Leaving on a Jet Plane

There isn't much to say, except that we get to meet our son in just under 3 weeks!!! We got our court date today and found out we get to hold, kiss, hug and marvel at Baby B on April 18th! We can only imagine what that moment will feel like and we are so thankful that we don't have long to wait!

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27

We can't thank you enough for your prayers on behalf on Baby B! It has truly made a difference. We are still trying to figure out what is next and wrap our brains around the idea of finally getting to meet our son. But in the meantime we are praying about and strongly pursuing the possibility of staying in Ethiopian for the time between our first and second visit. So if you have any contacts in Ethiopia or know of organizations that could use some volunteers, we would love any and all thoughts/ contacts! And truly, truly, we could not have made it this far without all of you! Thank from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers!

It Takes a Village

The last few weeks have been a whirl wind to say the least! As the arrival of Baby B becomes oh so real, the reality of preparation has set in. We have been in full force work mode trying to "prepare" for our, hopefully soon, departure to Ethiopia. (As a side note we are still waiting to receive our court date, so at this time are still unsure on when we will leave) And with the preparation has come the much appreciated support of our "village." Between help from our parents, baby showers, and home rearranging we have spent the last two weeks in full on baby prep. And even though it is exhausting we have loved every minute of it. We have to give a huge thanks to Grandma Lisa for coming out for the weekend to help us "prepare" a.k.a; make new curtains for the living room, organize all our cupboards, clean baby's closet, make a valance for Baby B's room, plan a baby shower and in her free time make bracelets!! Another huge thanks to Grandma Fiechtner for hosting a baby shower for us at her house. And to Grandpa Fiechtner for helping Mike put the crib together! And to all our friends that joined us at the shower, thank you for your gifts and presence! The best way to show you the craziness that is "baby prep" is through pictures. So you can see below what we have been up to the last 3 weeks. Here you can see in full force how important it is to have such an amazing village surrounding you!

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2

We have been working for several months to finish B's "family tree." It is only missing the photos of his family on the circles. He has a chalk board, mirror flowers with zipper stems, and a caterpillar to play with when he gets home! His mommy wants to make sure he has plenty of "art time"

Grandparents are great for helping with the finishing touches like cribs and valances!

And daddy is great for "safety checks" like testing out the crib teething rail.

The Grandmas prepped for the baby shower by making special charm bracelets. Each guest at the baby shower got to make a bracelet! And Grandma Lisa asked that they say a prayer for Baby B each time they wore it. Such a fun and heartfelt way to involve our friends in the shower. Loved seeing all the great designs! Loved even more the thought of how covered our little guy is in the prayers of his village!

So blessed by all the gifts from our friends! And loved all the yummie treats the were prepared for us!

Excited to know that Baby B has so many buddies! There were four little one celebrating with us. Plus 5 more on the way! One of the most emotional parts of the day for us was when Bereket said our Baby's name. Something about it being said by such an adorable little one made it feel so real!

Overall it was an amazing day of celebration and we are thankful for all of celebrated in person and for all of our friend in KC that celebrated with us in spirit through their cards! We were so covered in blessings and love by our wonderful, amazing, irreplaceable village!

Praying we will get to tell Baby B this in person very soon!

God's Good and Perfect Timing

We all say it, and let's be honest we all get a little annoyed when it is said to us.  "God's timing is good and perfect"  It is almost always said in the midst of a difficult moment.  And even though we believe the truth of that statement and trust in a faithful God, it is hard to hear.  Hard I think because we know it is so true and being on the unknown end of that timing is uncomfortable.  But how glorious is that threshold when you step from questioning and wondering into celebration and exaltation.  That moment when as Mike said on Friday, "the last 5 minutes erase the last 14 months of waiting."

That is right, the phrase that for the last several months has sent shivers up our spines and made us want to hide, now seems to be the first thing off our lips when we tell about what happened to us last Friday.  God's good and perfect timing finally arrived!! It happened, we have a picture and a name!  Our baby is no longer a thought or a hope, he is a 4 month old healthy little boy!  

