayed over them. Many times I lay prostrate on the floor of their bedroom which had been perfectly prepared for them begging God to bring them home. So my heart stopped for a moment as I considered all the families who are praying for the safety of their child. A child they most likely have not met. But a child they know. They have studied every last feature in the picture they have come to cherish. Their little one may not be physically present in their home but their little one does live there. He/she lives in the heart of their soon to be family, in the bed that is ready for them to sleep in, in the yard ready for them to run in and in the anticipation of the squeals and giggles that will soon fill their home. These families are no longer holding their breath for the day they get to bring their little one home but they are holding their breath to know if their sweet pea is alive and safe.
Many of the government buildings are badly damaged or have been destroyed. One of the court judges was killed in a building collapse. Many of these family’s dossiers are in these government buildings. Families are being asked to contact their adoption agencies and government officials to push for exceptions on Haiti passports so children assigned to families will be able to leave Haiti and go home to their new family.
Will you pray for Haiti? Will you pray for the people of Haiti? The cook at one orphanage has lost 11 family members. I can’t imagine the grief this person is experiencing right now. Will you pray for the orphanages? Will you pray for the families who are adopting from these orphanages? Pray that our government along with several other countries will allow children who have been assigned families to be able to go home without all the usual paperwork. More than anything pray that God will use this awful tragedy to draw people closer to Him.
If you would like to learn more about how one orphanage is coping please go to:
http://www.glahaiti.org/blog_dixie_haiti
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