Celebrating Through Service -- Lifesong Zambia

We invite you to share a word of encouragement to our staff at Lifesong Zambia. To do so, please reply to this email or leave a comment on our Facebook wall and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support!  We are blessed to share this update from Lifesong Zambia from missionary Shane McBride, "Often times Independence Day is celebrated with fireworks, picnics, and apple pies. Well, here in Zambia on October 24th, we are using the holiday as a time of reflection. We are blessed beyond measure and our students know this.   So, how will we celebrate? Through service. Our students will be going into their community and serving the elderly and widows. It will be a week long activity of shoveling, mending roofs, cutting grass (not with a mower, but by hand with a slasher), fetching water from the wells, picking up trash, and volunteering at the two local medical clinics.     It's a celebration of both Zambia's Independence and Christ's provision as He Brings Joy and Hope to these children, and through these children INTO the community.    Also, please remember to pray for our Grade 7 students, from Oct 30 - Nov 2, as they take their BIG GRADE 7 TEST.  We are very thankful that the pre-exams went very well. Able, below, finished #1 out of 300 students taking 7th grade pre-exams! He was even competing with the wealthier kids at other private schools. In fact, 7 of the Top 10 scores were Lifesong kids!"

One Silent Night -- FFH Concert

Lifesong for Orphans is excited to announce an upcoming Christmas concert featuring FFH with special guests from Lifesong Zambia. This concert will provide a excellent opportunity for churches to bring awareness to their orphan ministry while enjoying a unique performance celebrating the birth of our King! 

Buy tickets today online* or at the door for the following locations:

November 17th Olathe Bible Church / Kansas City area

November 23rd The Gathering (concert & dessert) / Chattanooga area

November 25th Covenant Presbyterian Church / Birmingham, AL

December 1st First Baptist McKinney / Dallas  area

December 8th Heritage Church / Quad Cities

December 9th Elmbrook Church / Milwaukee area

December 13th Southern Baptist Theological Seminary / Louisville, KY

December 16th Bethany Baptist Church / Peoria area

A love offering will be taken during the concert and 100% will go towards orphan care!  

Visit our website for more information on times & tickets!

*Tickets sold online have a processing fee included in the ticket price. 

Celebrate Advent, Love Orphans

Ad·vent 

noun \ˈad-ˌvent, chiefly British -vənt\

Definition: the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting; the coming of Christ at the Incarnation; a coming into being or use

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advent)

I'm sure many of you have celebrated "the countdown" in various different ways from eating a candy a day to daily acts of kindness to reading a portions of scripture. 

This year, I invite you to read the letter below from Jenna and Jessica Metcalfe, daughters of our Program Director, Rich Metclafe.  Jenna and Jessica used their creative hearts to come up with this special advent calendar. Listen in...

Over three years ago, our family felt God calling us to adopt.  The process has been long and crazy, but God has opened our eyes to the huge orphan crisis around the world.  We learned of the need for Christians to step up and be God’s hands and feet to reach out to His children.  So often it’s easy for us to think, ‘Oh, I’m just a teenager… I can’t do anything about a big problem like this.  Maybe when I grow up God will call me or show me how to help orphans.’ 

But God has told us as believers to help the fatherless, and there is no good reason why we shouldn’t start now.  First Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”  We have the opportunity and the responsibility to use our time, energy and enthusiasm for God’s kingdom and for His glory.  So let’s do it! 

We’ve put together an advent calendar that counts down to Christmas from December 1st-24th.   Each day there is a little instruction saying something like "Give 2 cents for every pair of shoes in your home".  Also, there are two Bible references each day – one about orphans and one telling the Christmas story. We hope to raise awareness about the plight of orphans and God’s heart for them. And that from an increased awareness, we all would not only realize how blessed we are in America, but also be motivated to share from those blessings to bring physical relief, joy and purpose to orphans. 

Thank you for prayerfully considering this opportunity to show the love of Jesus to so many vulnerable children.

