Fight for Justice

I’m grieved, angry, and disappointed to see what is happening in our country. I know most of you feel the same way. Having lived outside of the US for so many years, and spending a great deal of time in other unstable counties, I’ve witnessed government corruption like you’ve never seen, disruptions to elections, and massive chaos and violence. I’ve had corrupt people in authority try to take my life. In 2008 I was working in Kenya when violence erupted over their elections. It was horrendous. People butchering each other in the streets. Even Pastors were involved, killing and brutalizing their own people.

Women were gang-raped in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Homes and businesses burnt to the ground. Media blackouts. It was utter chaos. We took in children who lost their families in that clash and provided assistance to the parents whose arms were cut off with machetes by the opposition and were no longer able to work and provide for their children. It was brutal and incredibly sad. The images have never left my mind.

Always peak up for injustice and what you know is right. Future generations will reap the consequences of our silence. Get involved. We can do that peacefully and respectfully. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you have to remain silent and just let evil happen. Be proactive. 

I’ve spent my life fighting for the lives of oppressed children in socialist and communist countries. I’ve lived in some of those places. I don’t want to see the same ideologies threaten and destroy our nation. There are some well-meaning people who really don’t understand what socialism and communism do to a nation. It’s a very naive and ignorant mentality with no real experience or understanding. There are others without good intentions who want to see this nation destroyed. Speak to the people living in those countries and they will paint an entirely different picture. It never ends well. The generosity of Americans, who have profited under a capitalist society has been paramount in helping to save the lives of the people who are suffering at the hands of socialist and communist ideologies. Your compassionate giving to this life-saving mission has rescued the lives of such victims.

We frequently reap the reprecussions of socialized medicine. Some of our children in Peru have had serious medical challenges in the past couple of months. We thought we were going to lose one of our boys. He was struggling to breathe, we couldn’t get a proper diagnosis, and the hospitals and clinics didn’t have any medications available. You can see in the photo, one of our caretakers, clearly emotional as she held him through the night as he struggled to breathe. We finally moved him into a private clinic where he was kept for a few weeks and treated for pneumonia that was so bad it nearly took his life.  As you can see from the pic on the right, he is back to doing what he loves to do, learning how to become a carpenter!

We had a really bad storm come through and damaged the roof to our children’s home the other day, causing the lower level to flood. Part of the ceiling came crashing in. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The children all jumped in to try to help get the water out of the building. We are now assessing the damages and will need to make repairs. Fortunately, the owner agreed to cover half of the expenses. We trust God to supply for the rest!

Our greatest needs at this moment are meeting monthly expenses for the care of the children in our custody (rent, food, medical, etc.).  We are short $6,850 to meet our mid-month expenses. If you felt led to help in this area, we would be incredibly grateful!

We have a waiting list of pregnant girls under the age of 13 who were rescued from trafficking. By law, we now have to house them independently from the other children. I see benefits to this, but it does add additional expenses. We need people to help fund this project! The girls have no other place to go, so they just hit the streets, making them vulnerable to being trafficked again. A lot of them out of desperation have illegal back-alley abortions.

Our safe home gives them and their baby an opportunity to have another life, in safety, off the streets. One of our team members is on the ground now where we are putting this new home, working out the details, and getting things prepared. It’s in an area with a high volume of child trafficking. We are treading right on the devil’s territory. We do it cautiously, but boldly. Pray for us – safety, wisdom, and the provisions to help heal these girls and save their babies.

As I had mentioned in a previous newsletter, we have a need to open a second home for the boys we’ve taken in. We really need this to happen. The pandemic presented a new challenge – boys were being brought to us left and right. How could I say no? There was a serious need and nowhere to take them. I’m so grateful we’ve not had any issues so far, but the more boys we bring in, the more opportunity for problems to occur in a mixed-gender environment. When one of our donors heard the need, he reached out to us and volunteered to completely stock the home with everything we need to get started (beds, kitchen equipment, etc). WOW! Isn’t God so good? What a generous and compassionate heart, we are so grateful. We’re ready to move and make that happen. However, we need money to get into another rental (deposit, first and last month’s rent) and hire the staff to care for them. To rent a home and for the first month’s expenses, it will run around $7,500. Will you pray with us about this? What a blessing to be able to open another home just for boys!

As always, Marshall and I, our team, and all of the children are so very grateful for your continued support. 2020 has been quite a year with many challenges for all. God is faithful and even though sometimes it’s really tough, He provides and makes a way. There are things you are going through in your own life and need a miracle, yet you’ve continued to support this work. God has not forgotten what you’ve done and will reward you generously. That’s His promise. He always delivers. I will always be humbled and grateful for what you do for this ministry.

If there is anything we can ever pray about with you, please let us know! I’m anxiously awaiting Christ’s return. No more pain, no more suffering, no more sadness. Until then, let’s keep fighting the good fight and help to ease the pain and suffering of a world of hurting children. We won’t stop. Stay with us in the fight. We love and appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Karissa Washburn
President, Bless An Orphan