Will You Help?

'Tis the Season to be jolly.  Or it will be soon, once Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas season "officially" begins.

The Christmas catalogs are already arriving daily in our mailbox, and Leif is convinced that the first day it snows will mean that it is Christmas.  Right then and there with that first flake.

It is time to start considering how we will spend our money this Christmas Season.  What we will buy for our children, and for our families.

It also means that it is time for charities to raise funds, Salvation kettles will appear at the entrance to every Wal-Mart, huge boxes will appear for toy drives led by the Marines and various police departments.  Churches will have Christmas trees decorated with tags featuring the name and age of a child in need, and gifts for those children will be purchased, wrapped, and left under the tree.

Remembering those who have very little is so important.

Remembering those who have nothing is also imperative.  Quite frankly, it is commanded by God...look up James 1:27.   Deuteronomy 10:18...Job 31:16-18...Isaiah 1:17


This year I have offered to be a Christmas Angel Tree Warrior for Reece's Rainbow .  When I first emailed my interest, I was told all the kids have sponsors.  This morning I received and email that a warrior had to drop out, and would I sponsor Xander?

I was telling Jamie about my decision to raise funds for this precious orphan, and Leif hear me mention "Xander"

He said, "I have a friend named Xander!  He's my brother and  I love him!"

No, we are not even remotely able to consider adopting the Xander I am sponsoring, but I do call my oldest by Xander, short for Alexander.

Leif does have a brother Xander that he loves, and I am asking all of you to help me raise funds for this little boy to have a family, possibly even a brother of his own to say, "He's my brother and I love him!"

Please visit this website to read more about this little boy, and then visit this one, search for his photo and donate towards the cost of his adoption, so a family will be able to afford to choose him as their son.

A donation of $35 or more will get you an ornament that will help you remember to pray for Xander, and for the family that will be able adopt him because of your gift and prayers.

Right now he is in the $0-$99 raised section, but by Christmas I am hoping he will be at the top and the goal of $1000 will be realized.  

Will you help?

Whom Shall I Send?

"We see the people going to market for provisions, eating by day, sleeping by night, talking their silly nonsense, getting married, growing old, serenely escorting their dead to the cemetery; but we do not see and we do not hear those who suffer, and what is terrible in life goes on somewhere behind the scenes."

-Anton Chekhov

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." - James 1:27

     The Bible states in many places the need to help those who cannot help themselves. If this is true, why is it that the church as a whole seems unwilling to consider the plight of orphans all across this globe?  We have our Sunday services, Bible studies, and self help Christian literature.  We live and go on our way, and meanwhile just over the horizon, there are children who have no hope.  What does the Church do about it?  Are there widespread adoption related ministries to help those who seek to take on this need?  Generally speaking, the answer seems to be no.  Why is this need neglected?  I wish I knew.  There is a clear need and a clear command to fill that need, yet it is neglected.  In Isaiah 6:8, the prophet Isaiah hears the Lord call, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" This is the question that the Lord asks all Christians.  We all have a task from God.  One of those tasks is surely the orphans of the world.  We all should answer with the prophet:  "Here am I! Send me."

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The above portion of this post was written by Jamie.  This is my part.  I'm not nearly so eloquent.

I want to say "Here am I, send me."  I am simply at a loss as to how we can say that to the Lord, when we simply do not have the money for this adoption.  Grants take a long time and there are hundreds of applicants for each one, because there are so few to go around.  Fundraising is difficult and time consuming, and I find it difficult to ask people for help. I am not a charismatic outgoing person, I am not an  extrovert, and I do not have a lot of connections.

Where does that leave us?  I don't know. Where does that leave a little girl who has Down Syndrome and is living in an orphanage in West Africa?   I don't know.