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It’s 2am, and I should really be in bed like the rest of the house… sleeping on Christmas Eve before celebrating Christmas Day with my family. But my eyes are blurred with tears from watching this video one more time. I just can’t get it off my mind or heart, and I had to share it with you tonight.



Please, before you read anymore, I beg you to take 5 minutes and watch it –
and most importantly, listen to the
lyrics.

I can’t make it through this song without heartbroken tears streaming down my face. Because it reminds me that tonight, when millions of children are snuggled safe in their warm beds dreaming of all the presents Santa will bring them, millions more are

alone.
forgotten.
unloved.
uncared for.

This video was made in 2005, and the statistic at the end is now incorrect. There are no longer 50 million orphans in the world… now the number has grown to 200 MILLION ORPHANS.

And I can’t help but see their faces in my mind every time this song plays. I think of the children who so desperately want to be adopted in America and millions more around the world. I think of those who have been rescued by friends, and of how their lives will never be the same. In my mind, I see Grace, and Desta, and Amos, and Annette and Mark….

and I dream of the day we will be able to adopt a child.

And then, my thoughts turn to the children we work with overseas through The Sound of Hope, and I am broken all over again.

You see, the children we work with can’t wish for a family, because they won’t ever be adopted. Very few of them (if any) have a birth certificate to prove they “exist”. Most of them don’t even know their birth date. They have no records. No paperwork. And they don’t have a living family member to sign them over so that they are eligible for adoption. They are no ones.

And I just want to scream out “IT’S NOT FAIR!” when I see children here in America who are so privileged! So blessed! I know tonight they are safe in their beds dreaming of the latest and greatest toy or video game….

…while children overseas dream of having enough food to fill their hungry bellies….. of clothes that aren’t filthy and full of holes… of a blanket to sleep on when it’s cold…. of shoes to go on their aching, bare feet.

And if they let their imaginations really go wild, then they dream of a world where they have an opportunity for an education, and maybe, just maybe, a safe place to live and someone to love them.

And when I think of those children I remember, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, why we do what we do. I remember the little faces I have kissed…. the little hands I have held…. the big chocolate brown eyes I have looked into. I remember that they are not “no ones” to God, and that He still has a plan for their life. I remember that they are worth fighting for, and that they are worth every single sacrifice we make to continue the fight.

EVERY CHILD deserves to be loved!
EVERY CHILD deserves to have their basic needs met!
EVERY CHILD deserves an opportunity to have a promising future!
EVERY CHILD deserves HOPE!

That’s why we walked away from a “traditional” life and “traditional” careers. That’s why we started our non-profit this year. That’s why we’re going to Thailand on January 18th, and why we’re staying there for 3 and 1/2 months. We are going to help care for orphans and vulnerable children there. We are going to fight for them! It is a privilege and an honor and a huge responsibility that God has placed before us, and we need your help.

As the end of the year draws near, please consider giving a tax-deductible donation to support us while we are overseas! You can help empower us to give these children HOPE. Any amount will bless us and help us do what we’ve been called to do there. We cannot do this alone!!!

You can give here: http://www.rustyandericka.com/p/support-us.html

And today, when you are surrounded by your family…. when there is too much food on your table and too many presents under your tree…. please, I beg you, remember “the least of these“. All they really want for Christmas is to be loved. Remember the reason for the season was JESUS – God in the flesh – who came to give us LOVE and LIFE and HOPE. Ask Him today what He would have you do to GIVE HOPE to precious children in need!