This post is the second in a month-long series on the Miracle of Dunkirk, a call to all-in, bring-your-boat, daring and courageous orphan care inspired by the But If Not campaign of Sage Harvest Gourmet Jerky. Join the cause to stage the NEW greatest rescue mission in modern history — the Miracle in China.
They owned a boat, and they said yes.
At the most basic level, the Miracle of Dunkirk occurred because more than 700 to 800 boat owners heard the need, responded to the call and got in the water to be part of the rescue of nearly 350,000 Allied Forces who had been cut off and surrounded on the beaches of Dunkirk … and who, without being evacuated, would perish.
The 338,000 Allied Forces didn’t survive the Battle of France because these civilian boat owners were well equipped.
They didn’t survive because their rescuers brought the best ship captains with the most experience with the best boats fitted with the best resources.
Some 338,000 Allied Forces lived because ordinary people got in ordinary boats and trusted an extraordinary, “but if” God to USE THEM to do some out-of-this world, extraordinary things.
When it comes to the battle for the 600,000 mostly special needs orphans living in social welfare centers in China, not all of us can be on the front lines, but all of us can do something.
If we want to see the Miracle in China, we’ve got to be willing to get in our boats and say yes to our God — no matter the size, condition or experience of our boats. We need to do it with courage … or just courageously do it afraid.
Because in His hands, even the smallest vessels can do the biggest things.
We need intelligence boats. Those that land ashore and send warriors to research and investigate and help us get to the root of this crisis that is leaving medically fragile children without parents and superheroes without homes. Who educate. Who research. Who figure out what's needed to END the abandonment that is filling Chinese orphanages with beautiful children with medical needs. And who then call out other warriors to help them DO it. Who influence the culture. Who turn the tide. Who campaign for the value of these “special needs” kids who are just superheroes in disguise. And who equip those in country to fight for those who are sometimes seen as disposable.
The 600,000 who are now stranded on the beach.
We need caretaker boats that will land ashore and fight to prevent the masses from landing on the beaches in the first place. Boats that will transport those whose sole mission is to partner with birth parents, promote first families and selflessly serve those who need assistance — emotional, physical, financial, educational — in order to keep and raise the children who are often abandoned because of a lack of finances, resources, medical care or support.
We need communications boats. Those that travel beach to beach getting the word out in OUR country and those that also GO to tell the stories of the superheroes waiting in orphanages for parents in China. Who reframe the issue and share their plight and call to action those with the abilities and resources who just might not KNOW about the TRUE condition of the thousands of parent-less and abandoned children in a country that still sometimes sees stigma attached to those with deformities and medical needs.
We need finance boats. Those that FUND the battles that WIN the war. Those who might not be able to be on the front lines of orphan care and adoption but can support with money and resources those who CAN. Those who fund orphan surgeries. Those who fund adoptions. Those who give to organizations like Love Without Boundaries that can partner with birth families in China to ensure that abandonment doesn’t feel like an option in the first place.
We need support boats that remain on stand-by here. Those filled with the servant-hearted angels who can volunteer their services to help with the logistics of medical missions and paperwork at home. Who can run newly adopted children to doctor appointments and medical appointments and tutoring sessions and English lessons. Who can notarize documents. Who can bring meals to recovering frontline warriors who are stepping off boats with children who have barely survived. Who can babysit and grocery shop and chauffeur and do everything in between to support families who are weary from the wind and waves of the long journey back home.
We need medical boats — boats that can transport medical personal who can travel to China and serve the children who are only offered the most basic of essential life care. Boats that can take supplies and doctors and counselors and therapists. Boats that can take those with medical knowledge for tours long and short to provide for the children who, with repaired conditions, may not just live, but also have a better chance of finding a forever family, both domestically and abroad. Boats filled with people who can update adoption medical files, boats filled with people who can partner with the boats that land ashore and pull beautiful superheroes with vast medical needs on board.
We need prayer boats.
And we need a flotilla of WARSHIPS. And friends, we need a LOT OF THEM. Because with new restrictions with very few exceptions for families adopting from China and elsewhere, there are only a few out there who now QUALIFY to stand on the frontlines of this battle. And we need every last one.
Families who will sign up to SUIT UP and march head-first into battle — not because their boat is the best equipped, but because they HAVE a boat, a calling and a cause.
Because they’ve heard the need, and they want to be part of the solution.
Because they’re scared to go to battle but willing to do it afraid.
Because they’re simply willing to say yes.
Families who will jump in to not just adopt the healthy children with long waiting lines but the children who for YEARS just WAIT. The children with the greatest needs. The children who look the scariest on paper. The children who are the greatest casualties of a world that frequently only values the life of those who are successful, smart or useful.
The ones deepest in the chilly waters.
Like the admiral who sent the message regarding the dismal situation at Dunkirk, we, too, understand what is at stake.
The need is urgent. The situation is dire. With 600,000 mostly special needs Chinese orphans stranded on the beach where droves are aging out of the system at 14 each and every day, there is no time to waste. There is no time to ponder. There is no time to evaluate and compare our boats and decide if we’re really suited for the open seas.
We might not be. But our God is. He calms the storms and walks on water. And He calls out to US to be His hands and feet in a world that has forgotten about and neglected the warriors just waiting on the beach.
Jesus is in the water.
The question is, are we?
Grab a boat.
Catch the mission.
Say YES.
Don’t miss the miracle.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ~ Isaiah 6:8
#changetheorphanstory #miracleofdunkirk #miracleinchina
