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Feast of Pentecost ~ May 23, 2010
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Dear Friend of Little Flowers Foundation,
Greetings to you on this birthday of the Church!
Since our last newsletter in October, we have been honored to assist five Catholic families in adopting children with special needs. We provided a total of $15,000 to assist these parents with adoption fees and travel expenses. Now these children are at home in the US with their new families, learning about the Catholic faith, receiving Baptism, and experiencing the great love of our heavenly Father.
 For the couples we assist, the day-to-day costs of adding a child to the family is not a concern. Families who feel called to adopt a child with special needs, a child who may otherwise never be adopted, usually find that child overseas. This factor means that the adoption will be a serious financial undertaking, and most families need help with the huge up-front cost of international adoption.
The families who contact us for assistance do so reluctantly. They are not accustomed to being helped by charities – they’re much more accustomed to supporting them. Before looking to us they have held garage sales, sold popcorn door-to-door, solicited contributions from their parishes, borrowed money from their parents, or even raided their IRAs.
 You may also be interested to know that many of the families we have helped – you have helped – in the past are now some of our most faithful donors. After receiving the blessing of a child through adoption with a little help from LFF, they are committed to making that same blessing a reality in the lives of other children and families. There is no greater testament to the work we are doing.
How does a couple come to hear the Lord’s call to adopt a child with special needs? In a great variety of ways. One couple suffered miscarriage and infertility, then was blessed with a godson with Down Syndrome. Through their love for him, who, they said, gave them “insight into unconditional love,” their hearts were opened to adopting a boy with Down Syndrome.
 Another dad writes of how his heart was opened to a fourth child, the second through adoption of a child with special needs:
“When my wife and children began sharing a desire to add a fourth child to our family, I responded with the typical litany of reasons we couldn’t: We don’t have room; we can’t afford it; our family is perfect as is; we can’t afford the best education for our children…[but] I remembered having these same concerns before the adoption of our [third child]… and I saw how foolish they looked in hindsight. Our daughter is an irreplaceable part of our family, and our lives would not be nearly as full if we had allowed fear to guide our actions.”
He goes on to tell how seeing his son’s file and a picture of him standing “proudly and confidently, holding up an arm that ends just past the elbow” convinced him that the boy belonged in his family. “The reasons I once gave for not going forward now seem insignificant, and I again find myself amazed by God’s way of guiding us in this world.”
Will you join with us again in bringing another orphaned child into a loving Catholic home? Please make a contribution today, knowing that your gift helps provide a child with a home of faith, hope and love.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Suzan Sammons
Executive Director
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