not a statistic

You have probably heard them before...

the statistics of children who age-out of orphanages.

 

They are staggering,

and they bear repeating.

 

Each year 14,505,000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen.

Each day 38,493 orphans age out.

10-15% of these children commit suicide before turning 18.

60% of the girls become prostitutes.

70% of the boys become hardened criminals.

Of the 15,000 orphans aging out in one study, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years.

 

It is truly heart-breaking.

 

David and I have prayed about this situation over the years, but recently the reality of  what it means to "age-out" of an orphanage has gripped our hearts in a new way.

 

It has gripped our hearts, because there is now a face to connect with those horrible statistics.

 

It is this face...

 

 

This is the face of a 15-year-old boy who is aging out of his orphanage soon.

This is the face of a boy who lost his parents 5 years ago, and is a true orphan.

This is the face of a boy who loves Jesus and wants to go to seminary when he is older.

This is the face of a boy who is an excellent student, who likes to write poetry and who wants to work with struggling families and children when he is older.

A kind face,

and a gentle heart.

 

So, even though the timing is crazy (and I mean crazy, crazy, crazy!!).

And even though we never imagined that we would consider adopting a boy his age.

And even though we thought that our next child might be a little one with down syndrome.

 

We believe that God has called us.

And it is our great pleasure to be obedient to Him!

 

We will be hosting Sergei this winter (which is a miracle-story in itself that I'm going to share more about soon!). Then, after he goes back to his home country, we are trusting that the Lord will grant us the ability to jump into high-gear to pursue his adoption.

 

This one will not be a statistic.

 

Praise God!

 

He will be a son.