I could never put into words what that moment felt like.  In fact I was utterly speechless  as Mike yelled for joy next to me.  We both cried and reveled as I repeated the details to Mike, of which I think we both remembered only his name and that he was healthy.  Thankfully those details were relayed to us later via e-mail.  But to truly tell this story well (and I am storyteller by nature)  I have to back up a bit.

Prior to Friday Mike and I have had our name on the waiting list over 14 months, we have been in the midst of the adoption process for almost 22 months, we have waited longer than almost every other family to date at our organization.  It has been a long road for us, much longer than we expected when we set out.  And it would be a lie to say it was easy, because quite frankly it has been one of the most difficult things we have ever done.  But it would also be a lie to say that we would speed things up given the chance to do it over again.  I know, I know even we are a little shocked to have this realization.  But being on the other side, things are a bit more clear.  The most important reason why we wouldn't change a thing is obvious, OUR son.  God wanted this to be our son and his timing made that possible.  And second only to our Son, one of the best things about this long journey has been the support of our friends and family.  As we made sure to personally contact every person that has prayed, cried, listened, and sympathized with us through this process we realized how incredibly blessed we are.  This blog has taken 5 days to write because it has taken us that long to tell everyone on our support list.  We may not have been able to "know" our child through this journey but we have certainly had a lot of great people stand in the gap for us.  And I know if you are reading this, you are one of those people.  So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!  So now that you have been refreshed on what got us to Friday, I will give you the details of our "call"/ referral.

I think the easiest thing is to give you a timeline view, with a few notes thrown in about how awesome God is!

Monday evening (I know the referral didn't come until Friday but this is important)

- Mandy wrote in the baby's journal that she felt as if the "call" was going to come this week

Monday-Thursday 

-Each morning and evening Mike and Mandy prayed fervently.  Prayed in a way they had not up to that point.  It was very honest, raw and desperate.  Much like a child begging to their parent.  Which of course is exactly what it was.  

I include this only because I truly believe God heard and understood the desperation and near breaking point in our voices and thoughts and hearts.  And he knew we could not handle much more.  A testament to the fact that God does hear every word we offer up to him!

Friday February 3rd 2012

- Mandy had taken the day off 

Another amazing God moment! If she had not been off work Mike and Mandy wouldn't have been together when the call came.

-7:30   Mike and Mandy left for Tacoma to be there for their close friends Sharon and Andrew as they finalized their adoption with their son Justin.  

Oh yeah God was at work again!  We have been basically journeying side by side with the Meads through this whole process.  They started their domestic adoption only a few months after us and received their referral in November.  Wow God is clever!

-8:00 As we drove down you could see Mount Rainer clear as day!  The sun shined bright all day in fact. It was absolutely gorgeous weather.  Important to note because this is rare for Feb. in Seattle

-10:00   We got to hear the judge say "This child is now yours just as if he were born to you"

God truly knows how to comfort the hearts of those who are in dispair.  Hearing those words and knowing they would be said about our child someday gave us back much of the joy that had been lost along the long journey.

-10:45  We stopped at the craft store to kill time before lunch.  Not really important except that Mandy bought cute stuff to finish the mural in the Baby's room.  Which will probably be the next blog post :)  Sneek preview in the pic!

11:00- 1:00  Lunch with Sharon and Andrew and their friends and family.

Also another testament to God's amazing nature.  It was such a great reminder of the fact that it really does take a village to raise a child.  There were so many people there who had prayed them through their journey.  We couldn't help but think about our "village" as well.

1:15  Mandy insists that she should call Holt (adoption agency).  Mike insists that there is no reason to call because there is nothing to ask or reason for calling.  Mike wins but Mandy is happy because he buys her a cherry limeade on the way home, she loves Sonic.  Ok not that important, but still part of the day. The one thing that is important to note is that this car ride is the only time during the day that Mike and Mandy have been or will be alone!!  God's timing is even perfect down to the hour!

