Hope for Orphans

October 2010 Enewsletter

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

One Church Can Make A Difference: Answer the CRY

...They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Acts 2:45

“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21

From the beginning of the church, there has been a connection between the Good News and loving those in need. That connection usually means sacrifice. North American Christians as a bunch are not quite as keen for sacrifice as those in the early church, perhaps because there has been a drift in teaching away from Biblical truth and grace. The new direction has been towards more motivational and frankly “me-centered” teaching. However, as we approach the annual Cry of the Orphan Campaign and Orphan Sunday, we are seeing churches all over America who are launching lay-led, people-to-people orphan ministries, in which there is not only sacrifice but a laying out of lives for the fatherless. The impact, not only on orphans, but on churches, has been amazing.

At the beginning of Hope for Orphans, we worked with a small church in South Texas -- a fledgling orphan ministry started by two adoptive moms who had a vision and conviction that loving the fatherless was not optional. This led in fairly short order to 29 kids coming for a summer hosting program. The Russian-speaking kids who came had an impact that reached much further than a handful of kids getting families. This church had a revival of sorts through the love of these orphans that introduced the entire congregation to a country most had probably never heard of. The Lord used orphan ministry to give this church a new passion for missions, evangelism, reconciliation and the Gospel that was truly supernatural. 29 kids became 41 and from there this church and its orphan ministry has helped mentor churches in many places to similar results. The compounded impact for children in foster care and around the world is wonderful. The transformation brought about by seeing the visible gospel by the whole congregation has been priceless.

The point is...One Church Can Make a Difference...a difference that impacts generations for God’s glory. Will you be an orphan ministry leader in your church? One way to give a vision to your church in these next few weeks is through the Cry of the Orphan Partners’ one-hour content-on-demand video special Answer the Cry. This free resource can be used in Sunday schools, small groups, youth groups and even in a special worship service to introduce your church to God’s heart for orphans. This and other resources will be available at www.cryoftheorphan.org. This special program will also be available on DVD in limited supplies at Family Christian Stores locations across the country.

We even have a promo video that you can show leadership in your church or maybe use to promote your own event. You may watch the preview now by clicking here.

Also, at Hope for Orphans, we have a new video that speaks to how God is using the church. You may see that video by clicking here.

So this Orphan Sunday week, consider a sacrifice of your time to give voice to those kids who have none. Consider how God wants to use your Church for loving orphans and waiting children.

Blessings
Paul

In this issue:

Orphan Sunday Just a Week Away!

The second annual Orphan Sunday, sponsored by the Christian Alliance for Orphans, is coming up on November 7th. There are many exciting events scheduled on or around Orphan Sunday, including events in churches, homes, schools, rec centers, hotels, town centers, and more. In fact, at the time this e-newsletter went to press, there were events scheduled in 47 states and 6 foreign countries.

The message is clear. The Holy Spirit is moving among God's people, stirring us to come together in groups large and small to learn more about His heart for the fatherless and how He wants to use us to reach them with the hope and good news of the Gospel.

As Paul mentioned in his opening piece, the Cry of the Orphan partners (Focus on the Family, Show Hope and Hope for Orphans) have produced a one-hour special, called Answer the Cry, that you can watch online, or on DVD, as part of your Orphan Sunday event. This program features Francis Chan, along with music by Steven Curtis Chapman, Mark Schultz, and Lisa Chan, and several interviews, including one with Hope for Orphans' own Paul and Robin Pennington.

The great news is it is still not too late for you to plan your Orphan Sunday event! Go to the website and see what others are doing. Call others in your church, small group, or Sunday school; talk to your church leaders. Gather a group of friends or family members and watch Answer the Cry together. It really doesn't matter what form your event takes on. The important thing is that you get a sense of what God wants to do through His church on behalf of the world's orphans.

For more information about Orphan Sunday, and to learn more about scheduling an event in your church, please click here.

Together for Adoption Brings 1000 People Together…for Adoption
By Jason Weber

Getting a thousand people together to talk about the biblical importance of adoption is pretty strong. However, the true measure of any event, or church for that matter, is not about “How many people can we get to show?” but rather, “How many people can we get to grow?”

