Because Every Mother Matters

As we celebrate Mother's Day this weekend, I've been reflecting on how thankful I am to be a mother. Being a mother is probably the hardest thing I have ever done, but it is also one of the most rewarding. I am so thankful for the two little boys in my life who call me "mama."

I've also been thinking about Belachew and Hudson's birthmothers. The women who carried them in their womb and gave them life. I am forever thankful for these women. In honor of them this Mother's Day, we have made a donation to Because Every Mother Matters.

Because Every Mother Matters is working to build a maternity clinic in Ethiopia. In East Africa, 1 in 11 women die to childbirth related causes. Women dying in childbirth means more orphans. I think a big part of being involved in orphan care is helping figure out how to prevent orphans in the first place and keep families together. As Steffany, the founder of Because Every Mother Matters said "Every mother matters....because every child deserves a mother. "

You can make a donation to Because Every Mother Matters here.

World AIDS Orphans Day

Today, May 7, is World AIDS Orphans Day. More than 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, and less than 10% of the children receive any external support.








If you are looking for a way to make a difference in the life of a child affected by AIDS, AHOPE is an amazing organization caring for AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. You can find out more about AHOPE and ways to support their mission here.

Here is a great post written by an adoptive mother and advocate of adopting HIV+ children.

Baptism

Hudson and Belachew were baptized this weekend. We were told that Belachew was baptized as an infant in Ethiopia, according to the tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (male infants are baptized at 40 days, females at 80 days). So for Belachew, our church recognized his baptism and we took vows, as parents and as a congregation. Hudson was baptized with water and the same vows were taken by us as his parents and by our congregation.

Paul was able to perform the baptism and it was full of emotion. We were reminded of the great responsibility and privilege we have of raising these boys. As Paul shared about the boys' names and their meanings, we were reminded of the birthfamilies who gave our boys life. We are so thankful for the great gift of these boys, but also know that this behind this gift there is loss and sadness. We were also reminded of our great love for our boys and the joys and struggles of their journey to become a part of our family, and that God's love for them is even greater and He has gone even farther to bring them into His eternal family.

We were blessed to have family come in from out of town to share this special day with us.

210 million reasons to adopt

Another good article:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/april/13.55.html

Kay Warren on caring for orphans

Here is a great article, sharing some from Kay Warren on our responsibility to care for orphans.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100424/kay-warren-questions-christianity-of-persons-who-neglect-orphans/index.

 

From the article:

There is a theological reason all Christians are to do something to help vulnerable children.

Warren highlighted: "What our Heavenly Father does for us spiritually, He expects us to do physically."

What God did was not only save sinners but also bring them into His family.

"You and I were all spiritual orphans," she said. "We're not just cleared of the guilt of our sin. We belong in God's family. He has taken us and made us part of Himself.

"Now He shares with me everything that He has. Everything that belonged to Jesus belongs to us."

The orphan advocate clarified that the Bible isn't necessarily calling every person to adopt a child. She and her husband, renowned pastor Rick Warren, have not adopted, she noted.

But, she added, the Bible does say Christians have a personal responsibility to do something, whether it's contributing to the fund of a family trying to adopt, providing house cleaning for a family that adopted, or getting involved with church sponsorship of children.

More from Easter

On Saturday, we had some of our neighbors over to decorate eggs and we had dinner together. One of our neighbors brought over a pinata for the kids. I'm not sure how that fits with the Easter story, but the kids had a lot of fun!

On Sunday, after naps, the neighbors returned for an egg hunt.

Happy Easter!

Or Happy Easter Egg Day, as Belachew announced to people at church today.