PASSION

Ok so I am passionate about Jesus! I am also passionate about adoption. I was listening to K-Love radio on Monday and they were talking about some stats from Max Lucado. I missed the numbers, so I looked some up.

There are 2 to 3 BILLION Christians in the world.
There are 143 million orphans.
There are 100 million more kids living on the streets.

If every Christion family adopted one child or got one off the streets, problem solved!

I know it's not that easy. Many Christian families are living in third world countries (pray for them) or in poverty right here. Many are elderly. Most families would find the cost prohibative. But...if God tells you to adopt-ADOPT!

If that is not you, find another way to help the orphans, the most fragile of God's children. Give to an adoption agency so the can help folks who are adopting meet the financial needs. Or give directly to an orphange. Any of your friends who have adopted can give you names or contact people. E-mail me! I can give you several in Haiti, Russia, Kazakhstan and others, as well as in the U.S.

If you feel lead to help me, I would love to hear from you. The "About Me" has an e-mail link. God is leading me to ask. If He leads you to respond, please listen.

Friday, December 10, 2010

It is beautiful here and I don't like snow...


Well, my battery has about an hour left…the charger works about half the time, and it’s not right now. I think it overheats and turns off…but I will try to get out a bit of what’s been happening.
I am in St. Petersburg right now. Leaving tomorrow night to head for home. I started out last Sunday for Russia and am pretty mixed up in my days and nights. I have only slept about 4 hrs a night if that. Really odd for me; I am usually a pretty good sleeper. But with 11 hrs difference, half a world and meeting a new son, I guess that is going to mess you up just a little. (or a lot!)
So, I flew from home to Minneapolis/St. Paul, then to Amsterdam and on to St. Petersburg. Spent one night and then flew to Archangel. Got there very late and went to meet Alexander the next day. And well worth the wait! He turned 4 on the 6th of December, just a couple of days before I got to see him. I am told one of his caregivers got him a toy truck. I took him a stuffed bear (easy to stuff in a suitcase) and, of course, a photo album of his new family. I also took him a card the Iain had made for him. It was quite a moment to see his eyes as the coordinator with me translated Iain’s message to Alexander and explained it was a card from his brother…he clutched it to his chest with the biggest smile. He drew a picture for me to take home for Iain…it’s a hedgehog and a sunshine. Can’t wait for the 2 of them to meet, although I do not know yet when that will be. Soon, I hope.
I spent about six hours total over 2 days getting to play with Alexander. I also had hours of interaction with his doctors, helpers, caregivers, etc., as they told me all they could about him. He has been in their care since he was 11 months old, so it’s pretty much all he knows, but they feel, and so do I, that he is very well adjusted and on track for his age. I was SO impressed by the faces, the smiles, the tone of the people when they talked about Alexander! I couldn’t understand a word of what they said (it was interpreted for me of course) but I did not need to understand the language to know that they loved and cared for this child and that they wanted nothing but the best for him! They just glowed…what a statement, without words.
We played and laughed and played and laughed. He has a smile a mile wide! They told me it was ok to take pics, so I am going to assume its ok for me to post them.
At the end of the last visit, I know it would be weeks before I saw him again, but tried to just say goodbye as if I would be right back. Very hard, yet he would not understand it if I cried…I know the caregivers will tell him his mama will be there soon and tell him about the pictures I left and keep him from hurting too much. They have done this before and will keep him from wondering with their love. I, on the other hand, will have to count the seconds in my heart until I can come back again…

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I am here!


