Give A Little... would mean a Lot.

Welcome friends et Whanau to me little slice of bloggin' life!

The main reason I have opened myself up is this: I need help.

Specifically, YOUR help.


I can't do this on my own, and I'm okay admitting that. I have tried to come up with 'genius' money-saving ideas, but the reality is we are a single-income family living in the most expensive city in New Zealand. I have prayed and waited (impatiently, I'll admit) upon the Lord. Then the other day I got this sweet scripture:

2 Kings 4:2-4

Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
  "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side..." 

If you are not familiar with the story: God pours out his blessing and multiplies that oil until all the vessels are filled. When I read it I was like, for reals?! No... really?

For those who know me, I hate asking for help. I am a "self-sufficient make-doer". In other words: I am stubborn. Haha! So for me this word came in a season of "Yes, and Amen" (In 'Christian-ese' this basically means: Instead of being a tool trying to do it your way, in your timing, how about you 'let' God: The Maker of the Universe, The Lover of your soul, Your Creator; direct the outcome of this dream.)

So... THE DREAM:
(If you haven't read this blog from the start then I will catch you up)

To meet my Birth Mother with my mama This February 2015.

The idea to search for my Birth Mother (or B-Ma as I call it,) sprung up early last year. It was a few months after the birth of my daughter, Ever; and as I looked at her, my beautiful, squishy, Spongebob square-faced baby-girl, my heart melted. She looked so much like me. The slanted eyes, the button nose, the darkish hair, the giant head...  I have never had anyone look remotely like me before. It was surreal. But then again, childbirth usually is.

My hormone-driven thoughts went down the 'How could a Mother give up their child?!' vein. I felt ready. Ready to open this can of Whoopsy-Here's-Sama. A pain that had affected me all my life, but had never wanted to explore. Better to bury my head in the sand...

Anyhow, I talked to my hubband and My (adopted) Mama and she got all riled up in a different direction. A more positive direction - To the point of wondering if my B-Ma would invite us over for dinner... (um, probably not?!)
  My Mama got out all the files she had been storing - she had enquired about her for me a few years back, but I changed my mind - We found an address for the Orphanage, and bless Google-satellites heart, could check it out on the internet. After getting Google-high on the possibility of finding my B-Ma in an impossibly packed city, we plunged ahead and emailed the Orphanage for any information on the process of contacting my Birth Mother... So fast forward to July:

After 31 years of not knowing whether she was alive or dead, I Found My Birth Mother!

So this brings me to now. Today in fact. As I said in my previous post my B-Ma has generously offered to pay for myself, hubband and baby-girl's plane ticket to meet her in Hong Kong(which I still can't believe!?) but my Dream has always been to have my mama by my side too.

GIVE A LITTLE:

So here I am with this little bit of 'Oil': I am a writer, a story-teller, and I'll admit, sometimes a bit of an entertainer; and I am excited to be able to share my journey. As an Artist, a Mother, as an Orphan, as an adopted daughter and as a Human Bean. This crazy, weird-tastic once in a life time opportunity to meet my Birth Mother after 31 years has sprung up and I want to blog the process, and hopefully document it on camera, so peeps can follow my journey. For people who are in my position, or have been, or want to be or may know of someone. It's a scary, yet exciting can of What-if's to open up, and I have said in previous posts that, there is no manual (ok, I haven't looked to be honest) and so for me, this is my "Manual". I am grateful for the opportunity to share this with anyone who is interested.

Now here's the Neighbours part:

I have set up this Give A Little fundraising page for my mother. Any help whatsoever would be much appreciated. Even if you just share this, like it on FB, or donate $1.00 would be mucho appreciated.

http://givealittle.co.nz/cause/frommothertobirthmother

THE GOAL: $2500

"My beautiful mother, Annette has raised me as one of her own (in a crazy family of 5 kids!) and taught me so much about being a mother, having courage to go for my dreams and be who I am, even in the face of adversity. 

She is the backbone of our family and shown my siblings and I what courage really means. She has been a dedicated single mother to us 5 all our lives and my dream is for her to meet my birth mother with me. To connect my past with my present. To also, selfishly, have my mother, and best friend, with me when I make one of the most important and life-changing steps I've ever undertaken. 

So here I am in the start of a New Year asking for your help. 

My Birth Mother has generously offered to pay for myself, husband, and our beautiful one year old daughter to go to Hong Kong THIS February so we can ring in the Chinese New Year and meet her and the rest of my bio-whanau for the first time. I would LOVE to have my mother experience this meeting with us.

Our dream has always been to go back and search for my Birth Mother together. To retrace from the Hospital I was born in to the Orphanage I lived in. To experience the culture I know nothing about and above all, meet my Birth Mother."

Please for the love of all things great and small, weird and tall, cool and neat, if you feel like donating to my dream: Thank You.

Even if you Give A Little, it would Mean A Lot... to me.

(and if not, Thank You for reading this blog post until The...)