I just wanted to raise my hand!

I really just wanted to raise my hand to volunteer, you know, like in the old days when the teacher needed someone to clean her erasers and you just wiggled in your seat, waving your arm like crazy so you could go outside and bang those erasers on the sidewalk for ten minutes of fresh air.  I want to go back to those days, when volunteering to do the right thing is as simple as saying, "I'll help!" to the person in authority.  But as we get older (and more cynical maybe) things are never that easy.  Do you think that's what Jesus meant when He said, "Come to me as little children"?  Anyway, the point of this story is that I have called three government agencies today.  Talked to someone from Congresswoman Blackburn's office, been routed directly to the "person who is coordinating this effort" and no one seems to be able to say, "Okay, we'll take you up on your offer."

You see, I have spent the last three days (since Sunday) trying to figure out how to get a group of Haitian orphans to Tennessee for fostering until their country is safe for return or families are found for them.  I know it's possible because it's already happened in Indiana and Pennsylvania.  They are trying to make way for it, Napalitano's Humanitarian Parole was a great start.  But I'm not talking about children who have families waiting for them, I'm talking about children who are on no ones radar screen.

Where are the churches on this?  Where are the outraged mothers?  Where are the Christians, the James 1:27 people?  Why is there not a buzzing of phone lines of folks begging the TN Congressmen and Senators to make this happen?  And why do I keep getting rerouted no matter what organization I talk to?

Every time Brian and I have been in an orphanage we have said, "If we could put people in front of these children, if they could see and touch these faces, then there wouldn't be an orphan in the world."  And that's the opportunity we have here.  If we could get these precious faces here, I promise you there would be no orphans in Haiti at the end of this disaster and God would have turned one of the worst disasters of our time into a blessing and glorification of grand proportion.  Can you imagine it with me?  A country as poor as Haiti with not ONE orphan to be had?  Can't you hear the angels singing in anticipation of something like that?  Seriously, it's almost too bright for me to even imagine or try to behold.  I just want to be a tiny part of something like that.  Inconvenience and selfishness and comfort aside, I want to be in the trenches with God on something like that!  I want to be totally bare and used up for Him and have Him say to me, "Thank you for giving everything you had and not holding back from me."  And I can tell you, it's not an easy thing trying to find someone who will tell me exactly what I can DO.  I just know I have to DO something.

I was painting Jack's room on Sunday and watching the news and there were times when they showed orphan babies (under 1) with no formula, living in the back of a trailer truck, and I just sat in the floor and sobbed!  Begging, "God, please show YOURSELF!"  And I know He wants to show Himself, but we have to fight our way through the ruler of this world to get to it.

Won't you please pray with me!  There are alot of people hurting, no doubt, from this tragedy.  But can you even imagine that you are the absolute least among a nation that is in total turmoil.  No one is coming for you.  No one is prioritizing you.  You have no voice.  You are at the bottom of the list, and yet you are among the most vulnerable.  Please, hit your knees tonight and just bang down the doors of heaven on behalf of these children!

This verse has never meant more to me.... I'm CLINGING to this promise for the children of Haiti and asking God to reveal Himself to them in a mighty way!  Possibly through the hands of some Tennesseans?

John 14:18
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."