Hope for Orphans

February 2011 Enewsletter

NOTE FROM PAUL PENNINGTON
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Hope for Orphans

Mueller, Egypt, Prophecy and Orphans

George Mueller was a German pastor who lived in 19th century Bristol, England. He preached for Spurgeon and it is said that he inspired Hudson Taylor. He was also called to Orphan Ministry.

He said that there were three reasons why he asked God to help him to help orphans:

“The three chief reasons for establishing an Orphan-House are: 1. That God may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means, in its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that thus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal welfare.”

Mueller would say that his life of faith was nothing but a work of God's grace. The grace he was given for the faith needed to minister to orphans was a powerful demonstration to all that saw his work of the power and reality of God.

Of Mueller, John Piper writes: “He built five large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. When he started in 1834, there were accommodations for 3,600 orphans in all of England and twice that many children under eight were in prison. One of the great effects of Mueller's ministry was to inspire others so that ‘fifty years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in England alone.’”

In Matthew 24, Jesus is asked by the disciples, “What will be the sign of Your coming?” Jesus gives them a list of things that will point to the birth pangs. But His comment in verse 14 is particularly interesting in the times that we live. He says, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come."

Just the other day, my wife and I were talking about days not that long ago when there was no internet, there were no cell phones, certainly no Skype video chat, much less a personal computer. But, in just a matter a few years all of this technology, along with “social networking”, has brought profound changes that in fact can and are taking this Gospel of the kingdom around the world. Just this month in Egypt we saw the incredible results of how technology and social networking can bring down a 30-year ruler in just 18 days. In fact, in Isaiah 19:2 we read, “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.” Of course, this passage does not necessarily connect to the recent events in Egypt, but it does show us that the Lord’s plan is unfolding just as He said.

Which brings me back to Mueller. We know from Joel that in the last days the Lord will pour out His Spirit in such a way that the Gospel will reach the least and the unreached. Perhaps orphans represent a major portion of that fulfillment in our time as churches across America and now in the third world are putting action to theology in the love for orphans. As the love of Christ is brought to orphans around the world, Matthew 24 is being fulfilled. I recently heard from a friend that Christians in East Asia are taking their very modest resources and reaching out to orphans and widows, investing their lives to touch those whom are Precious to the Lamb.

If God is leading you to be a part of bringing the good news to foster children and the orphans of the world, ask Him to show you how you and your church can be used. Pray that He will provide not just for the means, but also the power through His spirit so that the faith of others can be strengthened, just like those believers of Mueller’s day. At Hope for Orphans, we are here to help you any way that we can. We have brand new resources for various orphan ministry outreaches. We have new tools and events coming to help you fulfill the calling you have been given in your church. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.

Blessings,

Paul

In this issue:

A New Version of a Stand-by Adoption Resource for Every Local Church

One of Hope for Orphans’ signature resources, Welcome Home: Eight Steps to Adoption, has a fresh new look and new material aimed at helping followers of Christ better understand the basics of the adoption process in each of the four types of adoption. You can now order Welcome Home in Ministry Packs of 5 booklets, each having a space on the back cover for you to attach a label with your ministry or organization's contact information, so that others will know where to go for next steps. You can learn more about Welcome Home, and order a ministry pack of five by clicking here.

Christian Alliance for Orphans Offers Webinar on Orphan Trafficking

For several months now, the Christian Alliance for Orphans has been offering valuable webinars on key topics that are perfect for churches trying to start and grow their orphans ministries. Here are a few examples of recent ones you can still listen to online:

Help Wanted: Protecting Orphans from Human Trafficking
Starting and Growing a Church-Based Orphan Ministry
The Financial Challenge of Adoption and How the Church Can Respond
Partnering with the Local Church to Care for Orphans in Haiti
The Post-Placement Journey

You can listen to any of these and more on the Alliance website by clicking here.

Local Church Orphan Ministry Spotlight: Foothills Community Church (CO)

Foothills Forever Families, the adoption/foster care ministry at Foothills Community Church in Arvada, CO, has been actively sharing God’s heart for adoption since 2005. They educate and support families as they become forever families for local children, as well as children around the world, and they continue to offer support to families as they raise the children God brings them through adoption.

One woman, Emily, tells how God used her and her husband’s struggle with infertility, and the ministry at Foothills, to draw her to Himself and to lead them to adoption:

As Dan and began our struggle with infertility, I finally began to turn to God. First, selfishly of course, I prayed for a child. Then, I started to pray for understanding ...why would God give me this very intense desire to have children if month after month we experienced failure and loss...

Finally, I surrendered myself to God and felt a huge weight lifted and slowly I came to understand that the reason God gave me such a strong desire to have children was actually a great gift, in order to provide enough desire to drive me through the infertility challenges to pursue adoption...

