A Time to Praise! Over 200 Church Funds!

Guess what? Last week we celebrated our 203rd Church Fund Partner!

We invite you to check out what God is doing through active and intentional churches who desire to defend the fatherless not only in word, but in ACTION...

Churches like Grace Hands of Hope in Indianapolis, IN who has partnered with Lifesong to establish a Church Fund. Their fund financially assists families who are bringing orphans into forever families and also are active in Lifesong's work in Honduras. They are planning their second trip to Honduras this fall and are eagerly raising funds for computers and Rosetta Stone software. 

 

They encourage other churches to, "Take a step – most of the time not fully seeing the next step, pray, watch God work, be blessed! That’s the cycle of getting involved in orphan care and it truly does give joy and purpose to life that is hard to describe."

 

First Baptist McKinney in McKinney, TX is another fund we are blessed to serve.  Like Hands of Hope, they have an active role in funding adoptions in their local church through providing grants and loans.  Along with their local service, they are also globally minded with a heart for Lifesong Zambia as they support missionaries Shane and Mitzi McBride. 

They share, "To step foot on the campus of Lifesong in Zambia is confirmation that God is at work there. The staff is amazing. The kids are beautiful and smart and James 1:27 is tangible at Lifesong School for Orphans in Zambia! It is our privilege to be able to partner with Lifesong and join God in the work He is doing."

We praise God for the faithful churches we are blessed to partner with and invite you and your church to join the movement of active and intentional movement for the fatherless.

To learn more about Lifesong Church Funds, please visit our website or contact Rich Metcalfe at rich@lifesongfororphans.org

Meet Atrasagn...

 ***Hope Ethiopia:100 Update -- 44 out of 100 teammates, $6932.45! Let's get over half way today!

***Match Update -- $68,294.66 of the $130,000 available match! 

Atrasagn: age 14, grade 6, Lifesong Ethiopia

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Living Situation: Dad died 7 years ago, mom died 2 years ago, lives with aunt. He feels really happy with his aunt

Favorite subject: Social Science

Thoughts on school: very happy in school, loves to eat the vegetable soup he eats at school

Future plans: wants to be a research scientist, studying energy and electricity.

Favorite scripture: 'Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.' Proverbs 19:23

Favorite things to do outside of school: help my aunt 

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We are inviting you to join the Hope Ethiopia:100 Team to help bring JESUS to the lives of the children in Ethiopia--children like Atrasagn. We are looking for 100 people to give a one-time $100 donation that will be MATCHED!

To read more about Hope Ethiopia:100, the match, and the prize drawing (value $250), click here.

Hope Ethiopia: 100

Hope Ethiopia from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo. 

Children at the Lifesong Ethiopia school are fed 2 nutritious meals per day, provided with a quality education, and taught the message of Jesus Christ. This gives kids like Beza the hope they need in order to break free from gripping poverty.

We currently have a need to build a 12-room expansion to our existing school, in order to reach more children like Beza. We have been blessed, by the generosity of a donor, to be able to MATCH all donations to the Ziway and Adami Tulu Schools between now and December 31st... up to $130,000!!!

This week, the 5^th through the 9^th, we invite you to join Hope Ethiopia:100. We are looking for 100 people to give a one-time $100 donation! We have currently raised $59,472.21 of the $130,000 needed, which is about 46%. 

Joining this team will not only give hope to kids like Beza, but your dollars will be matched AND you'll be entered into a drawing for a FABULOUS gift basket (details below).

Help us achieve the next $10,000 by being a part of our Hope Ethiopia: 100 Team!

*Gift basket includes: $100 itunes or amazon gift card, Lifesong t-shirt, Lifesong cookbook, Journey On CD, handmade necklaces & note cards by orphans in Zambia, handmade ornament from a child in Ukraine, 5 bags of Gobena coffee, Gobena coffee mug, Gobena t-shirt, and Gobena tote bag. This basket is worth over $250!

*To commit via check, please send an email to info@lifesongfororphans.org. Make check payable to Lifesong for Orphans, indicate 'preference Hope Ethiopia: 100' in the memo.

Just Around the Corner...

Orphan Sunday, November 6, is your opportunity to raise a torch for the fatherless in your church, family or small group. 

We’re less than two weeks away, so here are some easy ways to make the most of Orphan Sunday:

• Request the Orphan’s Table (by Oct 27) and receive a simple meal, along with a prayer and discussion guide, for family or any size group.
• Request a free copy of the “Answer the Cry:  Faces of Hope” 30-minute DVD to show and discuss.
• Join the LIVE from Kansas City hour of GUIDED PRAYER and WORSHIP for the fatherless at 6 PM CST on November 6, along with Jon Egan of the Desperation Band, David Platt and other Christians around the globe!

See more at the Orphan Sunday website, including ideas for activities, downloadable posters and other materials, prayer and study guides, short videos, and much more!

Visit the Orphan Sunday Facebook page here.

Prayer Leads to Action

Wow!  Thank you for all of your responses this week!  So many great ideas.  Keep 'em coming!  You still have until 11:59 Sunday night to have a chance to win a new t-shirt!  ... oh the excitement of it all.

Recently we received an update from Ginny Stoller, one of our missionaries in Ethiopia.  I want to include a little excerpt from what she wrote.  I'll warn you... it's heart breaking... and oh so common...

Last week I had a young mother sit in the school office and beg us to take her seven year old son—not to merely register him, but to literally take him... for adoption—something we are in no way equipped to do.  Her eyes were pleading and hopeless.  A widow, she had lost her husband about three years ago, and has three children.   Her landlord gave her a week to get out of her home. Because she must care for her children, she cannot hold a job and earn money to support the family.  One child is already up for adoption in a town to the south, and the youngest is a three year old strapped to her back—too scared to even look at me. The 7 year old is recovering from TB, and has been on medication for four months.  He was registered in another school but has to take his medication with food, something our school provides for our students.  We were able to register him in kindergarten and ensure he can be fed, but this doesn’t solve his mother's desperate situation, and she’s terrified of having to live on the streets.

I also recently found out one of our 3^rd grade students lost her mother after a long illness (probably HIV).  Her father died a while ago.  Her uncle and his wife brought her in to discuss their living situation.  They were trying to keep her mother’s house to live in, but were unsure if they would be allowed to stay there. She sat quietly behind them, her head down.  Surely the loss of a mother and the threatened loss of a home is more than any child should have to bear.

I know that God has a plan for each of us.  I believe He loves and cares for the destitute.  I have faith that His heart breaks when He sees another family... another child thrust out on the streets.  

I also know that He desires to use His body to help protect the weak.  He wants to raise up His church to do powerful things... will we let Him?  

I won't pretend to have the answers.  When I look at situations like this I feel overwhelmed and small.  But i know God is faithful!  I KNOW it!  And HE has the answers.  He is not overwhelmed or surprised by any of this.  He is not small or weak.  He is BIG and mighty!

Will you join my in prayer this week? Pray that God's body will rise to the occasion of caring for the vulnerable.  Pray that He will give clear insight and direction.  Pray that we will take hold of His grace that is so sufficient and respond when we feel the Spirit move.

Pray... and then act!