First 5K Run a Success/ Gifted Family Meets their Daughter

   

       What a great week-end this turned out to be! We had 30 people come to our run/walk and support Be The One. Our over-all winner was Ryan Salmon who ran with a time of 20:39. Right behind him was the 18 and over winner, Marc Loveless, with a time of 20:46. I do not think either of these young men had ever run a 5K before. The winner of the walker division was Julie Loveless with a time of 36:45. We raised over $500.00 for the agency! The morning was beautiful and we had young children and even a few canines helping us out. Thank you to all who came and donated to the cause of seeing orphans in their forever families. .

      A special thank you to Concord Community Church for hosting the event.

     Another bright spot for the day was that I saw our first grant recipient united with their daughter. They are in Shanghai right now and beginning their 2nd day with her. May God bless them on this journey.

FIRST GRANT GIVEN TODAY

Today is a momentous day; one I will savor because of its importance. Today Be The One Inc. awarded its first $500.00 grant to a family who will be leaving May 24th to go to China and gather up their daughter to bring her home.

 When I first was in contact with this family, I told them that I didn't have the money yet, but to send me their information and we'd see what God would do.  A few short weeks later I discovered they had gotten their travel approval and I was a bit sad because they would be leaving a day before our next fundraiser, the Run for the 1. Tuesday I had a friend drop off some money for the run and it dawned on me that we had gone over $500.00.

The next morning, I was praying; asking God if this was the family and if we had enough money and I read the following verse in Psalms: "Let them know that it is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. (Psalm 109:27) I felt God telling me that He was doing this. I excitedly contacted their agency and got our board approval and today I wrote out the check!

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of this and pray that we are able to quickly bless another family.

Two Mothers

Behind every adopted child stands two mothers. One is plainly visible and one is obscure. One definition of obscure given in the dictionary is "not readily understood." This is the obscurity of the birth mother. Unless the adoption is open and there has been communication, the birth mom remains a shadow; always present yet indistinct.

A child who wonders about where they came from may have a picture, yet they have no facts to go with it. Or, if there are facts, they are sketchy. There may be a clear reason the child was given a second home, such as illness or abuse, yet the feelings, emotions and the histories that go with these facts are never told.

Both my sons have birth moms. One has a name and picture, the other probably never will. One seemed to have given up her rights because of selfishness, the other may have been selfless. However, the one thing that links them together is that they both are left to wonder where their child is and how they are doing.

For all the birth moms out there left wondering, I say thank you. Thank you for giving your children Life. Your sons and daughters are being cared for. They are treasured, safe and well. They are growing strong and learning new things every day. They run, jump, climb, and swim. They play soccer, baseball, basketball and hockey. They dance, draw, and sing. They say their prayers at night and in those prayers they remember you.

Run For The 1

 

Run For The 1

 What: Fun run/walk to raise funds for adoption advocacy

Where: Concord Community Church, Patriot, Indiana

When: May 25, 2013

Registration: 8:30am

Start time: 9:00am

The 3.1 mile course is mostly flat and will be an out and back along the Ohio River.

Cost: $20.00 (includes t-shirt) paid to Be The One, Inc

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name:

Address:

Male/Female         Age: _____    T-shirt size: Adult  S  M  L  XL

Be The One, Inc. is a not for profit organization committed to seeing orphans united with their forever families.

Getting Un-STUCK

My husband and I attended the documentary STUCK last night. This film is touring the nation on its way to Wash. D.C. as a way to bring awareness of all the orphans who are Stuck in orphanages around the world due to government bureaucracy, and misconceptions about orphans and the process. Having adopted from China, which is one of the better programs, I am amazed at how long the process takes in some countries. The average wait for a child is 33 months. These are the most formative years of a child and they are being neglected.

I was shocked to hear that international adoptions have declined by 60% in the last ten years. This is amazing since there are over Ten Million orphans in the world. We need to put pressure on our legislatures to make the process void of red tape in this country. For example, is it really necessary to have a couple fingerprinted by their local police, the state police and the FBI? And once done, why must it be updated if a couple decides to adopt an additional child?

I was also shocked to learn some of what UNICEF is doing. Just as in our poorly run foster care system, children who could be adopted are waiting because someone mistakenly believes that it is better for the child to remain where they are in hopes that they can stay in their environment. They are advocating that there should be domestic adoption or foster care systems in some of the poorest countries in the world. I'm sorry, but foster care is not a permanent place; it is transitory, and while domestic adoptions would be great, it just doesn't happen.

How does all this information effect Be The One? Well, it makes our advocacy more urgent.
Please consider joining us by praying and donating; helping one more family bring one more child into their forever family.

God is Moving

    I had a great week-end in which I celebrated the birth of two of my sons and my mother's 80th birthday. During this time, God showed me that he wants me to get out and speak to groups about his heart for adoption. I had been stressing about fundraising ideas and realized that I just need to share my story and encourage those God is calling to adopt. It is amazing how when we get on the right path, things get moving.

      So, if your church, women's group, prayer group or any other group you can think of is interested in hearing about the process of adoption or how they can support others who are adopting, I would love to talk to them. Let's start the conversation!

Is Adoption Difficult?

IS ADOPTION DIFFICULT?

When someone asks me if the process of adoption is difficult I say:

No, as long as you don’t mind filling out the same piece of paperwork six times.

No, as long as you don’t mind strangers coming into your home eying your dying plants strangely.

No, as long as you don’t mind routinely mailing your social security number and gross income to anyone who happens to ask for it.

No, as long as you don’t mind having your fingerprints taken by your local police, state police and very friendly federal agents.

No, as long as you don’t mind acquaintances and family asking you strange questions like, “what if he doesn’t want to be adopted?”

No, as long as you don’t mind a caseworker measuring your rooms to see if you have room for 1 more child.

No, as long as you don’t mind writing a 10 page autobiography on your “not so perfect” childhood and your weird relations.

No, as long as you don’t mind a child’s face falling when he realizes he is not on a sleepover.

No, as long as you don’t mind not being able to grocery shop without getting a babysitter and calling it a date.

No, as long as you don’t mind packing scabies medicine and vowing not to eat fresh fruit and vegetables for 2 weeks

            Adoption may not be easy, but it is worth it.