1:50  WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!  As previously mentioned Mandy= speechless and Mike= yelling and overjoyed.  As Mike took the phone out of his pocket it quickly turned into a hot potato!  He tossed it at Mandy (he was driving) and yelled "IT'S HOLT!!"  On the other line was Jennifer and after the pleasantries were exchanged she said "I am calling because I have a referral for you."  Alleluia, Alleluia the clouds parted and the sun shined brightly on our car, all traffic parted and our car began to run on joy and tears.  Ok, not really, but that is what it felt like!  Jennifer proceed to share the details with Mandy, which she repeated back to Mike, at least what she remembered/ comprehended.  Mike screamed a lot, which Jennifer got a kick out of.  And Mandy fumbled and bumbled her words out but was mostly speechless, which should tell you the gravity of the shock and excitement because she hasn't been speechless since the womb.  Jennifer said that if we wanted she would send the information to us over email. She clearly knew neither of us heard much passed his name and age.  Mandy told her of course they would love more information and hung up the phone.  Mike looked at Mandy said "the last 5 minutes just erased the last 14 months."  And how right he was.  

1:55- 2:00  We drove home, maybe a little faster than normal.  We talked about something, we are sure of it.  It is just that it is all a big blur.  Here is a sample of what was probably said

Mike:  Ahhhhhh we are going to be parents!!!!

Mandy:  I knew it....  uhhh... I... uhhh... wow

Mike:  WOWEEEE!! 

Mandy:  Uhhhhhhhhh

2:15  We called Mandy's Dad to tell him the amazing news first.  And then began to plot/ plan a trip home so Mandy could tell everyone in person, you'll hear more later. (Thanks daddy!! You're the best!!)

2:17  We called Mike's parents and calmly presented a "plan" for the evening that would get both of them to our house.

2:20   We arrive home and open the email to see our baby boy for the first time.  We will say only this, if you are a parent  you know what this feels like.  If you are not we pray that you get to feel this someday! 

This is the moment we knew God heard the desperation in our prayers, this was his faithful assurance.

2:35  Drive very hurriedly to print many many pictures of the cutest baby in the whole world, no really he is!! Go to 2 different places before we get it right.  Mandy prints way too many pictures, don't judge she was excited  and you never know what might happen to the first 20 you print :)  

2:55  We show up for our already scheduled Doctor's appointment, which we need to have for our updated home study.  Again seeing God's perfect timing.  We had scheduled all of our appointments to get this updated the week before.  These documents have to be completed to proceed with our adoption by the way!  

3:45  Show the doctor the paperwork for our Baby (remember this appointment was set the week before the call ever came).  She tells us she sees nothing out of the ordinary and from the paperwork we have what appears to be a very healthy baby.  If you are still doubting God's timing let me tell you that it would have cost us $500 to have a specialized doctor review our paperwork on top of having to wait serval days for an appointment.  So again God is really good at what he does people!!

4:30  Tell Mike's parents.  Laugh and cry with them as Karen jumps up and down and yells with joy! (wonder where Mike gets it)  It was so great to share the news with them.  And see that they were just as excited as we were!  Maybe even more, Karen yelled pretty loud :)

4:35  Mandy packs and buys a plane ticket home to Kansas City.

4:45 Mike, Mandy, Doug and Karen leave for basketball game in Puyallup.

6:00 We arrive at the game and Mandy desperately tries to act normal.

7:30 The girls pull off an awesome 1 point win

9:10 The boys pull off another epic win and we leave for the airport

10:30 Mike drops Mandy off at the airport

She is a bit distraught by the fact that she cannot celebrate longer with Mike.  But realizes after her weekend home that it will be the last time she is in KC for a long time.  Again God is good to put the things in place even when we don't understand in the moment.

