Meanwhile...

Many things have been happening. Some good, some not so good.
First of all, lets start with some familiar faces and names.
Orphanage 39 news:
Duncan's family met him. Sadly, after a lot of prayers and thoughts, he decided to stay in his country. This happened with Sam too. "Sadly, the older teens are in communicate with another child who was adopted earlier and that child made a comment that scared the teens from being adopted :( We think the child was likely just mad one day and said it carelessly but it nevertheless affected the teens :( And yes, there is a very unpleasant caretaker who has been intimidating the teens and filling their heads with lies." Horrible rumors that Americans adopt kids just to harvest their organs. It may seem unbelievable to you, but when they are so secluded from everything else, and everyone they know is telling them, it's enough to override what they know about how disabled orphans in their country are treated after they are kicked out. The question was raised why Duncan and Sam would be listed for adoption if they were just going to say no. Here is the answer: it's just the difference between saying yes to a dream (when you think it's unlikely that it will ever happen) and saying yes to a flesh and blood family standing in front of you asking you to leave everything you've ever known (and possibly get your organs harvested). Pray that God will help Duncan and Sam with the rest of their lives. Pray that they will not turn to drugs or even suicide, as most teenagers that age out do.
Tyler's family met him, and he was also asked. He said yes!! Renee got to see him, and she said: "We saw Tyler today, Moxie pounced on him of course and he rolled her around in his wheelchair in his lap :) She loves him to pieces! He looks SOOO happy with his new mom and dad!" I don't believe his family is blogging publicly, but I will see if we can get some pictures!Speaking of Renee and Moxie, they are adopting again! Now they are bringing home Bandit, Babygirl and Rascall. The thing is, Rascall is in a bad place. Not THE bad place, but still really bad. The director is very against adoption. When they get to meet Rascall, they are caged in and watched. Once, some of the other kids were allowed in, and Renee witnessed Everett (a boy there) being slapped for crying when another boy took his toy. Thankfully, Everett and Olson (the two boys there that are available that Renee has seen) have a family coming for them! She is raising money on her blog for them, so they can get there ASAP and get those boys out of there!
Now, for some not so good news. The facilitator Renee is working with, her son fell out of a tree and broke his skull. He was in a coma untill recently, and they are worried to try to fix his skull. Pray he will be healed!
Another bit of bad news. Remember the Clanton's? They were supposed to adopt Sarah (Genesis) and Seth (Dmitriy), but Seth was adopted by another family. So they brought home Selah, who is 8, just like two of her three brothers. Well, let them explain. 
From Wednesday:
"If you've not heard, we've had a terrible accident. Jon took Sam and Selah on a walk on the Erie Canal before lunch today. He stopped for a minute on a level surface, to check the time on his phone & the stroller rolled into the Erie Canal. Jon Clanton jumped into the canal right after them. He was able to hold the stroller up & fought against the current pulling him and the stroller down. ...He couldn't get the kids' unhooked but was able to pull them up some and evidently got Sam's head up. Someone jumped in and took him out and Jon and another lady pulled up the stroller so they could do rescue breathing on Selah until the EMTs got there. The Erie Canal is very deep, cold, and strong currents...the sides are cement with nothing to hold to... Sam is ok, put is being kept overnight since his body temp went down to 90 degrees. At this point Selah is not expected to live...our hearts are broken. PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR SELAH!!! We love her so much and have loved being her parents. We are asking God for mercy! She is on life support, currently she is in a study ( the only hope they could give us) The study is to keep her temp at a certain lower than normal point with the hope that could help. But they still give us no real hope and even if she should live, they feel she won't be "Selah" anymore. Please pray that God will give us a miracle for our little girl!!!!!!!"
Read more below:

Update and Request

Saturday

Sunday update

Trusting....God prepared!

Hard News....

We are all praying for God to heal this amazing little girl! Lift her up in your prayers!
For a little bit better news: So, Jacob  has a matching grant opportunity. This means that for every dollar donated, an anonymous donor will match it, up to $2,000. This is only lasting until August 25. But here is the amazing part: Last night (8-19-12), at about 8pm, Jacob had $620 in his fund. About 7am this morning, he was at $750, and I'm getting pied (yes, I will share on here :). 12pm this afternoon, he was at about $900. Now, he has $1,000!!! In 24 hours, his fund has almost doubled. Many of your favorite Reece's Rainbow people are getting pied or have been pied for Jacob. See HERE!

Now that we're caught up, here's what I wanted to talk about. Heroes.
Wiki defines a hero as "a person who performs extraordinary deeds for the benefit of others."
I asked the Reece's Rainbow family who their heroes were. Here are some of the answers I got:
"Princess Diana" 
"I always look to people who CHOSE to become involved....Corrie Ten Boom, Fr Maximillian Kolbe, Mother Theresa...all three could've looked the other way and made their own lives easier but chose to help others because of their love for God." 
"Raoul Wallenberg" 
"My baby boy, Isaac ♥ He was the strongest person I ever met. He was so beautiful, and perfect, and such a sweet boy. He fought SO hard and I am SO proud of him ♥ I love you forever, bubby ♥" 
"Mother Teresa: because she came from a very poor background that never stopped her determination. She dedicated her life to the destitue and poor, having been not to far off herself from the people she ministered to. When I think of Matthew 17:20 and moving mountains-she is the person I think of. She did this for decades before ever receiving any recognition or notority. Once she was acknowledged, she then balanced using that "fame" as a means to educate and bring in more resources to help even more people while rejecting any personal praise for herself. When she was critisized, she continued on, even worked harder, especially during her own times of doubt and crisis, she was human and was so conflicted with the large amount of despair that what she was doing wasnt enough! She inspires me, because she was human, prone to error, she gave everything she had and she did it all for the glory of God---that is not something you see very often!"
"Courtney Roth, mother of Tripp Roth, who passed away on 1/14/12. He had EB, "The Worst Disease you have Never Heard of" as quoted by ABC News. Her blog is actually the doorway to my introduction of RR through her advocacy for the adoption of Anton. Marc and Mandy Seymour are also on the list. They are the parents of Quinn Seymour who also passed away from this awful disease in April. All of these parents show extreme bravery and faith in God in the face of tragedy. You can read Courtney's story here:http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/. And here is the Seymour's story: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/quinnseymour."

