Merry Christmas from Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry!

Hi everyone, just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry! We pray that this season is full of blessing and quality time with family and friends. The Christmas story is such a beautiful picture of God's love for us and His sacrifice of coming down to dwell amongst us, share in our suffering and provide eternal hope for us! In this story, there are themes of adoption woven throughout.

Consider Joseph, when the angel told him that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he would be the earthly father to Jesus. He had a choice whether to turn his back on Mary, but instead chose to become the earthly father of Jesus. What an honour and privilege!

Then Jesus, born to this world as an innocent baby, lived to serve and bless others and ultimately died on a cross and rose to life again, that we might find life through Him! Through Jesus, we are given the opportunity to be adopted into God's family. It is a beautiful picture, and much more than just a nice warm story for Christmas. It is real and has the power to change any life. God's present to anyone who would accept it, this Christmas, is renewal, restoration, adoption and blessing!

God bless and very Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Tony Dungy Superbowl winning coach, adoptive dad...

I came across this video and thought it was cool. For those football fans out there, you'll know Tony Dungy from his success with the Indianapolis Colts. Here is a short video about being an adoptive dad.

Simple soup lunch fundraiser raises $1,150 for adoption grants!

Just like the title says, a simple soup lunch fundraiser raises $1,150 for adoption grants! Thanks to our volunteers who cooked pots of soup, set up, cleaned up and served the lunch. We announced at church after our second service that there would be a soup lunch available by donation with all proceeds going towards adoption grants and we had a great response!

If you think about it, everyone has to eat lunch after church and most people will likely spend money on lunch. If they’re going to spend money anyways, most people figure it might as well go to a good cause and enough money was raised for almost half an adoption grant!

Is this something that might work at your church? If it is, please contact us at tamara@southgatechurch.ca and we can help you plan or think up an idea that would work for you. Also, if you would like to do an adoption Sunday at your church, we’d love to help you with ideas or anything else that would be helpful.

If you’re from the Lower Mainland area, we hope you can come to the Christmas Carnival, raising money for adoption grants, this Saturday, November 26 from 11am-4pm at Southgate Church in Langley (#120 – 5501 204^th St.). It will be lots of family fun and proceeds go towards helping families adopt.

From the perspective of a waiting child...

Adoption info seminar in Hamilton, Ontario, November 19, 2011

Hi everyone, we just wanted to advertise an adoption info seminar happening in Hamilton, Ontario on November 19, 2011. We realize that most of our audience is out west, but perhaps you know someone in that area that is considering adoption. If so, please pass this on to them. Thanks!

To register for this conference, please email hopefororphansworkshop@gmail.com

Also, please pray for this group of people in Hamilton that is passionate about helping adoptive families. We're excited to see the growing movement across Canada of adoption ministries. We want to stand with them and encourage in any way we can. If you are reading this and would like to host this conference in your area, please contact tamara@southgatechurch.ca

Christmas Carnival, bring the family, raise funds for adoption...

On November 26, friends of ours, Daniel and Amanda Preston are putting on a Christmas carnival to raise funds for adoption for ABBA CANADA. This is the ministry that we raise funds through as well. They also disperse the adoption grants.

The carnival will be on Saturday, November 26 from 11am - 4pm at Southgate Church, #120 - 5501 204th St. Langley. Admission is by donation and game tickets are $1 each. Hotdog/drink combo tickets are $3 each. All money raised will go to the general fund at Abba Canada to fund adoption grants.

There will be lots of games and fun, so bring the whole family and help us provide for families waiting to adopt!

Is this real?

Today worldwide:

400,000,000 abandoned children
100,000,000 street children
18,000,000 child refugees
15,000,000 trafficked children
2,000,000 prostituted children, raped on average 20/day
300,000 child soldiers
215,000,000 child labourers
(Stats from UN and UNICEF reports)

Your voice is needed. Your action is powerful.

These stats make me want to sit down and cry and give up on the world. How about you? They make me angry. They hurt even more when you have children of your own. Somehow it hits home a little more knowing these children were born into this world just like my little girl was.

I heard these stats during a seminar put on by World Orphans this weekend at the Together for Adoption conference in Phoenix. This seminar challenged me, but even more than that, it inspired me. The work being done by this ministry is incredible! Go to their site and check out what they are doing.

World Orphans makes a difference in the human trafficking crisis by “stepping in to prevent, delay and rescue orphaned children, and breaking these cycles to change more than just the number of orphans.” They pointed out that all of the stats at the beginning of this post have one common link, the orphan. The orphan is found among all of these tragic numbers.

They believe in adoption, but only about 1% of the world’s orphaned children are or ever will be eligible for adoption. The 1% is why Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry exists. For the other 99%, organizations like World Orphans work indigenously with local churches to build partnerships where the local church can work in their own communities. The local church can work with families to prevent them from abandoning their children. They can work alongside orphanages, so that when children age out, they know where to turn so that traffickers will not intercept them outside the orphanage doors.

The presenter told a story of an orphanage where human traffickers would wait outside the orphanage when they knew a child was aging out, so they could pick them up, trick them and sell them. So the churches started coming in vans to intercept the child before the traffickers could. After a while, the traffickers began showing up in self-made “church vans” to trick the aged out children. In this case, World Orphans worked with the local church to build relationships with the child before they aged out, so that they would know who to trust when they aged out.

Creative solutions for complex problems. It’s what we need and we love to tell the stories of those who are seeking God and finding a way to make a difference!

Part 3, The Human Experiment...

