the last day.

The accomplishment has been enormous!  The Mulligan Stew Giveaway has been a blessing to so many children and families.  I am truly in awe of the generosity that so, so many people have demonstrated, not only to me but to so many other children and families.  Naturally, I am especially attached to the families who are adopting from The Bad Place and want to work extra hard to see that those little ones leave that place.  Right now, there is a fundraiser trying to raise money to provide medical assistance and other supplies to these children.

Because the circumstances these children live in are so incredibly terrific, which is why we should make sure all of the children who inhabit The Bad Place live there for the rest of their lives, adoption be damned.

(are you feeling the sarcasm?  Are you?)

The Bad Place is The Bad Place for very good reasons.  There are reasons why scores of non profit organizations line up to support The Bad Place.  There is a reason why children are habitually being hospitalized, some are dying, and others weigh just a fraction of what they ought to.

For those who have difficulty connecting the dots, it is not because The Bad Place is one of the Good Places.

No institution is a good place, but few are as Bad as The Bad Place.

The Bad Place takes in children and twists them into shadows of themselves.  The Bad Place harms children and puts them in danger.  The Bad Place takes adoptable children, children who could likely easily find homes in Bulgaria or internationally, and transforms them into more complicated cases.  It is not necessarily because these children have special needs, but those special needs become magnified hundreds-fold because of the horrid conditions of The Bad Place.

Children of The Bad Place are covered with sickness, disease, and ills that hide their true value to many people.  Children of The Bad Place are like precious stones caked in mud; their beauty difficult to decipher beneath the dirt.

Almost the entire reason we chose our Little Dude was because he was living in The Bad Place.  It was not the only reason, because that wouldn't have been the right choice for our family.  We had to weigh health concerns, our family makeup and a host of other things.  But, in the final analysis, we educated ourselves about The Bad Place and swiftly determined that our Little Dude would leave that place. 

"Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilience..." (Psalm 91:3)

Today, on the last day of the Mulligan Stew, consider giving your very best and last entry to bring the giveaway to its roaring conclusion.  Pray, think about the children who are without permanent families.  Think of the the "sweet sixteen" in The Bad Place, pray for them if you pray, and consider supporting one of those families today.  Tomorrow is for hearing the grand results - the final totals, the WINNERS, and everything else.  Today is the last day to support all of us.  Even if you haven't a penny to spare, don't be concerned.  Instead, I will be selfish and ask you to pray for our Little Dude.  Take two minutes and ask God to protect him, to guide him, and to preserve him until he can be redeemed.  I do not ask for prayers for our family today. I ask prayers for our future son.  I want all of the focus on this last day to be on our future little boy...the child who is a precious one beneath the soil of The Bad Place. 

Thank you.  Thank you for your generosity.  Thank you for supporting us, for praying for us, for reading our words and sharing our story.  Thank you for praying for our future son, for our twin sons who left this world four years ago, and for our family.  Thank you!