Shade for Children makes the difference I wish I could. Over the last few years, since my brother went to Ukraine as a missionary, wed his lovely Ukrainian wife, and adopted one of the orphans they love, I have come to know those children as I've prayed for them and watched them grow. And I've come to know and love the folks they work alongside as if they were family. It's pretty amazing to see and know people who love and serve the way they do. When the war started, my momma asked Clinton if they were coming back to the states, and Clinton and Lena said no, that the reasons God put them there are more important now than ever before. And it is. War creates more orphans, more loss, more need.... and the need is great. Their website can tell you so much more than I can ever express, but I know this... the support you give them goes exactly where they it does...exactly where God wants it to go. I can't physically go unto all the world, serving orphans, rebuilding families, caring for refugees and more, but I can pray for them, I can support them, and I can love and pray for those children from afar. Please look at what they're doing, and prayerfully consider supporting them. I promise it will bless your heart, and a bonus is that you can be sure your support is going directly into the work. God bless you all.
We are raising eight adopted children and thanks to these children we know Clinton and Lena. These people do a lot of work to help orphans. It was very difficult for us without their participation in the needs of the family. Thanks to Shadow, we purchased a car, our children are regularly invited to camps from the foundation. The Foundation is actively looking for options to help Strots. We are not the only project of the foundation. God uses the strength and means of our friends in special ways to meet the needs of orphans.
Here's a recent social media post from Shade for Children's media director serving in Ukraine:
Three sisters were reunited today for an afternoon of connection, play, and ice cream.
All three of these girls have spent most of their lives in institutions, not even knowing they were sisters until more recently. The youngest still doesn’t fully comprehend what that means, the concept of family still too unfamiliar.
We received permission through our partnerships with the orphanages to pick up the older girls from where they live, and bring them to visit their sister at the toddler orphanage. The same one they too grew up in.
Through our ongoing visits, we’ve had the opportunity to know each of these girls since they were itty bitty. Each similarly beautiful, yet so uniquely vibrant.
We have advocated for each of them in different ways, and now for the sibling set. Our deepest desire is to see them permanently reunited in a family.
It’s never a simple ask. The girls have a complicated story and several moving pieces have prevented them from being adopted. Their ages keep them housed in different institutions. We endlessly pray and advocate for them. Knowing even the most entangled situation has hope, we’ve seen the miracles before and we will see them again.
Please keep K, L, and little A in your prayers. They have the possibility to be fostered together at the moment.