Just One of Those Moments

Okay, so this is a bit unusual for me - 3 posts in one day??!! I just seem to have a lot of thoughts hanging out in my mind that I need to share.

Recently, we have had so many asking us about our decision to adopt, why we chose Russia, why didn't we adopt from US, and why are we continuing such an expensive endeavor when we are short money. Well, how can you get others, especially nonbelievers, to understand being "called by God" to adopt? I am not sure I really do a good job of explaining so I have added this to my daily prayer list.

What I have become quite adept at is explaining why people should adopt and/or support those who are adopting. When Don and I had our booth at Mango Mania, we handed out information about adoption. Here are some of the statistics* we found:

• Every day 5, 760 more children become orphans
• Every year 2 million children become orphans in Africa alone
• About 143 million orphans in the world today will spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home
• Although about 250,000 children are adopted worldwide annually, about 14 million will grow up as orphans and age out of the system
• In Ukraine and Russia, 10%-15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before the age of 18. Sixty per cent of the girls will be lured into prostitution.
• Many children who age out will accept jobs that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves

*Adapted from the Home for Good Foundation www.hfgf.org

So, knowing these statistics and meeting our little girl in January, how could we NOT complete our adoption.

We have to get back to Russia, we have to bring her home, we have to set up our adoption ministry, and we have to help others adopt.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress....James 1:27

Thanks for letting me share,
Elizabeth
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Mango Mania Meltdown

This past weekend we participated as a vendor at Mango Mania. It is a popular event in Southwest Florida sponsored by the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce. We thought it would be a good idea to set up a booth and fundraise for our adoption as well as provide information on adoption awareness. We handed out fliers we made about us and our story with information about why people should adopt and/or support those who adopt on the back - we also listed some adoption statistics.

We had great expectations that we would raise over $1,000 based on what we heard from others who participated in the past. We contacted a company, Ladybug Blessings, and purchased some lip balms, soaps, fireless candles, and loofahs to sell as a fundraiser. Ladybug Blessings is a great company with a heart to help families with adoption fundraising and they were very helpful getting us started on our booth. They had a Mango Parade with a Mango Queen. We even got into the "Mango Theme" and had mango papaya soaps and loofahs as well as passion fruit soaps and loofahs. We also decorated our booth go along with the theme. We were up at the crack of dawn both Saturday and Sunday with great anticipation.

Well, meltdown is the operative word here. It was so hot, I swear the soles of my shoes were melting! You could see the heat rising from the asphalt. People were melting in the sun and seemed to go more for the Mango Smoothies than our Mango Loofahs! Sadly, we sold very little - we didn't even break even on the fee for our booth. We were very discouraged and felt quite guilty on our way home for spending money on such an event and not breaking even. This was so supposed to be the event that brought in last funds we needed to get back to Russia! As we drove home, Don was asking me, "What did we do wrong? Why didn't this work for us?" I just had no answer and really felt bad because it was all my idea! I prayed a lot about it before I paid the fee and really felt it was something God wanted us to do. I was definitely scratching my head on this one. I was just so sure God spoke to me about this festival.

As Don and I discussed what we felt was a major failure, I kept thinking there just has to be a positive here. And my mind kicked into gear looking for that silver lining I just have to find no matter what. And I found it!

I am convinced God led us to Mango Mania not to raise funds for our adoption but, instead, to raise adoption awareness. We spoke to many many people about adoption, why we decided to adopt, why we chose Russia, the number of orphans in the world, how to get started, where to get grants, etc.... So, if just one person we spoke to decides to adopt, isn't that worth our time and what we spent to be a vendor? Oh, yeah, definitely!

Once again, I am reminded that our fundraising efforts are more than just raising money (See It's More Than Just Raising Money) We may never know what impact we had that hot weekend in July, but I am sure a life or lives will be blessed because someone stopped to talk with us.

But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Psalm 71:14

Blessings,

Elizabeth

By the way, we still have a lot of product that we did not sell, if you think you might be interested what we have, please email us at murrayadoption@yahoo.com.

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