10:50 Mandy sitting in the airport reeling from the day opens her bible and turns directly to "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."  Ephesians 1:5-10

Saturday February 4th - Tuesday February 7th

The days are a barrage of joy and excitement as we slowly call, facetime or tell our family and friends in person about our little boy.  Some of the highlights are:

Surprising Mandy's sister and niece and nephews at their house.  It was an early birthday present. (Amie's birthday was Monday)  Luke greeted Mandy at the door by jumping into her arms and giving her a big hug.  Luke was actually the one to tell his mom by giving her a frame with the Baby's picture in it.  It was so great to tell them in person!!  Sydney carried the frame around saying "Bebee."  It was perfect!

Mike and Mandy were able to video chat with Paul and Summer later that day in San Diego.  It was nice to hear Jillian's voice in the background and know that our baby will be blessed to have cousins to grow up with.

Throughout the day we continued to tell lots of friends and family!

Saturday Mandy and Mike were able to pull off the biggest surprise with Mandy's Mom.  She was arriving home from a rather difficult few days out of town.  But all was erased when she walked in to find a frame that said "I love my Grandma" and a picture of baby inside.  Mike was set up on the iPad and Mandy snuck up behind her.  It was a perfect way to tell her!!

Sunday brought more phone calls and video chats with friends and family!  And Mike was able to take pictures of Justin Mead who we celebrated with on Friday, a nice full circle to our weekend!

Tuesday morning capped off our celebration with the "village" when we told Auntie Carmen and Markie and Uncle Spencer and Dylan about Baby.  These four are sure to teach our son all kinds of craziness but they will also make great babysitters so it is a good trade off!

All in all Mandy hasn't slept in 4 days and Mike has been filling out paperwork left and right, but it has been an amazing weekend that we will never forget!!

Thank you all for sharing this journey with us!  We can't wait to continue walking with you!

Our Christmas list is short this year

There is only one thing on our Christmas list this year.  Not that there is ever much, we are pretty blessed with all we have.  In fact it is often difficult to answer the question of what do you want for both Christmas and our birthdays.  But this year that question was not just a reminder that we need to think of something, but more of a painful burning in our hearts.  Because what is at the top of our list cannot be bought or found or created.  We want nothing more than a phone call saying that there are babies for us. That the precious beings that we have so longed for to complete our family are ready for us to come and meet them.  You see our Christmas list is not very long this year and come to mention it, my birthday at the end of January holds the same list.  A list of but just one thing.  And honestly I don't want anything else because it just feels hollow and wrong without my baby to share it with.  In fact much of this holiday season has felt this way.  A very distinct void seems to follow me into all the places that normally bring me overwhelming joy.  The Christmas season at school, watching the kids get excited, just wasn't the same.  Going home to see my family, something that I think brings me the most joy in the world, still feels void.  Don't get me wrong they are the most amazing kind of distraction.  With a 4 and 1 year old my mind is more often than not occupied!  But it is the silence in between those moments of holiday joy that seem to weigh the heaviest.  Those moments when I realize as much as I love Mike and my family, I just don't feel complete.  My heart aches so much to have my own family.  To hold my own babies as they cry, to hear the laughter of their voices chime in with those of their cousins.  I love my family, (more than any words on this pages could ever describe) but even they cannot fill all the spaces of aching in my heart.  So for now I will be thankful for the spots they can fill, and try my best to enjoy this season that I so look forward to each year.  I will try my best to hold on to the hope that the call could still come in this year of 2011.  I will muster the same strength it took to write our annual Christmas letter(which I have included below , along with our card) and I will look for the good in every situation that this holiday brings.  I will try to put on a happy face and remember that there is still so much to be thankful for this year. And try to make light of an ever growing ache that wells up inside of me just as we tried to do with our funny picture.  Because I think sometimes the laughter is the only thing that keeps us from crying.  And even if it is not a phone call that I get for Christmas I know that the gift will come in due time.

