Urgent Need: Two Major Prayer Requests : Quesenberry and Gill Families | Reece's Rainbow

My heart has just been broken this week by two events in the adoption world. 

First: The Quesenberry family, who was enjoying this trip to go and pick up their two new sons, had posted a video of the two boys and their new father. One of the boys was just having a blast dancing around to a song with his new father, while the other enjoyed from afar. I thought, "How great that they are enjoying so much knowing the love of a father!" Then comes the devastating blow, such unexpected, socking news. While they were still in country, picking up their new sons, the father passed away overnight in the hotel room. They have children at home, and the mother is having to deal with this while adjusting to the new boys, and being in another country. I am overwhelmed for her, just thinking about it. Please consider giving to help their family in this time of need. This link will take you to their YouCaring fund.  Also, please pray for all the children and the wife in this unimaginable situation.

Secondly: Please pray for the Gill family. They just lost their 3 year old daughter, who they adopted just 6.5 months ago. She had difficulties eating, and she choked on some food and was life flighted to the hospital, where she was on life support. Unfortunately, brain scans showed no activity and they had to let her go early this morning. I have been following this little girl's story since 2014, and I was head over heels for her, and often times longed for her to be mine. She was at a fabulous foster home/orphanage in China that I follow on Facebook. I still remember the first picture I saw of her, and I will post it below. She was such a sweet and spunky little girl who ALWAYS put a smile on my face with every picture and video. My heart broke with the news of her situation and again when I heard she had passed away. I can't imagine the feelings and emotions going through her momma and baba's head and heart right now. Please pray for them, and give at this link, if you so feel lead to do so.  Now I will share some of my favorite pictures of sweet little Annabel that I went back and gathered together.

The first picture I saw of Annabel. <3

Little bitty frail Annabel when she came to the foster home/orphanage.

Pure Joy

Such a ham, always making me laugh in every picture/video.

So full of spunk.

The smile that will just melt your heart.

On her 3rd birthday, just before getting adopted. 

At Home 

Family Spotlight: The Wierenga Family | Reece's Rainbow

I'd like you to meet Colleen and James Wierenga. They are one of my warrior families. Long before they committed to their soon to be son, "Elijah," Colleen and I would browse Reece's Rainbow and dream about adopting together. She has such a heart for all people with special needs and has wanted to be a mommy for a long time. I will never forget the day that Colleen showed me Elijah's picture and said "We inquired about him." Then the happy, wonderful, excitement-filled day when she said "We've committed to him!" I could barely believe it and I was so joyful for them! She said when she first saw him, she was both terrified and excited. God led her to him and she followed. Still she didn't know what to expect and just took it day by day. When she showed her husband, both instantly knew he was to be theirs. His profile has his diagnosis as schizencephaly, for which they had a lot of unknown answers for, and got a lot of negative comments from people about. Still they followed God. When they met him during trip number 1, they were shocked, in awe, amazed, grateful, and knew without a doubt, this was their son. Colleen said "after Elijah, I wouldn't let anything on a waiting child's profile scare me away from adopting them." He could walk, babble, and laugh. This surprised them a little, as they weren't sure what to expect with his diagnosis. Currently they are getting his room painted and waiting on a court date and in just a couple months will be returning to his country to bring him home forever. I could not be more thrilled for them, and it has been a blessing to walk beside them through this. If you would like to donate to Elijah's adoption funds, click here to see their family sponsorship page, or go to their youcaring page here.

First came love:

Then came marriage:

Now comes the baby in the baby carriage:

Orphan Spotlight: Bert | Reece's Rainbow

I'd like to tell you of a little boy who has melted my heart time and time again. I cannot look at his pictures or video without both smiling and being completely heartbroken for him. Here he is...

he is called:

Bert

Bert turned 8 years old this month. He is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but not much further information is known. Ernie was his brother's name, and they were listed together. Ernie was healthy and was chosen by a family who lives in their country, however, Bert was left behind in the orphanage. He was in a nice baby house, but he was facing transfer to a mental institution, and may have already been moved there. These mental institutions are no place for ANYONE to be. I have heard horror story after horror story of those places, and it makes me sick to think that could be where this little boy sits right now. Please pray for his safety and for his family to find him super soon. He is just a doll baby with the best smile ever, as you'll see in his video below. He has a really nice grant that is available towards the cost of his adoption that totals $7,545.14 currently. Please share him so his family can find him. If you would like to donate towards his grant, please see his profile page by clicking here. If you would like to inquire about adopting him, visit this page for more information. He is also listed on this site and may be inquired about here as well.

Now, are y'all ready for this cuteness? 

You probably can't handle it, but I'm going to show you anyway!

In Other News: Ways You Can Help | Reece's Rainbow

Don't mind me, I'm switching the "In Other News" and the orphan spotlight days, for this week at least.

