Under it All

I have friends that have gone ahead of us. They get to the orphanage and they see their beautiful little one that they have been praying for. They see the baby/child they have been thinking about for months or a year or more. They are everything they thought they would be. They are overwhelmed with love for their child.
They are able to visit, for a couple of hours every day until the adoption is final.
During this time, they mostly just sit with their child, hold them, play with them. But they rarely feed them, and normally don't get to change them.
In March, a little girl was brought home from an orphanage in Eastern Europe. It was not until they left the orphanage and they started taking off all the layes that they noticed how malnurshied she was. By looking at her round little face, you would have never guessed that she was skin and bones under all that clothing. She had been wearing so many layers of clothing at every visit that the family that adopted her had no idea she was in that bad of condition. Instead of a great wonderful homecoming however, she was immediately taken to the hospital because of her grave condition. This wonderful little girl was three years old (actually closer to four than three), and only weighed ELEVEN pounds!!! Yes, you heard that right, ELEVEN POUNDS!! The doctors at the hosptial said she was so badly malnurished that she would not have lasted even one more day.  Now, after 7 months of being home, she is doing so much better, there is actually chub on her legs.
This is NOT a story that is rare. All too often children from orphanages in Eastern Europe are in these conditions.

I look at Sydney... I see her cute little face... and I wonder... what is under all those layers. If you look really close you can see she has at least THREE layers on. How many more are under those?

Please, pray for Sydney.  Please pray that she is not crying out in pain or hunger and that someone there holds her, and plays with her. Pray that she will be ok, until we are able to bring her home.  Our blog here is new. Can you share it with friends? Can you get the word out?
Thank you