Today is a day filled with simple pleasures. A long run, a swim at the pool with my husband and 2 year old followed by a great lunch at a new local restaurant. Homework with the big kids on the patio and thanks to the rain soccer was canceled and we had an early dinner together as a family. It was perfect!!!
I am excited to announce that I will be giving out additional grant money within the week. I feel so privileged to be able to do that! The saying "it is better to give than receive" couldn't be more true. And never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would have the opportunity to give out close to $25,000 and to help 11 of the waiting families. And boy, that money is/was needed! Here is just one example of the expenses involved with completing these adoptions. The majority of the families are making three trips to complete their adoptions. The cost of travel alone will easily reach $7000 - $10,000 per adoption! Trust me, there are no cheap tickets to Kyrgyzstan. So on that note, donations are still being accepted, and the "Store" and "Krygyz Jewelry" pages still have items available if anyone is interested. I know I haven't pushed things as much as I used to be to, but to be honest, I have been a frustrated by the lack of support that I have gotten lately. I truly feel like I have tapped out my donor pool and the possibility to expand the Fund's followers is limited, which limits me too.
It is funny how you imagine things will end and how so often, the opposite occurs. I truly believed that once families were traveling and adoptions were moving forward that Altynai's Fund would thrive. I thought that potential donors that were following along, waiting for some concrete news that would insure them that their money would truly go to help complete an adoption, would start giving. I thought that the waiting families, past families and the adoption community as a whole would help promote the Fund and the end would bring a final round of giving. I had even planned on doing some exciting raffles for some bigger ticket items and I imagined that I would have more support than ever. Interestingly, that has not been the case. As with all things dealing with Kyrgyzstan, nothing goes as you expect. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever predicted that over 15 of the waiting children would be domestically adopted or deemed "no longer available" leaving their waiting families devastated and the remaining families more nervous than ever. I had always imagined being able to openly share the excitement of the bonding trips and reunions but that too, has not been the case. The remaining waiting families anxiety may be at the highest level yet. To be so close and yet, still in the midst of so much uncertainty. Not to mention they are suffering from some serious PTSD that has developed over the last 4 years of waiting. I am on edge with all of them, praying that all will go as planned and that all their advocacy and devotion will be rewarded with the most precious reward of all; the gift of a beautiful child to raise as their own.
Now please don't get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful for every single dollar that has been given but of course, have always hoped for more. Still to this day, I am in awe of the donations that have been given over the last 9 months especially since so many people gave long before I expected people would be willing. I am filled with joy knowing that just the prospect of these special children coming home was enough for people from all over this country to show their support! And although, none of us are privy to how any given journey will end, Altynai's Fund has accomplished something wonderful! I am filled with pride knowing that Altynai's Legacy Adoption Fund has been so successful. I stepped out of my comfort zone and took on a project that I believe in. I have no idea how my journey with this will end but I have no doubt that this is just a stepping stone on my own personal journey. God is good and I am sure that he has more challenges ahead for me!!!
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