I have been following this blog now for quite a while about
a family in CO that have adopted 4 children and are in the process of adopting 2
more from Bulgaria. Just two weeks ago
the wife made her first of two trips to visit their two children, both of which
have many special needs. One of their
children lives in Pleven which is a place I’ve heard of; just saying the name
sends chills down my spine because I’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories
of what happens at this place. If you have time go back and read about their daughter Hasya who lives at Pleven until they are able to go get her. They've made one trip already and are just waiting on final paperwork so that they can bring her home.
This family not only has been obedient in their call to care
for the orphan through adoption but also through advocacy…they are relentless
in speaking for those who have no voice.
I feel like Scott and I don’t have a clear word from
the Lord on what He’s calling us to in regards to starting a family. However, I know He’s called us to be
advocates whether it’s going to Africa this past summer or volunteering at an orphan
conference or simply posting pictures of children that desperately need to be
adopted by loving families.
These pictures are from Pleven and all of these children
DESPERATELY need to get out of that place.
Please, share these pictures and profiles with everyone you know. Just in sharing you are helping to care for
the orphan. If you think about it, it’s
so simple to us but yet it can be life saving for all of these children. Many won’t live much longer
if they’re not rescued from this place.
Here is the original post or you can read down below for the
pictures and profiles.
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Carson
Carson was the first little boy I met. I actually saw him on most days during my week-long visit to Pleven. He is a tiny little doll baby with the sweetest personality! Carson was born with hydrocephalus and a shunt was inserted. He was blessed with life-saving surgery and is doing well.
I could tell that Carson is an orphanage favorite. Unlike many of the children listed below, he was out of his crib a lot. I saw him outside with his caregiver, loving the swings. He has the sweetest smile and is truly a delightful little boy.
He would be such a joyful addition to any family.
Dang! He is so adorable! At just sixyears old, he is very little for his age.
I love his sweet smile. Every single time I saw Carson he looked happy and so content to just be with someone. He seemed to understand everything thatt was being said to him.
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Brandi
What can I say? Brandi broke my heart! She lives in the room next to our Hasya. Two rooms side-by-side. They're the rooms that the most profoundly special needs children call home--the 6th floor at Pleven--a place no child ever wants to end up!
It is an absolutely heartbreaking place--one where even the toughest of hearts are broken--left crying out to the Lord for His grace and mercy to pour down like rain upon that place!
A crib is the only life this little lovie knows! She is just six years old and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds. She is so, so tiny.
I went in every day that I was allowed on that unit to check on her.
And there she was.
Laying on her back.
Desperately needing to be loved. And cared for. And just snuggled.
Beautiful Brandi has Cerebral Palsy. She has very limited movement and is so stiff and contracted--simply because she has never been given the freedom to move and grow and thrive.
How she would blossom in a family! She would finally have a chance at LIFE!
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Theodore
I seriously could have run out of that place with this handsome boy in
my arms! He is amazing. Considering that he has spent ten long years
in an awful orphanage and can still find something to smile about...there's something so special about him.
Theodore has CP that only affects his lower body. Institutionalism is
his greatest obstacle in life. He is very malnourished and is lagging
behind in all areas of his life.
But oh my goodness! Is he so charming!
This young boy has a whole lot of personality in there just waiting to come out and make its presence known. He is such a joy.
Like all the children in this orphanage, Theodore is also very small for his age. He feeds himself, understands everything that is said to him and can bear weight on his legs with assistance.
He will thrive in a family!
Please, please don't leave him there! Ten years is long enough!
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Harvey
I was not able to meet Harvey in person since he was in the quarantine ward. These pictures were taken at the same time I was at Pleven. When the person who took them showed them to me from his camera, I just bawled.
I looked at this little boy and I wondered how different his life would be if he lived here--in a country where he could receive the very best medical attention!
Sweet Harvey has many medical needs. He is just three years old and is currently fed by feeding tube. I'm told that the excess hair on his body could be due to severe malnutrition and a total lack of human contact. He does not have it in his earlier referral pictures. How terribly sad!
How WRONG!
I cannot even begin to imagine what life is like for this darling little boy.
Absolute misery on earth!
Oh, how desperately he needs HELP!
And a family.
He is one of the children I look at and wonder, Who Lord?
Who will go for him? This precious, amazing little boy who deserves a family JUST as much as any other orphan.
Who will literally save this precious child's life?
"Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me!" (Matt 25:31).
