Pierre

This is Pierre.

When you read his story, you will see how urgent it is that he finds a home.

Born: 27 May, 2003

Pierre is not in school. He is deaf. The orphanage where he has been placed does not have the means to send him to a special school for the deaf. (There has not been any actual testing done on Pierre's hearing but the orphanage workers feel that he does have some hearing.)

Pierre gets along well with all of the children in the orphanage and with the care-givers. His best friend is called Apollinaire and they are the same age. They spend lots of time together. They communicate with simple hand signs. Like all of the children in the home, Pierre is looked after by care-taker and has received some pre-school level training. He can say a few words in French and he can count.

Pierre is in good health. He has not been hospitalized for any illness since coming the to orphanage.

His story is that a woman left Pierre with some children at the side of the road, saying that she was going to go and repair her bike. This woman left and did not come back for him. After waiting a long time, Pierre was taken to the police and was placed the next day at a local orphanage (26 May, 2008).

In the three years that Pierre has been in the orphanage no one has called or come by to inquire about him.

Conclusion of the home study is that his status is that of an abandoned child and that adoption is the only route for him to have a family.

Now, with Real Pictures! I think!

At times like these, I wish I were more technology savvy! I apologize!

I went back and updated the former posts so you can hopefully see the pictures now. I could see the pictures all along, so I didn't realize the problem immediately.

Please, feel free to share these pictures and stories with your friends. Even if they are not interested in adoption, maybe they will commit to pray for these precious children until they find a home? I'll keep you updated here if any of these children get adopted. What happy news that will be!

If you would like to help an orphan or vulnerable child, please consider sponsoring a child. A few months ago I posted about a few students in Burkina Faso who were in desperate need of sponsorship. One of the children did get sponsored, but the other child is still waiting. You can read more about sponsorship here. It is the girl in the red and white shirt that is still waiting.

Naomi

Born: 2002

Naomi was found in the bush a couple of days after her birth. No trace of her parents or family were found. She was admitted to an orphanage has grown up there. At the time of this writing, she is 9 years old.

Naomi is in good health. According to the care-takers at the orphanage, she never complains and she gets along with all of the children in the orphanage and also with the children at school.

Naomi is in the 3^rd grade this year (2011-2012).

Naomi has been declared an abandoned child and desperately needs a family.

If you know someone who might be interested in adopting this sweet girl, please share this blog post with them.

Marie

As you can see, Marie has albinism.

This condition makes her an outcast in her society, not to mention how difficult it is for her to remain out of the sun in her climate. She was born in 2002 and was placed in the orphanage in 2003. This line from her home study breaks my heart:

Since she was placed in the orphanage (June 19, 2003) no one from either family has visited Marie or asked about her well-being.

Please pray that Marie will find a family who will love and cherish her.

John

This is John.
He is a child waiting for adoption in Burkina Faso.

After the crowd from an evangelism campaign dispersed, a local pastor found John, a small boy of about 4 years old. The pastor took the boy home with him thinking that he had been separated from his parents and that his parents would return looking for him. A few days later, the pastor took John to Social Action asking for help. On April 27, 2007 John came to live at the orphanage.

Upon arriving at the orphanage it was discovered that John was epileptic and he had several seizures. For some time after each seizure, John was not able to talk or to respond to the care-takers. John is now taking medicine for the seizures and it is rare that he has one.

At the beginning of his time at the orphanage, John did not talk. It was thought that maybe he was deaf. But, as the seizures stopped and as he adjusted to his new surroundings John started talking. He speaks Mooré, the local dialect and he understands and speaks a little in French.

The orphanage workers say that John is shy around adults but that he loves to play with the other children. He is kind to the other children. When there is a disagreement or a fight, John withdraws and comes out again when he has calmed down. When another boy is pushing him around, John will fight back and try to defend himself, even sometimes when the older boy is bigger than he is.

John has not been sent to school for 2 reasons. At first it was because it was thought that he was deaf. The second reason, according to the director, is because the orphanage does not have the funds to send the children to school.