There are many great adoption programs out there, I just happen to have a heart for Reece's Rainbow. I know not everyone is called to adopt, and not everyone has a ton of money to donate, but you CAN do SOMETHING to help the orphans, and we are all called to do that. If you decide you would love to get involved and help out with Reece's Rainbow getting children with special needs home to their families, this is a list of ways you can help:

1. Share posts and blogs

Perhaps the EASIEST way to be involved and help out, in a major way, is to simply SHARE these blog posts and other posts you see, such as on Facebook and Twitter. It literally takes 5 seconds, and could impact hundreds of new people!

2. Pray for the families and the children

Scroll through the website and just pray for the children and families adopting. Pick a different child or family each week to pray for. Prayer is a very powerful tool.

3. 5/5/5 for Families

This is a program Reece's Rainbow does continually. There are 5 families picked every month to receive this gift towards their adoption. They ask if you'd like to participate, only $5 a month. You can put it on auto-bill on Paypal or pay sometime during the month. On the 5th of every month, they split the "pot" between the 5 families. This is an easy and convenient way to donate to adopting families. You can find it by clicking here. I have also got a button on my side bar over --> there.

4. Voice of Hope Fund

The Voice of Hope Fund helps to keep Reece's Rainbow up and running. It pays for postage, fees, supplies, personnel, etc. It helps this non-profit cover it's bases to stay afloat. You can donate directly to the voice of hope fund, and that's great, or you can donate to a child. Every time someone donates to a waiting child's grant, 10% of that donation goes into the voice of hope fund.

5. Child of the Month

I also have a button on my sidebar for the child of the month. If you click it, you will be led to their profile page. You can set up auto-bill pay to donate $10-$100 per month to the child of the month. Each month a new child is chosen to have the spotlight. It is used to grow said child's adoption grant as well as expose the child to more potential families, so sharing the child of the month is also encouraged. You can find the child of the month page by clicking right here.

6. Be A Prayer Warior

This is a program where you chose a child to pray for from the waiting children on the site. You commit to simply praying for them daily. Pray for their family to find them, pray for their grant to grow, pray for their safety and comfort while they wait. You can have a child assigned to you or you can pick a specific child to sign up to pray for. You can read more about being a prayer warrior and sign up right here.

7. Become a "Family Warrior"

This....this is what I LOVE to do! I have personally had 6 families (and the 10 children they've adopted) to warrior for. I currently have 2 families, for couple more months until they finally go to pick up their son and daughter. Seriously, it's the BEST....okay the other ways of helping are super great too, but this is a fantastic feeling!! You pick a family in process who has an FSP (family sponsorship page) and sign up for it. Then, I have personally been in contact with all of my families on Facebook, you don't have to, but it helps a ton with being able to help them. You pray for them, talk to them (if you're in contact with them), hold little or big fundraisers for them, and donate to them. You don't even NEED to donate to them or spend any money if you don't have it to spare. The goal is just to support them in any way you feel led to. I like to talk to my moms and ask what's going on with the process. I let them vent to me if they are frustrated or tired. Simply asking what they need, and finding a way to help meet that need, is all it takes to be a good family warrior. You walk through the process with them and share in excitements and disappointments, frustrations and joys. The BEST part is when that child comes home, all the work you put into helping them suddenly becomes more than worth it. I still follow all my families, except one, who is no longer on Facebook, and I get so much joy just by seeing them home and thriving. Adoptions run expensive, and sadly, that fact alone drives people away from committing to it. This program is great because it gives hope to families who just don't feel like they can do it alone, and may, in turn, convince a family that it is possible to bring a child home with such support. You can browse families by clicking here. You can find out more information on this program and sign up here.

8. Become a "Guardian Angel"

This is another program I really love to participate in. You pick one of the waiting children (click here to see them) from the "Other Angels" (which means they have other special needs besides Down Syndrome) and you advocate for them. Share their profile page to increase awareness that they are waiting. Simply sharing can help their family find them. Also, praying for them is another role in being a guardian angel. These children are sometimes sick, sometimes in a non loving environment, sometimes neglected, sometimes abused, and they need our prayers. Fundraising for them is also a great way to support the child. It doesn't have to be anything big, mowing somebody's yard for $20 once a month or selling some old junk you have in your closets and giving that money to them. Every single penny helps their family be able to more easily afford to bring them home. I have done this with two children. My little girl found her family less than a week after I signed up to be her guardian angel, just by happen chance, and she is home and doing really well. The little boy I advocated for, had a unique situation happen, and so now, once my warrior families are home with their children, I will pick out another child to do this for. Read more and sign up here.

9. Shop on Amazon

That's right... you can help by shopping online for anything you need! An Amazon Smile account has been set up for RR, and if you use the link when you shop, a portion of your purchase will be donated to RR. Click here to shop Amazon and help Reece's Rainbow!

10. One Time Donation

Of course you can always go and browse through the families and children and make a one time donation to any of them. They will appreciate it more than you know! Bonus: Donations made through the site are tax deductible.

11. Adopt

Of course this would help for obvious reasons...haha...


So as you can see, there is a vast range of ways to help. Some require financial commitments, but many of them require little to no money spent on your part. Any little way you can get involved is appreciated immensely by myself, everyone at Reece's Rainbow, and the children and families you support.

