163 Million Tiles (guest blogger)

Recently I had the privilege of visiting Lifesong's schools in Zambia and Ethiopia with an amazing group of people... all of us different, from different areas, with different histories, coming together for the sake of orphans in Africa.  We had some amazing talks, laughed a LOT, bonded over interesting foods and a nerve-racking boat ride to see hippos (below), and met some beautiful children!

Today, one of my fellow travelers, Aaron Klein (in the white shirt on the right), has agreed to share his perspective of our trip.  But before we go to that I want to share a little about him.  Aaron is a loving husband, adoptive daddy of two, (it never took much for Aaron to pull out pics of his kiddos... this is one proud papa), business leader, tech expert, education reformer, and orphan advocate. (aka. busy guy!)  With his quick humor and contagious laugh, he was a great addition to our trip!

So, without further ado...

In Monreale, Italy sits a cathedral, decorated with a 100-million-glass-and-stone tesserae mosaic encompassing over 80,000 square feet of wall space. The beauty and intricate detail of a work of art on that large a scale is almost impossible to comprehend. How did they do it?

I had the great privilege of joining Lifesong for Orphans on a vision trip through Zambia and Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago. To say that this trip lit my heart on fire again for the children I met there would be the understatement of the year. It has been said that “I need Africa more than Africa needs me,” and that is true. But I think that it also can be said “Africa has changed me far more than I have changed Africa.”

I know I speak for the rest when I say that it was the individual moments of this trip that took our breaths away. From my teammate Kendall Hewitt describing Lifesong Zambia headmaster John Mumba as “half Cuba Gooding, Jr. and half Nelson Mandela”…to sitting on the grass at Adami Tulu School in Ethiopia, engulfed by 75 kids and chanting the ABCs with them…our journey through these incredible countries was exhilarating, heartbreaking, compelling, challenging and life-changing.

It was moments like those that made me step back and think for a minute about the statistics around adoption and orphan care. 163 million orphans around the world. About 16 million of them have lost both parents. And I began to wonder: how can we really make a difference?

Then it occurred to me that the 80,000 square feet of intricate art forming the Monreale mosaic murals came about because of two things: a multitude of workers, and each one being focused on just one tile at a time.

I’m sure some of those workers were a little overwhelmed at the prospect of designing 100 million tiles when they started the work. Perhaps the size of the task seemed to grow as they worked, and they felt like it would never be completed. Yet they did it, and it’s a masterpiece for the world to see.

In the much the same way, I believe we will solve the global orphan crisis in my lifetime.

It was clear to me as I watched these children be fed, taught, encouraged and loved by Lifesong’s incredible staff: these children are going to grow up changed people, ready to break the cycle of poverty, build strong families of their own, and serve as the future leaders of their countries.

Now we just need to focus on expanding these efforts to touch more lives. And more. And more. And more. Until all 163 million stories are even more beautiful than a mosaic in a church in Italy.

I’m immensely grateful to Lifesong for Orphans, because they’re creating opportunities for us to fulfill this calling, one child at a time. Will you join us?

Thanks, Aaron, it was awesome getting to hang with you in Africa!  Check out Aaron's blog here.

Humbled... and amazed!

Wow! What an incredible week we had...

We asked YOU, our supporters, to consider committing $28 per month for the next 12 months to support the children at the Master's Home of Champions in Liberia. These donations will cover food and water, and other necessities, such as coal, kerosene, toothpaste, bathing and laundry soup, and hair oil for children like Kemah, Quita, and Alvin.

So, we know you are anxious to hear... did we God meet our goal? No, we didn't... but God! God exceeded our goal! We had 74 commitments!

It was incredible to see families from all over the US working together to bring joy and purpose to the 100 children we serve in Liberia.

To our Lifesong families - wow, we are amazed at the commitment you are making in the midst of your own adoptions! Many of you have made such HUGE sacrifices and we're so blessed to serve alongside you.

To our church fund partners - not only are you committing to global orphan care, but you're serving the families in your church and community... you are truly an inspiration and encouragement to each of us!

To our longtime donors - you continue to amaze us as you 'see a need, meet the need' over and over! We could not continue to serve these children without you!

To our new donors - what a joy it is to see the Lord stir in your hearts to care for the fatherless. You are crucial to our ministry and we're excited to build relationships with each of you!

We are so excited to see what the Lord has in store and the lives He will change through the Master's Home of Champions in Liberia!

*If you are interested in receiving update on the Lifesong orphanages in Liberia, please let us know by sending an email to info@lifesongfororphans.org.

What can 250 kids in central CA do in 1 week?

Last week, Trinity Pres in Clovis, CA had their annual Vacation Bible School and decided to partner with Lifesong to raise money for the children in Ziway, Ethiopia.

Our friend Candice summarizes the week on her blog.

"Each day I would give the kids a scenario of what life is like in Ethiopia, show pictures on the screen and then introduce our prayer points for the day. They got cards to take home and show their parents and learned ways that they could be in prayer for the children in Ziway. Thursday night we showed the Ethiopia video and it touched many who were there. The kids really get into these mission projects and I am constantly amazed at how HUGE their hearts are for the orphans and less fortunate children. These young ones do SO much more in one week to serve the Lord than some adults do in a year!

They did everything from lemonade and kool-aid stands, to making bracelets, passing out baby bottles to fill up, painting rocks, baking cookies, and even selling frogs!"

"There were around 250 children last week bringing in their pennies, nickels and dimes to make a difference for the Kingdom of God- having complete faith that the Lord would provide the funds. And can you imagine being there on Friday morning- hearing all of their excited voices and seeing their little faces light up when they heard the total amount brought in... $4,700 for the children in Ethiopia!!!  This was enough to build an entire playground structure as well as an additional $1,200 for the children's school supplies such as desks, uniforms, books, etc. Our amazing God did that! These children truly have missionary hearts and I seriously cannot wait to see how the Lord will continue to use them throughout their young lives." 

Thank you Candice! Thank you Trinity Pres! We are amazed at how God moves hearts, including the hearts of these young children & pray that their hearts are captivated by His heart for the fatherless!

Laughter & Smiles

We go all-out to give our kiddos the very best we possibly can.  In Ethiopia, this looks much different than it does for you and me in the US!

Lifesong for Orphans is supporting 3 schools in the Ziway, Ethiopia area. We are currently repairing one of the schools and are in the process of building another, but are hopeful to use all three this fall.

Let’s turn this bare piece of land at the Ziway Lifesong School …

  

...Into a place of laughter and smiles!

We are excited and hopeful for the schools in Ethiopia as we look to fill the rooms with desks, school supplies, blackboards, playground equipment, libary books etc.  We invite you to join us in ministering to the youth of Ethiopia.  For the children, for their country, but most of all for the glory of Father who is the God and Father of all.

View all current projects. View all Lifesong Ethiopia videos.

God WILL Make a Way!

At last our amazing children are with us! When we pulled through the gate at their orphanage, a nanny came running out and hugged me as soon as I got out of the van. She was saying, “You came, you came, you did come!” Our children came running followed by all the other kids at the orphanage. We hugged and kissed each other. They called us ‘Mama’ and ‘Daddy’. It is so very clear that God has been preparing their little hearts to be our children!”

It was 13 months ago that James and Tracy Mihnovich accepted the referral for these 4 precious children knowing that God called them and that He would provide the way! When they adopted their son Levi 2 ½ years ago, they knew that with all the orphans in the world there was no way that they could not adopt again...