The satisfaction of an orphan set free is not completely breathed until that child is set free into the arms of capable parents. Today though something amazing happened. Not an orphan home, yes…somewhere I’m sure there is an orphan who is seeing the doors of their waiting cell close behind them forever, but that isn’t Ashley’s story today. In Eastern Europe she still waits, a friend of hers is meeting their family for the first time and brought this preschooler something. It wont set her free, but it will set in her crib at night for her to snuggle with. I’m the one who bought that toy. 
I wish I had taken a picture of the process of choosing it, or of us putting the toy horse into the smallest postal box that we could find to mail to Kentucky to have taken in a suitcase all the way over the ocean to a country where I have no way of knowing if I will ever go. We were given the opportunity to send a present to this little girl that my daughter particularly loves among the number of orphans that she’s seen online photo listings. When I explained as best I could on how we’d get a gift to Ashley she ran down to the playroom and quickly retrieved a favorite stuffed toy and pushed it into the box. I pulled it out to have a look and found that the stitching was thin in a few places and the face was quite faded. My daughter was quite sure that she wanted to send a toy of her own rather than buy one but came up with nothing that I thought was in good enough shape to send an orphanage that ought to have years of use out of. We agreed on a toy and went to the store where we had bought it a few months ago to see if we could find a double. It wasn’t there. In the end, it was me and my youngest that chose a toy, bought the card and mailed the box because my 5 year old couldn’t decide. The chose was made based on the size of the box and between two toys which a two year old grabbed for 1st. And that was it. We bought a brown 9 inch tall stuffed horse with a tan mane and bead black eyes, it’s gorgeous, as far as stuffed animals go. I sent it right away because I knew the chances of my kids wanting to keep it were significant. My dream to adopt has been quieted. But there’s little ever that will matter more that believing that this is real, there is pain and there is a little piece of peace that can be had. Cath sang about going to sleep, now Ashley has a toy to hold when she has to be quieted too. She doesn’t know that she’s holding on waiting for a family, but hopefully the Lord has plans for her to receive a family some day. I hope that there will be answers for Ashley someday. Answers of a family who gives her more than a horse, perhaps a home for her and her horse. If you don’t care about orphans enough to think that they’re people who should be reached out to in these little ways, I can’t convince you or defend myself if you’re going to tell me that I just sent a toy to make myself feel better. Looking at the face of that little girl who has only 1194.25 towards a $35K adoption, I do wish I could do more but this is something that she has to have and to hold until it’s stitches fall out…or until it gets lost in the laundry and another child gets it. Moral of the story for the moment, if you get the opportunity to give in the tiniest way it just might mean a lot to someone so if you can do it, certainly do.
Then finally that plane ride! It’ll feel like forever, and Chelsea’s time with her son will be over before she knows it. She’ll treasure every second and relive the moments of their time together of the next matter of months lapsing between this trip and the second during which Chelsea and her husband Josh will take Levi away from his orphanage forever.
When I asked Zola’s mama-to-be if she, knowing how slow this process is compared to other countries, would recommend it she said Absolutely yes and went on to suggest that I should adopt one of the little girls who is my daughter’s favorite in that country. Currently the Obenauf family have a 