Should get to meet Alex in the morning! The first place I was at had internet, but it seemed to come and go...didn't get much time online. And now I can not find one part of my adaptor, so I need to dig thru my bags!
Here is one of the pictures that I took from the plane. Will try to update more tomorrow, providing I find that adaptor!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

No Fear

I love flying. Today was a first, I think. Flying in the winter was so extraordinary. The bible tells us that looking upon God will be impossible, because the brilliance will be too bright. That is how I felt today, flying to meet my new son in Russia. Seeing the crop circles all white instead of green, not being able to tell where the mountain tops ended and the valley began, going above the clouds into the sunshine, leaving the white fluffy pillows below. As far as I could see was white! In every direction, bright white. There were hills of clouds, valleys, rivers, lakes, crops…I have never seen such a sight. I thought the clouds must be mimicking the earth underneath it, with all of the contours a perfect match—or maybe it’s just a little glimpse of God in all His glory, showing off some of His finest work---for anyone willing to look out the window into the brightness…it was truly incredible. It was so bright, the sun was so hot that after a while, I had to close the blind. Sadness. When we were getting ready to land, I opened the blind again to watch. I really do love seeing our great earth from above. We were still above the clouds, bathed in sunlight. If I looked out under the wing of the plane, I could see the shadow of our plane. Pretty cool. But even better, I could see a rainbow, a perfect circle, surrounding the shadow of the plane. What a show! I am, once again reminded beyond a doubt, that God in His wisdom has my life totally under control. No need for me to worry or fret. I am on my way to Russia to meet Alexander Thomas Hickey, my family loves me, and God has my back…NO FEAR! And Praises to the Lord most high!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Control Issues

I have been reminded of many things this last week. Most of them are beyond words, but I am going to try. First and foremost, to anyone out there that is in the midst of a trial, don't give up! If our God is for you (and He is) then none can stand against you. That doesn't mean they won't try to take a stand, it simply means that the stand will fall...not you. Your God is holding you in His hands, He has your back and He wants you to succeed. In fact, your success is assured, when you let God take control. Woo Hoo, go God!
I also learned that no matter how alone I feel, I am truly never alone. And if I am feeling unloved, the world is lying to me. I am loved, treasured and blessed by God AND by many beautiful folks right here on planet earth. I have received gifts, hugs, words, and lots of love that have been a very real and needed peace to this part of our adoption story.
I have learned that God speaks to us through the people around us sometimes; words for the moment and words that speak volumes to the days (years) ahead!
And I was reminded, in the midst of feeling sorry for myself, wanting to quit, being angry and frustrated, that to not share the bad with the good was not being faithful and waiting on God's perfect timing. There I go, trying to take control back...and I know that never works...still try it every now and then.
So, what happens when you let God have the control?
Got an E-mail from my agency today. I am leaving for Russia by months end to meet my newest son!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Not to...

Well, like I said in the beginning, to Blog or not to Blog. Thinking the answer is not.

No comments, little response, very few reasons to let this be where I put my time. I need to put it to better use; getting my little one here. If you want to stay updated, you know where I am.
God Bless each and every one of you. Thanks for reading.

I LOVE my Dad and Mom.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Real Time

I can't express in any words my feelings right now. I have tried every avenue I know to secure funds to adopt. Credit union loans, home refinancing, etc. all to no avail. Loans and grants from reputal agencies are limited in various ways that make them unacessable to me either at this time or at all because I am a single parent. (That hurts. There are a lot of single parents out there...seems a little discriminatory.) Asking friends and family to reach out and share my plans with their extended families has met with minimal success. To each of you have have offered help and prayers, thank you so much! It means the world to a little guy in Russia! And to me.

I am anxious, hurt, lonely, scared, depressed and confused. I have moved forward with each step of the process, however. I am confident that this is a road God want's me on, whatever the outcome.

But it's Real Time. This is the real story. If I am unable to secure funds in a REALLY short time, I will have no options or means left to go forward and continue trying to adopt this little one. With that in mind, here is my plea...

Do you know of an avenue that I can contact about borrowing from.
Can you or do you know of anyone who is in a position to make a private loan...
Can you or do you know anyone who can loan $1000, or offer it for barter or trade...
Do you have any ideas to offer that I can persue quickly...
Will you pray for God's desires for our family to come to pass...
I will explore any option!

