Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me
What do you see in this picture?
Will we leave behind the innocent to grieve? On their own, on the run, when their lives have only begun...
This is "Salome". She has cerebral palsy, microcephaly, and "a deep mental hadicap". She is an orphan in "the U". According to someone who met her, "Her thinness is heart stopping! She was twisted and sucking on a bottle, such a lost and forgotten soul! Obviously in such desperate need!"
Oh, and did I mention that she's 15 years old?
These could be our daughters and our sons
This is "Salome". She's "a lost and forgotten soul". Her parents abandoned her most likely because of her cerebral palsy and microcephaly. She lives in an Eastern European mental institution or orphanage. For children with special needs, these places are like hell.
American prisons are paradise in comparison.
If an animal was treated the way these children are treated, America would be in an uproar.
She's been left in a crib for years and years, fed enough to keep her alive, most likely in the most inhumane of ways (with food/formula substances running down her throat so fast that she would choke or aspirate--and if it fell, then she was done until the next feeding.) Left to lie in her own waste.
Often kids are also drugged with tranquilizers to keep them quiet. Sometimes they're tied to their cribs.
They are not stimulated. See the marks and bruises on her forehead? That's from her banging her head on the side of her crib out of sheer lack of stimulation.
She needed to feel something.
She needed some sort of stimulation.
That is what she was forced to resort to.
They are not loved. They are ignored.
They do not experience life outside of the confines of their room.
All of this is to be blamed for her tiny stature.
Friends, CP and microcephaly and "a deep mental hadicap" (which was most likely caused by such gross neglect and abandonment by the orphanage) do not leave children this tiny. They do not. Salome is about 2.5-3 months younger than me. Let that sink in for a moment.
"She has got back problems, so the thing she sees most frequently is the ornament [pattern] on her bed linen. Seldom she gets lucky and is able to see colorful toys in the playroom. But as for going outside, this is a joy that the girl can miss for many long months at a time....the same is with the attention of adults. For some nurses, a bedridden child is automatically perceived as a living doll...something that they only have to feed and bathe from time to time. And that's it." ~From "Salome's" profile on a adoption website from "the U"
and just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating - I know my God won't let them be defeated. Every child has a dream to belong and be loved....
This is "Salome." She has been hurt deeply physically, emotionally, and mentally by the people who she trusted to care for her. She is desperate for love. She is beautiful. She is potential just waiting to be exposed. She is a soul who has been dealt the worst of hands in life. She is a fighter. I know this because she has made it to 15 years old despite the fact that she is in a living hell. She is still "in there." She hasn't given up. She is not defined by the labels that people have put on her, labels that gave her such a life in the first place. Labels such as "undesirable". Labels such as "unwanted." Labels that tell her she will never amount to anything.
Boys become kings, girls become queens, wrapped in Your majesty...when we love, when we love the least of these.
I believe all of that with my whole heart. I am pro-life. I believe that EVERY life has value. I believe that every single person whom God put on this planet has is precious in His sight and has PURPOSE. Every life, no matter how long, has a purpose to fulfill. Salome's family didn't see that. Her orphanage does not see that.
But somewhere out there, there is a family who sees that.
Then they will be brave and free, shout Your name in victory...when we love, when we love the least of these
A family who sees a beautiful girl who has been denied everything in life. Everything from the basic human right of freedom to the femininity her hair brings.
Friends, "Salome" turns sixteen in March.
Her sweet sixteen will be a death sentence if her family does not step forward to adopt her before then.
US law states that a child may not be adopted internationally after he or she turns sixteen unless the family has filed with USCIS prior to the child's sixteenth birthday.
If she turns sixteen before a family files with USCIS, then she will forever loose her chance at having a family.
Forever loose her chance at love.
Forever loose her chance at reaching her God-given potential.
Her country has already rejected her.
Her family has already rejected her.
The staff at the orphanage has already rejected her.
Break our hearts once again, help us to remember when we were only children hoping for a friend.
Won't you look around? These are the lives that the world has forgotten, waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open...
If we allow "Salome" to turn sixteen without a committed family, then we are rejecting her.
We are echoing the statements of her country, family and orphanage.
We are saying that she is undesirable.
We are saying that she's unlovable.
We are saying that she is "too much work."
We are saying that her life is meaningless.
That our comfort is of more value than her life.
Can we really sit back and do that? Can I sit here in my upper middle class home, full belly, nice and warm, typing on a nice laptop, comfortable bed to go to tonight, loving family, perfect health, and ignore this precious girl?
We cannot. I cannot.
Boys become kings, girls become queens, wrapped in your majesty...when we love, when we love the least of these.
See the potential in "Salome". Check out some of these amazing stories of kids just like her....Katie, Hailee and Hasya, Carrington, Maiah. They have disproven every stereotype the people in their countries (Katie, Hasya, and Maiah from "B" and Carrington and Hailee from "the U") had about them.
See the sweet spirit within her.
Then they will be brave and free shout Your name in victory....when we love, when we love the least of these.
When we love the least of these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iStKtWlLEVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iStKtWlLEVw
Watch that video and then tell me how you can sit back and ignore this issue.
Join me in storming heaven on behalf of "Salome". Share this post. Tell your friends. Advocate for her on your blogs and social media sites.
She has until March.
For more information on "Salome"
Kings and Queens by Audio Adrenaline
Wow Alex, I am at a loss for words! I don't know where to begin. My heart just cries out for this girl and many others like her who have been dealt the worst of hands. The lyrics to the Audio Adrenaline song says it all! We will pray everyday and ask the Lord to provide a family for Salome who will show her unconditional love, the best caregiving and all that she needs to know that God sees her as His precious child.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome thing you're doing! The Lord is using you in mighty ways young lady! May you continue seeking His will and being a great example to young kids today. I'm sure your parents are so proud of you! Hugs and best regards to you, Rosie, your parents and the rest of your siblings! Maybe we can come visit you all someday. Blessings, the Freemans