As promised, here are the final thoughts on the Washington Times article. This is our third entry, so if you haven’t read the last two, please go back and read Part 1 and Part 2 to get the background. Here are some closing thoughts on the whole matter.

The plan behind limiting international adoptions, in one sense, is to combat human trafficking, child exploitation and corrupt situations. The unfortunate part of this is that it will take years to truly see the impact, if any, of this. In this time many futures will be lost. There will be many casualties along the way and many children will live and die with no family to call their own. Ten or twenty years down the road, we may look back and say, “we tried the approach of shutting down international adoption and here we are today, human trafficking is still happening, the world is still corrupt and children are still being abandoned by birth parents that can’t care for them for various reasons.” Is this experiment ok? Are we ok with this global experiment that will put millions of lives on the line? Think of your own children, each one with such beauty and promise, such destiny. Would you be ok putting them on the line for this experiment? Of course not! The Father sees these children through the same lens. How much time will this experiment take and how many lives will be lost?

One final quote from the article that stood out was:

“Those placed later will do far better than they would in the absence of placement ---international adoption has been shown to overcome even very significant deficits caused by early deprivation, with the age of placement overwhelmingly predictive of the chance for a normal life."

The research and evidence exists to demonstrate the positive effects of adoption. There are so many individual lives that have been given a life and a story through adoption. We must think about individuals. Research the stories, look into the facts and take time to engage with these issues. A child can be rescued and they can go on to lead a normal and beautiful life. Our hope and prayer is that you would engage in these issues. Don’t stand silently.

Bill Hybels wrote a book called “Holy Discontent” and it addressed the fact that we have something inside of us that make us burn with anger or frustration towards injustice. His point in the book was that instead of running from and taking these things off of our minds so they don’t cause us tension, that we run towards them and tackle them. He suggests that our “holy discontent” is there for a reason and will drive us to action, to seek God and make a difference.

One of my favourite preachers says “we are put here to transform cultures.” The Church, the great sleeping giant will awaken and transform the culture. The Church is the largest entity on the planet; the largest gathering of volunteer power that exists. Could a Church of awakened passionate “culture transformers” impact the world? You better believe it could! Let’s lead the way and let’s stir others. Of course, this ministry is raising money to provide grants to help families adopt, but it’s so much more than that aspect. Our volunteer network provides practical help for adoptive families. We have resources to walk families through adoption. You don’t need to invest your time and resources here, but would you do it somewhere? There is so much good stuff happening out there, but “the labourers are few.” (Luke 10:2) 

111 families initiate the adoption process from 1-day event!

On Saturday, Sep. 24, 2011 we attended a one-day adoption conference in Redmond, Washington. The conference was called “Wait No More” and was hosted by Focus on the Family. There were about 630 people in attendance. The point of the conference was to raise awareness of the over 1,000 children in the Washington State foster care system, waiting for adoption. They brought in people from the Washington Foster Care System to share stories and facts and they also had three very moving testimonies from two adopted children and a sibling of an adopted child.

We were interested to check out the conference because it sounded like an interesting idea to maybe host in the Lower Mainland someday. Although the conference was open to anyone to attend, because it was hosted by Focus on the Family, they were focusing on the Churches response to the foster care need. One of the points they made, that really stuck with us, was that there are currently over 1,000 children waiting in the Washington State foster care system and over 5,000 churches in Washington alone. That point really hit home for us. They went on to point out that if one family out of every five churches were to adopt a foster child, there wouldn’t be any more waiting children in Washington! When put in that light, it doesn’t sound like that big of a mountain. There are churches in Washington that have over 5,000 people in attendance on any given Sunday.

We left the conference feeling encouraged and dreaming for what might happen in BC. The current number of children waiting in the foster care system in BC right now is around 600. How many churches are in BC? I'm sure there's more than 600! We'll have to get back to you about the ratio for BC churches.

About a week later we received a follow up email that said that as a result of that conference, 111 families initiated the process of adoption from foster care! That’s really exciting!

We are aware that not every one of those families will end up adopting and we’re also aware that one can’t adopt on a whim or what sounds like a good idea, but we’ve sat through a short version of a ministry presentation and even after leaving that, you are very aware of the real challenges and struggles that will be a part of the journey. So rest assured, these families will go through the process and they will be made aware of all of the angles and things to expect throughout their adoption journey. The process is long and these families will have time to digest the information and make informed decisions.

But today, let’s rejoice that 111 families’ hearts were touched enough to take the first step. Even if 111 families don’t bring a child into their home, 111 families in Washington will think differently about adoption and the part they can play to bring other children home into their forever family.

Part 2 of "a controversial blog post"....

Thanks for stopping by again! In case you missed last week, we are on the 2^nd entry dealing with a controversial article in the Washington Times.

Click here to read the 1^st post.

Click here to read the article.

Before we continue on, there are a couple of thoughts that come to mind. The first is that we are NOT here to bash UNICEF, to try and make them look bad or to try and make sure you never give to them again. In the Kingdom of God, we do not make advances by taking shots at or slandering others or other organizations. Although this article is definitely about UNICEF and paints them in a certain light, we are not trying to “expose” them or direct your anger towards them. I think it’s clear that UNICEF has done some pretty good things over the years in regards to children’s rights around the world and if you click over to our “Stats” page, many of our stats have sources from UNICEF.

That being said, it is our hope that you would wrestle with the bigger concepts coming to light here. We want you to think about how we (as people) approach world problems. This article indicates a macro approach and we’re asking the question, why not a macro as well as a micro approach? There are real lives today that are caught in the middle and that breaks our hearts. If you disagree, please comment, we want to start the discussion around these issues and make progress.

