Fatherless Friday

Do you ever have one of those moments when you want to just shout to the Lord even when you are sitting all alone at your desk??? 

 

This week was one of those moments.  A moment of praise to the Lord that one more orphan is going to walk free soon.  A boy named Jonathan whom I met back in May.  I met him for just a moment when I was able to reach my hands through the fence that contained him to rub his head and look into his eyes.

 

He was inside what looked to me like a cattle yard.  Except there were dozens and dozens of boys and young men inside that yard. No grass. No toys. Nothing to climb on. Just boys inside a fence.  Along the back of the yard were benches under a shed roof. Next to that cattle yard was another one. With boys inside that one. Benches at the back under a shed roof. 

 

I only was there for a few minutes but the pictures, the sounds, the boys - those images will never ever leave me.  They are firmly planted on my very soul. 

 

Boys are not designed to spend their days roaming inside cattle yards.

 

So this week when I learned that Jonathan will soon be let out of that yard to run free in grass, to sleep in a clean bed with clean sheets, to eat good food and most of all to have a family who loves him best of all - I shouted to the heavens a THANK YOU JESUS!

 

He's not the only boy there with the chance to walk free.

 

There are several others who could walk free too. I have wanted to share about them ever since I breathed their air back in May.  But things in our lives have been challenging and hard on so many levels and the words I've needed just haven't been there.  So when Jonathan found a family this week I shouted for joy to His Creator who cares about one little boy stuck inside a cattle yard.

 

There are two others who are running out of time. They both age out in a matter of months. If they are not adopted they will spend the rest of their lives locked away. I am sharing both of these boys here and letting my dear friend who knows them best of all tell you a tiny bit about them. 

 

Micah. 

 

 

 

"To know him is to love him. Micah is a favorite of our volunteer teams. He is so funny! He speaks and always says “thank you” and “goodbye”. Somehow he is super polite! He loves attention and will always call out to show you what he is doing, or to get a hug. He will definitely need a family who can give him time and attention.
Micah screams when he is excited, and cries easily when he is hurt or someone takes a toy from him. He is full of emotions....

Micah lives in a hard place. There is absolute no hope for a future there. His medical needs are not managed well in his current environment, and it is my strong belief that he will not have a long life if he is not adopted. He has loads of potential. He is smart and eager for love."

 

 

Alex

 

 

 

Alex AGES OUT in December!

"A few weeks ago I brought him a little backpack because he loves bags. He was so happy he ran out, picked enough apples to fill the bag and brought them to me to say thank you.

He is nonverbal, but he communicates well. He is beautiful and smart and he has NO future if he isn't adopted. I love this boy!!!..."

 

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So I know many of you will see the AGE of these boys and will see the bruises and rotten teeth and will look away because the thought of adopting an older boy out of a mental institute is just plain daunting.  Yes. It is. But that doesn't mean they are not worthy and that they would not THRIVE and GROW in a family. And the blessing they would bring to your family far outweighs the labor involved in caring for them.

 

Please see beyond the outward appearance, the diagnoses, the 'mental delay' words that scare off so many.  Please recognize the treasures that they are.  They are both 15 years old but in reality they are just little boys at heart. Little boys who get excited about backpacks and struggle to share their toys.  Just little boys in big boy bodies. 

 

Please help me yell for Micah and Alex. Please donate to their grant accounts. Please Please see them. They are both running out of time. The thought of them spending their lives roaming in a cattle yard until they are transferred to a place far worse than even that just makes my heart hurt.

 

I praise God Jonathan will soon run free and I pray with all my heart that Alex and Micah will be free soon too!