‘Twas 11 months before Christmas, and all through our place

We were moving and arranging and trying to make space

Out went the couches and down came the flags

The room had to be cleared for our new roommate’s bags

Our good friend Beckie would be living with us for awhile

And we would have to figure out a totally new living style

A few months together turned into almost a whole year

And we have had many fun times since she has been here

Beckie has been witness to a side of us not seen before

Like Mike’s goofy dancing and early morning rapport

As well as our crazy banter, laughter and more

She now knows about our weird habits and laundry galore

But all in all the addition to our house has been a blessing

And about how long she will stay, we are all still guessing

It wasn’t just rearranging that kept us busy this year

Many trips and events required our calendar to be clear

In January Mike made his way to the east coast for 3 weeks

The below freezing weather gave him more than rosy cheeks

Lots of walking and wet feet didn’t keep him from a great time

He had sights to see and the support of his partner in crime

He and his best friend Craig toured Jersey, NYC and Philly

Great friends helped round out an awesome trip, albeit it chilly

On buses, on trains! To Boston, Maine, and the National Mall!

In a flash his vacation dashed away! dashed away all!

But not to worry, more trips and fun were ahead

All over the country and back we would tread

In April down to warm sunny L.A. we both flied

Of course we had 21 students who came along for the ride

But we’ll admit they were all pretty great and not at all lame

So proud of the many great things they did in the Lord’s name

In June, Mike continued the good works up in the north

He helped rebuild a kitchen and alas a new floor came forth

To close out the school year Mandy was honored by an award

To be chosen by her students left her blessed and floored

We were off to travel again after another good school year

In San Diego we found family, friends and much cheer

And in Florida more family fun and delight was created

What an unexpected year of travel, none of which was slated

And in the midst of all the traveling Mike was busy training

For the marathon he completed where it never stopped raining

Unfortunately we have not been able to take the best trip just yet

We are still hoping for the call and trying not to fret

But it has been a tough year of much pain and waiting

We so wish it was memories with our child we were creating

We will continue to trust and to passionately pray

That the call about our child will come any day

It is so hard to understand why it is taking so long

Waking up each day without a child to hold just feels wrong

So we hold him close to our heart until he can be in our arms

And woo us daily with his beautiful baby charms

We know the time is coming when we will have our child

And you can be sure our announcement will be big and wild

So just as we have in each past year

We pray that you hold this message most dear

In this season of peace, love & joy,

When songs are sung of holly, mistletoe, & the drummer boy,

The Fiechtner’s do pray that above all,

You remember a man & a woman who answered God’s call,

A small baby they did bore,

That would die to settle our score,

In this wonderful season may the Lord be your light,

“Happy Christmas to all, & to all a good-night!”

A 1,000lb boulder

Today is a tough day for us. A day we never expected to come. A day we have been dreading for quite some time now. In reality this day is not all that different from the many days of waiting that have come before, but emotionally it feels like a 1,000 lb boulder in comparison to the pebbles and rocks we have experienced thus far.

It has been exactly one year since our dossier was accepted. One year since the day we officially went on the list of waiting parents. It has been 365 days since we began to consider that our referral could come “at any time”. It has been a pain staking 12 months of hoping and praying and wishing. And somehow today at this “milestone” that we never expected to reach, all we can do is cry. We are struggling to find the strength to hope, pray or wish. We wanted the next milestone to be our referral, not the painful reality of more time. Our minds know what lies ahead, resubmitting paperwork, restarting our home study, and paying more money that we didn’t budget for. We know all those logistics are out there for us to begin again, we know we must make a choice about what to do, we know they must happen soon to be able to continue this process. Yet the only thing our brains and hearts can do is cry. Cry because our babies are out there without us. Cry because they have to wait in conditions that they don’t deserve. Cry because another day will go by when we can’t shower them with hugs and kisses. Cry because today is not the end, a big milestone to overcome, but not the end of our waiting.

