November 2023 Update

 

Friends, family, kind strangers – we are at 628 days of full-scale war in Ukraine. I don’t know when I’ll be able to stop counting the days, but I pray it’s soon.  ** please do not share anything from this letter publicly without my permission.

Regardless we move forward in the calling and direction that God is so clearly prompting and providing for. We officially launched our fundraising campaign for Blossom Cottage on Nov. 1st and your generosity has us already at 12% of our goal!  If you’re new to receiving these letters or missed the previous announcements on Blossom Cottage, take a gander through the new and improved Shade for Children website!

For this letter, I want to focus on why the need for Blossom Cottage is urgent.

You all are familiar with M – a young girl who has captured the hearts of our entire team and many of you. M has lived at the orphanage her entire life. We recently learned that her mother passed away shortly after her birth and there wasn’t any contact with a father or other kin – this means that M should have had the needed status to be adopted over 4 years ago. However, she was tragically failed by the broken orphan care system. I’ve shared about our fervent advocacy for M in the past, leading to some medical intervention back in July. This advocacy also, in part, led to her finally getting adoption status just this past August – while we want to celebrate this win, it’s impossible to not feel heartbroken for the years she has lost with a family.  Not only has M been deprived of the chance of a family, but her living conditions over the past 4+ years are likely the cause of her current developmental delays and behavior challenges – conditions that have now deemed her as “special needs” and “mentally disabled” in the eyes of the Ukrainian government and in the adoption system.  Because of this “diagnosis” (I hesitate to call it that because really the proper testing and intervention is lacking) M has been moved from the toddler orphanage she has lived in her whole life to a larger institution tucked even further away in the mountains. This new institution houses over 200 people with varying needs, disabilities, and illnesses – ages 4 and up, including adults. This is the place where people go to live out the rest of their lives, likely shortened lives due to a lack of medical intervention and simple hope.

I’ve said for over year that my personal biggest fear is that M would be moved to “the mountains” (I’ll call it that to maintain security over the true location). My biggest fear came to be while I am half a world away. It’s been a deep and raw form of grief trying to go through my days knowing M is there.  I won’t go into the details of why this place scares me so much for a young girl like M – but if you want to know the reality of places like this, I will share this eye-opening report from UNICEF that includes accounts from this very institution.   While I want to fly back to Ukraine on the next flight out… I know that truly the best thing that I can do for M is to stay here and continue fundraising for Blossom Cottage. This home is an opportunity to get M out of the institution and would allow us to better advocate for her adoption. And will provide an alternate option of care for many other children like her, preventing more young children from being moved to an inappropriate and inadequate form of care.

Sharing about Blossom Cottage in Camdenton, MO – the place I grew up!

So I continue on my tour around the States sharing about our work and asking for your support to build and sustain Blossom Cottage! Not all of my speaking engagements are public, several are with home churches, small interest groups, or organizations – but when there is a public opportunity to came hang out with me, I’m sharing that on my Instagram page!  Upcoming opportunity: Grace Lanier Church – Buford, Georgia – Dec. 10th – 10:00 AM It has been a true gift to connect with so many of you over the past three weeks and look forward to even more connections in the weeks to come! The support and prayers from the church, individuals, and organization give me the hope and drive needed to keep moving forward – thank you.

While Blossom Cottage is the first goal and step – we have BIG dreams. Including greater family preservation efforts, training for parents and caregivers, foster family support, community engagements, volunteer opportunities, and so much more! Ukraine is on a path to reform, we see it and feel it – we get to support the undoing of soviet-era systems that have long outstayed their welcome. We have so much hope for the future of Ukraine and the care of their most vulnerable!  OH and did I mention that we got our re-zoning for the property!? This means that as soon as we have the needed funds, we can start making moves on the property!

One day this property will provide a home and safety for some of the most vulnerable children.

There are a couple avenues available to you to support Blossom Cottage – including an option on my page with The Cause where you have supported me from the beginning. Or you can give directly to the Blossom Cottage account under the Shade for Children umbrella. Regardless of how you give, all donations are tax-deductible for US donors and all sites are secure. If you’d like to receive our full project proposal for Blossom Cottage, reply to this email and I’ll get it sent out to you! Thank you, thank you, thank you – your generosity is making a massive impact in the lives of the most vulnerable in Ukraine, don’t forget that!

Support Blossom Cottage

with love, Lina