But this week we received the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Catalog and Gift #1 caught our eyes and touched our hearts. It is "Feed a Hungry Baby for a Week". This so dear to us because we have become painfully aware that it is too often the lack of FOOD that tears apart families in Ethiopia. Something that we take for granted - every single day. Something we never question the availability of. Something that we have in such abundance that we become unhealthy because of our overindulgence in it. And it is the lack of that "something" that we so often use for our "entertainment" is the cause of families being torn apart.
I didn't realize until we began the adoption process that most - that's right, MOST - of the "orphans" in Ethiopia still have at least one living parent. But since that parent cannot provide the basic necessities of life - including food - they must choose whether to give up their children for adoption or to allow them to starve. They realize that even if the child is never adopted, at least they have a much greater chance at survival. It's a heart-wrenching choice that should never have to be made. No parent should have to give up their child simply so they will have food, and no child should have to live in an orphanage without the love of their family so that they might have something to eat.
So this year, in lieu of shoeboxes, we are going to feed as many hungry babies as we can in hopes that they will be able to remain with their parents. We can't feed them all, but we can do something. We still LOVE Operation Christmas Child, but this year we will be feeding babies instead...
If you would like to feed hungry babies, you can visit the Samaritan's Purse website at
http://www.samaritanspurse.com/ then click "Browse the catalog". Gift #1 is the one.
Below is the description:
Gift #1 - Feed a Hungry Baby for a Week
Mothers in southeastern Ethiopia carry their hungry babies for miles across dry, dusty plains to reach the Samaritan’s Purse feeding center. Though many of the children arrive near death, most are healthy enough to return home after a few weeks of nourishing food. Around the globe, malnutrition claims millions of young lives each year and leaves many others with physical and mental disabilities. In regions ravaged by hunger, a $9 gift can help us feed a baby or nursing mother for a week, presenting a powerful witness for our compassionate Savior.
“For He will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.”
Psalm 72:12 NIV
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