Reece's Rainbow: The Newton Family

Reece's Rainbow (RR) is a Down syndrome adoption ministry who advocates for children with Down syndrome as well as other special needs and helps the families adopting these children by setting up Family Sponsorship Pages (FSP) to help them raise funds so can they bring their children home. There are ALWAYS needs on RR, and today I wanted to highlight one of the more urgent ones. Tomorrow, I will post about many other RR families in need of your help.

The Newton family needs $6,403 to be fully funded; they are adopting 2! Traveling NOW!! Their FSP needs to read $21,653.
FSP: http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Newton
Blog: http://prettypinkpeonies.blogspot.com/?m=1

From this post on their family blog about 10 year old "Jeanette," one of the two children they will be bringing home: 

So i will share with you a little bit about her. She loves to dance, sing, draw and do puzzles. Her favorite color is pink. Sounds like your typical little girl right? until the next part. She says she can barely remember having parents. she says she has lived in orphanages (she has lived in at least 2) for many many years. 

It sounds as though as much as she wants to be adopted and longs for a family, that she has given up hope of that happening at her age. She has probably spent years watching families come and choose other children. Had to say good bye to friends, and wondered if it would ever be her turn. I have to share some ugly stats with you to help you understand her future without adoption. In her country children age out of the orphanage at 16 they leave with the clothes on their back and maybe a small amount of money. No job skills, not enough education, and no where to go . For the girls the stats show that 70% will be sold into human trafficking where they will become sex slaves, prostitution. 15% will commit suicide within 2 years of aging out. These kids are prime targets for traffickers because they have no family, there is no one to miss them. Outside of the orphanage gates the traffickers wait. They promise jobs as waitresses or working at hotels. They promise honest work and a new life. They are tricked into becoming slaves.

There is so much more to read about "Jeanette" in this post, and I ask you to read about this precious 10 year old girl and how she dreams of working in a laundromat because clean clothes are precious to her since she'll wear the same dirty ones for days at a time. About how she and the orphanage are eager for gifts of toilet paper. And how her hair had to be shaved when she got lice because the orphanage did not have the resources or time to treat her properly.

This family is traveling NOW. They are in Eastern Europe with their children and desperately need just a few thousand more dollars more so they can get home. The infant they are adopting has a serious heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot and needs prayer and surgery immediately! 

Won't you consider foregoing your Starbucks one day this week and giving this family (or one of the other families/needs I'll highlight this week) $5? Or maybe instead of your Friday or Saturday night out with your family, stay home and have make-you-own-pizza or sandwich night and talk to your kids about orphans explaining to them that you'll be donating your usually spent $20, $30, $40 or $50 to a family so that an orphan can have food, clothes, medical attention, home and a family to love them and teach them about the love of Jesus?

Maybe you're in a situation where you can't afford $5. We were there during my cancer treatments and other hard times. I get it. Sometimes, it just isn't possible. If this is you, would you just pray for these families and for God to stir the hearts of those who can give to do so with a willing and generous heart? And would you advocate? Would you consider sharing this post or information about this or other families you know trying to give an orphan a home?

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:34-40

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