New Week, New Family-The Elliotts!

Hey y'all!

Meet the Elliotts! They have an amazing story, but first-meet their family! 

So, they found out that their daugheters have another sister and they're adopting her too! They're jonrey has been long, but they are nearing the end and hoping to raise enough to cover the remainder of their expenses of.  We can help them with that! Make sure you give your $1 and share their story.

is this thing on?

hey guys,

for the last 24 hours i have checked my email constantly, every 5 minutes at least. going between facebook and email and blog comments and the sponsorship page and the project page. two people have donated an outfit. that's good. i'd do it again in a second.

but i have to say something. where is your fire?! let me show you something. this is one of the least of these.

they are children of the king, just like you. and they deserve food and clothing as much as we do. the way we treat them, or don't, this is who we are. so many people read this and have commented and shared and cried. but two people clothed them. two. 

are we the esther generation or not?! did you read seven or not? was that you that said you'd do anything? and then gave it a thumbs up and went about your business. i'm a little confused. why do we like to read articles like this and cry, and why do you read books like this and think of moving to africa to adopt 13 kids. in ethiopia there are real kids with real faces who go home to shacks made out of garbage and wear one outfit every day and whose mothers may have to sleep with strangers to feed their families... but you could do this so easily. you could press this button and do something, but 2 people did. just 2. and 18 still have no sponsors. my heart is breaking for these kids and these families and i feel like you want to care, but unless you help them, not with a thumbs up icon... help them with your debit card, it just doesn't matter. some of you have been sweet enough to say that you love my heart. if you saw me right now you wouldn't. with this post, i shall be fired from the internet, but i'll go out with a bang! 

ladies, let me say something, since you're probably starting to hate me right about now. your favorite women, jen hatmaker, ann voskamp, katie davis,sarah bessey, jennie allen... all these women that stir you up and light your fire... they really want you to care enough to click the buttons. go ahead and ask them. you can repost and retweet all day. you can cry about it and feel a little guilty, but unless you take action, it's in vain. we want you to care enough to change. you do too, don't you?! i know you do! i know you!

whatever you think you can't live without, look again. you're wrong, i promise you.

and with that, my friends, i retire into a hidey hole. sorry if i offend. i truly am. feel free to tear me up in the comments, i had it coming. but if you want something better, click the bloody button already. look at those faces. 

AND A 3 DAYS LATER APOLOGY:

you guys have been really sweet. you have been encouraging and not mean to me when i totally deserved it. i'm sorry about my premenstrual verbal tantrum. i feel like an absolute brat. i am so sorry and i hope you'll forgive me.

i have a passion for these kids and it kills me that others don't. but since then i've realized that many of you have passions elsewhere and we're all made like that. if we're true to the fire that God puts in us, then we'd all be taken care of. and i'll just do all i can, and i pray that if you're not giving to this cause, then surely you are giving elsewhere, and that's great too. and if you're not giving anywhere, i pray that God puts a fire in you that moves you to action because it actually feels good. and pray for the kids. it won't cost a dime. but they could really use it.

truly, i really am done blogging and facebooking and all that, though. it's just time for a new chapter for me. i just wanted to give you a quick hug and say that i think you're awesome and thanks for not drop kicking me. i adore you. 

selling your stuff.

so yesterday i went a little nuts and tried to sell you all my stuff to feed and clothe a bunch of kids in africa. i was touched by how many of you would be willing to do the same. wynne and jenna and a bunch of others went to visit the greenlight kids a few weeks ago. ashley o'brien sent me an email with some great pics of our kids.

Hi Beth,

I wrote to you on your latest blog post that I was privileged to visit Green Light just a few weeks ago & spend some time loving on the kids there!  I'm so sorry that the photos aren't better...I had some awesome shots but had my phone taken out of my bag in Korah so I lost all of my photos & the pictures I do have are so blurry because those munchkins were having so much fun jumping all around! 

I spent a lot of time blowing bubbles (it was obvious that for a few of them it was their first time ever seeing bubbles, btw.  it had some of them running scared at first!) and the bubble blowing resulted in loads of giggles, lots of tumbles and so much fun!

Although we couldn't speak the same language we sure did make a connection!  Somehow I always end up with the silliest in the bunch & we enjoyed taking tons of goofy photos like the ones attached!

I've attached one photo of almost all of the kids that were out of school on that early afternoon.  I think these kids were all the kindergartners and the rest were still at school.

 The older boy on the right with my sweet friend is still in need of a sponsor.  And FYI, he did not stop smiling the entire time that we were there!  I imagine his face was sore after all that smiling he did!  I think that he probably had the most fun of all.  They were talking, holding hands, playing with footballs & bubbles...it was so sweet.

I am touched by this team coming to visit the kids. I am aching for the little blind boy who still doesn't have a sponsor and so obviously craves a little love. I am softened by the people who have contacted me wanting to sell their stuff on give1 for the benefit of these sweet children.

in case you missed it yesterday, we aren't asking for money. we are asking that you click this link and choose to donate to the food fund or the clothing fund. when you do, just forward me the link with the receipt and tell me what you'd like off the list of stuff up for grabs. my email is b.cupitt@yahoo.com

also, i am desperate here, and i'll give you anything you ask for if you'll just click that button and buy a kid a new outfit. buy their whole family food for a month. sponsor one. change the absolute world for one of those kids. i'll give you anything. and so will these sweet ladies. 

ashley is donating her souvenirs from africa. 

some handmade earrings from ethiopia

and a bracelet made by the women of the karamajong tribe in uganda

it's a great perk for doing a really great thing. got something you could part with? email me pics of what you could do without for the benefit of one special child. 