Please leave me a message. I would be my pleasure to talk to each of you that has been following this story. Thank you for helping it unfold.

God Bless...
Debbie

Thursday, October 7, 2010

News From Russia

I heard from my coordinator today. Because the little one that I have fallen in love with is going to be 4 soon, they will be moving him to another home. She said it is more remote...makes it much harder to process adoptions. I need to prove that I am moving forward with my plans for them to delay this move, so I am busy with paperwork from the Home Study and Dossier in hopes that he will stay put long enough for me to get it all together!

Please pray for my family as we work through this. It's hard to wait and want, but God is in control. Oh, I have been meaning to tell you were he is now! The city is Arkhangelsk. Look closely...Yes that is Arch Angel! I just so love that. I know there is an angel watching over him until I can.

My sincerest thanks to KC and JC and my mom. You know my heart and I love you.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Train


When I went to Kazakhstan to adopt Iain, my oldest daughter went with me. No one, it seems, told our contacts in Almaty that there were going to be 2 of us. So they had only arranged for one ticket to fly to Semey. It's about a 2.5 hour flight, but only a couple days a week. We would have to wait 2 days before they could get us a flight for both of us. I could have gone ahead, they told us and my daughter could follow in a couple of days, we could both wait, or we could take the train. Sure, that sounded like fun; we opted for the train. I think we had about 6 hours before we had to leave. We were told we should try to get food to take with us and they pointed out a little store a few blocks from the room we were given. Ok, we are fresh off the plane, tired, foreigners, and don't speak Kazak or Russian. And totally unfamiliar with their food! I think we got some chips and snack type stuff and some water. Then we rested for a bit till it was time to head to the train station.
I remember a lot of running and rushing. I think we pushed the envelope for being 'on time'. As it turned out, our contacts had actually paid some of the train employees for us to have their bunks! Poor guys, I don't know where the had to bunk...don't think I would have gone that route if I had known, but by this time, it was a done deal. So we had a little room with a set of bunks, all our bags and a little 'snack food'. I was pumped...going to meet my son! Yes, I will do anything...lets go...
The daylight hours were beautiful and a little unsettling. There are many very similar characteristics between that area of Kazakhstan and where I live. Looking out the window of the train, I almost thought someone was playing a trick on me, had flown me around in circles, landed me back home and now I was on a train going around in circles an hour or so from my house! It looked so much like home. Beautiful, calming and familiar. Felt good to relax, read, watch and soak it all in. Every so often, little towns came up and the train would stop. Locals got on and off. Many folks did some goods trading right at the trains and got back on headed for the next stop. Saw a few out on horseback as we traveled, a few small farms, but mostly it was the steep. An ocean of desert as far as you can see. Like I said, just like home.
Ok it had to happen...we had to go find the bathroom...
It was a car away. Got to see how the folks who new what they were doing managed. The other rooms were two bunks each with a little space in between. But these folks new what they were doing! Some had those little candle burning things going to cook up their food. FOOD, not snacks. They were friendly enough, smiling and pointing us in the right direction.
I have heard stories of old trains' facilities. There is a toilet, sink, etc., but what there isn't is the exit plumbing. The exit is right out of the bottom of the train onto the tracks. Whatever you are doing just goes right out. Do you have any idea how hard it is to relax and 'let go' when you can see railroad ties flying by underneath you? And there is a flush, but that tends to fly all over the outside of the john because of the tadumptadump motion of the cars. I can't imagine a guy hitting his mark, but at least he didn't have to sit! Gave my bladder a workout. Did not visit any more then necessary. ( I really think there were other bathrooms somewhere that you had to pay extra for; would have done that if I know the language. Note to self...LEARN KAZAK/RUSSIAN before going back.)
I really think the train ride did us a great deal of good. We went to sleep and woke up totally adjusted to the time differences and to more steep. It really is incredible...Now our only worry was would someone tell us when we got to Semey. I could just imagine missing the stop!