We will continue on with quotes from the article followed by thoughts.  

“The stumbling block is that unlike UNICEF adoptive parents do not believe that even a single child should be subjected to life as an orphan, serving in effect as collateral damage, as geopolitical solutions to world poverty are played out. To us, it is patently unfair for children to be held hostage, condemned to life without a family, as the world works towards peace and justice.”

This point was the one that resonated the loudest with me in this article. I have been frustrated many times in life as I hear people talk about lofty ideas to end suffering and poverty with no action. I attended a university where first-world privileged students and professors would sit around state-of-the-art classrooms, drinking lattes and discuss lofty ideas about what needed to change in the world and how big systems and government policies needed to change, without any actual action. I couldn’t help but think, sure these things need to change, but while we’re working on it, could we not take some practical action? It seemed as though people thought that practical action would “impede the process that needed to take place.”

It seems like we could spend the rest of our lives talking about when these oppressive systems will end and when the world will be free of oppressions and suffering and never take any real action to help actual individuals with names, lives and destinies. As long as corruption exists in the heart of mankind, as long as greed is present in this world, these issues are not going to go away. We believe in tackling major issues from the top down and we believe in fighting for justice on the major scale, but we believe even more in fighting for individuals with individual stories, along the way. We believe in helping those that need it today, in this hour. Martin Luther King Jr. fought big systems and won major victories for the world, however, he was one that fought for individuals along the way. He didn’t just set his eyes on lofty goals, he helped individuals along the way and that is what we should be committed to. By helping individuals along the way, he helped many on a grand scale.

Like we asked at the beginning, can this be a macro as well as a micro issue? I think it can. I think we can work towards improving things on a grand scale, while helping individuals on a micro scale. I think we can lobby government, make our voice heard and look for ways to microfinance and improve communities with sustainable options, while still improving the lives of individuals along the way. Why can’t we adopt children out of these systems, while we’re working on improving them?

Next week we’ll post the final thoughts on the last of the quotes for this article. In the meantime, think about your own views and perceptions on these issues and think about your responses in discussion as well as action. Your life and voice will make a difference…it is needed!

A controversial blog post, enter with caution...

Every good blogger needs to stir up some controversy here and there because, after all, that’s what gets the discussion started right? Our hope is that as we bring forth issues and give our opinions, we would cause discussions to start around these issues and stir up the hearts of others for issues that matter to the heart of God.

We recently read an article that stirred up emotions of anger and frustration inside of us. It was posted in the Washington Times, titled “The United States and UNICEF wage war against international adoptions.” How would that title not catch your attention! So we read on and we’re shocked to discover what is behind the title. Before you read on, you might want to scroll to the bottom, click the link and read the article yourself. It might give some better context. Also, keep in mind that we are fully aware that we don’t have all of the answers and there are many things that we don’t understand or claim to be experts on internationally. We are doing our best to navigate the issues and fight for what is in our hearts, the best way that we know how.

Due to the depth of this topic, these posts will come in a short series of “to be continued…” posts. We don’t want to overwhelm you with too many thoughts in one post! I think the best way to arrange this is to provide quotes from the article and then offer thoughts, comments and questions.

“When pressed for reasons why the U.S. Department of State (DoS) and UNICEF they actively engage in closing inter-country adoption programs, the very first response from both entities is that they are protecting children.  They say they are working towards an adoption system that works against child trafficking.  That goal is laudable.” 

There seem to be many arguments on both sides of this issue. Both sides make valid points and we do know that human trafficking is a major problem of our time. A friend of ours once had a great quote around this issue. He said “saying that international adoption leads to human trafficking and should be stopped is like saying marriage leads to spousal abuse and should be stopped.” The point is, human trafficking is an issue that needs to be stopped, but stopping adoption is not going to put an end to it. Humans will be trafficked whether adoption is open or not. A market run by corrupt hearts, with astronomical profits, will continue to operate, regardless of international law. The problem is bigger than that.

“Ultimately UNICEF, and to a lesser extent the Department of State, are opposed to inter-country adoption, calling it a “last resort” for children.  Just what is the first resort?  UNICEF offers what appears to be a vague notion of social and economic justice in the world.”

This is a good question. Many arguments center around the fact that instead of supporting adoption, we need to work harder to support the families in their own countries and communities so they can care for the children there. This is a true statement and we should be working towards sustainable solutions like this. We are big believers and givers to ministries that do such work. I think we can all agree that the best scenario for a child is one in which they are cared for in loving and supporting environment. We can also agree that if that is provided by their birth parents, that would be the best place for the child. Where it gets difficult is that many children just don’t have either birth parent left and many have no family even to care for them. Other children have been abandoned by their birth parents for a variety of different reasons. This is a horrible scenario, but it exists, so the question we should be asking is, where do we go from here? Wishing it were not so is not an option. Dreaming up lofty ideas void of action is also not a solution. What are the options to fix these situations and care for children that are there right now, today?

Many valid arguments have been made to support the families better in these communities so that they can care for their children (referring to children abandoned by their birth parents). This is a great idea. We fully believe in doing a better job of supporting these families so that they don’t get to the place where they would abandon their children. We give to, believe in and support ministries that do just this. A challenge that comes to mind though is, on a large scale, where will the money for this come from. I have volunteered as an advocate for two different sponsor children organizations for about 10 years now and it is difficult to get people to sponsor a child for $30/month, through a trusted and accountable organization where they know the child will be receiving exactly what is promised. I couldn’t imagine convincing people on the idea that their money would go to families to increase their income so that they could support a child. Maybe I’m wrong, but in my experience, it would be a much tougher challenge than signing someone up to sponsor a child, which is already difficult.

