One less orphan...

I had to share this great testimony to adoption, orphan and widow care-one of our All God's Children's fellow adoption moms is in Ethiopia now and wrote this as she is sitting with her new baby girl.....it really touched my heart!!!

Melanie Behr Strobel Facebook Note-on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 2:43pm
"I am in Ethiopia and since this is my second trip in one month, I can tell you it feels a bit like coming home. There is something here that has stolen my heart. First and foremost it is the birthplace of a little princess who sleeps next to me so sweetly and peacefully. She was born in this beautiful land of great history, beauty and friendly smiling people. She was also born into circumstances that surpass all understanding for many of us. She was born into poverty, perhaps cultural shame or maybe to unhealthy parents who would not be able to care for her. The total circumstances of her birth we may never know but we do know that God perfectly orchestrated her survival and her safety. Of course I cannot explain why her and not all the children we see who endure so much, but I find myself feeling such gratitude to God, who rescued our daughter, first adopted her, and then connected all the many dots to make her our child.
Ethiopia has also stolen my heart because there are so many children who still wait. From newborn babies through young adults, we have seen the staggering numbers who wait to find their last best hope. Maybe it is their hardship that makes me want to pray over each child and ask God to connect with each individual child's heart. They are so innocent in there hardship. I wish I could do more for the children I have met and sometimes it feels strange to know that I return home to fresh food, running water, wonderful schools and many simple comforts. After seeing all that I have seen in such places as Korah or on several of the streets of Addis Ababa, I just know there is more we can all do. International adoption for me has brought me an awareness that I always hoped I would find. Adoption is a feeling of hope and redemption. It is a feeling of being stretched to see the needs of million of children right in front of us. It seems that we as a family have now been entrusted with this priceless little gift and all God asks in return is to pass along the knowledge we have gleaned. I feel that this path has lead me to encourage others to better understand the plight of the orphan or the call of the widow. Help the child who remains behind with sponsorship, help with an education, personal letters, prayer, a visit to he or she through a mission trip or very simply by sharing your own testimony with others.
Tomorrow we head back to a shopping area of Ethiopia called the Post Office shops and I cannot tell you how eager I am to revisit the orphaned children who sleep across the street under the bus station. They are orphans and beg to survive. Not only do they beg for money to eat but one child begged me to bring him to America. His question haunts me yet I find myself giving a wink and a nod to God every time I think of it. Helping one child at a time when there are millions is all we can do. Just BE THE CHANGE for one. Help one. Pray for one. Pay for one. Think of one. Adopt into your hearts or perhaps your homes just one. And all the while thank God for first adopting YOU!
This is my fifth child, Tedessa, who for five years had to dig in the trash dump in Korah in order to survive. With the help of www.p61.com, Tedessa will begin boarding school outside of Korah this September. Education equals hope and it the lives of children such as Tedessa, hope is everything!!!!! Sponsor a child and change a life for one!
This is a link to the Strobel Family's wonderful blog-
http://www.thestrobelfamily.blogspot.com/