A Call to Action: Will you help?

Many of you may have heard that the Russian State Duma has approved the second of three readings of the radical amendment to the Dima Yakovlev Law, proposing a Russian ban of intercountry adoptions to the U.S. The third reading is scheduled for Friday, December 21, 2012. This law is in response to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act that the U.S. just signed. It is a bill that imposes sanctions against Russian officials perceived by the U.S. to be guilty of human rights violations in Russia.

I am grieved over the precious little ones that are being caught in the midst of a political cross fire. I have been on our knees since I first heard of the possible ban, earlier this week. As a Russian adoptive mom this is near and dear to my heart! We have seen and held these precious babies and their faces keep us up at night as we think about their chances of finding a forever family growing even more dim.

What, you may ask, can you do? First and foremost, cry out to Abba, Father! He loves each of these children more than we can possibly know! We don't understand why this is happening, but we do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is in CONTROL! "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Second, please take a moment to write/call your Senator/Representative/President. Below is the a sample text put together by NCFA (National Council for Adoption). Please copy and paste this, fill in your information and send it to as many people as you can! Make the letter as personal as you can. Let's put names and faces to these precious kids! Tell your stories!

 

Dear President/ Senator/Representative ____________ ________:

I am writing to alert you to an urgent concern regarding adoption. Congress recently passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act and President Obama signing into law on December 14, 2012.

In response, Russia's legislature, is considering legislation this week that is being referred to as the Dima Yakovlev Law, named after a Russian-born child who died in the care of his adoptive parents. This law would ban from visiting Russia anyone involved in the case of Dima Yakovlev or other Russian born adopted children who died in the United States. What is of most urgent concern is that a recent amendment to this law would also end Intercountry Adoption between Russian and the United States. I believe it is absolutely important to protect the rights of every child and there should be a measured response to the death of each of these children. We mourn the loss of these Russian-born children with the Russians as they were also dear to us as American children. However, it is important to note that these children are a tiny minority. Many thousands of Russian born children have been adopted and thrived in the love and care of their American families. If intercountry adoption between Russia and the United States were to close, many thousands of children would likely languish in orphanages instead of finding their way to safe, loving, permanent families in the United States.

Now, let me tell you our story, [tell them how adoption has impacted your family, what outcomes may have been if your child could not have been adopted]. If intercountry adoption between Russia and the United States closes, other children like [your child's name] will not be able to find their way to the many U.S. families willing and waiting to call them their own.

Please ask President Obama to contact President Putin of Russia and ask him not to allow this amendment to become part of Russian law. U.S. diplomacy at this time is essential to save the lives of many young Russians waiting for a family of their own.

Respectfully,
[Your Name]

 

 

Please join with us as we plead the case of the fatherless! If we don't stand up and fight for these children, who will? 

 

 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27