13 hours and 55 minutes later, we did get to Semey.

Within 2 hours, I was meeting Iain for the first time. (yes I do have a cheesy smile; bet you do too.)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Mini update

Well, my efforts are not going good. Still working at raising funds. I have had some very unflattering comments directed at me. Guess I forgot how some people view the world. But got me thinking there might be others that think the same way. Why is she trying to beg/borrow/or whatever ...how can she support a child if she can't afford to adopt. My response.
I own my home...have lived here for over 20 years.
I have a very secure job; going into my 23 year at the same place.
I have no bills...everything is paid for.
What I don't have is 25K CASH. If I needed to buy a car, I could do that and make payments. or a boat or a camper or a second home or any number of toys and extras. I could, but that is not where my heart is. It is with kids. Kids that need a home and love and a family. For this, there is no payment plan. Nuff said.

On the positive side, my home study is almost done. Just waiting for one more piece of info! When that is complete, I will be so very close!

Iain is very excited about the prospects of a brother. (Big cheesy smile...me too)

Did you know you can leave comments and e-mail me? I would love to hear from you. (Russia, Denmark, UK...I know you are out there)

Next Post--the train ride in Kazakhstan...:)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

This so moved me

Recently another child has been added. A little boy name Evan. Evan was a special needs child from Georgia. Evan was adopted by a loving American family on June 28th, 2010. On July 19th, 2010 he left this world. Evan was lucky enough to feel the joy of a family for 22 days. Evan was cheated by the system, wasn't given the right to a family soon enough to save his life. He grew up in an orphanage and then foster-care. Evan spent two years waiting for the family to which he was referred to work through the bureaucracy and complete his adoption. Without the protection that only a family can provide he didn't get the medical care and nurturing that he needed. His condition worsened and despite attempts to save him, Evan passed away.

This was in an update from the Joint Council on International Childrens Services.
Evan was loved. He had a family that did not give up on him. I am sure they knew when they finally got their boy that his life was nearly over. They could have walked away...but they had chosen Evan; hand picked by God. And for 22 days they got to love their boy.

I am beyond words at the love this displays. And I am moved beyond my normal boundries in my own journey to get my boy home. I can not and will not give up on him!

I have seen him (pictures). He's cute as a button, has a little turned up nose and big brown eyes. He looks alot like my 6 year old. They are brothers already in my heart.

I need help.
Two credit unions turned me down.
I can't refinance. When I called to check into that, I was told I was 'dead' at the credit reporting agencies--some carryover goof from when my husband passed away. So, for now, I have no credit and even if it where great, I refinanced when I adopted the first time. There wouldn't be enough equity to try again yet.

I could be traveling in a matter of weeks if I could pull 20K out of a hat! And I am beyond thinking that I can make this happen by myself. I need help!

Would you pray for me.
Would you send my link to your friends and family (e-mail, FB, text, whatever)
Would you ask them to send it to their friends...
You can e-mail me, ask me a hundred questions, verify I am on the up and up...
Would you send me a dollar.
I know a dollar can make a difference or I wouldn't ask!

Thank you with all my heart.
Debbie Hickey
1116 McPherson Ave.
Richland WA 99354

Saturday, August 14, 2010

God gets up before I do!

I am an early riser...always have been. I drove my folks crazy at 3 a.m. getting up and typing out my homework. You remember typewriter. Noisy, heavy, no spell check.
So I got up today and started looking for something on the computer. Was typing in the address bar looking for a site I had visited recently. 'chr' and up popped a line for Christian Book Club. OK, I haven't looked at this site since before last Christmas. But what really caught me was the sub addresses. 'Max Lucado' and 'outlive your life'.
I listen to Max; I have even visited his FB page, but I do not own one of his books. I really do not remember ever searching for one. But I had heard him quoted on K-Love concerning orphans. I even e-mail the station to see if they could tell me where I could find the info to share. They were very gracious, but said they did not have the audio recorded and that it was Max, but they didn't know where the info was quoted from.
Well, the answer was in my address bar this morning. I clicked on the link and was taken to the "Outlive your Life" preview page, clicked on the sample pages from the book and there was the info I had heard and wanted to share! Here is a bit of it. I am sure I am breaking some law by posting this.

