Many of you probably know from my past postings that Mr. C and I have tried to adopt a couple of times. The first time was really just an idea...we found out a little girl had been abandoned (seemingly) by her teenaged mother, we hadn't been able to conceive in the 14 months we had been trying; so, maybe God was leading us to this little girl? But, the mother returned soon after we heard the little girl's story; and the courts allowed her to resume custody of her daughter.
Next, I was diagnosed with a fast-growing pre-cancer of the cervix. Again, we thought "maybe God's trying to tell us something". So, we moved on to international adoption through Ethiopia. We signed on with an agency, started paying bills, and got TONS of paperwork done before our agency started acting a little "funny"...turns out they got in trouble for child trafficking - no bueno. At the time, we were running out of ways to keep up with the bills the adoption was incurring; so, we decided with very heavy hearts to leave the adoption behind and TTC once more (which is where we are now).
Although we left the Ethiopian adoption behind, we never left the children or people behind - they are forever in our hearts. We were especially drawn to those children in Southern Africa who are battling HIV and AIDS daily and watching their families die around them from the disease. When we were in the process of adopting, we were strongly considering an HIV+ child; I know we could have done it, and I hope one day we'll get to follow through with an opportunity in that arena.
In the meantime, I feel that I need to spread the truth about pediatric HIV/AIDS and how preventable it all is. There is NO reason for new infections to be happening in the world today. Elizabeth Glaser was infected with AIDS when she had a blood transfusion in the 1980's. She unknowingly infected her daughter and son through breast milk and in-utero, respectively. Her story about her fight to save her children's lives is amazing and heart-breaking all at the same time.
Please, take a moment to watch this short video about Elizabeth's heroic battle to end pediatric HIV/AIDS in America and across the globe; then spread the word - spread truth.
The Time to Eliminate Pediatric AIDS is Now from EGPAF on Vimeo.
Be well. Be love.
*mandie*
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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What an amazing story you have Mandie. You have been through so much trying to fulfill your dream of being a mama. You are an amazing person for considering opening your hearts and homes to a child with HIV or AIDS. You truly are a wonderful person and God sees that and will bless you with a child or 2, all in His perfect time. :) Keep looking up maybe he'll send a stork to drop a baby your way! ;-)
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