We can either wait for major economic systems to change, devise a way where those with money provide for those that don’t, or think of solutions for each of those individual children. We have to ask ourselves, what is the best option for that child, given their situation. We may wish the situation was different, but it’s not, how should we respond?

Click here to read the full article.

To be continued....

We're hosting an adoption information seminar in Langley...

We're excited to announce another adoption information seminar. If you or someone you know is considering adoption, please send them our way!

This workshop will be held at Southgate Church (#120 - 5501 204th St. Langley) on Saturday, January 21, from 9am - 4pm, with lunch and breaks included. The information will be given over a 6-part DVD series, with topics such as: God's Heart for the Orphan, Making Basic Decisions, Evaluating Agencies, Investigating Funding Options, and Paperwork, Completing your Home Study, etc.

There will also be time for discussion. We will be breaking into small groups to discuss common questions, concerns, thoughts and to go over ideas from the DVD series. This will be a free seminar, with a small charge for lunch. This seminar is open to anyone interested in, or beginning the adoption journey, so feel free to pass this on.

Please RSVP to tamara@southgatechurch.ca by January 13th.

If you have other specific questions regarding this event, we would be happy to answer them for you!!!

An interesting perspective on our adoption into God's family and the orphan...

Last October, as we wrote about in one of our first blog posts, we attended a conference called Together for Adoption in Texas. It was basically the turning point or catalyst that helped us to launch this ministry. One of the organizers and speakers, Dan Cruver, is very active in the orphan ministry world and writes some amazing posts that we follow. He has a heart for adoption and seeing the Church rise up to answer the call to care for the orphan. We wanted to re-post a great piece he wrote on our adoption into God's family and today's orphan. It's a great perspective. If you want to read more of his work, check out the Together for Adoption page.

"Adoption is not just about our entrance into the family of God, as great and as wonderful as that is. It’s also about our participation in the grand story of redemption. When God adopts us, He catches us up into the greatest unfolding story of human history. Actually, it is God’s story of human history and involves nothing less than the future renewal of all creation.
God doesn’t merely adopt us in order to place us in His family. His adoption of us is actually the means by which He brings His healing and freeing reign to bear upon all of the created order.

This aspect of God’s work of adoption has massive implications for how we think about caring for orphans (James 1:27). For example, for those whom God has adopted in order to one day bring about the renewal of all creation, orphan care becomes an opportunity to provide a foretaste of that future renewal.

This understanding of the relationship between God’s work of adoption and our care for orphans is extremely important, as it transforms not only the way we think about orphan care but also the way we practice it."

Dan Cruver, Sept. 1, 2011

The Together For Adoption Conference is happening this year in Phoenix, Arizona on October 21-22. For those of you starting an orphan ministry at your church, we would highly recommend attending this conference. You won't be disappointed! It is one of the best initial investments you can make to get your ministry up and running. We still haven't fully sorted through all of the info and resources we picked up in the two days last year!

We're thankful for the work of orphanages....

Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry is focused on bringing children into forever families. However, while the children wait, we are so thankful for the loving souls that dedicate their lives to being that safe home for these precious children. All over the world, people have given up the comforts of their own life, laid aside the conveniences and freedoms most of us enjoy everyday and have sacrificed for those that don't have a family. We want to do everything we can to support and encourage these people when we come across them. Some friends of ours brought to our attention, this fundraising/storytelling dessert evening this Sunday evening (Aug. 28) at Sonrise Church in Cloverdale. We have put the caption below. It sounds like they have had an amazing journey and there is much we can learn from them. If you are free to attend, please do so and encourage these faithful labourers.

The founders of Nathan's orphanage (Beautiful Gate Lesotho) are coming to Vancouver and we are involved in hosting an evening of support & awareness for their work. 

Please join us in celebrating Beautiful Gate’s 10-year anniversary and hear from Ray & Sue as they describe their incredible journey of the past decade at a benefit for this very special Children’s Care Centre in Lesotho, Africa. Please join us for dessert on August 28^th from 6:30 – 9pm at Sonrise Church in Cloverdale. Please see the attached invitation for details or visit www.mohaleproject.org .

In a recent email to friends and Beautiful Gate supporters, Ray reminded us of the incredible impact Beautiful Gate is having:

Ten years ago our eyes were opened to the needs of 7 desperately vulnerable babies (5 who had tested HIV positive) in a corner of a hospital ward in Maseru. Our simple but faith-filled response to care for them was the birth of Beautiful Gate Lesotho. We believe that journey has been extensively documented through our newsletters over the years but I highlight the following: nearly 300 abandoned and orphaned children have come through our gates in that time and over 160 been adopted or are in the process of adoption to Lesotho and many countries around the world; over fifty have been reunited with families; we have had to lay to rest over thirty babies; currently we house around 60 under the age of 7 at our center, awaiting reunification or adoption.

We have also seen the building of a care center with 12 buildings including 3 baby houses, a clinic, a chapel, offices, garages and workshop, shop, skills training building, a pre-school  and 2 soon-to-be-completed apartments, totaling R14,000,000 in value. The fact that this has all happened in faith through the support of thousands of adults and children, churches, businesses, schools etc. in a country where it’s not easy to get things done, is surely a miracle. The hope and second chance given to hundreds of tragically abandoned or neglected children and the inspiration given to literally thousands of people worldwide has been awesome to witness.