So we don’t ask for comforting words today. And please don’t remind us of God’s good and perfect timing or tell us it will all make sense in the end. Please just step in on our behalf. Please continue to pray and hope and wish for us, for our child. Because today all we can do is cry.

/~8 AND /~9

I am quite sure you are wondering about the title of this blog. But before I tell you the back story, let me first say, as frustrating as this wait has been, there have been some really great moments in the midst of pre-baby time. And the title of this blog is a result of one such moment.

Around the end of the 2010 school year, Mike and I decided it was time to tell my students about our adoption. We were very early in the process, but at that point still expecting things to move pretty quickly. So we thought it was ok to start talking about. By the end of that school year most of the kids knew we were adopting.

As I returned back the following August, the adoption became a pretty common topic with my students. Some had questions about why we decided to adopt. Many of them asked about how long it would take or how much it cost to adopt. Some wanted to know why we choose Africa. On the whole I was thankful and honored by their genuine interest in this part of Mike and I’s life. And the more the questions rolled in, the more I began to notice one common question, “what’s his name?” I would explain that he would already have a name and that most likely we would keep that name. But since we don’t know exactly who our child will be yet I can’t tell you his name. Well, for some this was sufficient and they conceded to just asking about “our baby.” But for several others this was not going to work, “our baby” needed a name.

So in the midst of this “need” for our baby to have a name, he began to be called many things. Some called him Rafiki because it sounded African, but also similar to my nick name, Feeky. A few of my basketball girls named him Tyrone or Jerome (don’t remember which) because they said it sounded like a black person’s name. And still others chose Baby Fluffs (after another of my nick names) Baby Feeky, African Baby, Baby Fiechtner, all which I was ok with because they were said with great love and excitement for our babe. But of all these names there is only one that has stuck around through this whole process, which brings me back to the title of this blog.

The “name” you see in the title was created by my yearbook class last year, namely my editor Spencer. It was the result of a conversation we had about a girl whose name contained a – (dash). So in keeping with the use of symbols, the students thought it would be “awesome” if our child had a name that contained only symbols. They proceeded to use most of a class period coming up with possibilities and thus was the birth of /~8 (Pronounced: Slashquigglyeight). This name has stuck, of all the names; this name is used most often. This name has actually grown on me quite a bit. I think because it has a sense of permanence without being too “real”.

So that explains the first “name” in the title, the second name /~9 is actually from a dream I had. One of Mike and I’s desires is that we could adopt twins. And one night I had a dream that we got the call and we were placed with twin baby boys named /~8 and /~9. It was a silly dream and a silly name. But the desire is still very real for us. From the beginning we have prayed that the lord would give us twins or siblings. We of course will love any referral. And we feel blessed to be able to have children; regardless of whether we adopt two at one time or at different times. I think the longer we have to wait and the more we realize the real extent of the process, the more our desire to bring home two babies becomes.

But if in the end God has one child ready for us to adopt we will be excited and thankful. It just means the next batch of students will have a chance to throw out more weird, odd, and downright silly names for our second adopted child.

Makes /~8 sound like a pretty good option :)

A Hungry Child Can't Wait: Ask 5 for 5

Guest Blogger: Sarah Lenssen from #Ask5for5

Family photos by Mike Fiechtner Photography

Thank you Adopted in Christ and nearly 150 other bloggers from around the world for allowing me to share a story with you today, during Social Media Week.

A hungry child in East Africa can't wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we'll respond and save her life. In Somalia, children are stumbling along for days, even weeks, on dangerous roads and with empty stomachs in search of food and water. Their crops failed for the third year in a row. All their animals died. They lost everything. Thousands are dying along the road before they find help in refugee camps.