And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. Here’s the
math. There are 145 million orphans worldwide.8 Nearly 236 million
people in the United States call themselves Christians.9 From
a purely statistical standpoint, American Christians by themselves
have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world.
Of course, many people are not in a position to do so. They are
elderly, infirm, unemployed, or simply feel no call to adopt. Yet what
if a small percentage of them did? Hmmm, let’s say 6 percent. If so,
we could provide loving homes for the more than 14.1 million children
in sub-Saharan Africa who have been orphaned by the AIDS
epidemic.10 Among the noble causes of the church, how does that
one sound? “American Christians Stand Up for AIDS Orphans.”
Wouldn’t that headline be a welcome one?


You can find more on Max's book here:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_sp?sp=110600

Ok, so it can't be done. You can't get up before God! You can't fool, trick, or ignore Him. He gives you what you need. Even what you want sometimes. He will get in your face and say "Here I am!" even in your darkest moments, when you are shouting "do you really exist?" He does and He is going to be there FOR YOU, no matter how early in the morning you get up!

You have a really itchy mosquito bite...God will heal that
Hurt your ankle playing...God will heal that too
Need a dependable car..God does provide
Trying to find a job...God is in control
Feel like your are all alone...God is your very best friend
Lost a loved one...God has him now
Insert your need here...God WILL handle it!

In fact, He already has it handled before you ask. So, as stated by many of my friends recently:
Let go and let God

Lots of Love Today and Tomorrow.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Well, that's done!

Home Study complete! A very nice women spent several hours getting to know us, the whole time taking notes on one of those yellow legal pads. Talked to me, talked to my son and the older girls...think things went well. But I still have work to do. The agency wants prospective parents to have 12 - 15 hours of training prior to adoption on such issues as attachment disorders, transracial families, FAS, etc. They want you to be fully informed of all the things that could go wrong. Hey, I've done this before, doesn't that count? Guess not. And of course, there is more paperwork to be done. Now starts the dossier. I'll do more on that later. For now I want to say (after my not so cheery last post) that my spirits are a LOT brighter. No, I did not find 25K in the back yard or anything, but once again, I am confident of who is in control...it ain't me! God is so good and will bring it all together! Yes!
OK, please do this for me--pray. Let God lead you in the particulars-He knows my heart and yours and will lead you accordingly. Also, please share this blog with a friend and ask them to do the same. If you share; it's one more prayer.
And if you visit...please leave a comment. That's the only way I know you were here! Lots of Love today and tomorrow.

Monday, August 9, 2010

3 days to go...

And I hope they are better then the last 3. Made the sad decission to have our 15 year old pound puppy put to sleep. She was blind and deaf and such a part of our family that we really put it off longer then we should have. Sad day. And so little progess on the cleaning that I am ready to say--here it is. Take it or leave it! And the bank said no to my loan request...so I am really wondering what I have got myself into. Geez, what else could happen! Road blocks made of iron and I am not superman. I am looking forward to the Home Study on Thursday. I'll see what the road looks like then...
Please take a minute to pray for the children of Russia and China. MANY children are adopted each year from these coundties and right now they are under great stess with heat and smoke from wildfires in Russian and coping with floods and mudslides in China. Thousands in each country have died. They are in need of our most earnest prayers.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

PrePlacement Report (The Home Study)

