To Honor Chrissy Patterson

Recently a trip to a doctor has resulted in being referred to another specialist. Yes, at times I get down and discouraged. Then God gives me gentle reminders of all I have to be thankful for. My girls are happy and (for the most part) healthy. They giggle and smile, sing and dance, and bring so much joy to our lives. I do not know where I would be without the two of them.

In the midst of the greatest sorrow and loss that the Patterson family has ever had to endure as a family, they are thinking of so many others. The Patterson family was blessed to know and love Chrissy for 8 wonderful months. Chrissy knew unconditional love of a family--something that every child dreams about.

Children with special needs are no different. Each child has basic wants and needs--and seeks out the comfort of others. Could you imagine putting your baby to bed upset or in pain and closing the door and walking away? Leaving your child to comfort him/herself? Sadly, in orphanages around the world, despite best efforts of the caretakers, there just aren't enough hands to comfort every crying child--and so children learn to comfort themselves.

The Patterson family has a heart-felt request to honor their dear Chrissy--the Serbian Sensation. I have attached part of Lorianne's blog post below. I have also added a link here http://www.reecesrainbow.com/chrissie.html for donations to Reece's Rainbow--the great organization who advocates for children with special needs in orphanages around the world.



If everyone who has prayed for Chrissie would donate just $1 in her memory, we could save at least 5 international orphans. (That figure is based upon 100,000 people who have prayed for Chrissie around the world with an average international cost of $20,000 per international adoption.) If everyone who has prayed would donate $5 in Chrissie's memory, at least 25 international orphans could be rescued.

Did you know that there are hundreds of families waiting to adopt a special needs orphan internationally? All they're waiting on is funding. It is expensive to adopt internationally, and it is hard for many families to come up with a large chunk of cash in one lump sum. But there is never a price too high to pay to save the life of a child, one of God's precious treasures, the least of these.

Did you know that many special needs orphans in other countries will sit in their cribs for 23 hours/day, many tied to their cribs, sitting in their waste, with no clothing or food? Some 12-year-old special needs orphans weigh a mere 20 pounds, as they waste away in their cribs in mental institutions around the world. Most of them don't make it to the age of 12. If they were to be adopted, they would be treasured members of a forever family where they would be given proper nutrition, nurturing, clothing, exercise, stimulation, affection, education, and above all else...unconditional love.

As my husband said in his address during Chrissie's celebration of life service, God may not call all of us to adopt orphans, but His Word tells us how important it is that we care for orphans. (Just get a Bible and look up "orphan" in the concordance.) One way you can easily care for orphans, without even sacrificing your own comfort, is to donate to families who are eagerly awaiting and anticipating saving the life of an orphan.

Finances should not stand in the way of families rescuing orphans, and you can so easily be a part of the solution. All you have to do is donate and your generosity will bring hope, healing and restoration to an orphan who will be rescued, loved, cherished...adopted.