I’ve known it was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
Today I wrote my resignation letter and handed it in to the leadership team of Reece’s Rainbow. When we committed to the adoption of Wesley in late July, Michael and I decided then and there that the 30+ hours of volunteer work each week would have to stop if we were going to add another child with multiple needs to our family. Today was the day. My resignation is turned in. Today was my last day as the Reece’s Rainbow Ukraine Family Coordinator.
My work with RR started because of my love for a little brown haired beauty and here it is ending while we are again in pursuit in the same little sweetheart.
When we went to adopt Aleksa, we also met little Misha. Misha had a family coming, so we didn’t adopt him either when Aleksa’s adoption fell through. Because of paperwork issues, the family wasn’t able to travel for another 12 months. By that time, Misha had been transferred to an (awful) institution and the family was adopting 3 children. They couldn’t do a 2- facility adoption. He waited again, and they adopted 2 referrals for other children along with the child they had gone for.
One of those two children they got was a child someone else, Chris and Mary Malone, were going to bring home. They came just a short time later and adopted the one child that was still at the orphanage and a second child… Misha… at the institution.
Why is all of this relevant? Because it was that situation, Misha’s unnecessary transfer and the huge changes in him from the time we met him and the time he was adopted (due to institutionalization) that opened my eyes to the need.
In September 2008 I began ministry as the Ukraine Family Coordinator for Reece’s Rainbow!
In that time the ministry grew from 7 adoptive families to the 175 that have been served over the past 2 years and over 225 children have (or are in process to) joined their families in the USA!
It’s been a blessing to serve in this capacity, and I will miss the dedicated moms and dads that I’ve served with and the parents that are working tirelessly to expand their families.
It’s not all over… I will continue to minister in short term roles through RR and possibly with CTR in the future. But my time as the Ukraine Family Coordinator is now done. It’s time to pass the torch.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our family, for our ministry, and for our children… those home and still waiting for us!
I know you all have prayed about this and it was not taken lightly, oh the wonderful things you have done for this ministry. My eyes were full of tears re-reading the last post for that was the time I began reading your blog. Oh how I pray you are able to bring you little one home where she belongs.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the time that you served RR. Thank you for your commitment to helping children get home. And thank you for following God to those children that are a part of your family and to others that he has yet to lead you to.
ReplyDeleteYou have worked so hard and done an amazing job! We will all miss you in your role as Ukraine Family Coordinator, but know you will still be involved with RR in one way or another :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your hard work for these kids. Wow 30 hours how did you do it! You are a hero!
ReplyDeletecoul dyou please put up a button for donating to your adoption costs/
ReplyDeleteor do you have one that I haven;t noticed?
I have been following your blog since before you got Emma and Micah and would like to be able to contribute
We will miss you! You have been a great help to Andrew and I and we are very grateful! We will continue to pray for you! Thank you Meredith for everything!
ReplyDelete