We hope you are able to join us in hearing about Ray and Sue’s 10 year journey. For tickets, please feel free to contact us or Tina at tfiletti@hotmail.com.  If you know of anyone else you may be interested in this event, please pass the invite along.

We hope to see you there!

AJ & Carol

Two Canadian families receive adoption grants!

The first two adoption grants have been dispersed in Canada by ABBA CANADA’s  sister-organization, My Adopting Story. You may be wondering, what’s the difference between My Adopting Story and ABBA CANADA when it comes to giving grants for adoption? It’s kind of like Tim Hortons and Wendys. They both do similar things, are under the same umbrella (share the same store front), but they are two separate organizations with a few differences. Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry is affiliated with ABBA CANADA. We raise our money for adoption grants through ABBA CANADA. A family applying for a grant submits their application to ABBA CANADA and they make the grant decisions and disperse the funds. The money you donate for adoption grants through ABBA CANADA is given to families, based on the family meeting ABBA CANADA’s criteria for a grant. Still confused, send us an email and we’ll clear it up!

Anyhow, we are so excited to share the comments from the two couples that received grants:

You can visit My Adopting Story to read their full stories. The joy in this is that people read their stories, their hearts were touched, they gave towards the adoption process and now two children will leave behind a life of doubt, uncertainty and loneliness and join a forever family that will love them and provide for their needs. It’s exciting and it’s God’s heart for these children! We are excited that we’ve been given the legal clearance to disperse grants as well! The fundraising has begun, donations (tax-receipted) are being accepted and we are accepting applications from families looking to adopt a child into their family. We also want to let you know that when you give to this ministry, there is no administration cost being deducted from your donation. The money you give will be used to provide adoption grants to adopting families. We are currently providing the time and resources needed for administration.

Our new baby girl and a renewed passion for the orphan.....

Some exciting news at the Hull house, we just welcomed our first child into the world! This also explains the absence of blog posts over the past month, as it was quite a journey! However, she is safely home and we are learning how to be parents, which easier said than done, for those of you who know!

During this whole experience, I had a deeper revelation of adoption. You could say I experienced the call and importance of caring for the orphan at a whole new level in a few different ways. For those of you who are parents, you know that something unexplainable happens when you realize that God has just entrusted you with a life, a soul, a child and you are responsible and at the same time blessed to carry that responsibility. In that moment, you experience a deep love for this new child that can’t be explained. You have a strong sense of wanting to provide for, protect and care for this child. I felt so deep in my soul that this child deserves to have the best chance at life, to be protected, to be loved, to be wanted and accepted. I couldn’t imagine anything less for this precious gift from God. My heart was broken in a whole new way for every child that doesn’t have someone to feel this for them.

At the moment of her birth, our little girl was struggling to breathe. There was no family time alone in the room just after, as we had envisioned. Instead, Addison along with a very concerned dad were rushed off to the NICU where a team of nurses frantically worked on her, inside her incubator. You can imagine the feeling of watching this, powerless, being unsure if this was a life or death matter, etc. Throughout the night I stood watching, through the glass of the incubator, a little girl, a precious life, that I had grown to love so much in only a few hours, fight for every breathe. She flailed her arms and legs at times and it broke my heart to see her lying there, with no one to hold her. As far as she knew, she was fighting alone inside a glass box. She just looked so alone. I couldn’t touch her or hold her. I wanted her to know it would be ok and that she had so many people just outside that loved her so much. It was in that moment, there in the NICU, that my mind started to picture the babies around the world, with no one on the other side of that glass incubator. I started to picture babies, fighting for their lives, with no one to hold them after. I saw those same helpless babies, only they really were alone. The aloneness that I saw in my baby girl that night, was a reality for millions. It broke my heart at a whole new level.

How can any baby start life like that? How can they start so alone and then continue through their years alone? How can any child who has only known the aloneness that I saw that night, have any chance at feeling accepted in life? I experienced a renewed sense of passion and calling for what we are called to do. I felt a piece of God’s heart for the orphan. Why are there so many references in the bible to caring for the orphan? Could it be that God looks down on each child, in their aloneness, and feels what I felt that night, but a thousand times more? When God gave us our instruction book for life, the Bible, did He continue to remind us throughout the pages to “care for the orphan” because it’s something that just can’t be overlooked? It’s just that important to Him. Every child needs to know the love that our baby girl felt when she finally came out of the NICU.  Children need families. It’s why this ministry exists. Did this touch your heart? Would you take a minute and invest into a family’s adoption. Would you help bring a child home to a loving family? Any amount helps, but please pray about what God would have you invest in the life of a precious child. Donate Here.

Considering adopting? Attend our first one-day info seminar....

This Saturday, August 6, at Southgate Church in Langley (#120 - 5501 204th St.), we are hosting our very first one-day adopting information seminar. This is a free event, we just ask that you bring $5 to cover the cost of lunch, which will be provided. This is very exciting for us, as we see another piece of this ministry come together. We have a few couples signed up already and we have lots of space if you are considering adoption or maybe even have some questions about the process and what it could look like for your family. Our goal is to host these one-day seminars regularly and work through materials that have been provided by some of our ministry partners, such as Focus on the Family and Family Life. Please email tamara@southgatechurch.ca to register or if you have any questions. We look forward to meeting you and supporting you through your adoption process, any way that we can.

Adopt without debt, is it possible?

