Thursday, October 31, 2013

My Angel Tree babe

The moment you all have been waiting for has finally come!!! This time tomorrow you can start donating to my Angel for Reece's Rainbow annual Christmas Tree. Today I get to tell you who my child is. I have advocated for her on my blog before but the next two months she will be the star of my blog. Please join me to donate to this beautiful baby. And help me advocate to find her forever family. We all know she needs it. This sweet angel has hydrocephalus (with shunt), spastic tetraparesis, convulsive disorder, Hep.B, valgus feet, and optic discs atrophy. She was born in March of 2009 making her 6 years old. She looks smaller than the average 1 year old. Probably weighs less too. My angel tree baby is.......


DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!
.
..
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
.........
..........
...........
............
.............
..............
...............
................
.................
..................
...................
....................
.....................
......................
.......................
........................
.........................
..........................
...........................
..........................
.........................
........................
.......................
......................
.....................
....................
...................
..................
.................
................
...............
..............
.............
............
..........
.........
........
.......
......
.....
....
...
..
.

LEILANI!!!!!!!!!!

To donate to her (STARTING TOMORROW NOVEMBER 1st) go here and use paypal. You can also mail me money and I will donate it through our paypal. Thank you for your prayers and support. 

Much love,
Dakota  

Sunday, October 20, 2013

My Own Little World

I'm sure you have heard Matthew West's song, My Own Little World. But have you really listened to the words? The words that say "Father, break my heart for what breaks Yours"? Do you know what those words are meaning? Sure I listen to music. But do I always listen to the words or pay attention to what the songs mean? No, hardly ever. Some songs I am surprised by what the words are saying as they are so amazing and inspiring and other times I am shocked at how terrible they are. Even though they have a good beat doesn't mean it has good things to be singing and praising about. Today's music is disgusting. They are about terrible things that I don't want to be singing about. They have a good beat and they get stuck in my head and I find myself singing them.

Anyways, back to the Matthew West song. In it it says "break my heart for what breaks Yours". To me that is saying that so many things make God sad. The things He sees going on in the world. For example, the orphans whom are being so mistreated and the people who are living on their streets. The video of this song is focusing on people who are homeless. But I can relate to it by how my heart breaks for orphans. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours," He breaks my heart for the orphans because it breaks his heart. "That my own little world is not about me" That is a hard one for most people to understand, including me. It is hard for people to realize that the world is not about them. There are 7 billion other people on this earth. Too many don't have what I have. I am very fortunate to have what I have.

All of the orphans who have next to nothing, all of the people living in third world countries have next to nothing. I have so much stuff that I do not NEED but want or would like to have. I am very grateful for what I have. Operation Christmas Child is starting up again. If you don't know, Operation Christmas Child has volunteers everywhere who fill up shoe boxes with toys, drawing/coloring stuff, toothbrushes, socks, gloves, hats, and many more. Then they mail them off for orphans everywhere. Imagine how thankful they are to receive these.  They are thankful for things that we are accustom to having. We are so used to having socks on our feet every day and being able to brush our teeth twice a day. This year take the time to buy stuff for a shoebox to make a Child's Christmas dream come true!

In MY own little world, God breaks my heart for mistreated orphans with disabilities. I am coming to the realization that the world is NOT about me. I know less than 200 people out of the 7 billion people whom I share the earth with. God is showing me what is in the bigger picture of my world. The orphans, how many people there actually are who are affected by job loss, disablities, losing their houses. It is happening everywhere!!!! All over the whole entire WORLD. These things are happening all day every day!!!!

The chorus of this song sings
"What if there's a bigger picture?
What if I'm missing out?
What if there's a greater purpose?
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world"


What if there is a bigger picture?
What if I am missing out?
What if there is a greater purpose?
And I am living in my own bubble with my few friends.