At my house, when my three children are hungry, they wait minutes for food, maybe an hour if dinner is approaching. Children affected by the food crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia aren't so lucky. Did you know that the worst drought in 60 years is ravaging whole countries right now, as you read this? Famine, a term not used lightly, has been declared in Somalia. This is the world's first famine in 20 years.12.4 million people are in need of emergency assistance and over 29,000 children have died in the last three months alone. A child is dying every 5 minutes. It it estimated that 750,000 people could die before this famine is over. Take a moment and let that settle in.

The media plays a major role in disasters. They have the power to draw the attention of society to respond--or not. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster has become merely a footnote in most national media outlets. News of the U.S. national debt squabble and the latest celebrity's baby bump dominate headlines. That is why I am thrilled that nearly 150 bloggers from all over the world are joining together today to use the power of social media to make their own headlines; to share the urgent need of the almost forgotten with their blog readers. Humans have the capacity to care deeply for those who are suffering, but in a situation like this when the numbers are too huge to grasp and the people so far away, we often feel like the little we can do will be a drop in the ocean, and don't do anything at all.

When news of the famine first hit the news in late July, I selfishly avoided it. I didn't want to read about it or hear about it because I knew I would feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. I wanted to protect myself. I knew I would need to do something if I knew what was really happening. You see, this food crisis is personal. I have a 4-year-old son and a 1 yr-old daughter who were adopted from Ethiopia and born in regions now affected by the drought. If my children still lived in their home villages, they would be two of the 12.4 million. My children: extremely hungry and malnourished? Gulp. I think any one of us would do anything we could for our hungry child. But would you do something for another mother's hungry child?

My friend and World Vision staffer, Jon Warren, was recently in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya--the largest refugee camp in the world with over 400,000 people. He told me the story of Isnino Siyat, 22, a mother who walked for 10 days and nights with her husband, 1 yr-old-baby, Suleiman, and 4 yr.-old son Adan Hussein, fleeing the drought in Somalia. When she arrived at Dadaab, she built the family a shelter with borrowed materials while carrying her baby on her back. Even her dress is borrowed. As she sat in the shelter on her second night in camp she told Jon, "I left because of hunger. It is a very horrible drought which finished both our livestock and our farm." The family lost their 5 cows and 10 goats one by one over 3 months, as grazing lands dried up. "We don't have enough food now...our food is finished. I am really worried about the future of my children and myself if the situation continues."

Will you help a child like Baby Suleiman? Ask5for5 is a dream built upon the belief that you will.

That something I knew I would need to do became a campaign called #Ask5for5 to raise awareness and funds for famine and drought victims. The concept is simple, give $5 and ask five of your friends to give $5, and then they each ask five of their friends to give $5 and so on--in nine generations of 5x5x5...we could raise $2.4 Million! In one month, over 750 people have donated over $25,000! I set up a fundraiser at See Your Impact and 100% of the funds will go to World Vision, an organization that has been fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa for decades and will continue long after this famine has ended. Donations can multiply up to 5 times in impact by government grants to
help provide emergency food, clean water, agricultural support,
healthcare, and other vital assistance to children and families suffering in the Horn.

I need you to help me save lives. It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)


2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.


3. Share #Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter!

I'm looking for another 100 bloggers to share this post on their blogs throughout Social Media Week. Email me at ask5for5@gmail.com if you're interested in participating this week.

A hungry child doesn't wait. She doesn't wait for us to finish the other things on our to-do list, or get to it next month when we might have a little more money to give. She doesn't wait for us to decide if she's important enough to deserve a response. She will only wait as long as her weakened little body will hold on...please respond now and help save her life. Ask 5 for 5.

Thank you on behalf of all of those who will be helped--you are saving lives and changing history.

p.s. Please don't move on to the next website before you donate and email your friends right now. It only takes 5 minutes and just $5, and if you're life is busy like mine, you probably won't get back to it later. Let's not be a generation that ignores hundreds of thousands of starving people, instead let's leave a legacy of compassion. You have the opportunity to save a life today!