He is Risen!
Jesus is alive!
Today is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.
It is a day of hope.
It is also a little boy's birthday today.
Heath.
Heath turned eleven years old today.
He is in an institution in Eastern Europe.
Tiny, neglected, lonely little Heath.
Still waiting for his mama and papa to find him.
To bring him into life.
Sitting in that institution, day after day, year after year,
is no kind of life for Heath.
He is existing. He is surviving. But today, on his birthday,
what does he have to celebrate,
even if he knew it was his birthday?
Where is his hope?
Oh, dear Jesus, how can it be
that this little treasure still waits to be found?
Boy, Born April 8, 2001
Heath is a sweet little boy who desperately needs a family.
Heath is a sweet little boy who desperately needs a family.
Heath is a tenyear old boy with Down Syndrome. He is tiny in stature. His feet hardly reach the edge of his shared wheelchair. Because of his age, he has already been transferred from the stimulating environment of his baby house to a dull and underfunded mental institute for boys ages 6-18. He is no longer the youngest boy in his group, but he is certainly among the smallest.
Heath is not a recent transfer. He has lived in the stifling boredom of institution life for a long time. He has lost the vivacity of life at the baby houses. In his three years at the institute, he has been given nothing of his own. He has not seen a book or a toy. He has never been gathered into anyone's loving arms. He is a very lonely little fellow in desperate need of love and comfort.
We have few other details on Heath. He has been seen in a wheelchair, so he may not be able to walk. We don’t know if or how well he talks, or any other details on his medical condition. We do know that he is a cute, chubby-cheeked, dirty and neglected lonely little lost boy who needs a mother more than almost anyone else in the world.
If you would like to learn more about Heath from a family who met him at his present institute, please follow these links:
Heath waits. He does not know about birthday cakes and presents and balloons. He does not know about family gathered around to sing to him. He does not know about the feeling of a mommy's hug, or a daddy's strong loving arms carrying him.
He does not know about the Risen Lord. He does not know about the hope and the joy of Jesus. He waits, day after day, year after year.
Eleven years.
Oh, Lord, how long must Heath wait?
I am praying desperately that the Lord's rescue plan for Heath is coming soon. The Lord has not forgotten this precious child, and I hope that we, who know about him, do not forget, either. He has spent his life hidden away and forgotten. But the Lord has a better plan! He is not forgotten any longer! His grant fund was at zero dollars. Not anymore! His grant fund has been steadily growing. It is growing! But so much more is needed to ransom him. Please consider sharing Heath's story. Please consider donating to his fund.
He is worth it!
Heath is a sweet little boy, created in the Lord's image,
worthy of love and hope and a family.
He is so, so worth it!
And now for our Easter morning:
Every child deserves a family.
Hoping and praying that this will be
Heath's last birthday without one.
3 comments:
Thank you for remembering and sharing about Heath !!!
Happy Easter! Love that last picture! Hope Heath finds a family!
I am so happy that you posted about Heath. I have been sending untold amounts of messages (guilt trips, just kidding!) on many different social networking sites and in the month I started Heath's fund went up over $1000. I hope that the loving people I reached out to can continue to help Heath's chances and that someone will adopt this sweet boy, I would but I'm only in high school!
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