FERLEY
If you follow Project Hope Ministries you have already heard his name. Ferley (Fare-lay) is an 11 year old boy at CRAN orphanage, and as with all Colombian orphans (and orphans around the world), being this age means that his days at the orphanage are numbered. If a family does not step forward to adopt Ferley in the coming months, he will be transferred to a different orphanage and will no longer be available for adoption. He will spend the next few years learning how to survive in a cold, cruel world, and when he is 18, he will be released into that world with no family to fall back on, and no government programs to assist him. No food stamps, no free health care, no government housing.
While in Bogota, we saw so many adults living this terrible life - hungry, cold, and hopeless. That's why meeting and spending time with Ferley this week was such an emotional wakeup call to me. All of those people were Ferley at one time. They were children. However they came into their circumstance, they were once an innocent child desperate for someone to give them hope.
This is not a generic call for awareness, although advocating for these orphans is one of my missions. I'm telling you about Ferley because I want Ferley to find a family. Did you know that there are 3500 families on the waiting list for a healthy Colombian baby (which is a wonderful thing), but that it is rare for any of these families to even consider adopting an older child? Meanwhile a loving, servant-minded, smart young boy waits out his years in an orphanage as his "expiration date" draws nearer and nearer every day. I have seen many "Ferleys" join forever families, including my own nieces and nephew, my sister, and children of my friends. Zack and I will join that list when God opens the door. Have YOU ever considered walking through that door? Has someone you know ever discussed the idea of adopting? Tell them about Ferley. Tell them that organizations like Bethany Christian Services and Project Hope Ministries are there to walk them through the process, step by step. It is NOT out of reach. It is a long, tough process, but you CAN do it.
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed." - Psalm 31:8
While in Bogota, we saw so many adults living this terrible life - hungry, cold, and hopeless. That's why meeting and spending time with Ferley this week was such an emotional wakeup call to me. All of those people were Ferley at one time. They were children. However they came into their circumstance, they were once an innocent child desperate for someone to give them hope.
This is not a generic call for awareness, although advocating for these orphans is one of my missions. I'm telling you about Ferley because I want Ferley to find a family. Did you know that there are 3500 families on the waiting list for a healthy Colombian baby (which is a wonderful thing), but that it is rare for any of these families to even consider adopting an older child? Meanwhile a loving, servant-minded, smart young boy waits out his years in an orphanage as his "expiration date" draws nearer and nearer every day. I have seen many "Ferleys" join forever families, including my own nieces and nephew, my sister, and children of my friends. Zack and I will join that list when God opens the door. Have YOU ever considered walking through that door? Has someone you know ever discussed the idea of adopting? Tell them about Ferley. Tell them that organizations like Bethany Christian Services and Project Hope Ministries are there to walk them through the process, step by step. It is NOT out of reach. It is a long, tough process, but you CAN do it.
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed." - Psalm 31:8
No comments:
Post a Comment