Earlier this month, our team here at Hope for Orphans had the wonderful privilege to participate in the Together for Adoption Conference in Austin, Texas. We had the opportunity through a breakout session track to spend two days walking through the eight steps of launching a church orphans ministry with a number of attendees. What an encouragement to interact with a group of people who are so committed to taking what they’ve learned and putting it into practice back home in their churches!

While at the conference, I was able to see some old friends that I had not seen in a while. I was curious to know how they felt about their time at Together for Adoption. Here is a small piece of one response I received to an e-mail I sent them:

“Possibly the best part was hearing the information alongside my husband and being able to approach adoptive parenting differently. I think our family will be different for generations because of what we learned and experienced together at Together for Adoption.”

After reading this, it struck me just how significant a couple of days at an event like this can be. Any conference can reach a thousand people on a weekend. A good conference can reach hundreds of thousands of people throughout many generations. My friends experienced growth during these two days that very well may positively impact children that won’t be born for another 100 years. That is two days well spent. Many thanks to the team at T4A for assembling a great conference that will impact children for generations to come.

Local Church Orphan Ministry Spotlight: Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach (CA)

In November 2004, Sam and Ruth, a Ugandan couple living in Long Beach, were working overtime to provide for the care of several of their nieces and nephews back in Uganda who had been orphaned by AIDS. When their church, Grace Brethren Church, learned of their burden, they decided to help Sam and Ruth meet the needs of these orphans. Not long afterward, Ugandan Lambs was born.

The church committed to come alongside Sam and Ruth through a sponsorship program, whereby church members could financially support individual children. According to Ugandan Lambs Director Julie Schumacher, "Sponsorship was the key to the success of Ugandan Lambs. We had 25 children in need of food, clothing, shelter, education, etc., but had no way of knowing how many people would step forward to help. On the Sunday we introduced Ugandan Lambs at a special meeting after the service, we completely packed out the room. We were scrambling trying to find more chairs and, in the end, there was standing room only. We presented the need and the opportunity, then showed a video on the impact of AIDS on the children of Uganda. There was not a dry eye in the room and people were genuinely broken by the profound need. By the time the meeting was over, not only were all 25 children sponsored, we had a waiting list of people who wanted to become sponsors when a new child became available. The seed that was planted that morning has now grown to include 56 children and 78 sponsors/co-sponsors."

Teams from the church visit the children in country at least once a year, including a team made up largely of college students this past summer. The goal of Ugandan Lambs is to eventually move beyond this family and help other orphans. As Julie puts it, "Although Ugandan Lambs was started around one extended family affected by AIDS, the goal has always been to reach beyond this family, once they were stabilized and flourishing. The Sebabi orphans are actually the 'lucky ones,' in that they have family in the U.S. advocating for them. There are so many orphaned children who have absolutely no one. They are on the street fending for themselves, are cared for by an older sibling who may be no more than ten years old or, worse yet, they are victims of the unspeakable horrors of human trafficking. We want to begin reaching those children who are the least of 'the least of these.'"

Recently, Ugandan Lambs was able to hire two in-country administrators in order to better meet the needs of the children in a more expeditious manner. One of the staff members is Harriet, who is a former Ugandan Lamb herself. Harriet approached several team members from the church when they were in Uganda in January 2009, and told them that she was so grateful for what God had done for her through this ministry, that she wanted to give back and serve orphans herself when she graduated from University, which she has now done.

In addition to its work with Ugandan orphans, Grace is very involved in the local foster care system. With over 16,000 children in out-of-home care, Los Angeles County is home to the largest foster system in the nation. The need and desire for help from local churches is tremendous. Grace has stepped up with various initiatives over the past several years. It has hosted the Los Angeles Heart Gallery in its coffee shop, hosted various meetings for foster and adoptive parents, participated for three years in the National Foster Care Prayer Vigil, given gifts for about 200-350 children per year each of the past four Christmases (with plans for gifts for more than 300 children this year), hosted group homes and foster/adopt families at its annual Halloween alternative called Community Carnival, held informational meetings on becoming foster/adopt families, sent a team to visit with boys in a local group home on a weekly basis for the past two years, held life groups on God's Heart for the Orphan (focusing a great deal on foster care/adoption and the needs of children and families in the foster care system), given ongoing support to foster and adoptive families at Grace and beyond, and more.