"For me it has to be sweet Katie Musser and all the kids with SN in orphanges who endure so much and ask for nothing but love."

"Renee is just an awesome person. She is selfless, puttingthe needs of others before herself. She is caring.She is living out the first part of James 1:27 in a way I have never seen before. She has emptied an orphanage and has already started finding homes for more kids before even completing this round of adoptions. She has continuously fund raised for families despite her own financial hurdles the last couple of months and does it with a true passion for what she is doing. She is a prayer warrior, advocate, friend, and supporter for these kids and families. When I think of the word hero I think of someone I want to be like. If I could be half the advocate for fatherless children that Renee is I would consider my life well lived. Even more, these are qualities I would love to see in my children."

"My cousin, Holly. She beat the odds after having a baby as a teen. Graduated college as an RN and 20+ years later, she is still happily married and runs her own business-- care for medically fragile children, including daycares, group homes, and camps!"

"My dad!"

"my grandma if it was not for her love & generousity then I would not be who I am today. oh & my parents for the same reasons."

"My mom was my hero because she was the truest expression of love that I have ever known. (Aside from Jesus, of course.)"

"My grandma is my hero because she is everything I hope to be. She is the kindest, most loving person I know. She'll accept anyone for who they are and show them the real love of Jesus. She got really sick 11 years ago and the local doctors couldn't help her. She had primary pulmonary hypertension. She moved to FL for 6 months to get on the lung transplant list. By the time she got there and got on the list, she also needed a heart. The doctors were amazed that she was even alive when they saw the damage done to her lungs. This was 10 years ago, and you would not know by looking at her that she went through such a huge medical miracle!

My best friend Lori--I met her when we were in 5th grade. We were in gifted class together, after being in separate K-4 schools in the same district. We were instant friends! And we were only separable by her death in July 2002 (my grandma had her transplant in Feb 2002...that was a REALLY hard year for me!). She had spinal muscular atrophy, but that didn't stop her from being spunky! We had a blast together! She is my true hero because she introduced me to Jesus and bought me my first Bible. Despite having some real hardships in life, being so sick all the time and being stuck in a body that didn't do anything for her and her mom dying of cancer when she was 13, she still had such faith! I still miss her every day, and my kids LOVE to talk about her (even though she died when my first was only a baby). She and her dad are my inspiration for my desire to work with kids with special needs. I could see things from her POV and learned a lot from her and her family about what it's really like to live as a person with a disability in an able-bodied world."

"Elie Wiesel because - after all he's been through, he's not hateful, he hasn't turned from his faith, he's been honest about what he's been through and used it to teach tolerance throughout the world. I heard him speak my senior year in high school and it was one of the most inspiring experiences I have ever had. It takes a courageous and graceful person to take the horror of what he has been through and turn it into something good."

"If we can have everyday heroes I have at least four of those too. Oh man. Five. Six. Shoot. Every single adoptive family. Adopting a child with SN doesn't make you a hero... but giving selflessly to them out of genuine love - something that has become sadly uncommon in our society - that does.

Not to mention the girls we have in this group who are 12, 13, 15, 16 years old, and instead of spending their time out partying or whatever kids are doing these days (did I really just say that? How old AM I?!) are spending there time on here selflessly advocating for orphans, giving ALL of themselves to help those who have nothing. Like the poor woman in the Bible with her pennies, dropping them into the collection box... people here give all they have without regard for self, and that makes them heroes."

"Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, and Pope John Paul II... .They have all passed away now, and I am still searching for a more inspirational role model than these 3 people have been."

"My mom, Traci Knight Morton. Even through the heartbreak of having to back away from the adoption, she has stayed strong in her faith in God, and never stops advocating for orphans and adoptive families."

"The ladies in this group inspire me almost every day. They need $$ for their own adoptions or they want to adopt and the time isn't right (yet) but they step out of their own wants and needs and HELP AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS. It is truly amazing."

"My inspiration was my Grammy. And to this day still is! She's always had more of a positive look at life, and loves God very much. She can always find hope and I just LOVE her! :) My parents will always be my hero's though."

 

Who is your hero? Is it someone famous that you want to be like? Is it someone you know who defied the odds and that's why they inspire you? 

Who is Zack's hero?

  

He is 11 years old. But instead, he is in an orphanage. He doesn't have a hero. If he got adopted, maybe his hero would be an older brother, or a dad, an uncle, a family friend. Maybe he'll have a family with siblings with disabilities, who will teach him that he can still be a normal kid. 

Help Zack find his family, and his hero.