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Thad
Oh my goodness! Thad lies next to Hasya in his crib. I was not able to take my own pictures of him--but I know this boy. I spent time with him. I touched him. Loved him. And prayed over him.
There truly are no words. His story brings me to my knees...begging God to intervene and make all things right in the world.
This absolutely stunning little nine-year-old boy was once part of a family. His "condition" is not one he was born with. Thad was a typical four year old...until he was physically abused by his own family--beaten and left in a coma. He was taken out of that abusive situation and placed in the orphanage.
And there his needs have not been met and he spends his days in the confines of a crib.
Every. Single. Day.
As a result of profound physical abuse, Thad suffered a brain trauma and is significantly delayed and very small for his age. His limbs are very contracted, his legs bent up toward his chest.
But no matter what is "wrong" with Thad...he is a child! Created in the image of a God who does all things well. He is valuable!
Thad is just so, so lovely and so deserving of a LIFE where he can be loved and treasured...and where God can do a healing in his heart and in his tiny body.
Injustice!
I ache.
And I wonder, "Who, Lord? Who are you raising up to save this boy's life?"
"Who will see the inestimable value in this boy--see him as his Father in heaven sees him?"
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Kramer
These pictures do Kramer no justice! He is such a handsome boy!
I never got to photograph him, but one day I took Hasya outside and I
recognized him instantly. I knew he was listed for adoption.
Oh, he is darling! Absolutely precious.
Kramer is also a little guy. Weighing just 25 pounds at 8, he is so very malnourished.
He has spent his entire life in the orphanage--and it shows! He is so
delayed and desperately needs physical therapy for his stiff joints. And
good food to help him grow and become ALL whom God has created him to
be!
Like all these other children, Kramer will do so well in a family.
He absolutely loved being outdoors and was so content to sit in his stroller and observe what was happening around him. He has such a sweet spirit and smiled all the time as I loved on him.
Just a little boy hungry to be loved!
A treasure, for sure.
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Peyton
Update: I just found out that Peyton is being relisted for adoption today! Now all he needs is a family to say YES to this beautiful boy with SO much potential.
These next two children I asked specifically if I could see. I
longed to get updated pictures of them. Both Peyton and Penny are no
longer listed anywhere for adoption. They were not chosen in the
allocated time and their files were returned. However, they CAN be
adopted if their information is requested from the Bulgarian government.
Peyton is such a sweetheart! He is almost 8 and is literally skin and bone. The only life this boy knows is that of a crib.
Day in and day out he lies there. His joints stiff.
His body so absolutely emaciated!
I was told by the carers that they cannot feed Peyton by mouth. He struggles to eat.
My uneducated guess would be that he would thrive with a temporary feeding tube--getting high-calorie nutrition in him would be such a blessing until he is strong enough to eat by mouth.
He has eyelashes a girl would do anything for!
My heart breaks for Peyton! He has been overlooked so many times. I have no idea why! He is gorgeous and has so much potential hidden away in a tiny, frail body.
With love, therapy, and good nutrition, this boy would do so, so well in a family.
What a sweet little blessing he would be to someone!
I long to see him finally find a family. SO many children in this orphanage have been chosen before him. I just have to believe that God has got a very special family for Peyton...they just have to find their son!
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Penny
And lastly, here's lovely Miss Penny. She's the other little lovie I specifically asked to see. Like Peyton, Penny's file was returned to Bulgaria because no one chose her as their daughter. She ran out of time. In order to be adopted now (and it IS possible), her file will have to be requested once again.
Goodness gracious.....she's a little baby doll! A stunning beauty. Her big brown eyes are just amazing.
Like many of these children, Penny has CP. She is 11 years old and is also very small for her age. I would say she is around the size of a 3 year old.
Penny is absolutely delightful! She smiles readily and is fully aware of everything happening around her. She too is so severely malnourished and desperately needs good nutrition.
Penny has lived in an orphanage her entire life. She is very delayed in all areas of her life and has never received the therapy or medical intervention which would help her to blossom.
She is breathtakingly beautiful.
I absolutely loved my time with Penny. How I pray that someone will see this and know that she is the daughter of their hearts!
She has waited too long!
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Anyone wanting information on any of these children can contact Shelley at shele337@gmail.com. Serious inquiries only please! Additional photos and videos of all these children are available.
And finally, I would be so, so grateful if you could share these
sweet children anywhere you possibly can. Trusting that somebody will
see them and have their hearts stirred is their ONLY hope of being
found. They are all so precious. It's HARD knowing where they live!
Please don't let them remain where they are! Please!