While browsing the website for a US organization we are connected with, ABBA FUND, I saw this interesting resource. We have yet to begin our adoption process, however, the title intrigues me. One of the functions of Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry is to help reduce the barriers to adoption; a major one being finances. Is it possible to adopt without debt? The financial burdens of International and private adoption indicate that this would be very difficult, however, this might be worth a read. Here is the blurb from the website about the book:

In 2000, Julie and her husband, Mark, declared war on their debt – credit cards, student loans, cars and the house. Seven years later, as they wrote the check for their last mortgage payment, God called them to adopt two children from Ethiopia. A few months later, with their income unexpectedly cut by two-thirds, they wondered if they could finish the adoption without crossing back over into the red. When they brought Wendemagegn and Beza home 12 months later, Julie and her husband proved debt-free adoption is possible!

Passionate about helping others achieve their adoption dream, Julie shares how to find extra money in your household budget, apply for grants, and fundraise in order to build your family without saddling it with debt. With over $65,000 worth of creative fundraising ideas from more than 25 adoptive families, Adopt Without Debt shows you how to fulfill your adoption dream without signing away your financial freedom.

We have been learning about many creative ideas that people have used to fundraise for their adoption. The word creative seems to be applicable in this ministry. With so many barriers to adoption, we need to get creative to find solutions. God has designed His body creatively and He uses us to spur each other on as we pool our creativity. As we hear others' ideas, it sparks ideas of our own. Check out this book and let us know what you think. Perhaps you'll find some ideas that could work for you or be tailored to fit your situation. Check back as we add ideas we hear about to our Resource page.

An Update

It's been a couple of weeks, so we thought you were due for an update! Thank you to all that have been following along through email or reading the blog. We are excited to announce a newsletter will be coming out in July and will continue every three months after that. This will keep you updated on events, what's happening in the ministry and the needs. We are also hoping to highlight other churches that are starting orphan ministries. We have received emails from churches in Manitoba, Victoria, Salmon Arm and locally that are in the beginning stages of starting a ministry! It is obvious that God is working in pockets across Canada to bring hope to the orphan. If you are a church starting a ministry, please keep us updated on your story, how we can pray for you or help out, as we would love to highlight your story. We would ask everyone to pray for these ministries as well. Pray for favour with leadership and their congregations as they navigate, the often challenging, start up process.

On August 6, we are hosting our first adoption information seminar at Southgate Church in Langley! This will be a Saturday filled with information on the adoption process. If you are feeling called to adoption or even just curious and want to learn more, send us an email at tamara@southgatechurch.ca for more information or to sign up. This will be a free event, with a small charge to cover lunch.

We are in the planning stages of our first fundraising event. We have heard many suggestions and please feel free to pass on suggestions you have. Or maybe you have something you could offer to our fundraising evening. We'd love to hear from you! There are many aspects to this ministry, but fundraising will be ongoing, as the more we fundraise, the more grants we can distribute to see children come into loving families.

A new ministry is born.

This past Sunday we were given the opportunity to share Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry with our home congregation, Southgate Church. We have been so blessed by the support we’ve been given from our pastors and elders. They have really demonstrated that they are on board with the ministry. If you are considering starting a ministry in your church, begin to pray for the support and favour of your leadership team, it makes all the difference! Sunday went great, we were excited by the feedback and all of the people that wanted to help in different ways and who had no idea about the orphan crisis or what they could do about it. We are hearing the same messages over and over again. One is that people have no idea that the orphan crisis is so serious. They know it’s bad because everyone’s seen the occasional picture on TV or clip in a movie, but they are shocked by just how bad it really is. The other thing we keep hearing is that people have had a burning in their heart to do something about the orphan crisis, some for years, but have just not known where to turn to or start with that stirring.   

We have three mandates for this ministry, but we’re beginning to understand that the area of helping other churches launch their orphan ministries is much bigger than we anticipated. When you tap into what God is doing, you never know what kind of ride you’re in for! You are guaranteed that it will be full of adventure and challenge, but it will be the most fulfilling way to spend your life.

We met with a couple two weeks ago about their desire to start an orphan ministry at their church. We don’t know who left the meeting more excited! They were excited to get things going and we were so excited that this is actually beginning to happen! We knew that God was calling us to help others start ministries at their church, but this is the real deal, it’s happening! During out meeting, we talked about many practical details, offered insight on some of the things we have already walked through and heard from them about their heart and plans for the ministry. However, one of the most exciting things we took away from the meeting was the Kingdom mentality. There was a genuine desire, shared by everyone, to see God move through the Canadian Church in response to the orphan crisis, regardless of who’s name was on what or who’s materials or resources were used. We feel so strongly that the Spirit of God is quenched when we worry about who gets the credit for things or when we focus on our denominational differences. There seems to be a growing movement of people that want to work together, share resources, help each other build and then put God’s name on it. It’s exciting and it’s the kind of movement, we feel, the Spirit of God will breathe upon.

Jason and Nicole are starting their ministry, Brighter Tomorrows-Hope for Orphans, out of Sunshine Hills church in Delta. They just started their blog/website. Drop by, check it out and let them know you’re praying for them. One day, could there be an orphan ministry supporting the needs of adoptive families in every community in Canada? That’s what we’re praying for.

Thanks for an inspiring evening.

