Twenty-one Days of Hope! Meet Lynda.

http://reecesrainbow.org/64331/lynda

This is Lynda. Lynda currently spends her days in the same orphanage my niece and nephew once called home. . Lynda's hair has been cut very short and she often was put in boy's clothing. My sister-in-law and her husband met this little girl and even though they were there adopting Sam and Ruby. (So they were only a little busy!). . . Maranda knew that she needed to help "Lynda" find a Mama and Papa of her very own. So, I'm going to use Maranda's words instead of my own. . .

"We met Lynda when we were at Sam & Ruby’s orphanage this summer.  She was in the same groupa (the group of children who basically share life together…they eat, sleep and play together all day, every day). Lynda needs a family badly.  She was one of the least favored children in the groupa.  As you can see, her hair is cropped short.  Thankfully, they put a cute dress on her for this photo, but for several weeks at the orphanage we thought Lynda was a boy.  Most of the other girls in the groupa wore girls’ clothes and always had pretty bows in their long hair, but not Lynda or another little girl with mental delays.  These two girls were dressed as boys all of the time.  Lynda seemed to receive the least attention and was often found playing by herself.

She has a quiet, noble nature about her.  She was always very kind even though she received little attention.  She is in a “good” orphanage in that she is well fed and kept clean, but she so desperately needs a family.  On one occasion she wandered over to the play shelter where we were playing and was trying to eat Ruby’s cookie.  We didn’t have any extra (we brought treats for the groupa every three days or so) so Ed just picked her up to distract her and as soon as he did, she threw her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder just soaking in the attention.  It was the most precious yet sad thing I’ve ever seen.  She just wants to love and be loved…to be a Daddy’s girl.  I wish you could have seen the smile on her face as she hugged Ed.  It was priceless.  For that brief moment, she was in heaven.

She has hydrocephalus and is globally delayed in her development but she is still very bright and has so much potential in a family.  Judging by the size and shape of her head, it seems that either her shunt isn’t working or she has never been shunted.  A shunt is crucial for people with hydrocephalus to keep the fluid from building up around their brain.  She needs medical attention, but most of all she needs a family.  Lynda will turn five in December.  Just like Sam, she will face the threat of being transferred to an adult insane asylum where she would likely die."

 Right now Reece's Rainbow is doing a campaign entitled, "21 Days of Hope." From February 24th- February 28th you can vote for a child daily (And yes. . . you can vote for the same child each day.) . The "Top 21" children will be featured between March 1st-21st, wouldn't you love to see Lynda featured?! So. . . starting today, once a day you can vote for Lynda! A free way to help a precious little girl get one step closer to a family of her very own. If you click on the Image below it will take you directly to the page where you can vote, so select Lynda's name and you can VOTE HERE for Lynda once every 24 hours! A free and easy way to help an orphan! Pretty cool, right?

Edit: Lynda is one of the 21 featured kiddos, THANK YOU for your votes! Now she could use your (tax-deductible donations! When the Voice of Hope fund hits $7000, $2100 will be added to Lynda's fund!  
DONATE HERE!

Lastly if you're interested in learning more about Lynda, email me and I'll connect you with the right folks.

White as snow.

We live in a society where it's commonplace to place blame on others. . . most times I don't even think it's intentional. We just know that it's much easier to not place blame on ourselves, we can still hold our heads high. We go on with our daily lives and choose not to think about how our actions affect those around us. The battles that we fight within we fight in secrecy and those aren't our fault either. It's very hard to see past our sin, to realize that we need to forgive. We create a mess and take residency in it.

I spent many years blaming my actions on people in my family, even on my closest friends. Then through many conversations and meaningful relationships, I realized that I didn’t' have to fight my battles alone. I realized that when I accepted Christ and asked him to forgive my sins. . .He accepted me. He accepted my bad days and my battles, He loves me so much. Christ did a work in my heart, it then became clear that the next thing I had to do was forgive those around me. I needed to stop placing blame on others for my decisions. It says in Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.” When we forgive those around us and confess our sins, we get cleaned up. Jesus takes us in His arms and scrubs layers of gunk off of us, He whispers in our ears that we're not alone. Through His forgiveness we are made new, we no longer have to live in our mess.

Where I reside we've had a lot of snow as of late. I told one of my friends that I was so tired of the inconvenience of snow and began to complain. She quickly told me that seeing fresh snow doesn't upset her, that she sees it as cleansing. Physical snow falling from the sky reminds my sweet friend that she's loved. That even though we hurt each other and in turn hurt Jesus. . .When we forgive and confess our sins we are given new life. Through forgiveness, we begin to see that the people around us deserve second chances as well. It says in Ephesians 4:32, “ be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. “. . . it doesn't say to be kind and forgive each other only when you feel like it. Always forgive, especially when it's difficult to do so. After you make the decision to forgive those around you, you will begin to feel love like never before. Your once messy life will take on a whole new meaning and your relationships will change for the better.