3 yards (44 in wide) new 'ziggy sweet' boutique fabric from timeless treasures of soho. Retail value $36 donated by Beth Yoder

noonday beaded belt, donated by steph nunes

noonday painted cups, donated by steph nunes

selling my stuff.

hey guys,

this is raw stuff coming from the heart today. i hope you don't mind if i jack up your day a little. you know i love you. here we go.

my own husband and my dear friend, tiffany's husband,  worked alot of overtime and saved up thousands of dollars to leave their whole families (single mom for a week, yo) and fly to africa to buy food and clothes to some very vulnerable children. this is called orphan prevention. this makes me tick. this is the stuff that might help a family hold in there long enough to catch a break and stay together, whole and normal. this is what we want!

our little give1 community has huddled around these kids in addis ababa, a place where some of our soon to be children will and have come from. from the very families that are trying so hard to feed themselves and keep their kids, but they can't do it by themselves. they need us and we have it. you might not think you have $40 more right now, but i almost guarantee that you do. you might have to squeeze it, but this is what we want! this is what we, ourselves, are desperate for. how much did you spend on your kids this week? their clothes? did you go to target and buy cheap clothes in red white and blue off the misery of chinese sweatshops? this is not judgement coming from me because you know how i have a love hate with target and it's grip on me! i did. i bought a $30 dress that doesn't even fit well. i'm returning it today! these habits are hard to break and the holes are hard to fill. $40 will by a whole complete outfit for a sponsored kid in greenlight care point and my own husband will fly across the whole world, buy it, and hand it to a child that will wear it every day until they do it again next year. ok, what about groceries? what are you eating for the 4th of july? i spent $72 at HEB yesterday buying snacks, sandwich stuff, and diapers that will cover me for a few days. then $70 at Spec's trying to mix my 'perfect summer cocktail' for my upcoming vacation. $48 will by a whole family 50 pounds of teff and oil. they'll be able to make injera and live for a good while on that.

what can you do without so that others may simply survive? i'm just going to lead the pack here. i'm literally selling my 'stuff' so that these people can live. join me. i'll post your stuff right here. let me start.

if you see something you want, here's what i want you to do. comment on what you like and your email address. you'll simply go here, and choose to give to the food fund or the clothing fund. forward me your receipt and i'll send it to you. if there's something you want to donate to the cause, shoot me a picture at b.cupitt@yahoo.com and we'll get it on here.

sseko clutch, retails for $65

retired sseko clutch, retails for $65

my favorite ever african girl painting  SOLD

ergo baby carrier, sangria, retails for $115  SOLD

(3) 14x14 inch canvases from Papaya, retails at $144

i'm on fire right now, y'all, and i want you to be too. we have a real chance! i will sell everything that i ever bought from anthropologie if it keeps a family together. if it keeps a child with his mother. i will paint all day and i will annoy every facebook friend until every child has a new outfit and every family has a bag of food to keep them alive. i don't want this nasty fake life that leaves all these gaping holes! do you? 

email me. let's see what we can up with to get these kids taken care of. 

b.cupitt@yahoo.com

New Week, New Family! The Coalsons!

Hey guys!
This family is so cute, I love their video-it's like a letter to their little girl! Meet The Coalsons

So they're adopting a little girl from Africa, and currently waiting on their court date.  They had been with an agency for over 2 years, saw their little girl on the waiting children's list and then said yes to her! They're walking forward in obedience towards their daughter, let's help them get a little closer to her!

so for some funny reason, the Pure Charity widget won't post here in the blog post...but it's over on the right  hand side of the page so you can keep up with their donations and get to their page that way OR you can click their link 

https://www.purecharity.com/coalsonfamilyadoption

Please pray, give and share!

Shop to Support

I wanna share another awesome shop with you this morning. Check out Simply Beautiful, she's selling awesome products like body butter, lip balm, cleansing oil, etc.  Think a spa online and that's what she's got.  And the best part is she's selling these products to help offset their African adoption! I bought a couple lip balms awhile back, because I'm always paranoid my lips are dry and I love it.  You'll love it too. Go check out her shop and shop to support their adoption!

African Adoption-Burkina Faso

Recently several families have been asking about African countries that are open to adoption.  The best place to start when looking at open counties is the US State Department's website.  On the website you can check the status of the county and any alerts that may be happening and how many children have been adopted from that country.

I'd like to put a little bug in your ear about a country today, Burkina Faso.  A landlocked country in West Africa.  In 1984 Burkina Faso was ranked among the poorest in the world (mind you that was a long time ago, but still ;) ) Burkina Faso is a Hague country so the requirements are a bit different than those of a non Hague but not by much. 

Available children:

Primarily children with special needs are available (HIV, developmental delays, ect) and families willing to adopt older children (over 6)

Eligibility:

Parents between the ages of 30-45 are able to adopt, must be married for at least 5 years, and usually "smaller" families are encouraged but the Social Affairs office will make considerations for larger families as well. 

Process:

Once homestudy is complete, the dossier and homestudy are translated in DC (as other adoptions) and then sent off to Burkina.  Then you are presented a child that matches your requirements, and after you accept or deny, medical appoints and embassy appointments begin.  Families can expect to be in country for roughly 14 days. 

Post Placement:

The Ministry of Social Action requires letters every 6 months for the first 2 years after placement and then annually until the child's 18th birthday. 

So there you go, maybe God will lead to you Burkina Faso ;)