Thank you everyone who joined us for the Orphan Awareness night. Our team was so encouraged by the turnout, the feedback and the excitement surrounding what God is doing in Canada! It was great to be in a room full of people that are hearing the call of God to respond to the needs of the orphan and add their voice to the growing movement. We are more and more convinced that God is speaking to people about a common vision for Canada. We had approximately 90 people in attendance, 17 churches represented and a  number of people interested in starting an orphan ministry in their church. We also heard from a number of people that are considering starting the adoption process. Last week, we met with a couple that has started down the road of beginning an adoption ministry in their church. We came away from the meeting so excited that the heart of the couple was to join forces with a network of adoption ministries. We feel so strongly that God’s Kingdom vision is to set our personal agendas aside and work together, in unity, for His purposes. God is connecting us with people from different backgrounds and denominations that have a common desire to see children brought into families and adopted families supported. We have a vision to see a network across Canada of ministries that accomplish this purpose. We want to help churches start ministries and walk with them as they grow. We envision ministries that share insight, wisdom and resources to accomplish a common goal.

This Sunday is a big day for the ministry as we are launching our first Orphan Sunday! This will be the beginning of awareness in Southgate Church about Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry. Our pastor will be sharing about orphan’s from Ephesians and then we will be sharing about the ministry, our team, vision and how the congregation can take part in what God is doing. Please pray for us, that God would speak through us and stir the people’s hearts to compassion and excitement for what He wants to do through this ministry in Southgate.  

The Stirring in Canada

It seems that every great preacher, at one time, has started their sermon with the Webster’s definition of a word to launch into their sermon on a topic. So we feel the time has come for our blog to begin that way! So here is what came up when I looked up stirring. “characterized by action rather than by contemplation or speculation” and “giving rise to excitement.” Well, that seems to pretty much sum it up! This is what we’ve been experiencing over the past few months as we’ve begun to connect with more and more people that seem to have a similar story. They have a passion in their heart to do something about the orphan crisis. It breaks their heart, but they’re not sure where to start and they’re not connected with others that have the same passion in their heart. I love “characterized by action rather than by contemplation or speculation.” Sometimes there can be so much talk and dreaming about a movement, but action is what is needed. Don’t misunderstand, we wouldn’t be here without the dreaming, but sometimes we just need to step out, take action and see what God will do.
 

Here is a quote from an email we received the other day. “things were still burning inside me and I had no clue how to see change in Canada. It also seemed to me that there was no one else really doing anything in this realm.” We have had many conversations like this over the past months. We continue to meet people or be contacted by those that want to get involved in the growing orphan movement. It seems as though God is stirring His people from all over the country and beginning to organize and introduce them to each other!

 

We are realizing that we may have been dreaming too small when we started this ministry. It now seems like God is giving us vision for a Canada-wide movement! We are realizing that we are going to be meeting people from across the country, connecting and working together for a common goal; to see the Church of Canada take it’s proper place on the front-lines of the orphan crisis. We don’t feel that it’s biblically accurate that the government should be leading the way in orphan care! It seems clear in scripture that God has commissioned His people to lead the way in creative ways to meet the needs of the orphan.

 

Please join us this Friday night for our Orphan Awareness Dessert Evening at Christian Life Assembly (21277 56ave, Langley) at 7:30pm. You will hear information on what this ministry and other’s like it are doing, how you can get involved and help the orphan, how we can help your church can start an orphan ministry and even how you can adopt. There will be testimony from an adoptive mother and her adopted son. The evening will be exciting and we are expecting God to speak powerfully to everyone in attendance about His heart for the orphan and His desire for His church to engage in relieving their plight. We look forward to seeing you there. Please email any questions to tamara@southgatechurch.ca

Check out this creative idea....

As I think we’ve mentioned earlier, back when this crazy adventure began, we hopped on a plane to Texas to attend the Together for Adoption conference to see what God might speak to us about the journey we were embarking on. We left after work on Thursday, flew through the night, touched down at 8:30am, just in time to make the half hour drive to the 9am conference! We had no idea just how much God would speak to us that weekend and how blown away we would be by the stories we heard, things we learned and vision we would receive. Throughout the weekend, we heard from many speakers and attended numerous sessions. We came home with our suitcases full of resources and information. Most of the stories we heard, really inspired us and we heard some really practical examples of how the Church is responding to the call to care for the orphan. One of the main messages of the weekend, to the Church, was that every Christ follower is mandated to care for Orphans. It will look different for each person, but we all have that call. We want to share a creative way of how one man responded to that call.

We each attended different seminars, but one that I went to was put on by a ministry called Both Hands. The story goes like this. The founder of the ministry was inspired to raise money for an orphan ministry in his church, so he decided to put on a golf tournament. Sounds like a good idea for a fundraiser. Well, as he was calling his friends to ask for their pledge, one of his friends told him, “I’m not going to pay money for you to go out and golf, why don’t you go help a widow or something and then I’ll think about it!” As he thought about his rude friend’s comments, he started to think, “maybe that is a good idea” and Both Hands was born. Now, we have nothing against golf tournaments for fundraisers, other than the fact that I lose more money in golf balls than I end up raising for the cause, however, listen to this creative idea. Through his Church, he connected with a widow who was in bad need of some house repairs. He then took his team of people that were going to enter into the golf tourney and had them each send out sponsor letters, the same as being sponsored for the golf tourney. However, the catch was, they were being sponsored to put in a days work at the widow’s house. So each member of the team raised their sponsorship goal and committed to work on the designated day at the house. All of the money raised went to providing adoption grants and the widow had a team of labourers take care of the work that needed to be done at her house. What a great idea! In a real response to James 1:27, this ministry helps both the widow and the orphan in the same fundraiser! The ministry carries on like this, helping organize teams that want to help raise support and connecting them with widows that need a helping hand. It is ideas like this that make us dream about what might be possible here in Canada. We will continue to share ideas as we write, maybe you have some of your own that you could contribute?