Urgent Need - The Reber Family| Reece's Rainbow

I have been informed that the Reber family, adopting sweet Lacy, has less than 2 weeks until they travel, and are $11,000 short on funds. Please share their FSP (short for Family Sponsorship Page) and let's collaborate and listen...I mean...collaborate and get this family funded!

Three Sure Fire Ways to Help:

Donate, Pray, Share 

http://reecesrainbow.org/92325/sponsorreber

Fundraiser Spotlight: T-Shirts for the Schultz Family | Reece's Rainbow

The Schultz family is in the process of adopting a whole HANDFULL of teenagers from Eastern Europe. This is a great thing, as these teenagers were all nearing the point of aging out. Aging out is NEVER a good thing. No more chance of a family and very poor living conditions to boot. I'm very proud to support them by buying and sharing their t-shirt fundraiser. I am in love with this shirt, and can't wait to receive mine!

CLICK RIGHT HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE SCHULTZ FAMILY ADOPTION

AND

CLICK RIGHT HERE TO BUY THIS SHIRT

What's All This About and How Did I Get Started With Reece's Rainbow

 First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Shelby, and I'm a 29 year old wife, nanny for two families, and photographer. I also cook for a family as another part time job, but am in no way a professional chef...although, private chef does sound impressive. Point blank, I am busy. Another point blank, I want to be busier. What? Who wants that? I want to adopt with a passion. Life's circumstances have made it incredibly difficult to go for that right at this moment, but I refuse to sit still. I have been dreaming about adopting a little girl from China. More specifically, a little girl from China with Down Syndrome and beautiful black piggy tails and the cutest smile you've ever seen. I have had this dream for many, many years. A friend of mine named Kristin kept posting about this little girl called Anastasia from Russia, who she was very much in love with. She has down syndrome, so she immediately caught my eye, as I just can't help but bubble up with love when a down right perfect passes by. I kept seeing her posts again and again, until one day I clicked on the link. That link was to Anastasia's Reece's Rainbow page. I started clicking around the site, after reading about Anastasia, only to discover hundreds of orphans with down syndrome waiting on their families. I became very attached to the site, and would check it every once in a while dreaming and hoping.

 A few years went by and I had nearly forgotten about it, but I was married now, and having children wasn't coming easily for us, and it started to stir in my head again. I asked Kristin how it was going, because I knew they were starting to save to go get Anastasia the last I heard. She said Russia had closed adoptions to the US. My heart sunk for her. I went back to the website and discovered the Facebook group and requested to join. That's when I really fell in love with this organization and everyone involved it it, either working for the non-profit or adopting or advocating. I fell in love with the organization itself, which advocates for children with Down Syndrome and other special needs available for international adoption, and raises grants for the waiting children, so families can more easily be able to afford adopting them. The more people I talked to, and the more I looked around the site, the more I discovered my love for orphans, and the HUGE need for families for these children.

 I fell in love with two of the children in particular, and inquired about adopting them with my husband. It didn't work out that we were able to adopt them. The little girl was adopted by another family, YAY, but the little boy, Logan, unfortunately got very sick and passed away, never knowing the love of family. Oh, how my heart broke with that news, and I cried for days and days! It was soon after this that I discovered the Family Warrior Program and signed up for a family....and another....and another....and another...and frankly, I'm kind of addicted to the joy of helping families bring home the children they call sons and daughters. Also, I love seeing these children home and thriving afterwards. All the while, I'm over here, longing to adopt a child. God hasn't opened the door for that yet, as much as I bang on the door and plea for God to just open it already. I know that HIS plans are best, and I will TRY to be patient and wait for His clear direction. However, I refuse to sit still. There's plenty I can do while I wait: Pray, Advocate, Donate, Educate, Etc. Etc. Etc.

So here I am, starting this blog to promote orphans and families adopting. Here I am trying to do as much as I can for orphans until God says, "Okay, now it's your turn to bring one home." I do not have a great track record for remembering to post blogs in the past, but I have set alarms on my phone to remind me. Hopefully it will work, but bear with me regardless. I have been encouraged to try again, and so I will. It's my goal to have 5 posts a week. That's a lot, so it may get reduced in the business of my schedule...but there's just so much to share, so I really want to just make it a daily habit to create a blog post. My plan is to have the following type of posts:

Monday : Fundraiser Spotlight
Tuesday: Urgent Needs
Wednesday: Orphan Spotlight (Reece's Rainbow AND Elsewhere, International AND Domestic)
Thursday: Family Spotlight
Friday: In Other News (random stuff I feel y'all should know)

So, what's all this about?

• It's about doing something while I wait, and not just being idle.
• It's about finding families for orphans.
• It's about helping families in the process of adopting.
• It's about being God's hands and feet.
• It's about caring.
• It's about showing people that children with special needs ARE lovable.
• It's about helping families afford the rather expensive process so they can get to their children sooner, like in Kristin and Anastasia's case. 
• It's about helping orphans find their families so they do not have to die alone, like Logan
• It's about helping those who love, find a way to adopt.
• It's about defending the fatherless.
• It's about delivering the needy.
• It's about loving God's children.