Sunday, January 1, 2012

Toppling Goliath

There was despair in the Christmas Warriors chat room yesterday morning.

Thirty-seven children still had not reached their $1,000 Angel Tree goal.


There were no big donors waiting in the wings with big checks to save the day.

We were a bunch of tired, battle-weary and empty-pocketed Warriors whose only job description was that we all cared deeply about a bunch of castaway kids.

We had given it our all for weeks and weeks, but THIRTY-SEVEN children were still on the wrong side of the $1,000 wall.

We still needed to raise thousands of dollars if we were going to get them all over that wall.

How in the world?

We were a group of little Davids, armed with nothing but a few pebbles to cast at a mighty foe.

But God was on our side.

And our purpose was true and right: To stand in the gap for the voiceless ones.  To share with the world the fact that these forgotten orphans have value.  To defend their right to live, and to have a life that's worth living.

And so we rallied.  Although we were tired and discouraged, we got up, dusted ourselves off and went back to work.  We determined in our hearts that we were going to show these precious babes to the world one last time before the Angel Tree was over.  Whether or not they all made it over the wall, we were at least going to show the world their pictures and tell their sad stories one last time.

So we slammed the internet with their faces.  Over and over and over we put their faces out.  And with God on OUR side - people began to SEE the children.  EVERY SINGLE ONE of them.

And ALL THIRTY-SEVEN began to move towards the wall.

The half hour updates on the Angel Tree website verified the fruit of our labor.

Step by step.  Inch by inch.

Every single one of them was moving toward that wall.

So many people were responding that the Reece's Rainbow website went down.

Panic set in as we prayed for it to come back on-line.

Most of the donations were small ones of $5, $10 or $20 each, representing hundreds, thousands of people out there who were seeing the babies and responding in love. 

It was beautiful to behold. When the first babe finally jumped the wall after hours of labor, we rejoiced.  Then another jumped.  And another.  By early afternoon five babies had jumped. There were still 32 left, but all of them had moved closer to the wall.

And then a donor stepped forward with a challenge: he or she would pull the BOTTOM FIVE babes over the wall if we could get another TEN babes over the wall first.

We were a mess.  Strategy went out the window.  We just started hollering and yelling even louder.

If we had been strategy-minded, we would have told people to stop donating to the bottom five, because they were already guaranteed to make it over the wall.

Thankfully, we were a bunch of Hysterical Warriors who cared little about strategy and cared everything about all 32 babes who we refused to leave behind.

So it went on as before, with every single child advancing.  The bottom five kept swapping places with the others.  It was a cacophony of craziness. A few hours later, the first child jumped.  Screaming ensued.  A half hour later, another followed.  The Warriors chat room was going hysterical.

So many people were jumping on the website to donate that the servers were struggling to keep up.

Then we had only 23 babies left.  Only one more to go, and then the bottom five would go too.

That would leave 17 babes. 

What happened next was absolutely beyond words.

Around 6:30 p.m.,  Number 22 jumped the wall.

In the half hour from 6:30 to 7:00, Michelle from RR set to work distributing our big donor's money to pull the bottom five over the wall as promised.  But within that same half hour, the donations for all the babes poured in like water over a broken dam. They were jumping the wall so fast that we couldn't keep up with them all.  It was wild beyond belief.

At 7:00 pm, when the site refreshed and everyone expected to see 17 babes left on the wrong side of the wall, there were instead only ELEVEN left.

ELEVEN!

I was in complete and utter shock and awe at what God had accomplished through us.  Looking at those eleven remaining babies, I knew that we had won.  I knew then that we would get them all over that wall.
  
The mighty Reece's Rainbow Warriors were not going to leave those last Eleven behind.

A bunch of pebbles with a Mighty God makes for victory every single time!!

And, thank the Lord, I was right.  Within another hour or so, they all had made it.  All Thirty Seven Babies.

Through the Angel Tree, those poor lost babies got their chance to speak to hearts all over the world-- both in the world across the ocean, where people often throw their 'broken' children away, and in our world on this side of the ocean, where we often eliminate them before they can even take their first breath.

The Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of everyone who saw those poor babies' pictures yesterday.

Yesterday the Lord of Hosts made it clear to all that these babes are precious, that they are worthy of His attention, and that they are on HIS heart.


And yesterday, for a few hours, the world listened to the cries of the many children whom it has hidden away and forgotten.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO LISTENED.  THANK YOU.






23 comments:

  1. It was absolutely unbelieveable to be a part of the miracles that occurred for the children on the angel tree. I quit Facebook for 2012, and I will miss that group more than any other. It can only be explained as you explained it. A bunch of David's, a big Goliath and God! Absolutely amazing....

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  2. Julia...just think if YOU had not listened and written....just think of what might not have happened! An amazing thought of what our obedience to the Lord's calling on our gifts to be used for Him can do!!!! SO grateful for you using your gifts for the glory of God!

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  3. Thought I was done crying!! Apparently not! You were our coach last night Julia! I was exhausted and frustrated, and ready to throw my hands up. But you got our blood pumping again, and it worked!! it was an absolute honor to work beside you and every other warrior this year!
    Happy New Year Julia!!

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  4. Seriously, Julia, we all needed a good cry to start the new year off right. So, thanks for that :) It was so much fun to watch as those babies leaped over the wall! Happy New Year, fellow warrior!

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  5. Well done, good and faithful servants!

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  6. A New Years Miracle I will never forget!!! And the recap is JUST AS AWESOME!!! I love you all!!!

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  7. This made me bawl. Maybe because my little guy was one who needed someone to fight for him. Thank you for all the hard work this took. If I've learned anything, it's that advocacy works. Advocacy saves these children.

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  8. I have learned so much in this adventure. I trjley am a different person. I made lots of new friends whose hearts are like mine. All over the world! I am so blessed to be apart of this.

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  9. What a wonderful New Year's gift for all those precious children. THANK YOU for all your hard work and may G-d be praised!

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  10. Oh Julia, this made the tears pour down my cheeks!!! Praising God and thanking you for obeying Him!!!

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  11. I am crying!! What a beautiful post for these worthy babies!!! I am so proud to be a part of this special group!

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  12. I loved watching it all unfold...it was amazing!

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  13. Praise God for all that He has made happen for these kids! What a way to begin a new year! He shows us over and over again that He is able!

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  14. Such a fun ride this year!

    Brooke
    www.TheAnnessaFamily.com

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  15. such a God thing that happened I could not believe my eyes

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  16. So so awesome!!! What an amazing God we serve! I just loved reading this.

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  17. Thank you, Julia, for the inspiration for us to put individual faced out there. I think that is what really made the difference. (Of course GOD made the difference, but you know what I mean.) I am still getting FB messages today about it. People saw and care! I am touched beyond words.

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  18. It was so exciting! Lets find these babies families in 2012!

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  19. This is AWESOME! LOVE seeing GOD move. PRAISE HIM!!!

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  20. I missed most of the 'ride', as I had to be gone a good portion of the day. When I got home, I saw that my little guy had jumped....I had posted about him earlier in the day, and one friend of my husbands gave him a BIG boost, but after that... nothing. When I saw that he had jumped... I was speechless. I don't know when, or how. I don't know if he was still in the bottom 5... (he had been in absolute last place for a while)... I don't know what miracle took place, but I was absolutely praising God for it happening... not only for Turner, but for every one of those sweet angels! I truly was humbled by what I saw.... and in awe. Thank you again for everyone who rallied! Your efforts were NOT unnoticed!!

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  21. I could not do much, but I am so inspired by your posts that I follow silently. I often lurk in the shadows saying little, but I love reading about your journey and how your life has changed since bringing him home... and now his first Christmas home. :) along with all the advocating for the other children. I have finally gotten my husband on board with an international adoption as well. Thank you Jesus!! I am so relieved. Now scared when I realize I have to fund it. Please pray for me. Thanks.

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  22. Totally WOW! Praise God!
    Joy McClain

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Loving words from kind people make our hearts glad!