How long will YOU ignore them?

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” –David Platt

This is why

Mini serbian reunion in D.C.! Axel, Asher and Sofija,
all adopted from Serbia.

I received an email today that took me off guard. "Why did you stop advocating for orphans? You adopted two kids and yet you won't advocate for rest of the kids."

Ummmm hmmmmm

Really?

I advocate for orphans ALL.THE.TIME!!!!! Where have you been? Google "Serbian Adoption" and my blog is the second hit only behind the Department of State's website.

Ukraine orphans have plenty of people advocating for them. Russian orphans have plenty of people advocating for them.

Who is advocating for Serbian orphans on an almost daily basis?????

Who is helping Serbian family fund raise for their travel?

Why did everyone stop advocating for these kids and families just because Reece's Rainbow stopped listing them on their website? You want to know some truly forgotten kids? The orphans of Serbia who nobody speaks for.

Oh I get it. It's because pictures of the Serbian kids can't be put up. What? You can only have a heart for a child who's face you can see in a picture?

I have chosen to advocate for Serbian orphans for a couple reasons:

1) My boys are both from Serbia.

2) The Serbian ministry has worked diligently for nearly two years to make sure theirs is a "clean" system. That there is no corruption. There are no bribes being paid. There are no outlandish prices being charged for expedited passports (I  have heard as much as $1500 USD in Ukraine! Serbia? $30!!!!!)

3) You work directly with the Serbian ministry. This allows you to ask questions not only about the process but about the child you intend to adopt.

4) You KNOW the child you've chosen is legally available for adoption. There are no surprises when you get there, something that seems to happen a lot in Ukraine.

5) You know before you go if the child has siblings.

The list goes on. Serbian orphans need families too. I set up a separate blog to outline the process and profile families who are currently in process. Out of 60-some kids, take a look at just a handful of Serbian kids who have found families in the last couple of years.

If you have a child from Serbia and you'd like to share your story on the Serbian adoption blog, please leave me a comment with a link and I'll post it.

Children of Serbia

I have been in the orphanage in Belgrade four times now. Three times I have looked into the eyes of children who have never had someone return the look with love in their eyes. I have loved on children who have never before felt love. I have seen children who's lives are spent in a crib, waiting for the next time someone else chooses to move them. I have seen children who are blind left alone in their darkness. I have seen children who are deaf left alone in their silence. I have seen children with autism left to linger in their own solitary world. I have seen children with Down syndrome left to do nothing. Nothing at all.

Many of you reading here have read about the stories from all over the world. The horrible facilities where the "useless eaters" waste away to nothing. These same facilities exist all over the world, and Serbia is no exception.

My heart lies in Serbia. It aches for the children left behind. Unfortunately pictures of the orphans of Serbia cannot be posted on websites or blogs. As much as I want to get their story out, I also must respect the laws of Serbia regarding child privacy. And so,  I need to ask you to use your imagination a bit, to picture Pleven  to remember the investigation done by MDRI in 2007. (we have reason to believe Axel is one of the children pictured in the Serbia video).

According to the MDRI report: "Children with disabilities come directly from the hospital to the orphanage. Doctors encourage this. There is no interest in adopting children even with the mildest disability. Children without disabilities will go to foster families or will be adopted. Children with disabilities are left behind." – doctor, Subotica Institution for babies

Because the pictures cannot be posted, people forget these children exist. Adoption agencies don't make money on a child who's face can't be shown. Nobody is knocking down the doors of Serbia to find homes for these children. Families seem to hardly think twice about spending $20, $30, even $40,000 to adopt children from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, China, Haiti. But Serbia, the least expensive country in the world to adopt from, free of all corruption - my adoption of Asher totaled $7100! - and yet nobody is saving the children. All because of one measly picture.

I must tell you, there are plenty of Ashers, Axels, Ivans, Marys, and Nicks in Serbia. There are laying down rooms, there are rooms no outsider will ever get into. There are institutions in Subotica, Kolevka, Kulina, Veliki Popovac, Veternik, Stamnica, Kovin, Curug...and more. *note not all of these facilities have children residing in them.* According to the report done by MDRI in 2007, in a country not much bigger than the state of Minnesota there are 78 institutions. Among them are 5 residential facilities for children.

I've posted before how Serbian adoptions work. No, you won't find pictures of Serbian orphans here or on any other website, but if you choose to pursue a Serbian adoption you will not travel without knowing information - and having had the opportunity to ask questions - about the child you'll be bringing home. It is like getting a prenatal diagnosis in a pregnancy; you know the child's diagnosis, age, height and weight, (and depending upon the child's social worker you might even get a picture of them before you travel) Just in case you need a reminder of the face of Serbian adoption, here are our two Serbian princes!

Axel at 4 months home

Asher home 5 months

Prayers for Dane

Meet Dane

Little Dane is in an orphanage in Serbia. Dane has a family waiting for him, working diligently to get all their paperwork done to bring him home. Unfortunately, the officials from his orphanage have decided, since he is developmentally delayed, to remove him from the adoption registry. That means he would no longer be available for adoption, and once his 5th birthday rolls around (some countries it's their 4th birthday) he'll be transferred to an institution. You know, those images of children tied in cribs that I've posted several times? Yeah, those same institutions will be Dane's fate! Dane's waiting parents have written a letter to the officials there, pleading for them to let them bring Dane home. That Dane can have a QUALITY LIFE here. That with the love of a family he will thrive!

Please pray that the officials handling Dane's case can see that EVERY child deserves a family. That EVERY child has value. That some people REALLY DO WANT to parent a child like Dane!!!

URGENT prayer request!

As many of you know, I'm fairly involved with some of the families from Reece's Rainbow and their adoptions. At the moment my good friend Renee and her husband Frank are in Ukraine getting their daughter Kellsey. My friend Shea (private blog) is in Estonia getting her son Oskar, and this spring I'll be traveling to Bulgaria with my friend Shelley to get her two new boys.

But there is someone in Eastern Europe who is in imminent danger!

For those who don't know, look for my other posts about adoption from Eastern Europe to see how life will be for her. Her chances of survival past 1 year in in the institution are very slim, and those years she does survive will be full of malnutrition, starvation, dehydration, cold, and sometimes covered in urine and feces, naked and tied to a crib!!!! The light that you see shining from these eyes will be extinguished in a matter of weeks.

An urgent appeal was posted for her through Reeces Rainbow... She needs a family NOW... She will be transfered to an institution in days or weeks, and will not be able to be adopted from there, but if someone commits to adopt her they will keep her back (at least that is my understanding, Andrea at Reece's Rainbow will be able to confirm this...)

If you are homestudy ready, this adoption could happen very fast. If you're not, you can still commit to her! Please, if you're even considering adoption, consider saving Lera's life. Please contact Andrea at Reece's Rainbow for more information.

Lera is a gorgeous little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 4 years old. She is quite high functioning and doing very well. She has no major heart conditions. She is able to walk, and climb, and eat by herself. She dances and understands and follows directions. She has also been transferred to the regular class (very rare!) so she is living and learning with typical peers.

Ukraine