will you help?

i have no clue how many people read this blog. but tonight i'm posting this plea hoping that at least a handful of people will read it and choose to make a difference in the life of a child.

our friends, daniel and abby umlauf, are in the middle of a second adoption from ethiopia. last december, they received a referral for a little boy they had planned to name moses. unfortunately, the region in which moses was from closed to adoptions around the time they accepted his referral. for five months, they waited for moses' adoption to proceed. when it did not, they eventually -- with much heartache -- accepted another referral for a little boy they named asher. but they still felt that moses was their son and wanted to adopt him if his region re-opened. last week, they found out moses is officially available for adoption. his paperwork is completed. all he needs is his family to complete the necessary steps to finalize the adoption. what's standing in between the umlaufs and moses is $14,000.

i know that seems like a big amount of money. i know to them it seems impossible. but if we can all give a little, it can turn into a lot.

there are a lot of people out there who think fundraising for an adoption is wrong. there are a lot of people who think you shouldn't adopt unless you have all the money. but the reality is, there are millions of children who literally can't wait for people to get their lives settled and their finances in order. they need families right now. so when i see a family like the umlaufs -- a family so in love with this little boy they know is their son, a family willing and ready to bring a child into their family -- i believe it's my responsibility to do whatever i can to help them because moses needs his family.

if you have children, please consider that you would do everything in your power to get to them if they were not with you. you would ask your family and friends for help. and you probably would even appreciate it if a stranger came to your aid. i'm asking you to put yourself in the umlaufs' shoes and ask what you would want someone to do for you. and then i want you to do that thing.

here is the website you can go to give. when you get there, click donate now and click general fund under specify donation. move on to the optional section and select CWA family. make sure to write "daniel and abby umlauf" so the donation is applied to the umlaufs' account. seriously, even $5 makes a difference. and if you'd like to help the umlaufs in another way, let me know and i will put you in touch with them.