I'll be updating some more on how we're doing and doing some catch-up blogging in the days to come, so be watching for that- lots of cuteness to be shared!
Today, I want you to think about this, because this is what I'm thinking about.
This is Henry, our beautiful 5 year old son.
At this time 6 summers ago I had just found out that I was pregnant and was deliriously overjoyed to be expecting this little one. We had been hoping for him for over 3 years and my heart had been growing anxious and weary in the wait for him.
To say that I knew that he was a treasure is the understatement of the century.
We knew from that start that children, however they come to you, are absolute treasures. Bundles of ultimate blessing gifted from the hand of a loving God.
That parenting is privilege and every child worthy of being treasured, rejoiced over, relished in.
We eagerly prepared for his arrival, constantly thinking of him- this long-awaited blessing.
As he was being formed in my womb I knew that he was being fearfully and wonderfully made by our loving and creative God. That God knew him before He had made him and created him in His own image.
And, when he arrived, our joy couldn't be contained!
I snuggled him at every chance, this beautiful treasure.
And we shouted to the world that our son was finally here, asking others to rejoice with us in the news.
Since his birth, we have celebrated everything about him.
Every tiny yawn.
Every tiny burp.
And, certainly, every toothless grin!
And every bath time has been a time for celebration and giggles.
His every step has been watched, celebrated, and rejoiced in.
He's been covered in prayers and swimming in love since the day he was born.
Because we know what it means to treasure a child;
to have the gift of training up a heavenly treasure.
And when we saw these faces we jumped right in, and began to fill in the gaps for them and begin treasuring these treasures. We began to capture every smile, every laugh, and every new accomplishment. Rejoicing in them and relishing in every kiss and snuggle.
Because children are for treasuring.
This is Porter.
Porter was fearfully and wonderfully made by a loving and creative God. In fact, God knew Porter even before He created him. God loved him so much as He was knitting him together in his mother's womb, that God chose to create Porter in His own image.
Do you know how precious Porter is to God?
God thinks more thoughts about Porter every day than there are grains of sand on the earth.
Porter is always on the mind of his Creator.
Porter is a heavenly treasure.
But, since his birth, Porter has not been treasured.
I would ask you, how do you think his Father and Creator feels about this?
To see his treasure, created in His own image, not being treasured?
Porter is almost 7 years old and has spent his life in an orphanage. A sad, sad place, in and of itself. And a grave injustice for any child to have to live in an orphanage. But no one has come for him and Porter has grown too old for his orphanage. He has now been transferred from his former home to a place of horrors.
Porter is now living in a Level 4 Mental institution.
This precious, sweet boy is now being daily exposed to unbelievable horrors and many things that he cannot begin to comprehend. I'm sure he wakes up every morning and tries to understand what has happened to him, and what he has done to end up in this place.
It is hard to imagine the horror or the pain for this sweet boy, but just imagine this:
Sending this treasured boy:
Into a place that looks like this:
No one knows why Porter was sent to this institution and not to an orphanage for older children, as the only thing wrong with Porter is that he has HIV. We do know that once children are placed in an institution that they typically no longer receive their medications; live-saving or not.
I would ask again, how do you think his Father and Creator, who thinks of him millions of times a day, feels about this? Seeing His own treasure, created in His own image, not being treasured.
"Religion that our God and Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" James 1:27
We are the body of Christ. May the hands and feet of Jesus not betray Him. May our hands not be too busy grasping for the things of this world so that they may reach out to this little boy.
"Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." ~Saint Teresa of Avila
Porter needs a family to step up for him. To see him for the treasure that he is, the pearl of great price, the little lost lamb and drop everything to run and find him. He is worth it. His Father says so.
"And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help in cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful." Titus 3:14
You may say to me- "Erica, why this child when there are so many?"
And all I can say is- Why NOT this child?
What can you do? The easiest thing to do is to donate to his grant fund to help his family get him home fast!
To donate and change his life forever go
HERE
And PRAY
To read more about him go
HERE
To read more about the horrors of where he has gone read
HERE
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