Please Pray for These Orphans.....

another of my fb friends, ashley, who is also in the process of adopting a child with Down syndrome from an eastern european country, is in need of urgent prayer for their adoption.   baby J (see sidebar) lives in a region that has never allowed children with Ds to be adopted....never, ever.   there are two other families who are also in the process of trying to adopt children with Ds from this region. 

ashley received word today that the judge in that region is not going to issue a travel date for ashley's family to proceed with their adoption until the other adoptions are successfully completed.  as ashley said in her blog post (our adoption journey) "We have known that our adoptions carried the torch for all of the children with Down syndrome in this region. On the shoulders of our three children rests the fate of so many others. God, we have been confident, is using them to open the doors for the rest."

i'm asking that you please take the time to pray specifically for these children whose futures are so bleak without the opportunity to be adopted.   as ashley says, "This is a battle. I have written before of spiritual warfare, of the intense battle being played out all around us. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, EPH 6:12.  I have written that the enemy does not easily surrender long-held territory. We are advancing on the enemy lines. On the shoulders of these children rests the fate of those who still wait, and those who will come after. These doors will either open before them, or lock behind them."   

ashley's request is this: "Would you please join us in prayer? We will be praying and fasting Tuesday (1/ 25) and staying up Tuesday night to pray over the meeting between our facilitator and the judge. Please pray that God will bring these children home to the parents who love them so fiercely."   we know that He is in control, and that He has placed these children on the hearts of their adoptive parents....ashley and her family have been waiting on baby j for over 16 months now....pray that the heart of this judge will be pierced and he will be open to allowing these children a chance for a life filled with love and hope!   may God receive all the glory.....