We struggled with infertility for many years and after several unsuccessful treatments and loss, we decided to look seriously into adoption. A week after our last treatment, we found out about the Homebuilders class on adoption, which we decided to take, even in the midst of our grief. What a blessing! This class really helped us start to heal and be better communicate about the various paths of adoption, but more importantly opened our eyes to the plight of orphans and how God calls us to care for orphans and widows...

Foothills Community Church made (it) really easy for us, with all of the foster care outreach through Kids Night Out and Foster Care Prayer Vigils and Packs of Hope, and with joining the group going on a mission down to the Casa De La Esperanza orphanage in Mexico...

We are so thankful for Foothills for being there for us on so many steps of our journey. The infertility support group has connected me with some many wonderful women and friends who really ‘get’ the pain of infertility and how to find God in all of that and how to keep moving through your ‘waiting period’...

And, one of the greatest blessings has come most recently from the Granting Hope Adoption Fund. After the Homebuilders class, we knew we wanted to move forward with adoption, but struggled to figure out how to make it work financially. So, after a very long discussion, we decided that we'd put our faith in Him and move forward, without having all the details of a ‘plan.’ The very next day (seriously), we were told about the Granting Hope Adoption Fund, and we could really feel God's presence on this path (finally!). So, we completed our Home Study Approval and then applied for the grant, and we are so grateful that they've provided us a grant to fund the remainder of our adoption expenses. It’s really a relief, a true miracle and blessing...

Five years ago, I would never have signed up for this journey through infertility to Christianity and adoption, but now even as we wait for our child to come home, I am so thankful for the entire journey and God's love and guidance along the way.

For more information on how God is using Foothills Community Church and Foothills Forever Families, please click here.

Reclaiming Adoption – New Book from Dan Cruver and Others

Together for Adoption’s Dan Cruver has teamed with several other writers, including John Piper, Scotty Smith, Jason Kovacs, and Richard D. Phillips, to produce a great new book that was just released in January, called Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living Through the Rediscovery of Abba Father. The main premise of the book is that in order to truly live our lives on mission …whether serving orphans, or anything else that furthers God’s kingdom on earth, we must gain a greater understanding of God’s adoption of us, and that when we internalize what that truth means, we are better able to serve and love others as God calls us to do. This book is theologically-rich, and can appeal to pastors and seminarians on that level, but it is also accessible to laypeople. There is also a free, downloadable 54-page study guide that goes with the book. This is one of those books that would be great for you discuss in a small group or Bible Study, and would be a great resource for your church’s library. For more on Reclaiming Adoption, including reviews and the free downloadable study guide, please click here.

Blog Post of Note

Rich Metcalfe of Lifesong for Orphans recently blogged about a new church orphan ministry alliance in the Houston area that consists of 22 churches working together to share their resources and ideas to better reach orphans and waiting children in Houston and the world. Check it out here.

Country Updates

The State Department has issued notices and alerts regarding adoptions from several countries in recent weeks, including Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Haiti, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Brazil, India, Russia, Guatemala, Nepal and Mexico. Some of the more impactful alerts and notices from recent weeks include:

Haiti – On January 31st, the State Department issued a notice stating that “Haiti’s adoption authority…has informed the U.S. Government that they are accepting new adoption applications for Haitian children who are either documented as orphans or who have been relinquished by their birth parent(s).” For more information regarding adoptions from Haiti, please click here.

Kazakhstan – On January 13th, the State Department issued an alert stating that “According to the Government of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education…, all pending adoption dossiers that were not matched with children by December 15, 2010, will be returned and will have to be re-filed as Hague Convention cases once the Hague Convention is fully implemented.” For more information regarding adoptions from Kazakhstan, please click here.

Ukraine – On January 12th, the State Department issued a notice stating that the “U.S. Embassy Kyiv has learned the proposed bill to place a moratorium on intercountry adoptions in the Ukrainian parliament has once again been postponed. There has been no announcement of a rescheduled date.” For more information regarding adoptions from Ukraine, please click here.

Guatemala – On December 7th, the State Department issued an alert stating that they had issued a media note the day before that read: ‘Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs is visiting Guatemala December 7 to 11 for meetings on intercountry adoption. She will meet with government officials and nongovernmental adoption stakeholders to discuss the status of U.S. citizen adoption cases that have been pending since the suspension of new adoptions in Guatemala in 2007. She will also discuss Guatemala’s efforts to implement new intercountry adoption safeguards that would provide a path toward future adoption processing.’ For more information regarding adoptions from Guatemala, please click here.

Nepal – On November 26th, the State Department issued an alert stating that “The Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have decided to suspend processing of new adoption cases from Nepal that involve children who are claimed to have been found abandoned, because documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal have been found to be unreliable and circumstances of alleged abandonment cannot be verified because of obstacle in the investigation of individual cases.” For more information regarding adoptions from Nepal, please click here.

For more adoption alerts and notices from the State Department, please click here.