Captured My Heart

This is Yuri.  He was born in 2007 and lives in an orphanage in Ukraine.  

I "met" Yuri while reading Adeye's blog: http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/  Check it out when you have time.  They recently adopted two little girls from Ukraine with Down Syndrome.  Yuri is currently in the same orphanage and was in the room with their daughter Hailee.  After reading this post I cannot get him off of my mind.

Right now Yuri is lucky to be listed on Reece's Rainboiw, which helps facilitate international adoptions for those with special needs.  You can read a little about him here: http://www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/angelboys.html

My eyes have been opened.  I have always know orphans exist and yet up until now I always thought of it in more abstract terms.  Now I have seen their faces and I cannot shut them out.

I have a very black and white personality.  There is very little gray area in my life.  All or nothing. When I began reading about these children I immediately wanted to adopt them all. Okay, I know this is not realistic.  Then I wanted to quit my job and volunteer in orphanages for the rest of my life.  Hmmmm, probably not too realistic either.  I remember the last time I felt helpless and devestated by what I was learning.  I went to the International Women's Day Breakfast put on by the Women's Resource Center in Wenatchee.  The topic was generational poverty in the United States.  I cried all day afterwards. About eight months later I joined the Board of Directors and now serve as the Treasurer. I am not going to lie, I don't always like going to meetings and I definitely do not like asking for money. Then I remember. Not everyone has the luxury of choosing between chicken or steaks for dinner. They might simply be trying to determine where their next meal is coming from. Not everyone knows where they are going to sleep at night and might rejoice in the chore of mowing a lawn if it meant that they had a roof over their head. And so I serve. And volunteer my time. And donate when I can.  Because this is a worthwhile organization and in a small way I am helping.  I am starting to learn that every little bit counts.  One organization likens volunteering to a relay race.  As you begin your volunteering you accept the baton from the previous volunteer.  When your time is up you hand the baton to the next.  Just as a relay race cannot be won alone, it is unlikely you will be able to help those less fortunate all by yourself.

So I don't know what the future holds for Jay and I.  I do know that we will help these children.  How can you see their faces and read their stories and not be moved to do something.  They deserve to be loved and cared for just like every other child.

Regardless of your beliefs, I found this Proverb on the Reece's Rainbow website and feel that it encompasses what I am feeling at this moment in my life.  Our life.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.  God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12