As a member of our church's Orphan Ministry Team, I recently got the opportunity to write and share my heart about the special needs orphans and about the ministry of Reece's Rainbow in our monthly church wide newsletter.
Below I am sharing with you my first article....(please no journalistic or proofreaders comments!!! I am quite sure I made at least one mistake :)
And just so it isn't so boring...a few random pictures are at the end of the post!!!!
The Article:
Christmas is coming...Christmas is coming!!!! Yes, it’s true and in case you haven’t noticed, the Christmas season is among us. My kids are getting excited, our tree is up, and our calendar is already full. I am sure your family is getting ready and excitement is beginning to fill your house just as it is at ours!
As I personally approach this season, I can’t help but thank Jesus for one of the best gifts He has given to our family as Anya, our adopted daughter from Russia (who also happens to have an extra chromosome), spends her SECOND Christmas with us. As I think about what life would be like for Anya had she not been “chosen” and been given the gift of a family, my heart aches. I’m being serious....it really does. Instead of attending children’s church on Sundays and instead of walking out of line and getting in the very front of the stage during her Thanksgiving program, Anya would now be living in an adult mental institution. Praise the Lord!!! Anya is not living out her days in an institution, but the reality is that there are hundreds of “Anya’s” who really are. They have been rejected and put away. They are unwanted...the least of these. I have seen the orphanages...they are real and the faces of the hundreds of children who are living in these orphanages are real. God has changed my heart forever...I can no longer erase the faces from my mind. I think about them and look at their pictures everyday. It is for this reason....that I jumped at the opportunity as a member of the Orphan Ministry Team to share with you..the family of First Baptist Church... on a regular basis about the special needs orphans and Reece’s Rainbow, an organization that advocates for the adoption of special needs orphans. I don’t have all the details ironed out yet....but, I am praying that God will allow me share with you about the waiting children and my heart for these children.
This Christmas season, Reece’s Rainbow launches their biggest fundraiser. the Christmas Angel Tree project. During this project, advocates and supporters of orphans “choose” a child and commit to raising 1,000 or more for the child’s adoption grant. The event runs from November 1 to December 31st each year. In only 6 years, more than 800+ children with Down syndrome and other special needs are HOME with their “forever families” this Christmas. The Angel Tree Project has helped make this miracle happen. This Christmas if you are looking for something to really make a difference, I encourage you to consider giving and praying for one of these precious children. Our own Anya used to be on that tree, this year she will be under our tree!
To donate to the Angel Tree Program, just go to www.reecesrainbow.org and click on the Christmas Angel Tree Project. If you have any questions regarding this project or Reece’s Rainbow I would love to hear from you. My email is srlynch052003@hotmail.com or you may call me at 870-642-6934.
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
Mother Teresa
Pray, Support, Advocate, Adopt!
Stephanie Lynch
Random Pictures:
Yep, you guessed it, they were Thing 1 and Thing 2!
