How Can You Help?

So today I have had a moment to stop and focus on our adoption adventure...where we are, and where we still have to go, and what we need. Where we are currently is in the waiting phase of our adoption. This is the portion that has no time limits, no guarantees and some days no light at the end of the tunnel. This is the part where we fall off of the radar with most of you. This is the phase where we are forgotten by many of you. Forgotten until the referral of our children come. Forgotten until we announce that we have accepted these children. But, we still need you! I think maybe we need you most right now. Waiting is grueling. Checking Facebook groups, Yahoo groups, email and unofficial waiting lists weekly, sometimes daily, hoping to see movement of children. Knowing that movement of any kind affects you, inching you closer. When someone receives a referral, that means we are that much closer to welcoming our own. We rejoice with them. Their` bittersweet wait is over. The light at the end of the tunnel has come. Sometimes there is a wave of movement that brings hope and excitement. Then there are the lulls; the long, long lulls between referrals where we all begin to lose hope just a little. I try to think what it must be like on the end where the children are. They see children moved out of the orphanage in groups, to the transition home. They know their wait is over. The others know as well. But, the waiting for countless others continues. My heart is crushed thinking of their sadness. In the meantime...the seemingly, never-ending meantime, we try to keep busy. We try to go about our daily responsibilities, but things are not the same anymore There is a constant, yet subtle preoccupation with thoughts of Ethiopia, paperwork, the government, the children, the conditions, the culture, the everything.

Right now we need. We need YOU!! We need you in droves.

1. We need you on your knees praying for God's hand in every tiny detail of the adoption process. I feel selfish asking for you to pray for merely ours. This is just ONE adoption. There are hundreds in our agency, thousands worldwide. Why can't there be millions? This crisis would be over if there were millions. Pray for millions...millions who will come to the forefront of this orphan crisis with battle armor to fight this thing head on...millions who would make room for the needy, the lonely, the oppressed, the abandoned. Pray that somehow, some way that the adoption process would be swift without compromising the safety of the children and the ethics behind the process.

2. We need your support. MANY of you have supported us already, to which we are so grateful!! Without you we could not do this and we would not be this far into this process. We thank you for your sacrifice for our children! If you have not yet taken the opportunity to support us, there are a few ways. We have t-shirts...OVER A HUNDRED t-shirts that need to move. Summer is coming! They are short sleeve! Here they are...

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We have a slew of large and x-large sizes. We have a couple of smalls and Mediums left. I mean that literally. There are only two or three of each of those left. And, we have two 12 month sizes left. So even your little squish could have one! If you are interested in buying one, you can email Marcus or myself, or you can simply click the Paypal button on our blog's home page. You can pay through that method easily and instantly. Be sure to include a note that the payment is for a t-shirt, the size desired and your shipping address! If you are local, we will hand deliver.

3. We are also involved in, what began as a fundraising effort for our adoption, but has become so much more. Last year I bcame a local Noonday Collection Ambassador. Noonday is a company that seeks to lift the vulnerable out of poverty by creating economic opportunity for them...better put, a job! We buy hand-made accessories (jewelry, scarves, handbags etc) and sell them in the United States, questionably the world's biggest and best marketplace for goods. Our massive wealth here in the states generates billions, maybe even trillions of dollars per year. If we decided to be more conscious with our purchases, or even decided to use our purchasing power for good, poverty in our world would cease to exist. Men, women and babies would not starve to death, die from easily treatable diseases and families would not become broken. We could change the world! Noonday has changed the lives of thousands in the short 3 years it has been doing this missionary work. Be a part of it! By becoming a voice for these artisans and sharing their story, their opportunities grow. Host a trunk show in your home, church or office. Spread the word and create economic opportunity for the needy. It only takes a little time and makes an enormous impact. Get your best girls, in fact ALL of your girls, together for a couple of hours to pour over beautiful pieces of jewelry made in places like Uganda, India, Guatamala, Peru, Eithiopia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Haiti and Chile. Make a purchase, Host a show, Be a voice, Create change! If you are interested in making a purchase, please click the blog button on the right side of our blog home page or go to my website www.aleciawest.noondaycollection.com. Browse the gorgeous accessories, make a purchase and choose my name as the ambassador of your choice during checkout. ALL of my commissions are being funneled into our adoption. Every little bit counts. If you are interested in hosting a show, please contact me through this blog, Facebook, or my email account! I would love to partner with you!

 

4. And finally, we still have some pieces of our puzzle remaining without names. If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece for the children's room, when they finally come home, we would love for you to be a part of this journey in this special way. Again, you can pay through Paypal, or pay us personally. If you choose the Paypal option, leave a message letting us know that you have chosen the puzzle fundraiser!