Today I went back and looked at her videos and pictures. She is beautiful. She is nine years old. She does not have any mental delays or other handicaps other than she is a strawberry blonde girl in a land of dark haired girls and she has vision issues associated with Albinism. She did appear to be younger than nine to me, which is normal given she has grown up more than likely in an orphanage setting. Those "delays" which are not real delays at all usually disappear when in a regular family setting.
She is beautiful, her file says she loves being girly and dressing in pretty things. The clock is ticking. She is already nine years old. She doesn't have a lot of time to find a family. I know we are not her family, yet I cannot get her out of my mind. I felt the need to advocate for her. I feel conflicted though. Currently she is not listed with my agency, which means a couple of things. If A) after some time if no one working with the agency proceeds with adopting her, her file would return to the shared list where a family working with my agency would be able to view and lock her file, or occasionally files are transferred, but I don't have any idea if this could happen. I do know she is available to adopt and despite the possibility of not being with my agency I feel called to advocate for her.
As I sit here and reflect over the community mobilization in two days to save a well loved business (and I cast no stones about it), my heart breaks and I pray to God to help me understand WHY there isn't such urgency to rescue these children? At fourteen this precious child will not be able to be adopted. She will be shunned by her homeland and there won't be many resources for her to find a job. Many girls turn to the sex trade or worse especially those who look "different". Or she could grow up a beautiful, blonde haired little girl in a country of many colors and opportunities and the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
Are you called to be her family? Are you called to step out in faith? We would work night and day to help you do this. There are photos and videos of her available. We are called to assist. And not just this child if adoption is on your heart. Don't wait for the big neon sign to fall from the sky, this IS THE SIGN. If you are reading this and it tugs at your heart, please contact me for information on starting your adoption journey. I will help you wade through all the confusing things. The older children need advocates. Now. The clock is ticking....