In His love,

Jessica and Jenna

This is where you, your family, church, youth group, college group, office team, and whoever else can come in! How to get your calendar(s):

1. Contact us at info@lifesongfororphans.org & order the number of calendars you need
2. Lifesong will send you the Advent Calendar Kit which includes letter, instructions & calendars
3. Get your group together to introduce Calendar (feel free to use Lifesong videos) and assemble (1-step process) 
4. On Orphan Sunday, November 4th, present idea to church and pass out calendars
5. After Christmas, collect money and send in to Lifesong for Orphans

100% of the money raised will go straight to the orphans that Lifesong helps care for (that’s more than 3,500 orphans!).

Advent Calendar
 

 

ORDER YOUR CALENDAR TODAY -- info@lifesongfororphans.org

Buy a Brick...Build a Future - Village of Hope

Most of us can remember a time in our lives when we felt rejected. A time when we felt like we didn't matter. Whether it be the time we were chosen last on recess for the kickball game, or the time we didn't get invited to the birthday party that everyone else was invited to--we have all felt the sting of rejection. So what breaks my heart is when I think about how an orphan child living with HIV/AIDS must feel living in a society who constantly treats them as the least, the last and the lowest. Our God given vision here at Village of Hope is to give these children faith, family, and a future. Yet much work needs to be done in order for the vision to become a reality. But what we know without a doubt is that we are not just building buildings- we are building homes and we are building HOPE. Right now this very minute there are children waiting. Children who are living with HIV in a culture that rejects them. Schools do not want to accept them; most orphanages do not want to accept them either. And so they wait in hopes that one day someone will welcome them in, wrap their loving arms around them and tell them they are valued, cherished and loved. And we wait for the body of Christ to come together and make the vision of Village of Hope a reality for these children. Village of Hope still needs $184,500 for such things as homes for the first orphans and their house parents, retaining walls, perimeter walls, and gates for safety and protection. These things will provide safety, home and HOPE for these orphans. How can we do this? Little by little, brick by brick--together we can build the foundation these children need to come to know the one who loves them so much He CHOSE them. Little by little, brick by brick, together we can build HOPE for their future. What that will take is for you and I to realize that the God in heaven that is crazy about these children is crazy about us as well. What He wants for us is so much more than a new sweater, a new electronic toy or the latest isomething or other this Christmas. He wants for us is to quit wasting our time, our resources and our talents on the things in this world that do not matter- and invest in the things that do~ His Kingdom. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24 3-4 To help GIVE faith, family and a future to the children at Village of Hope please visit see our webpage here. Buying a brick in honor of a loved one is a GREAT way to give a gift of purpose this Christmas season!  *If you'd like to buy a brick as a gift or in honor of a loved one, a card will be sent indicating your gift.

Mahesh, A Changed Life - Lifesong India

We invite you to share a word of encouragement, prayer, or a message to our staff at Lifesong India. To do so, please reply to this email or comment on our Facebook wall and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support!  Please enjoy this update from Lifesong India... Meet Mahesh. Mahesh came from a very poor Hindu family where food was scarce and they owned no land to profit from.  When Mahesh was in the first grade, he was able to move into our Chitty Memorial Home where he studied business, math and chemistry up until the 12th grade while also learning about the only true God. Thankfully, through the movement of the spirit, he and his family gave their lives to Christ!  Now at age 24, Mahesh works as a Conductor for a State Road Transportation Corporation.  He shared, "I don't want to think about what my life would be like if I didn't have the opportunity to live at that home (Chitty Memorial Home)..." His favorite memory from the home was when he was in the 11th grade. They fasted and prayed for 3 days praising God and thanking Him for all the people who came to Christ through daily prayers and devotions that year.  Mahesh's life would be so different had he not had the opportunity come to our school and hear the gospel of Christ! Thank you again for your prayers, support and interest in Lifesong India. We praise God for this one life that has been changed!