an orphan's life comes 'full circle' | Orphans Deserve Better

Great "Your Orphan Story" from www.orphansdeservebetter.org

 

Adoption: A Lifelong Love Story

In 1956 I was born to a 16 year old unwed mother. Given the mores of the day she was expected to quickly marry her teenage boyfriend. Sixteen months later they had another little boy. Overwhelmed by it all, my mother left us when I was 2 years old and my brother was 6 months. Soon after our father left as well. We were put into a foster home. Our foster parents brought us to their church where a young couple with no childen of their own fell in love with us and decided to adopt us both.

That selfless act of love changed my life's destiny forever. I grew up wanting to adopt someday myself as a way of giving back for what I had been blessed with. God, however had another path for me to travel. Although blessed with four children and eight grandchildren an unfulfilled passion to change the lives of abandoned and orphaned children in the way mine was changed still burned within me.

Then one day in 2005 I was approached by...Lifesong for Orphans. That meeting was another life changing event for me and the forerunner of many more to come. These past years as I have contributed to, solicited for and traveled to Ukraine, India and Zambia as an orphan advocate I have witnessed and experienced first hand both the agony and the ecstacy of the orphan experience.

I have sat with my arm around the shoulder of a little girl in Zambia whose mother had died of AIDS and whose father was about to die from it as well. I wiped her tears and tried to reassure her as she agonized over what her future held.

I have been hugged tightly by orphaned teenagers in Ukraine who were overwhelmed by the opportunity to be able to live in new transition homes built through Lifesong donations rather than be exiled into the squalor and degradation of the state run dormatories once they aged out of the orphanages.

I have been mobbed by love-starved, orphaned children in the slums of India who are reduced to tears of awe and wonder over the idea that rich, white Americans actually care enough that they exist to not only come visit them but find ways to improve their lots in life as well.

I could blog endlessly about the myriad of ways that these orphans have touched and enriched my life. As a kindred spirit to them from my life's beginning I ask only that people hear their stories and their cries before buying into any misconceptions or misrepresentations of what or who they are. To me they are truly the cups that God has asked us to pour the cool water of compassion and caring into....the least of His here below and yet primed to be the greatest in His eternal kingdom.

by Bob Hoerr (IL)

Affording Adoption in a Tough Economy

It is no secret that the United States and most of the rest of the world are experiencing difficult times economically. Unemployment is rising, layoffs are increasing, people are taking salary cuts, spending freezes are in effect, people are cutting back wherever they can, and even doing without when necessary.

Of course, the Christian community has also been hit by economic woes, and many of our brothers and sisters are putting things on hold until times are more stable. What will this mean for those whom God is calling to adopt? Given the cost of private domestic and international adoptions, how can people afford to adopt through these channels in such tough economic times?

Check out the full Hope for Orphan's article "Affording Adoption in a Tough Economy" by Johnston Moore

Who says hot-dogs aren't good for you?

Check out this simple lesson God taught Bruce, and teaches each of us, using hot dogs.

Embrace, a church foster-adoption ministry, held an event at the Frank Buck Zoo where a few hundred kids and parents came to enjoy their time as a family. The zoo was kind enough to cover the entrance fee for every child that came, and we made the most of our time as families fed giraffes and walked throughout the park. Afterwards, we provided a very simple hot dog lunch. We prepared hot dogs along with a bag of chips, a cookie and a drink. We had prepared enough hot dogs for each person that registered for the event to have one each.

What a wonderful thing you all have done, and the wonderful friendly attitudes of all of your volunteers just made my children shine with happiness. My oldest came to me after his second trip to the hot dog table and whispered, “That man keeps telling me to take the whole tub of hot dogs and to eat as much as I can, no one has ever let me eat all I wanted before.” What was just fun for that man, was a life changing moment for my child. He came from an environment of neglect and not having food for days at a time [which] was something he was used to.

Now for the first time, I think he is beginning to see that his life has changed thanks to the love and kindness of God’s people, and that his plate runs over with the bounty of the Lord.

written by Bruce Kendrick and excerpted from One Each blog posting at DFW Alliance

I'm here to help you get your kids back...

An Unusual Introduction

“Hi, my name is Kim and I’m here to help you get your kids back.” Even as the words fell from Kim’s lips she couldn’t believe what she was saying. Yet her statement, as compassionate as it was prophetic, marked the beginning of an amazing and inspiring foster care odyssey for all involved.

Click here for the full story & example of true foster care ministry...let's begin to expect the unexpected!

{excerpted from www.adoptivedads.org}

Bryson finds a home!

A note we received from a family whom Lifesong had the privilege of helping with an Adoption Grant/Loan, who just adopted a little boy named Bryson, from Ethiopia:

Dear Lifesong,

Thank you again for your generous grant. We we brought Bryson home on May 24th. We are thrilled! Bryson is doing great and fits in perfectly with our family.

You can pray for us, we are very busy parents with a 4 month old a 1 yr. old :)

love,

Kenneth, Suzanne, Bryson and Brady