Friends, we are asking with weary hearts for prayer for the children of Ethiopia - Will you join us in storming the gates of Heaven with prayer and petition? You see, there is huge battle going on of which many are unaware. That battle is for the rights of abandoned and orphaned children to be loved and cared for in forever families. What seems to be a basic human right and common sense from one human to understand about another, is being stripped away from the most innocent and vulnerable- those who can't defend themselves, and they are the children.
Over the years several countries have closed their doors to international adoptions. Not because they have grand plans to stop the poverty, or provide for the hurting families. Not because they are setting up systems in their own country to support the children, for third world countries don't have these resources to fund even the best intentions of plans. But, you see, when countries close their doors to international adoptions, they close their doors to the eyes of those who see and hold accountable how the children are being treated in the orphanages of that country. The governments of such countries, as Ethiopia, have a different mind-set for the value of human life. Too many view orphans as a statistic, not a soul. And a statistic that the government would rather bury behind closed doors then have their ill run humanitarian efforts for children exposed by those shining the adoption spot light.
Ethiopia is at great risk for closing their doors to adoption. In fact there was a parliament meeting just this past week that has bloggers and facebook groups posting. The rumors are in full glow. The minister of the MOWCYA agency that acts as the child protective services there in Ethiopia, (I've written about them before and not processing through the adoption cases. Visit here later.) apparently declared that she wants to shut down adoptions in the coming weeks. It has been unofficially reported that she said, "we have controlled the spread of AIDS, we have dared the build a dam at the Nile, surly we can put a stop to adoption as well." There is to be a plan of action to end adoption which would be presented to parliament. If it gets passed there, the next step would be getting the prime minister to sign it. All of this news we are hearing are not from reputable sources like Adoption.state.gov. but on the other hand, these 'official' sites will all the sudden pop up with an alert saying "adoptions in Ethiopia are now closed" with no warning that the waters are getting rough.
One adoptive mom used this analogy and I often think to it. She said something like, "We know that driving on the interstate highways has it's risks. It can be a safe place and yet sometimes mistakes are made. Maybe someone unfortunately died in an automobile accident where the driver wasn't wearing a seat belt. That doesn't mean we close the entire interstate. You approach the issue of seat belt safety." I view the adoption process much in this same way. Yes, we are taking a risk at international adoption, and yes there are a minor number of unethical cases, but that doesn't mean that the entire system needs to be shut down.
Adoptions do need to be safe, ethical, and every effort should first be made to keep families together in their home country. There needs to be adoption reform and several systems are a mess, but stopping adoption with no plan for orphan care is irresponsible and inhumane. There are no plans for the millions of already abandoned children, no plans for the accountability of the orphanage facilities, and no one will ever know about anymore if those doors close.
Please, will you stand in the gap and lift up the adoptive families who would be effected if this ill fate for Ethiopia prevails. Especially will you lift up the millions of true orphans who will suffer an undeserved punishment of neglect and silenced hope. Stand in the gap and take this to prayer as we storm the gates of Heaven with compassionate hearts for His precious children.
I can only assume that over the next few weeks we will hear more scuttle but get no definite answers. In my assumption, it would take more than a few weeks for government policy to filter through into law, especially on the time frames that third world countries move. In the meanwhile, we will try not to worry and we are not playing the 'what if' game either. One day at a time and we will continually ask the Lord for guidance and direction.
We will keep you posted and share what we know. Thank you so very much for your prayers and for following us on this wild adventure to bring two precious children home!
Holding fast to the promises of my life verse:
Jeremiah 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Isaiah 59: 1 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear."
Read more about this battle here: bothendsburning.org
From the Both Ends Burning home page:
Both Ends Burning is dedicated to defending every child’s human right
Over the years several countries have closed their doors to international adoptions. Not because they have grand plans to stop the poverty, or provide for the hurting families. Not because they are setting up systems in their own country to support the children, for third world countries don't have these resources to fund even the best intentions of plans. But, you see, when countries close their doors to international adoptions, they close their doors to the eyes of those who see and hold accountable how the children are being treated in the orphanages of that country. The governments of such countries, as Ethiopia, have a different mind-set for the value of human life. Too many view orphans as a statistic, not a soul. And a statistic that the government would rather bury behind closed doors then have their ill run humanitarian efforts for children exposed by those shining the adoption spot light.
Ethiopia is at great risk for closing their doors to adoption. In fact there was a parliament meeting just this past week that has bloggers and facebook groups posting. The rumors are in full glow. The minister of the MOWCYA agency that acts as the child protective services there in Ethiopia, (I've written about them before and not processing through the adoption cases. Visit here later.) apparently declared that she wants to shut down adoptions in the coming weeks. It has been unofficially reported that she said, "we have controlled the spread of AIDS, we have dared the build a dam at the Nile, surly we can put a stop to adoption as well." There is to be a plan of action to end adoption which would be presented to parliament. If it gets passed there, the next step would be getting the prime minister to sign it. All of this news we are hearing are not from reputable sources like Adoption.state.gov. but on the other hand, these 'official' sites will all the sudden pop up with an alert saying "adoptions in Ethiopia are now closed" with no warning that the waters are getting rough.
One adoptive mom used this analogy and I often think to it. She said something like, "We know that driving on the interstate highways has it's risks. It can be a safe place and yet sometimes mistakes are made. Maybe someone unfortunately died in an automobile accident where the driver wasn't wearing a seat belt. That doesn't mean we close the entire interstate. You approach the issue of seat belt safety." I view the adoption process much in this same way. Yes, we are taking a risk at international adoption, and yes there are a minor number of unethical cases, but that doesn't mean that the entire system needs to be shut down.
Adoptions do need to be safe, ethical, and every effort should first be made to keep families together in their home country. There needs to be adoption reform and several systems are a mess, but stopping adoption with no plan for orphan care is irresponsible and inhumane. There are no plans for the millions of already abandoned children, no plans for the accountability of the orphanage facilities, and no one will ever know about anymore if those doors close.
Please, will you stand in the gap and lift up the adoptive families who would be effected if this ill fate for Ethiopia prevails. Especially will you lift up the millions of true orphans who will suffer an undeserved punishment of neglect and silenced hope. Stand in the gap and take this to prayer as we storm the gates of Heaven with compassionate hearts for His precious children.
I can only assume that over the next few weeks we will hear more scuttle but get no definite answers. In my assumption, it would take more than a few weeks for government policy to filter through into law, especially on the time frames that third world countries move. In the meanwhile, we will try not to worry and we are not playing the 'what if' game either. One day at a time and we will continually ask the Lord for guidance and direction.
We will keep you posted and share what we know. Thank you so very much for your prayers and for following us on this wild adventure to bring two precious children home!
Holding fast to the promises of my life verse:
Jeremiah 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Isaiah 59: 1 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear."
Read more about this battle here: bothendsburning.org
From the Both Ends Burning home page:
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