What about the children?

I love the Olympics...I mean like really love. Every night I get sucked in. I will say I am only going to watch one event and then they come on and say "in 5 minutes hear the heart warming story of (fill in the blank)" and I think "oh, I have got to see that!" Then during that moving story they say "in 8 minutes see the finals of (fill in the blank)" and I think "that will be good, I should watch it." And so I do. Every night this is the same routine. There is just something about the Olympics that draws me in. 

As I have been following the Olympics on social media and TV there has been something that keeps coming up that has just continually not been sitting right with me. If you have Twitter then you know exactly what it is-the outcry for the stray dogs in Sochi. Let me say in the beginning that I do not think the dogs should be mistreated or not fed or not properly taken care of,  and I get the desire to help them, but then I think what about the orphans in Russia? What about the children? 

In my very rough research, I found that in 2013 there were approximately 650,000 registered orphans in Russia. That number is staggering and overwhelming to me. These children also are often crammed into small spaces, not given enough food and sometimes not taken care of. Where is the outcry for that?  Just because you can't see the orphans sitting out on the streets of Russia doesn't mean they don't exist. It doesn't mean there aren't thousands of children who aren't getting enough to eat, who are sharing a crib with several other children, who aren't getting properly taken care of. Just because we don't see them doesn't mean we shouldn't stand up for their rights. 

Here's what's been rubbing me the wrong way about all of this. People are sending money, Olympians are taking to social media, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to get the dogs to America, people are spending countless hours cutting through red tape to give the dogs a better life and yet there are helpless children, most of them starving, who do not have a voice and who we haven't even heard about. What do we do? 

To be honest, I don't know. As of 2012 Americans can no longer adopt Russian children (don't get me started!). Here's one thing I do know, I cannot act like they are not there. I cannot even think about  rescuing the dogs when there are children in worse condition than the dogs. I cannot send money to help with that cause when there is a much greater cause (no matter how many stars and Olympians ask me to). I cannot act like the dogs are more important than the children. So what do I do? I just don't know. For now I will pray and ask God what He would have me do. I know that sounds lame and like I'm not really taking action, and I kind of think the same thing, but I just don't know what to do. So I will research and ask question and figure out what to do. 

Here's what I do know. I have to be a voice. I have to ask what about the children? Will some of you stand up and ask the same thing? 

*As a side note, I know this post will probably offend some of my dog loving friends. Just know that is not my heart, I just can't get the children off my brain.