I have been humbled this week. Humbled by a little girl,
in a far away country... who I have never met. Sounds familiar, right? But
no... this is different.
Meet Ksenia.
I may have mentioned her before. I'm not
sure - I tried going back through my blog archives, but I talk too much. Ksenia
is in Eastern Europe. She is in a region that is currently only open to
Canadian families. If you are not among them, please do not stop reading here.
You are still desperately needed.
This photo was taken at her Baby
House (the orphanage where children generally reside between the ages of 0-5
years). What a precious little cherub, chubby cheeks, wispy hair.
Ksenia is nine years old now. She was born three months before my
middle DBK, my A. This A, the one glowing with joy and life in this birthday
picture.
My dear A has not
had it easy... but at least on this day... her ninth birthday... she was treated
the way a little girl should be treated... like a princess...
I wonder if
Ksenia ever had cake. I'll bet she never had a birthday cake with candles, just
for her. I know she didn't this year, when she turned nine. Why?
In
Ksenia's country, after children 'age out' of their baby houses, they are
transferred to institutions. Adult mental institutions. The standard of care
there, if it was low at the baby houses, is usually deplorable. Ksenia, like
many children, aged out of her baby house and was transferred. I intend to do a
full post on the implications of that word, but that is for later. For now, I
will let the pictures speak for themselves.
A new picture of Ksenia came
in after she was transferred to the institution. Here is that chubby cheeked
little cherub now.
Ksenia. Sweet baby girl. Child of God.
Wasting away to skin and bones. Filthy. Shaven. Injured... probably at the
hands of someone who was supposed to care for her. Abuse is all too common in
some orphanages and institutions. Ksenia. Sweet angel. Waiting, all this
time, for a Mama and Papa to come. Hanging on through her misery. Unable to do
a single thing to help herself. Precious girl. Treated like nothing.
This picture haunts me. I see it when I close my eyes. I don't need to
bring it up on my computer screen to remember how heartbreaking it is. I can
see them side by side... Ksenia the way she used to be... Ksenia the way she is
now. Because of what was done to her... when she should be treated like the
princess she is.
Here is the reason I am posting about Ksenia
tonight.
Sometimes, special needs children simply 'disappear' from
the databases that list them. Sometimes their files are simply no longer with
an agency. Sometimes they're gone, without a trace, and we can only guess at
what happened to them. Were they adopted, seen for the beautiful individuals
they are, in their native country? Were they transferred elsewhere and simply
not relisted? Or... worst of all... as children do in orphanages and
institutions across the world every day... could they have passed away?
A
few days back, Ksenia 'disappeared' from her country's database. She
disappeared from Reece's Rainbow. Having seen her most recent picture, most of
us were sure this meant the worst for Ksenia. Or no. Perhaps not the worst.
Perhaps... a fate worse than death... is the one she's been living in that
institution. We began to think, maybe it is for the best, if she's beyond pain,
beyond suffering, with Jesus, now.
Ksenia was re-listed today. She is
alive. She is still waiting. I praise the Lord for His deliverance of this
angel from what we were sure was a tragic end. But at the same time, my heart
breaks all over again, because I know that tonight, while I lie here warm in my
bed, Ksenia still waits.
We almost lost her. We were sure she
was gone. We were sure we were too late to help this little girl know the love
of a Forever Family. We mourned. We lamented that we should have tried harder,
should have screamed louder, for Ksenia. She sat, waiting for adoption, for
YEARS... and no family came forward. Perhaps they all thought someone else
would do it.
Our hearts broke.
Then, we were given a second
chance. We didn't lose Ksenia. Not yet. But if we don't hurry, we will. This
is me, jumping at this second chance. This is me screaming for Ksenia like I
should have screamed before. This is me praying, hoping, begging someone to be
her Mama, to deliver her from this evil, because I would do it myself if I
could... but I'm ineligible.
Here is Ksenia's
listing on Reece's Rainbow. Again, she can only be adopted by Canadian
families at this time. If you are not Canadian, won't you consider sharing
Ksenia with everyone you know, so that through the grapevine, her Forever Family
might see her? If you are Canadian, won't you consider sharing Ksenia with
everyone you know, so that she might find her Forever Family? Won't you ask
your friends to share too? And if you are Canadian, considering adoption...
won't you consider Ksenia? Won't you consider saving a life we've been given a
second chance to redeem? Donations are not being collected at this time, but I
know dozens who are just itching to help bring her home. The obstacle in her
adoption will not be financial.
This precious angel has Down Syndrome.
That is the crime that has landed her in the place she is today. Down
Syndrome. A diagnosis that means many things. An extra chromosome. Some
unique challenges. But a diagnosis that should NOT mean living out her numbered
days suffering in an institution. Sadly, in Ksenia's country, it usually does.
But this doesn't have to be her ending. It almost was. We were sure that her
story ended in tragedy. But it hasn't. Not yet.
Ksenia still has a
chance. But whether you're eligible and considering adoption, ineligible, not
considering adoption, whoever you are, wherever you are... YOU are her chance.
Her family will never see her if we do not share her short, sad story with the
world.
Won't you help me make this 'second chance' count? Won't you
please help me save her life?
Sweet Ksenia...
hang on, precious angel. Someone is going to come for you. We're going to make
sure of it.