Slowly, my eyes are being opened to the bigger picture, slowing I am seeing what I have been missing out on, slowly I am seeing what my greater purpose is, and I am slowly getting out of my bubble to reach out to all of the other people here on earth with me. But it is all slowly happening. In God's timing. NOT mine. '


Good night, God Bless,
Think about this tonight.
Dakota

Saturday, October 19, 2013

SO Many Orphans

Every time I go on the Reece's Rainbow website there are more orphans. Whether I am on the Newly Listed page or any other page, there are always kids I have never seen or noticed before. It is nothing new to them to not be seen or noticed though. These children have grown accustom to being left alone for day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. They don't even know what it is like to be loved. Just simply given a kiss on the forehead when they are sleeping or a hug before school. They don't know how it feels. They may never even know how it feels.

Many of these kids will die in these terrible orphanages. Like Monet, Kyle, Connor, Declan and many many many more. God took them home before their family found them. Or after they found them but before they could rescue them.

Look at this little beauty. Kyra. She is one of the Newly Listed children. I accidentally clicked on that page today. The first face I saw was Kyra's. The first thing I noticed was how skinny she was. She is basically just skin and bones.

421_photo_2012 (1)Kyra

What about all of the kids that have been transferred or are facing transfer? The children who are already in institutions will continue to live their short, bedridden life there. The children whom are facing transfer chances are getting slimmer and slimmer of finding a family. Each day that passes is one less day that they have to find a family and one more day they have of being unloved without a mommy and daddy.

Wendy has already been transferred. She was transferred before she was seven years young. But there is still hope for this beauty. She can still be adopted. She can still be rescued from living the rest of her life in a bed by her self. But each day she goes her chances get slimmer and slimmer. She needs a family. And Fast! 

Wendy

Sheppard has until June 2014. He will turn 16 and age out of his orphanage. That is only 8 months away. EIGHT MONTHS!!!!!!!!!! A family needs to commit to rescuing him. Eight months is going to fly by. Unless you are stuck in an orphanage waiting and longing for a family. Just hoping one day a family will come in for YOU not one of the other kids. A family who is coming to take you out of there for forever. A family who is going to love you and nurture you for the rest of your life. A family who is going to get you the nutrition that you need for your disabilities. But you start to loose hope. Help these kids find hope that there is good in the world.  That there are good people in the world.

30726000820Sheppard only has HIV. He only has to take 2 pills every morning. That is his only disability!

Please! Help me find hope for these kids who have no hope. Who don't even know what it is like to live outside of an orphanage. Who day after day watch other kids go home with people who will love them. And they are just left there. Whether they are able to walk around and play or aren't that does NOT mean that they don't need to be loved. People are crazy for leaving their own children at orphanages just because they have disabilities or have been in an accident that changed their life. They still need to be loved. Maybe even more. Find their Hope!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

15 Days

Only Fifteen more days until you get to find out who is my Angel for this years Angel Tree Warrior program through Reece's Rainbow. I can hardly wait!!!! I hope everyone will come together and share and donate to my Angel. I want to get her out in the world so that everyone will know her. Well maybe not everyone but at least closer to her family. She really needs a family!!!

My goal is to raise $1000 more than what she has as of October 31. Any donation given to this Angel between November 1 and December 31 will be counted as the money I have raised for her.

I want to do some fundraisers. Maybe a Hot Chocolate stand? I was thinking maybe a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner where we bring in donations for my Angel. Haven't quite decided how that will work though. If you have any thoughts or suggestions I would greatly appreciate them!!!!

I will have a total of 2 months to do this for this sweet little girl. I ask that you will join me in prayer every day that we will raise enough money for this little one, and most importantly that we will find her forever family. She has been waiting for too long for her family.

If anyone would like to help me with fundraising let me know!!! Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Love, Dakota

Brenton Update

Back in August I posted about an almost 16 year old. He is now 16 andddddddddd HE HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has been moved to RR's My Family Found Me page!!!!!!!!!!

Here is my last post about Mr. Brenton.

And here he is on the MFFM page on RR. (you have to scroll down a little bit)

He did it! God did it!! He found a family for yet another child who was about to live the rest of his life unloved. He now has a family who will come rescue him shortly.

Brenton, Your family is on their way to come rescue you and love you for the rest of your life. Hang in there buddy!