The Final Step

We have completed the last step towards getting our foster care license in Indiana. Today we had a home visit from the social worker who was contracted to do our homestudy. I have to say that this being our 4th homestudy, it was by far the easiest ever. We had to do a lot of preliminary paperwork and that laid the groundwork and answered nearly all of the standard questions we endure.

I was really glad to have it go so easily. The social worker will now type the report and let us review it before she turns it over for state approval. Once it has that stamp of approval we'll be entered into the placement pool and we can get calls. It probably won't be too long now. A few more weeks I think.

More for National Adoption Awareness Month

We Pray for Children

We pray for children who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holds in math workbooks,
who never can find their shoes....

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bounce down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead, who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup....

And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die, who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up, who pictures are not on anyone's dresser,
whose monsters are real...

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
who love visits from the tooth fairy, who don't like to be kissed in front of the school bus,
who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone....

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried, for those who must,
for those we never give up on, for those who don't have a second chance,
for those we smother ....and those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

Ina J Hughes © 1985 & 1995
Copyright © Ina J. Hughes, All Rights Reserved

It's a GLOBAL Orphan Crisis

I've been trying to write this post for a couple weeks now. Each time I sit down, I fail to find adequate words to express my feelings. As a parent who has adopted internationally and fostered here in the US, I have seen with my own eyes a small piece of reality. There is an overwhelming number of children who are living in deplorable conditions, are unsure when they will see their next meal, and might not remember when the last one was either. They don't receive adequate medical care, or have clean water to drink. There isn't running water to bathe in, cook with, or brush their teeth. The clothes on their backs are all they have.

This problem does not only exist elsewhere, it is happening in our own backyards. It is a GLOBAL crisis. As Americans we hail ourselves a great nation, the land of opportunity, but we have forgotten about compassion and community. We turn a blind eye to the squalor and poverty that exists HERE. You see I have seen first hand families scrambling to keep a roof over their heads, living in conditions you and I couldn't dream of. I've seen these families ripped apart when their efforts fail. There are families living in tents, under bridges, shelters, and cars. We all know it exists, but WHY, why aren't we doing more?

The Bible says, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18 and that "Religion 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." James 1:27

So what are we doing to look after the orphans? What can you do to help, you ask. Well, the answer is simple - DO SOMETHING! We aren't all called to adopt or foster. The mission field for each of us is as different as we are. I can't answer what doing means for you, but to me the answer is clear, do something!