2005
Oh my gosh, you have to let total strangers into your house and ask you all kinds of questions! They want to talk to your family, check to see if you hid your dirty dishes in the stove, see if your grass is 2.3 inches tall...ok, so I was terrified, and totally excited at the same time. And everything was going to be perfect! I took off work to clean my house! I had signed on for a toddler age boy, so I toddler proofed everything. Made sure I had child safety locks on the cupboards, locked away cleaning stuff, raised the 'breakables' out of 3 foot reach...and cleaned...and cleaned...and cleaned...you get the picture.
A very nice women (herself an adoptive parent) came and spent several hours talking to me and my kids. We had a great talk about parenting, adopting and kids in general. She did look around the house; at the room for the new addition, out the back door to see if it was fenced in and she did ask a lot of questions! She did not even once look in my stove.
Total Cost for Home Study, 2005---$900.00

2010
Scheduled my home study today with Lutheran Community Services (I have their number if you are interested!) It's next Thursday. One week from tomorrow...time to put myself into gear. I don't think I will take time off work. How crazy is that, I mean it's just a home study.
Who am I kidding-JUST A HOME STUDY-no such thing. Again, I am terrified and excited. It's only the most important thing that determines whether or not you are qualified to adopt! I've got to clean, pull weeds, clean, fix a bedroom, clean, patch some walls, clean, check my stove, clean...
With my sincerest apologies to all the future dads and moms out there waiting to adopt your forever kids because you can't have bio kids, think of the home study as the first tri-mester of pregnancy. It's the hardest part to get through, but once you are through, you know there is no turning back. Very scary. Just remember, God is in control. It's a good thing He is, I would so mess this up.
Total Cost of Home Study, 2010 --- $2,688.50 (ouch)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Another July 23rd

Got back from the beach last night.

All the kids and grandkids where with me to honor the anniversery of my husband's death.

He died 6 years ago on July 23rd 2004.

A year later, on July 23rd 2005, we all (my parents, sisters and brothers, our kids, our grand daughter, a nephew) went to the beach and scattered his ashes in the sand. We laughed, cried, mourned and remembered, walked on the beach, talked to God and I "let it slip" that I was thinking about adopting! I have such a great family; they just jumped in and got behind me oh, 95%. Maybe 90%...

It's a special day in my heart. Heaven moves on July 23rd. And when heaven moves, we mortals are shaken. Eyes are opened, ears can hear, His word pours out. We have no choice but to acknowledge His plan for our life. His plan for my life involves 2 little boys from far away. One is here. Praise God. The other one is still waiting for my to come and get him. Next July 23rd, we will need to have another bed on our trip to the beach!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Beginnings

To Blog or not to Blog...
Well, 'to Blog wins!' Hang on as I fumble through this. I am going to try to get my message out and I will fiddle with how the page looks later.

Many of my posts are going to come in two parts; what is happening today and what was happening in 2005/06, because that is really when OCSToday started. In June 2006, I arrived home from Kazakhstan with my 26 month old son and now July 2010, I am trying to finance a second adoption from Russia.

One Child Saved Today is my dream to be God directed in completing His family for me and then for me to help others, in any way I can, to reach out to the most precious of His flock-the children.

July, 2005-

While at the coast with my extended family, I shared with them that I had been thinking about adopting. I was 45 years young, I had (have) 3 grown children, a beautiful daughter in law and one grand-daughter. I had probably been thinking about this for a year and wondered myself if I was just a little bit off. They didn't think so...in fact my eldest said, "what took you so long". My sister gave me a beautiful poster that pretty well sums it up.

One hundred years from now
It won't matter
What kind of car I drove
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my cloths looked like
but the world may be a little better
Because, I was important
In the life of a child.


And so it began.

July 2010-

Now, I am 50. A grandson has been added. My younger son just turned 6 and I know that somewhere in Russia, there is a little boy who needs a big brother. After being at home with my boy for 4 years, I am convinced that God has a brother for him. Much the same as when I had my bio kids, there came a time when I knew it was time to have another one. Well, it's time. I have prayed; again not opening up to hear God for a really long time. OK, time is up. I am listening!

Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers. – Hans Christian Andersen