Their deep brown eyes sparkled and they laughed in delight to see such fair skinned Americans! To them it was probably like meeting a movie star! These sweet little ones surrounded us and just wanted to be loved on and cuddled. The room was cold and stale and yet their little faces just shined as we played with them and toted them around on our shoulders. I was so privileged to go to Mexico during my time in bible college and one of my favorite memories are loving on those precious babies in that orphanage.
It only took one time visiting the fatherless and holding their little hands for me to become hooked! My heart will forever be smitten. I don't know how many people visit this blog but I do wonder how many have felt that same tug. The gnawing feeling you get when you see the faces of children on those commercials about third world countries that need help feeding the helpless. After being there and seeing the faces of orphans in Mexico and India, I can still close my eyes and their smiles almost haunt me. I can hear their laughter and my heart still aches.
I have been researching a lot lately and it is impossible to know exactly how many orphans there are in the world. Recent studies show there are between 143,000,000 and 210,000,000 orphans in the world!!!! I cannot fathom that many little ones without a home of their own or a mommy and daddy to love on them and treasure them!!
In orphanages all over the world, children "age out" of the system and have no where to go. I have read ( I did not take the time for footnotes, sorry researchers out there!) that some will fall into drugs and become thieves, some will be sold into sex trafficking.
Not everyone is called to adoption. I know that. I believe more of us are called but haven't surrendered to that drawing deep in our hearts. There are many ways to help the fatherless!
There are those God will lead to adopt, those who will financially support, those who will love by sending gifts to precious little ones. There are those who can impact by fostering here in the states.
There are opportunities all around us. I hope that I can be someone who will shine a light on this path to the Fatherless. Jesus said in Matthew 18:5, "Whoever receives on little child like this in My name receives Me." If you feel that tug on your heart or just want to know more about adoption, I would be glad to answer any questions. Please feel free to email me at hickey_jenny@yahoo.com.
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