Elizabeth C.--my prayer request

Today at A Place Called Simplicity, Linny is calling for a day of fasting and prayer, as she occasionally does. We've seen God move some big mountains when His people pray and today I'm adding my request to the many she will gather on her blog today.

I found out yesterday that Elizabeth C. was moved to an institution. A mental institution. In a former Soviet country that has never recovered its value of human life, much less disabled human life, since its repudiation of communism. I have written many times before about mental institutions in Eastern Europe. Today, I'll share what someone else has written about them, someone who was just there, someone who saw a teenaged boy with Down syndrome whose daily job was to wash out the toilet pots, who daily had excrement smeared all over his hands, who daily smelled overwhelmingly awful, who daily smiled at her and tried to interact with gentleness, who daily reminded her that a mental institution is no place for such a gentle soul.

That situation may be better or worse than where Elizabeth was sent; we don't know. If it's worse, it's not by much. In the USA, our institutions, relics of our own misguided past, are often in the news after yet another flagrant abuse is discovered. Their institutions don't even make the news; no abuse that is discovered will ever even be known, prosecuted, championed. The caregivers over these defenseless children wield enormous power inside the walls of the institution. I feel sure some use it judiciously and others use it maliciously.

So my prayer request: I ask for prayer that someone would step forward today and claim her for their very own. I pray that someone could move quickly with her adoption. Even in that situation, it will take months for her adoption to be completed, so I pray that God would send some mighty fierce angels to guard her innocence, guard her heart, guard that sparkle in her eyes until her parents can remove her and escort her safely home.

I pray for a kind-hearted caregiver for Elizabeth, one who treats her gently and who has a kind word for her every day. I pray for friends in the orphanage. Elizabeth has been ripped away from her very best friend, Angelina. They spent their days playing dolls together. I've never heard of nor seen a doll in an institution. Not a toy. Nothing. These are the places where active and imaginative children are tied to too-small cribs.

As I'm typing, Vera just came in to give me a big hug and good morning kiss. I'm weeping now. This is where she was headed. I cannot imagine Vera's spark being snuffed out by life in the institution. What a loss to me. What a loss to Vera.

I pray that when Elizabeth is adopted that God would restore the years the locusts have eaten, that He would meld her into her family as seamlessly as if she'd been born to them.

Isn't she beautiful?

She's been put into some awful glasses but that sweet smile just shines through, doesn't it?

Here is the info from Reece's Rainbow:

Elizabeth C.

Date of Birth: August 2003
Gender: Female
Eyes: Gray
Hair: dark brown

HELP! I HAVE ALREADY BEEN TRANSFERRED ((

This sweet girl is 7 years old. We are so hopeful to find a family for her! Elizabeth is so beautiful, and she loves to care for her baby dolls. She is active, intelligent, social, helpful, and an orphanage favorite. She does wear glasses, but who knows if they are the right prescription for her? Elizabeth will do very well in a family setting, and I hope someone will "baby" HER very soon!

From her medical records: Down Syndrome, moderate mental deficiency, atopic dermatitis; delay in growth, amblyopia of high degree, congenital myopia with astigmatism

FULL MEDICAL RECORDS AVAILABLE
LOTS MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE
I AM ELIGIBLE FOR AN OLDER CHILD GRANT (which currently stands at $975, but a fundraiser that has raised $990 has not been added, or at least has not been added in its entirety)

If you are her family then please contact Andrea Roberts at: andrea@reecesrainbow.org to get started. Today.