The Orphan

updated:
I got permission to link to a blog that I love:
A Place Called Simplicity
This is Linn and she is incredible. She has introduced me to the orphan through her blog. God has used her to speak to me in so many areas of my life. But caring for the orphan is just the beginning. She has adopted multiple children and has 10 children total. Her heart is so beautiful that I know you will feel the same way. Please check out her blog.


God's Word is extremely clear in the way He feels about the orphan. He is for the orphan. Just look at what is says here in James:

James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I owe a lot of my knowledge about the orphan to a fellow blogger. She is an advocate for orphans and her life is overflowing in blessing because of it. And it is because God led me to her blog exactly one year ago this week that my heart is breaking for the orphans of the world.

I have been praying for awhile now that God would break my heart for the things that break His. A great prayer by the way, if you are looking for something specific to pray. The Bible says that a lot is expected from those who have a lot. We don't have a lot by any means, but we are more than blessed. I have been reading about all of the great work that Compassion is doing. What a great group of people. In my heart, I've wanted to do something, but I just wasn't sure what God had in mind. I specifically wanted to do something for the orphan. But as far as I know Compassion works with children who already have families. Not that these children don't deserve the help. These children live in poverty. Way below poverty. They need your help. Help them. Its just that in my heart the orphan was calling my name. I knew that sponsoring would not be a viable option right now. We are trying to build a house. A modest house, but we are trying to do this with cash. And that takes saving a LOT of cash. (I'll post about this another time.) So, when you are trying to build a home with cash, you don't really want anything else going out the door. You tend to hold onto every cent. Not a great philosophy, but a very common one I think.
So, I knew my husband would not be game. I've brought it up in conversation a few times, but never pushed the issue. (Again, I wanted to do some kind of sponsorship, but wasn't sure how to do this for the orphan.) My husband is all about saving money and was not into it. I kept waiting. Not intentionally, but just set it aside in my head and prayed about it now and then.
Fast forward to last Friday night. We attended the Winter Jam. Many wonderful artist and we had a great time!!! It was then we were introduced to Holt International. It was an answer to my prayers. They work specifically with the orphan. You can sponsor an orphan while they are waiting to be adopted. It takes quite a bit of money to run an orphanage and take decent care of the children. So you send $30 a month. And get this, they estimate it will take 6-18 months to place the children in homes. So, you pay until they are adopted. Then you can decide to sponsor another child or stop right there.
During the intermission my husband looked at me and said if I wanted to sponsor a child, we can do it. I about fell out of my seat. God had been working on his heart this whole time. And let me just say that this has been a rough year for our family. For us to sponsor this child is a true miracle. Through this small act, God is giving me a glimpse of the hope that is in our future.
So, my girl is 5 and I was looking for one close to her age. And I knew for sure that I wanted her to be Chinese. We chose Mu. She is a sweet, beautiful newly turned 8 year old. I don't have a lot of info on her yet. I can't wait to get it. My heart is overflowing for this girl. God is so good.
There has also been talk about some more permanant decisions regarding the orphan. I can't wrap my brain around it, but folks, believe me when I tell you that this is a miracle.