For the love of Andriy

First off- I want to thank whoever donated in the last few days to our adoption! It was such a nice surprise to log in and see the number had changed. We are forever blessed and thankful to each and every person who has followed along on this crazy journey! I have been sort of dreading posting because we still do not have a travel date. I am really freaking out and so far I have not heard of travel dates being handed out since last week. I just feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I just keep praying and hoping soon we get that date.

Another reason I had been holding off on a post is because I have been wanting to do a special post for a little boy and his mommy that is working hard to save him. My mind has been a bit of mush and I really wanted to post something extra special for her because she works selflessly at helping other families many times forgetting her own need.

Amanda and I "met" during our adoption journeys. On the RR forums and then it followed on facebook. She is very much like me. Well a younger me anyway :) We both don't always have the biggest voices but we have big dreams for our own adoptions and in helping others. We both struggle with fundraising and we seem to be able to count on eachother through each stressful aspect as well as every happy moment in our adoptions. There is one big difference with our journeys though. See we were blessed that our Joshua had some wonderful warriors working overtime to raise his grant to about $9400 before we even committed to him. Amanda's little boy Andriy did not start with a large grant. I have seen Amanda scrape together funds for each and every step in this process. She needs another 19k and what does she post earlier today? A post for my adoption and trying to help me raise the rest of our funds. As much as I love Amanda and the mother she is, I have fallen for her little boy from afar as well. And now I am going to introduce you to the boy who is the object of her affection and the drive behind all her efforts.

Meet Andriy

Here is his description on RR- Andriy is an active, happy little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.   He is already 4 years old and needs a family quickly!   He was born prematurely, blind as a result.  He does seem to have some vision in his right eye, but his left has a full cataract.   He is very active, able to walk and get around, sociable with his friends and caregivers.   He is mildly cognitively delayed due to his prematurity, but has so much potential in a loving family!

Luckily Amanda has some videos of little Andriy while a missionary was visiting his orphanage:

Imagine being blind without the love of a family to help guide him and teach him. Did you notice the poor little boys diaper consists of what looks like possibly a sheet? But yet this little boy smiles and laughs. If his mommy and daddy can't raise the money he will go to an institution. An institution where the blind children remain bedridden because the caregivers can't be bothered to watch out for those that can't see. He will regress and the smile will fade away. There will not be any giggles but tears and fears. He is already such a small boy for his age and he will succumb to malnutrition because he will be unable to fight for his share of the food. That is if the caregivers even bother to go to the laying down room to get these children.

Amanda has such a big heart that she has even taken on as a prayor warrior as well as a warrior for a little girl who is blind as well. She has a father who is blind and understands the potential that this little boy has if given the chance. You can see the potential this child has and see the life he has in him! Amanda is working so hard to make this happen but really needs help. If you can just donate a few dollars to Andriy it would mean the world to her. The world to Andriy! Please pray for her and her family that they are successful in getting their son. Right now they are awaiting USCIS approval and still so short the funds they need. Consider offering a kind word on her blog here or anything that you can spare for her on her journey.. to save Andriy a little boy waiting for his family!