The orphanage care-takers feel that John is completely normal physically and mentally and said that he is very rarely even sick with malaria or a cold.

Please pray that John will find a loving home.

Wendy

Over the next few days, I'm going to be posting about several children from Burkina Faso who are available for adoption. These are some older children in desperate need of a family.

If you have any questions about adopting an older child or what an adoption from Burkina Faso entails, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'd love to help you.

This is Wendy.

Wendy was found as a newborn, abandoned in the bush in 2001. She was taken to an orphanage where she has grown up.

Initially, the orphanage made an investigation to find Wendy's parents and extended family but no one was found to claim the child.

In October, 2010 another extensive search was made in the area and again no family was found.

Wendy is desperately in need of an adoptive family. At the time of this writing, August, 2011, she is 10 years old. She was in the third grade this past school year (2010-2011). In February, 2011, Wendy had an accident and broke her left leg. The director of the orphanage, sent her to a large city nearby where she could get good medical care and she lived there with one of the director's family members. Because of her broken leg, Wendy was not able to finish the school year and will need to re-do the third grade this year (2011-2012).

40 Day Fast

This is from a friend of mine. I am humbled by his devotion.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

My name is Jesse Resch. I have been married to my loving wife Melissa for sixteen years and we have three beautiful kids. We've been believers for eleven years and have witnessed God's mercy, grace and love poured out on our lives many times over. As I've grown deeper in my relationship with Jesus, I have felt Him prompting me to focus less on myself and more on others.

Over the last three months God has been challenging me to step out and help those around me. When I learned that over 30,000 kids in the last ninety days have died due to starvation in East Africa, I knew I could not turn a blind eye to the suffering of others simply because they are so far away. Since they are near to God, they should be near to me! If it were my kids dying of starvation, I'd want someone to help.

Hunger - a strong or compelling desire.

Hungry - having a strong desire or need for food.

Starve - to die or be in process of perishing from lack of food or nourishment, severe hunger.

As you read this, tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa have already succumb to starvation in what is being called the world’s worst famine in over twenty years. The reports coming out of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are dire. Exhausted, rail-thin, mothers are entering refugee camps in Kenya carrying children dead from starvation. Many children are being left behind because their mothers are too weak to carry them any further. The devastating drought compounded by war, neglect, and inflated food prices pose a challenge that cannot be solved by human efforts alone.

Through God’s grace and mercy, I will participate in the suffering of our brothers and sisters by going without food for forty days. I realize I cannot do this in my own strength, to be honest, if I could I would be doing an injustice to my God and His people. That is why I am coming to you.

The goal during this forty day fast is two-fold:

1. To raise awareness to the extreme situation in Eastern Africa and have God’s people begin to pray for this region and for God to bring relief and resources to the suffering.

2. To raise funds. I will be partnering with Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) to bring needed resources to hurting and hungry people.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?...And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:6,7,10

I will be fasting from September 1 through October 10, and I invite you to participate in any of the following ways:

• Pray. You can choose a day during the week leading up to my fast and/or a day during the fast to pray for me as well as for Africa.
• Fast. You can choose a day to fast along with me, joining in the suffering of the saints.
• Give. You can choose to give, whatever amount you can. According to Samaritan’s Purse, just $7 can furnish a week’s worth of dinners, and for $35, SP can deliver enough food to sustain a family for about a month. Any amount would be a blessing.

Melissa and I have asked our friend, Beth Corcoran, to handle all of the logistics of "Hunger for the Hungry" so that I may focus on the fast. Beth will be happy to answer any questions or comments you might have (elisabethcorcoran@mchsi.com).

If you choose to pray or fast, please let her know which date, so she can set up a calendar.

If you choose to give, please let her know the amount for record-keeping, write the check directly to Samaritan’s Purse, write “Hunger for the Hungry” in the memo line, and mail it to SP, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000. All gifts will be tax deductible.

I believe that with the help of God ordinary men and women can do extraordinarythings. Will you join me?

