Hello!
I have to admit I am surprised that I have not been back to blogging on a somewhat "regular" or even "irregular" basis! Home is filled..... to the top....over flowing.... But more on that later.
Right now there is some serious business to tend to!
There is a battle going on.....
The stakes are high....
Life and Death..... LITERALLY!
A place that was cold, and I am not talking just about the temperature!
The lack of care, attention and compassion for all of the children in this orphanage was 'nill, to say it mildly. We saw child after child suffer from the horrendous conditions. We saw some get rescued to their forever families just in the nick of time.....and others.........who ran out of time.
you can read and be reminded of what it was like before the new director came in and made great changes...not only in staff but in management and care!
check it out here
I cannot ever forget the pictures of the children....they are forever etched in my mind .....
they just need a family to love them for who they are... for their own limited expectations....really!
Really....just to be looking into the eyes of someone who could give them a smile, hold them (as rigid as their little bodies are) wrap them in a blanket that smells fresh and of love.....or just wrap them up in a set of loving arms.
We have also seen over and over the continued transformation of these little ones....and some big ones!
Oh What Love can do!
No doubt about it.....no ifs, ands or buts..... the power of a family to call their own is immeasureable!
BUT......there are some children who have not had that chance yet.... they will never get that chance because of age rules and policies. Oh but our God is a mighty god! He has plans to care for those who remain.... A group of people are working to build a place for those older children to call home!
HOME......
it will not be a home with mommies and daddies per say, but a place where they will be cared for by people who want WANT to care for them....who see them as precious and valuable and worthy of a dignified life! There is a plan to make this happen....
As you will read below, there is also a group that wants to thwart this plan.....to take these children into their own hands..... the same hands that dished out the neglect, abuse and suffering they experienced just a few years ago. Since they were "let go" of their positions.....and replaced by those who care.....they have an axe to grind.....
The letter below explains the situation more completely....
Will you please consider fasting tomorrow with me to offer this up to Him! Whatever you can do...fasting, praying or writing a letter.... you can make a difference!
Words from Grace Knuth....
Today I had to send the following email to parents of precious children who’ve been adopted from Pleven. This is just an excerpt, but you get the drift.
Hi there fellow Pleven mama. I hope and pray you and your family are doing well.
I received word this morning of a situation happening right now in Pleven, and I am writing to you on behalf of Shelley, Toni, and the Pleven Project to ask for your help.
Today we received word that a group of former orphanage employees, who we know to be unsafe for the children, have banded together to start their own group home for the older children of the Pleven orphanage. They have funding from a EU non-profit organization who provides no accountability or oversight.
They are scheduled to move our beloved children to their new facility on Tuesday of next week. We know this to be an unsafe, inappropriate environment for the children. We also know that the staff have ulterior motives.
I know this is a lot to take in, so I am contacting each Pleven parent privately, not only to inform you, but also to tell you, that if God would move you to do so, there is something you can do…
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You caught that, right?
The former director’s right hand man, and her former cronies. The people who abused my children and hundreds more. The people who intentionally, criminally stole the life out of these, the most sweet and vulnerable of souls. The people who put a huge cement building filled with tiny humans through a true holocaust…..have swooped in and undermined the work many people have been doing to ensure their better future.
We won’t stand for this. I hope you won’t either. These children deserve so much better.
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I said it to my precious Pleven parent friends, and I’ll say it to you. There’s something you can do.
Actually there are 2 somethings.
You can PRAY with all your might that we can take back control of this project. Today through Tuesday, anyone who is willing is invited to fast and pray that the Lord would intervene, as he has for these precious little ones time and time again. That He would rescue and provide more than we can even think to ask or imagine.
You can WRITE A LETTER that will be sent to the US Embassy in Bulgaria, The County of Pleven, and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy. The goal in writing these letters is to express our interest as a community to fund a private group home for the older children of Pleven who cannot be adopted. We also want to specify that we want to make sure the children will be appropriately cared for and that money will not be given to people we know to have abused funds and children.
I hope you can see what a difference you can make...
won't you please consider doing something for these children?
I am!
In His Embrace,
laurie
Below is a sample form letter if you are moved to write one and information on 2 of the 12 children who will be transferred..... these 2 are still available for adoption....
BELIEVE ME when I say.... these children are miracles that happen right before your eyes!
February 12, 2015
To whom it may concern:
[Please start by briefly explaining what you know of the abuse and neglect of children you know from the Pleven orphanage, as well as changes you have seen in them since their arrival home.]
[Then, feel free to edit the following or copy and paste it as it is.]
I understand that 12 older children from the Pleven orphanage are scheduled to be moved to a group home that will be run by the very people that abused___________________ and many other children. The same people that abused them year after year before the new director came to care for them. They are being handed over to their abusers. This should not and cannot be.
I, with many hundreds of people behind me, am willing and eager to fund a private group home for the older children from the Pleven orphanage who have lived through a true holocaust. We want the opportunity to make right the wrongs that have been done to these children for so many years. Please, help us to help these children live out the rest of their lives with the dignity all humans deserve.
We, under the supervision of the Pleven Project, are specifically requesting that we be allowed to fund and manage a private group home where the children can be properly cared for. This will ensure that all authority and financial responsibility be removed from the individuals who have criminally abused children and misappropriated government funds, and put into the hands of a board with oversight and accountability for the future.
Sincerely,
John Doe
1111 Street Ave.
Lincoln, Nebraska 68951
United States of America
All letters should be signed and scanned to Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.
Shelley will send letters to Toni, our attorney, to be translated and delivered.
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Of the 12 sweet children who will be transferred on Tuesday, there are two who are still available for adoption. And for them, this would be their absolute best chance. Redemption in the truest sense of the word. Will you share their beautiful little faces today? Or everyday until they find their families? If we find these babies’ families soon, we can save them from a whole world of additional heartache.
This is Brandon,
![Brandon-2014_2-300x200[1]](http://theblessingofverity.com/wp-content/uploads/Brandon-2014_2-300x2001.jpg)
and Mikah.
![Mikah-2014_3-181x300[1]](http://theblessingofverity.com/wp-content/uploads/Mikah-2014_3-181x3001.jpg)
I’m sure you already know, but it has to be said. Each of these boys is beyond precious. Diamonds in the rough. They would do so, so, so well in families.
Thank you for standing with us in believing that God will make all things right. Thank you for seeing these children’s worth. Thank you for your hearts that say “yes” to God, even when the things coming from his hands, at times like this, bring difficulty and heartache. Thank you.
Now, if you feel so led, will you share this post all over social media? Send it to anyone and everyone who might be able to help. Especially to people who will pray. Like, really pray. We need whole armies of angels in the coming days. These kids need God to fight for their lives. And the power that raised Jesus from the dead is inside of each of us believers, so we must pray.
Will you comment here and let me know that you’re joining the fight in prayer? Or that you’re sending a letter?
Don’t you just love watching God win? Here we go again…
Lots of love to all of you.
Grace
