"Though my
mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me"
Psalm 27:10
Imagine being 18
years old and having to contemplate your future. You have no mother or father
to offer guidance and support. You have no financial means to secure a higher
education. You live in a town where there are no job opportunities available to
you. You are smart, motivated, and driven but have no means in which to pour
your hard work into something...anything. Not only this, but you have lived 18
years of your life with no love, encouragement, support, nurturing from
parents. By the world's standards you are an adult, you don't need a family.
You are old enough to "make it" on your own. But yet inside, you
still long for a family. You wonder what it would be like to have a Mom to
confide your secrets to, to encourage you, to talk about your dreams and to be
told that you can do anything you set your mind to. And a Dad....you wonder
what it would feel like to lean your head against your father's shoulder, for
him to wrap his arms around you in a protective hug, to tell you are beautiful
inside and out...to show you how special you are and how you should be treated.
You have dreams and hopes of a good future, one in which you belong to a loving
family, but then you remember you are 18. And you realize those dreams will
always be just that....dreams.
Now imagine
this.....you are an 18 year old orphan with all of those dreams locked deep
inside. You have convinced yourself that you are ok on your own. That this
world is hard, and that you don't know what you are going to do after you
graduate trade school, but that you are tough and will handle whatever comes
your way. But then...a missions teams from America comes to visit. They spend a
week with you over winter break and you see a glimpse of something in these
people. They are loving, kind, and seem to truly care about you and the orphans
that live with you. They possess hope, compassion, and joy that comes only from
their Savior. They came all this way just to love on you and your housemates in
the name of Jesus. The same Jesus that you have been told about by the Christian
caregivers that have taken care of you for many, many years. Those dreams you
have buried deep inside begin to bubble to the service, and you start to dare
to dream...and pray that maybe, just maybe, the God of love and compassion that
you know might just have something big planned for your future.
Fast forward 2
months, and another team comes to spend a week with you and the other children
at your home. Some members of this team are the same people that came the last
time, that helped you dare to dream. During this week with the team, you begin
to realize just how much you truly do need a family, that you do desire a good
future where you can live up to the full potential that God has planned for
you. You know it seems impossible, but you cry to, and confide in, one of those
team members. You bravely give a voice to your dreams of wanting to be a part
of a family. You share that you want a Daddy's shoulder to lean against, and a
Mom to confide in and be nurtured by. This team member cries with you, and says
that no matter what lies ahead, God you are SO loved by God and that he has a
special plan for you.
Friends, this orphan
is a very real person. And that team member that she cried to and confided in
is me. When you experience the heartache and tears of a child that has had to
face this world largely on her own for 18 years, and you hear her so bravely share
her hopes and dreams, it is IMPOSSIBLE to not do something. Ryan and I came
home from this past trip, broken for her. We prayed over her, and how God might
use us to touch her life and be that family that she so desperately needs and
deserves. Since she is 18, adoption is an impossibility. Knowing that doing nothing is not an option,
with the help of friends and advisors, we have decided to pursue a student visa
for her. Student visas are not permanent, but it will offer the opportunity for
her to spend several years experience the love, security, and nurturing of a
family while she pursues higher education. This will give her the chance to
vastly improve her future and pursue whatever profession she chooses.
When Ryan and I told
her that we wanted her to come to live with us, be a part of our family, and
study she told me that she never dreamed that God could possibly love her so
much. That because we care for her, she sees how much God cares for her. I
can't think of a more precious thing I could have been told. Isn't that what
this world is all about as a believer? To share the love of Christ with others?
To make sure they know that no matter what they have experienced in this world,
that they are LOVED by the One who made the world? She knows that though her
parents did not take care of her, that the LORD will receive her and love her.
"A father to the
fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the
lonely in families"
Psalm 68:5-6
Dear friends, we need
your help. There are many hurdles and hoops to get through to bring an orphan
over on a student visa. The success rate of on an orphan obtaining a student
visa is slim to none. But yet we know that we serve a God who is ABLE. He is
already at work in this situation, and has provided us with amazing resources
to help us get her here. There is a charity organization whose sole purpose and
mission is to help Ukrainian orphans obtain student visas. They are willing to
work with us and take on our sweet girls case. They have a 99% success rate
over the past 9 years. Those statistics are AMAZING!!! It cost $15,000 in fees
to obtain their services. You are probably thinking that is A LOT of money!!!
Let me tell you, it is! But we can't put a price tag on family. No matter the
cost, even if it was double or triple, it would be worth it. SHE is worth it!!
On top of these fees, her education will cost approximately $15,000 each year.
This must be paid totally out of pocket as there are no grants or scholarships
available to international students. We need to raise the first $15,000 super
fast to retain the services of this wonderful organization. Ryan and I are
asking you to please partner with us in prayer and financially. We know that
God has called us to be her family, and we are willing to provide for her in
every sense. But we also feel like God is asking us to share in the blessing of
helping her. We need prayer and financial warriors that will come alongside us
and help us show her just how loved and special she is. Psalm 77:13-15 says,
" Your ways, God are holy. What god is great as our God? You are the God
who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your
mighty arm you redeemed your people". Would you pray about being a part of
the miracle of providing a family to an
18 year old child who dared to dream of being in one? I can promise that you will be blessed abundantly
by helping our sweet girl chase her dreams.
You may give a tax
deductible donation by clicking here :
or mail a check to:
1U Project
C/O Wendy Farrell
2625 S. Forrest
Heights Ave
Springfield, MO 65809
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