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

In Him,

Jesse Resch

A Child Waits

This next post is hard for me to write because it feels like I am offering up a piece of my heart. But if I keep this piece to myself, it could only be called selfish.

When I was in Burkina Faso adopting Therese, I met a boy.

This boy captured my heart with his sweet nature and his searching eyes and his life story. He was Therese's best friend. He cried when we left the orphanage. I thought it was because he would miss Therese so much. But he was actually crying because he wants a family so badly.

I wept as we pulled away and promised God I would do what I could to find him a family. I wish we could be his family and it is hard for me to understand why God seems to be shutting the door for us to adopt him.

If you think you might know a family who could love and cherish this boy, please contact me and I can give you all the information I have.

"But You see the trouble and the distress, and You will do something. The poor can count on You and so can orphans." Psalm 10:14

All Aboard!

The Solgos family is about to embark on a new adventure. Yes, the Sol Train is charting a new course these days, but the destination remains the same.

Pure Religion. James 1:27.

As of Monday, August 22nd, we are an official Safe Family. I couldn't be more excited about this new adventure. Safe Families is a Christian organization that places kids in homes temporarily while the biological parent tends to a major crisis in her life (i.e., homelessness, rehab, domestic violence). This is not foster care. The parent places their child voluntarily and temporarily. The host family volunteers their time and home.

The goal is that the child returns to his family. The hope is that the host family may mentor the bio parent to guide them through their crisis. This is very exciting to me. What an incredible way to meet practical needs and share the love of Christ!

A friend from church had this as her facebook status yesterday and it spoke to me deeply as we begin this new adventure:

God rarely asks me to do something I’m self-equipped for or

comfortable with. He just asks me to obey.

Thanks, Chrissy!

Of course we'd love to adopt internationally again or even domestically someday, but in the confines of our current house, that may not be possible. There is a square footage requirement for DCFS that says we are running a little small. Apparently special needs children now count as two children- ugh. This is really sad for me. You can fit as many biological kids into a house as you see fit, but apparently adopted kids need more space? Can you sense my frustration?

Once upon a time I was nervous about the fact that we would have three girls sharing a room. But a few trips to the third world erased that fear. My girls would be just fine in their cozy, purple bedroom. Not to mention when one girl is gone on a sleep-over, the others are crying because their room is too lonely.

So, as we get ready to make room for another sweet child in this family, I'll leave you Toby Mac fans with a little chorus, "when love is in the house, the house is packed"!

'Twas the Night Before

'Twas the night before 5th, 2nd and 1st grade...

Ahhh.

8:15pm and the kids are in bed.

Yes!

Tomorrow's clothes are laid out, backpacks at the ready, camera on the table, and I know what contents of the lunchboxes will be.

Check.

Can you tell that this mama is just fine with the kids starting school tomorrow? Sure, I've been plenty reflective over the last few days, reminiscing over the physical and emotional growth of my children this summer. I cannot believe I will have all four kids in school all day this year! Sure, I've suffered mom guilt over realizing we didn't spend enough time practicing reading over the summer, and I only busted out the math fact flashcards a pathetically few times.

But, we did spend LOTS of quality time together. We made some serious memories together this summer! I'll take that over academic success any day.

I know I'll be choking back the tears as I wave those goodbyes from the playground tomorrow, but this mama is ready for a little time off. A second cup of coffee, a walk around the lake, a magazine (gasp!)- and then I'll be scooting off to the school to scoop up my kids and hear about everything I missed about their day.

Because while I am READY for a break, those kids are the best part of my day. I just need a little morning to my self so I can fully appreciate them again :)

Happy Back to School!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite memories of this summer, Sitota eating her birthday cake while hula-hooping, cause that's how she rolls.

What God Joins Together

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having our friend, Elizabeth, over for a visit. Well, it was a visit for me, but mostly work for her! She kindly offered to braid the girl's hair and she turned them into stunning beauties.

