Lifesong India Update

Please enjoy an update on what's happening in Lifesong India:  This Christmas was celebrated with a special dinner (pictured) to which the children were able to wear their new Christmas clothes.  Directors Bob and Siromani will be visiting Lifesong India after a two-year absence.  They plan to stay the entire month of February Thank you for your continued support as we serve orphans in India.  May 2011 bring continued steps towards renewal and hope for these children.  May it be filled with successes, little and great!

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How does an adoption fund fit with your church's mission/vision?

• Evangelize the lost – Adoption is evangelism at its core…Bringing the mission field home, where children are loved, cared for, and discipled to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

• Edify the saved – Adoption Fund challenges, encourages, and enables Believers to put their faith in action, by stepping out in faith to adopt (fulfilling God’s commands in scripture).

• Minister to those in need – There are millions of children waiting for forever families who would like to adopt them, but just can’t because of the financial barrier.

• Be a Conscience in the community –  As th e Church becomes obedient to God’s commands concerning the fatherless, the community will see Jesus Christ is alive and working in the lives of His people to care for those children who can’t care for themselves.

Read more. Reserve your spot now!

A Tough Road Worth Taking!

This post was featured on Together for Adoption and written by Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans -

Last weekend, my brother and I hiked deep into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our mission: to re-supply my father and his two close friends who are filling a lifelong dream of hiking the John Muir Trail, 210 miles of breathtaking, rugged wilderness. Their faces glowed as they described the glories of God’s creation they’ve encountered, from Alpine meadows to granite peaks. But my father’s friend Henry, though never losing his smile, also reminded, “There’s been real pain, too.” Severe blisters, cramping legs, shoulder pain, biting hailstorms and cold to the verge of hypothermia were just a partial list. It was clear the three hikers were having the time of their lives, but pain was interwoven with the journey.

It is easy to feel it should be otherwise. Something deep inside us still recalls the world before the Fall, and joins creation in groaning at all the things that aren’t the way they should be. But this side of heaven, most anything worth doing comes with pain—care for orphans via adoption, foster care or global ministry as much as any.

Of course, keeping our roots in Scripture (from Jesus’ words about “counting the cost” to Hebrews 11:36-38) disabuses us of any fantasy that health and wealth are guaranteed compensation for faithfulness. Yet still there is a temptation to gloss over the difficult thing or just shove them under the carpet. In adoption ministry, for instance, there can be a pull toward making “ministry” mainly a “cheerleading” for Christians to adopt with little emphasis on support after the child has come home. There’s certainly a place for helping people see the beauty and purposefulness discovered in adoption and other forms of orphan care. But ultimately we need to know: there will be pain, too.

What’s tremendously heartening is that the movement of Christians committed to orphans is coming to embrace that truth. I increasingly hear church orphan ministry leaders talk about the journey—that long, often beautiful, often difficult road that comes with loving anyone for a lifetime, especially a child coming from a hard place.

My prayer is that more and more, church orphan ministry will be a place where this beauty-mixed-with-pain is shown for what it is: an inescapable reality of life in a broken world and a journey worth taking. May it be that in Church, like nowhere else, worn out foster parents, struggling adoptive families and weary orphan care workers can speak transparently about their burden. And where others can help them bear the load in discerning, well-prepared, sacrificial ways. That’s church orphan ministry—and just plain Church—at its very best."

Amazed by these huge hearts...

As Gary and I drove up to Jude and Harper Thompson’s beautiful home, we were immediately impressed by the number of international children attending this fund raising event.  It was a heavenly sight to see adopted children from China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Korea (and others) running hand in hand with their American siblings and friends. 

This fund raiser, put on by the CEO of Papa John’s, was planned with children in mind. They offered pony rides, donkey-pulled cart rides, an inflatable obstacle course, a petting zoo, cow milking,  face painting, cotton candy, snow cones, candy, and all the Papa John’s Pizza you could eat.  

We enjoyed meeting several families who had raised funds through Lifesong’s adoption grant and loan program.   We loved hearing their stories and were amazed by the huge hearts of these adoptive parents.  When they found out we were with Lifesong for Orphans, they thanked us over and over for the work we do.  Many said that they could not have adopted if it were not for the fund raising opportunity they had through Lifesong.  But, of course, they are the real heroes and Gary and I are privileged to be part of their adoption journeys." --Marla Ringger, Orphan Advocate

Thank you, Jude and Harper, for hosting this fabulous fundraising event! We are so grateful for your advocacy, your friendship, and the passion God has given you to care for the fatherless! May He continue to bless the work of your hands!

Mark your calendars!

Make your plans for...

ORPHAN SUNDAY 

November 7, 2010

From Christianity Today to Catalyst, God’s call to “defend the cause of the fatherless” is echoing in ways not seen in generations.   Orphan Sunday is your opportunity to spread this passion as part of a nationwide movement.

Each Orphan Sunday event is led by local Christians committed to the Gospel and the orphan: from Sunday School classes and sermons to student-led fundraisers and foster family recruiting.  Here is just one testimony of the thousands of lives that were touched last year by Orphan Sunday...

“Orphan Sunday at Morningside Baptist in Sioux City, IA not only became a catalyst for us to launch an orphan ministry—including a new adoption and orphan care fund—but also spurred many church members to consider adoption, including a church elder whose family will be adopting in 2010 as a result.” --Jim Reynolds, Church Elder

 Hear the personal story of a family changed forever through Orphan Sunday 2009! 

Get Started Now...

www.orphansunday.org

What is Orphan Sunday? 

Alongside local events, a national concert featuring The Desperation Band will be simulcast live from Colorado Springs to high school and college groups nationwide on the Friday of Orphan Sunday weekend. 

The 2010 campaign aims for more than 2,000 events across America the weekend of November 7^th.  The ultimate goal:  to call Christians to make the Gospel visible in adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry.  Start planning your Orphan Sunday event today! 

Don't forget to put your Orphan Sunday event on the map!