God moves in the waiting...

Last March Randy and Candice Wagenleitner received word that their long wait for a baby girl in Korea was almost over.  A few short months later Elliana Sa-rang was home, with parents and three older brothers to love her! 

Though their 5 year wait was hard and long, they learned a lot along the way and God used this time to share His heart for the fatherless with them.  In a letter to Lifesong they wrote:

…God has used this adoption to forever change our hearts and give us a huge passion to care for the 147 million orphans left in the world.  Like it seems to be for a lot of families, when we first started talking about adoption years ago it was mostly to add another child to our family- specifically a daughter that we had never had.  But somewhere along the way God opened our eyes and hearts to all of the children who are left without a mommy and daddy and without someone to share the love of Christ with them.  We began to see the bigger picture of God’s adoption of us into His family and how adoption is the gospel lived out.

Now we cannot seem to sit still because we want to advocate and be a voice for those who cannot speak up for themsleves!  It has started small, but we are faithfully praying that the Lord would use us in whatever ways He sees fit…

…We are SO excited that we will be attending the Orphan Summit in April- largely in part  because of Lifesong’ encouragement to attend!  We may not have even know about it if it weren’t for Andy’s email...  We checked it out… and just knew that it would be the perfect starting poiunt for the Lord to give us a clear direction of what to do next…

Check out Candice's blog here!

The Big Build--Update

Check out this video from the Big Build fundraising event benefiting not only the orphan, but also the widow...

 Check out our previous post featuring the Big Build or visit their website.

Zambia at a glance...

 Thought we'd share some pictures that a team brought back from a visit to our school in Zambia.  To learn more about Zambia & our current projects, please visit our website.

 

 

 Thanks Taryn for these pictures that have captured the life, joy, sorrow, and HOPE of Zambia....

Ukraine | The least of these...

Lifesong Ukraine has been actively involved in reaching the fatherless and has taken the additional step to also touch orphans with special needs (SN). Unfortunately, these children and young adults tend to be tucked away from society in remote orphanages, hospitals & villages specifically designated for SN, which keeps these children out-of-sight & out-of-mind…But never out of the mind of our Father, who is Father of all!  

The Lifesong team in Ukraine is showing the love of Christ to SN orphanages twice a week for Constant Christian Presence (CCP) and crafts, arts, sports, etc.  Additionally, weekly trips are made to kids with SN who are under short-term hospital care.

Please join us in Praise & Prayer for this ministry...

 Praise:

• Dedicated team members
• Local church & pastoral involvement
• 5 day camp at celebrating Christmas, New Years and birthdays of orphans

 Prayers/Needs:

• Children that are being touched by Lifesong
• More Ukrainian volunteers/staff with hearts to serve in SN ministry
• Sufficient transportation for staff to travel to SN orphanages
• God to stir the hearts of SN orphanage administration to be open to Lifesong/CCP in their facilities
• Wisdom for strategies & goals to ultimately show orphans Jesus Christ
• Consistent financial support ($3,000/month)  

 Pictures from camp…

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me"

-Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

Creating Intentional Orphan Cultures...

  

Highview Baptist in Louisville, KY follows James 1:27 by creating a culture of adoption in their church and community. Highview established a church adoption fund through Lifesong and hosts small group sessions for those interested in adopting, waiting families, and post-adoptive families.

Check out this GIANT map hanging in their building that posts updates on each adoptive family. Currently they are up to 55 out of 67 families on the map!