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!

Touchdown for Orphans!

What are your plans for the Super Bowl?

Maybe throw a party?

Eat a lot of party food?

Or maybe you just want to pout that your team didn't make it? (oh, Bears...)

How about turning the Super Bowl into an opportunity to serve orphans in Ethiopia?

Orphan advocate, Aaron Klein, is leading a team to raise money so the Lifesong School in Adami Tulu can build a new school building.  In order to do help reach their goal, they are hosting a National Super Bowl Party!

Here’s how it works.

• You can join the party from the comfort of your couch, or from the party you always go to. There are parties cropping up all the way from Atlanta to Colfax where we’ll pause at half time and learn more about the Adami Tulu school project. And you can even host your own local Super Bowl party to support the project (you can e-mail Aaron for details).

• Simply pledge $1, $2 or $3 per point that your team scores. You can pledge by leaving a comment on Aaron's blog, or posting it on the Facebook event page, or e-mailing your pledge to Aaron.

• Every time one of the teams score, the amount we’ve raised goes up! You can follow Facebook or Twitter to get the running total of donations throughout the game.

• Your friends can join this National Super Bowl Party as well! Go to the Facebook event page, and you can invite your own friends to join this important cause. Or you can tweet or e-mail this post to your friends and family. Let’s make a huge impact on changing the world!

This is such a cool idea!  If you want to know more, you can check out Aaron's blog here!  

Here's a look at some of the lives that will forever be affected by this project:

Miracle Child

William from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Six year-old William once asked his mother, “Why do other children walk on the bottoms of their feet? Why am I like this? What did you do to me?” When she told him that it was God who did it, not her, William said, “Then please tell God to fix me.”

William was born with clubfoot, affecting both of his feet.  If William had been born in America this common deformity would have been easily fixed when he was still a baby.  But in Zambia it’s a different story.  In Zambia, where the resources are few and the funds are even fewer, healing is only a distant dream. 

Last February Lifesong Zambia coordinator, Dru Smith wrote about William in her newsletter.  When Wendy in Illinois heard his story she was prompted to act.  After a thorough investigation she discovered CURE Clubfoot International, which had a clinic in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia!  In April William was fitted for casts (first in a series of 3) and then had corrective surgery on his right foot in June and his left foot in September (the video was taken in September just before his second surgery).

God used His people to “fix” William.  Today William can walk!  Soon he will be strong enough to return to school, play with the other children, and be able to do many of the simple tasks we take for granted!

Through this journey the Lifesong staff has been able to help not only William, but his family as well.  William’s brother, Bright, and cousin, Gift, have both been enrolled at Lifesong school.  In addition his father, Victor, who was unemployeed now works in the Lifesong gardens!  We’re so thankful our God is the master at doing “abundantly and immeasurably more” than we even think to ask!

Happenings in a Land I'm Missing Today...

Here’s update from Lifesong Ukraine director, Denis Poshelok:

Recently we received many warm scarves and hats for our children at Loubetin Orphanage.  Each scarf and hat was handmade by a group of women from Alabama.  It's getting cold here in Kharkov and these items are a great necessity.  Praise the Lord we now have enough scarves for every child we work with!  Thank you to everyone involved in this work!

A couple months ago we had three additional kids come to our families in Izume.  Two came to Slavik and Natasha (making their total 10 children) and one more came to Voval and Sveyta (giving them 11 in their family).  Three weeks later new furniture (beds, wardrobes, shelves) for Slavik and Natasha's home arrived.  It is good furniture built by our old friend Vladim and is made out of sold wood and veneer.  Kids are so happy to use new beds and mattresses.

Good things are happening in Izume.  As always, we thank our Father for everyone who supports the work at Izume and all of Lifesong Ukraine!"

Last year I got to visit the families in Izume.  Let me tell, you, they are some amazing people.  Slavik and Natasha were in the middle of dealing with 3 children in the hospital with TB and yet Christ still radiated in their lives, even in the midst of great struggle.  My heart is warmed by when I think of them now bringing more children into their home.  So cool!

Thank you, Lifesong staff in Ukraine!  I love and miss you all!  

and maybe I'll see you in 2011... (wink wink, boss.)

Rejoicing

Hello all!  I'm coming to you from Music City, visiting my dear friend and fellow orphan advocate, Sandra Ney (who Lifesong is partnering with in her efforts to bring hope to orphans in Cote d'Ivoire, Africa).  This weekend Sandra hosted an orphan awareness day, where we made flower pins to raise money for the children in Cote d'Ivoire.  Here are some shots of the day...

What a success.  Her house has been buzzing ever since, with phone calls and friends stopping by to see how they can help.  Praise the Lord!

The spirit of the weekend totally reminded me of last month's Orphan Sunday, where there were 568 registered events across the US (plus many unregistered events: over 21 in Florida alone)!  And the response didn't end there... at each registered event an average of 539 individuals were challenged to action (ranging from 3 to 5,000)!  And i know more went on that we don't even know about.  Wow.  Thank you to everyone who participated in Orphan Sunday this year.

You know, sometimes it can get so discouraging, feeling like nothing is getting done as fast as I think it should.  I look at the need and wonder how in the world we can even make a dent.

But God is moving mightily in His people to rise up on behalf of the orphaned, and when i look at how Orphan Sunday has become such a powerful tool for awareness... when i look at how a woman in Tennessee is spreading the vision through flower pins... and when i see the response...

then I get excited.  I begin to catch a glimpse of what He is doing behind what I naturally see.  And it is big.

If you have a story of rejoicing, we'd love to hear it.  Maybe an orphan ministry is getting started in your church.  Maybe you finally got your travel date to pick up your child, wherever he or she may be.  Maybe you had an inspiring conversation with a friend and that action you've been praying for is finally about to happen... let us know!  

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in His holy name.  Psalm 33:21

Want to know more about the vision in Cote d'Ivoire?  Check out Sandra's blog here.