Though fairly modest in size (approximately 800 attend on Sunday mornings), the church is home to nearly 20 children under the age of 21 who have been adopted (mostly from foster care), with four more in the process of being adopted (all from foster care), as well as 9 current or soon-to-be certified or licensed foster families.

The church's local outreach ministry, called Hope for Long Beach, has recently named at-risk children (and in particular, those children in foster care) as one of its three primary areas of focus in the coming years. Future plans for the foster care ministry, under the leadership of soon-to-be foster/adopt mom Janai Kane, include this year's Christmas toy drive, the establishment of a Safe Families program, continued support of current foster/adopt families (meals, furniture, clothing, etc...), and more.

College Student Experiences God’s Heart for the Orphan

More and more, college students are becoming engaged in orphans ministry. Following is the story of one such student who tells, in his own words, of an encounter he had with a young boy in Nicaragua when he went on a short term missions trip with others from his church, Williamsburg Community Chapel in Williamsburg, VA. Doug McBride is the younger brother of Hope for Orphans Operations Manager Shane McBride.

Nica ‘09

By Doug McBride

As a senior in college I journeyed with a local church to an orphanage in Nicaragua for spring break. With graduation approaching, my adult life was waiting for me right around the corner. Having that in mind, I entered the trip with the mentality that I’d be open to any calling or direction God might communicate to me. Since I had never been to a poverty-stricken country or an orphanage, I was eager to see exactly what that looked like and how it affected an individual’s spirit and sense of hope. After getting to know the kids through a myriad of activities I found they were just as hopeful and loving as anyone else, rightfully so.

A particular moment from that week stands out in mind. It occurred during a block party we threw on the orphanage compound. Stations were set up with various games and as the night wore on darkness began setting in. I stood at the face-painting station watching the kids make a mess of themselves when I felt a strong tug on my arm. It was Michell, an eight- year-old boy who had been extremely outspoken and playful all week, often pointing to his biceps and calling himself a professional wrestler. I soon learned that professional wrestler Michell was too scared to walk through the darkness in order to get to the bathrooms. I offered him my hand and he took it without thinking twice, reminding me as we walked that I had to wait until he was finished in the bathroom to walk him back to the party. As I waited, I understood what that moment really meant; I was playing the role of Michell’s dad. He needed someone to trust and protect him from his fears, yet he had no biological father to depend on. My heart sank when uncertainties began racing into my mind: who would he turn to when our group left? Would anyone be there to hear his concerns and offer him protection?

The harsh reality is that these kids are craving a family but were simply dealt a different set of cards than most of us. The time spent with these kids has completely opened my heart to orphans. Children like Michell are in desperate need of families to love and trust. With proper role models in place to teach orphans that God loves them for exactly who they are, they’ll understand how important they are and how much they have to offer. After all, no child of God is left fatherless.

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed." Psalm 82:3

Country Updates

The State Department has issued notices and alerts regarding adoptions from several countries in recent weeks, including Nepal, Mexico, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, and Rwanda.

Nepal -- The State Department issued a notice that it is suspending "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.

Mexico -- On September 10, 2010, the State Department issued a Travel Warning to American citizens, including adoptive parents, over safety concerns in certain regions of Mexico, including border areas. For more information, please click here.

Guatemala -- On October 5, 2010, the State Department issued an adoption alert stating in part that "the United States withdrew its letter of interest in participating in a pilot program to resume processing of intercountry adoption placements for a limited number of older children, groups of siblings, and children with special needs." For more information, please click here.

Kazakhstan -- On September 9, 2010, the State Department issued an alert stating that "a new Kazakh passport requirement has created a processing delay for all passports of about three months", which "directly affects inter-country adoptions since adoptive children must acquire a passport before they can travel to the United States." For more information, please click here.

Rwanda -- On September 3, 2010, the State Department issued an alert stating that "effective August 31, 2010, the Rwandan Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion temporarily suspended all new applications for intercountry adoptions to prepare for accession to the Hague Convention." For more information, please click here.