I am so grateful to know Elizabeth. She is a great role model for my girls. She grew up in Burkina Faso and has now lived in Chicago for 20 years. She recently graduated with her Master's in Nursing and will soon be a Nurse Practioner. On a return trip to Burkina, she met Therese when Therese was living in the orphanage and was captivated by this outgoing, fun-loving girl with a heart defect. Elizabeth also grew up with a heart defect, so she can relate to Therese on many levels.

We are so blessed to know Elizabeth. I love how God puts just the right people into our lives!

Another fun thing is that Elizabeth still remembers quite a bit of Moore, Therese's native language. A few weeks ago Therese told us that she has a Moore name; Telato. Burkinable girls are often given a name that indicates what day of the week they were born. Therese could not remember which day Telato was- and now we know! Drumroll, please... Tuesday! I love having this insight into her early years.

My beautiful Tuesday!

Cutie-Patooty!

Even Evelea gets in on the hair braiding!

It's Not Okay AND It's Personal

I read this statistic from the UN in the paper this morning and I can't get over it:

Drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone.

This famine is real, friends.

This report is from Food for the Hungry:

• 3.5 million Kenyans are without a stable supply of food
• 4.5 million Ethiopians and 3.2 million Somalians require humanitarian assistance.
• Drought is increasing child malnutrition and school drop-out rates.

I have been sharing with my kids a little bit about what is going on in East Africa. They haven't seen one picture and they don't know the statistics or just how bad this famine is, but their first reactions are to give. Sitota especially keeps finding dollars hidden in her various coin purses and hidden places and giving them to me to donate. I think she has given every bit of money she has. I am humbled by her generosity. Evelea and Therese can't wait for our next Feed My Starving Children packing session on Monday.

To my kids, this famine is real. 3/4 of my kids have been to Africa, or have lived there. It is not just happening far away. They can imagine it, they can relate to it. They wonder if our sponsored child in Ethiopia is okay. When Therese saw a picture of a little boy who was suffering the effects of starvation, she said, "oh, that looks like Luc when he first came to Mama Ruth" (her orphanage director).

As grown-ups, we can be jaded about the world's problems, shrugging them off as the fault of poor government systems and corruption. While there is truth to that, it does not excuse us from not helping. Maybe you cannot personally relate to this current crisis or have become numb to the many tragedies befalling our world this past year. I urge you to not become complacent.

Find a way to make it personal.

It's Not Okay

So we are home from the conference now. It went pretty much like I thought it would. I learned a lot and met a lot of fantastic people.

After the first night of the conference, I had a very intense and disturbing dream. Apparently my heart had been very deeply effected by the gathering of all these sweet children who did not ask to be born with this gene mutation, but choose to live life to fullest anyway. It was so lovely to see these children in this safe, protective environment of the conference filled with loving families and caring doctors; yet my dream was a reminder of the cruel way the world chews up it's most vulnerable citizens.

It seems my heart is breaking every which way I turn these days.

My sister-in-law and her family came for a visit this past week. We were able to spend some precious time together and got to visit some of the trendy, fun spots in our area. While standing in The Chocolate Kitchen, I was amazed at my ability to at once appreciate the artistic quality of these beautiful chocolate creations and be sickened by the reality that while I can take the time to marvel at these intricate delicacies, there are mothers in Somalia getting their arm width measured to see if they qualify for nutritional rations.

I know this can seem depressing. However, I am not suggesting we all sit around and feel guilty about all that we have while others starve. I am suggesting that we share what we have been given with others. We can do something about the suffering of others. Sometimes we think that if we get too near the suffering of others, we will be too depressed and feel guilty all the time. This is not true! In fact, when we spend ourselves on the behalf of others, we will feel better than we ever have!

Listen to these words from Isaiah 58:10

"and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and become like the noonday."

There are so many ways we can help the hungry and the oppressed. Here are a few:

Feed My Starving Children

World Vision

Samaritan's Purse

I am going to leave you with a few photos. Not to induce guilt, but to motivate you to pray, and then give.