Look what the LORD did!

You're not going to believe this!

Timmy and Ivan just received a $11250 grant.... EACH! First of all, to whomever you are - May the Lord bless you richly in return for your generosity. I'm convinced you just played a rather big part in finding these precious ones their families!

It costs approx. 25,000 to adopt either Timmy or Ivan, and this included pretty much everything, including airline tickets and housing in their country. Since Timmy and Ivan are in the same orphanage, they can both be adopted at the same time. IT ONLY COSTS ABOUT 5,000 MORE TO ADOPT A SECOND CHILD FROM THE SAME ORPHANAGE, so... if there is a family who adopts them both at the same time, they have pretty much their entire adoption payed for.

I need your help!

- Their family needs to step forward. Maybe someone out there is praying to clearly discern God's will for their family, when it comes to these boys. Maybe someone just found this page and is falling in love with their faces... Please spread the word - these boys need families!

- Secondly, please give. Timmy and Ivan have pretty big medical needs and some families will not be in the position to adopt them both. If each one of their individual grants grows, it gives them individually a far greater chance of being adopted.

- Thirdly, but definitely not last - praise the LORD with me! This is ONLY by His doing, by Him prompting the heart of whomever donated. I'm in tears to know so many of you are praying for these precious ones. Because of your prayers your gifts, your advocacy, we, under HIMcan change these boys' lives!

Stepping it up

Last week I was informed that Ivan had passed away,only to learn 2 days ago that that was some seriously wrong info! Ivan is alive, and so is Timmy. HOWEVER... I have learned much much more about these little ones through people who have met them, and others who work in their country on behalf of the adoption ministry they are listed with...

Timmy's birthday is on Feb 22... less than 2 months away. Children in this orphanage are transferred to an institution when they are 5 years old... promptly. Time is of the essence for Timmy! Ivan turns 5 in May and does not have much time left! Unfortunately this orphanage also has a history of having special neds children transferred to places that CANNOT be adopted from.

Do you understand the urgency here?!

They have been in this orphanage their entire life and will be ripped away from everything they have known... the beds they've laid in nearly all day, every day, the careworkers - though swamped with the responsibility of taking care of many with little resources - they have interer acted with their entire lives... to be put in a car, whisked away to a place where they will be forgotten... I don't want to write about the terrors of these institutions... there's enough eyewitness accounts for you to read/watch yourself...

ZERO donations... zero. Can you skip dinner out? Can you sell some of your stuff on Craigslist? Use some of your (expected) tax return? Have a bake sale? Return some Christmas gifts you really didn't need/want anyways? All donations are tax-deductible. Children listed on Reece's Rainbow with sizeable grants have found families in record time. Let's step it up and fight for them!

If you have a FaceBook profile, please "like" this page, post it as a status and invite all your friends: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Life-for-Timmy-and-Ivan/179370815421511 Who knows what generous people this might reach, and perhaps even their forever families!

Most of all - pray for Timmy and Ivan!

Meet Timmy and Ivan

You see those 3 beautiful faces? All 3 are created, known and loved by God, all 3 are pre-schoolers, and all 3 have a deadly condition known as hydrocephalus. If left untreated, it will sooner or later kill them. (Read more here about hydrocephalus, what it is, how it kills, and what treatment is needed.)

The difference? That little girl, my precious daughter, was born in the US, received the care she desperately needed from the moment she was born. She had parents who loved her, advocated for her, and found her the best care. She had doctors and therapists who rallied around her and fought for her well-being. She had access to hospitals, insurance, and early intervention programs. She got the surgery she needed, the shunt placed that would literally save her life...

Timmy and Ivan... born in a country on the other side of the world that is still dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear disaster that occurred decades ago. A country where children with phsyical, mental, etc, 'deformities' are considered worthless, and end up in orphanages as their parents are convinced they won't amount to anything, and have no access to resources to help their kids. Hopelessness... hopelessness for the parents, hopelessness for the child. I wonder what their pictures would have looked like - what they would have looked like, and how they would have been doing, if they had gotten the same care as the little girl in the middle.

Hydrocephalus, left untreated causes severe delays in motorskill development, cognitive delay, or in Timmy's case, blindness. The pressure from the accumulating fluid in his brain is so tremendous, he can't even open his eyes anymore... If you cannot already tell by his picture, Timmy must be in constant pain. Untreated hydrocephalus causes constant headaches, nausea, vomiting, and even lethargy. Untreated, it will lead to death. Treatment? The surgical placement of a shunt, but those in charge of these boys' lives have been asked, and don't want to bother... outrageous isn't it?

You see, as if living like that is not enough, within a few months, Timmy and Ivan will transfer – as is custom in this country – from their orphanage to a mental institution, a terrible, awful  (google, or find video’s on YouTube so you know I’m not making this up) place where kids like themselves are put AND… left to die. It is estimated that 80-90% of children transferred to an institution will die within the first year. Considering Timmy and Ivan’s condition, they will mostly be left in their cribs, wither to die, and become part of that statistic.

Timmy, and Ivan (they're in the same orphanage) are in desperate need, I can’t even begin to emphasize how desperate, of a family that will love them forever and get them the care – shunt surgery to begin with!!! – they so desperately need. Will you PLEASE help us? Both Timmy and Ivan are listed on Reece’s Rainbow (see links on the side of the blog). The cost to adopt from this country is approx. 25,000 ($5000 more if adopting a second child at the same time). MONEY is what’s keeping these children from finding loving, committed families, and those children for whom a large or full adoption grant had been raised, have always found a home. Will you help us raise money for Timmy and Ivan’s adoption fund? All money donated is tax-deductible. You can go directly to the Reece’s Rainbow website, or use the Chip-In functions on in the sidebars. ChipIn is part of PayPal and is completely secure.

There is power in numbers, and TOGETHER we can make a difference for these little boys. Will you help? Pray, spread the word/blog, donate, find their family...