Don’t forget our Orphan Awareness dessert evening at Christian Life Assembly in Langley on Friday, May 13 at 7:30pm. Whether you’re interested in adopting, wondering how to start an orphan ministry at your church, interested in how you can get involved, or just want to see what we’re up to and support, we hope to see you there! Email tamara@southgatechurch.ca to RSVP or with any questions. Bless you as you pray and dream for the orphan, with us. 

There's something for everyone to do.

Let me start by saying, the adoption seminar was great on Friday. We were so encouraged by the response! Focus on the Family wasn’t sure how many people to expect, but there ended up being around 110 people in attendance for the seminar portion. We had some conversations with people that are really excited to get an orphan ministry started at their church. We are believing for a growing network of people that have the needs of the orphan on their heart. Part of this ministry will involve connecting with people at different churches that want to start something, but aren’t sure of the next step. We want to create a model at Southgate Church, that could be adapted and tailored to the needs of any church. We want to walk people through what a proposal to their elders might look like, what their next steps could be and what their ministry could look like. We feel there are many people that have a passion to start something at their church, but just aren’t sure where to go with that passion. If that’s you, get in touch with us!

Now, the next question might be, what if I’m not someone who can or who feels called to start something at my church? Well, don’t worry, we still have something for you! One of the biggest revelations that we’ve had throughout this whole process, concerns the Biblical mandate for ALL Christ-followers to care for orphans. The Bible is clear that as a follower of Christ, there are many ministries that we can dedicate our time too, places we can serve and ways we can serve our church and community. However, when it comes to the orphan, we are mandated to help them. The Bible even goes as far as to say that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is to look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself  from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). That’s a pretty serious call! We know that not every Christian can or feels called to adopt. So what does this look like for those that aren’t going to adopt? One of the reasons for starting this ministry is the passion we have to see the whole church engaged in this crisis. It is possible and we’ve heard the stories of where it’s being done.

The churches of Colorado have started something called Project 1:27 where their vision is “no waiting children in Colorado.” When they started in 2005, there were 875 children waiting to be adopted out of the foster care system. Today there are only 365 waiting children. The most amazing thing is though, that the whole church has committed to this! Not everyone has adopted a child, but as a church family, they are committed to gathering around these adoptive families to offer what they can. Some provide finances, some pay for the needs of the children, some help with life expenses. Others are builders and have offered services to adopting families. A group of construction workers said they would renovate the basement to add extra rooms for any family adopting. Others offered babysitting services so parents could have a night out together. Others helped with shopping, yard work or house maintenance. Basically, the church said, if you’re going to adopt, we’re going to offer our wide variety of skills and abilities to make your life easier, so that you can focus your attention on the child you’ve provided a home for. Does this sound possible? Of course it does! I could take 5 minutes and think of about 50 different abilities of people I know at our church. We can do this church! One of our dreams for the future is to have a point person in our ministry that just connects people wanting to serve, with adoptive families.

This topic is big and I’ll spend some more time next week on some more thoughts. Please mark Friday, May 13^th at 7:30pm on your calendars. We are having a dessert evening at Christian Life Assembly in Langley (21277 56^th Ave.). It is not a fundraiser, but it is for anyone who is stirred in any way about the plight of the orphan. We want to connect with potential adopting families about how we can help, churches that may want to start an orphan ministry, individuals that feel they want to help, or just anyone who feels they may have a part to play in the orphan crisis. Come hear what we’re doing and how you can be involved. You’ll be inspired for what God is doing!

Some New Updates

Hi everyone, we're happy to give an update on some new things that are happening and some changes we've made. These are exciting times for the ministry, as things seem to be moving ahead rather quickly and we're getting closer to seeing some things that we've been dreaming about, start to happen.

First, we hope you can join us at the adoption conference and Steven Curtis Chapman concert this Friday, April 8th. The Chapman's are real advocates for the needs of orphans around the world, have adopted three children themselves and started Show Hope, the ministry that we were first inspired by. We have modeled much of Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry after what they have been doing in their ministry. Check out the link for the End the Wait Tour if you want to come and hear more about how you can meet the needs of the orphan. We will be presenting during the afternoon conference session and would love for you to come and hear our heart and vision for the orphan. 

Second, we have a dessert evening coming up on Friday, May 13th at CLA at 7:30pm. This is a free event highlighting how you or your church can get involved in the orphan crisis or perhaps start an orphan ministry at your church. We really need help getting the word out, as this will be a major starting point for connecting with other churches about how we can help them start orphan ministries at their churches. Please help us create awareness about this, thanks!

Third, you may have noticed some changes to the blog format. We are very excited to launch our new Above and Beyond Orphan Ministry website! You can now use the website address http://www.above-and-beyond.ca/ when directing people to this ministry. Have a look around as we've begun to build the site. This will be our contact point for families wanting to adopt and people wanting to help. We are also on the brink of being able to receive donations towards adoption grants and no-interest loans, very exciting! Then we'll start seeing some children come into their forever families, the whole purpose of this ministry. 

So please, at this point, awareness is our biggest need! Post our website to your wall on Facebook, tweet us, email about us, tell about us, however you communicate. Help us spread the word. We need churches to hear about what we're doing and come on board to start their own ministries. We need donors to fund the adoption grants and no-interest loans and we need families to know where they can come for help when they want to adopt. Thanks for reading, we appreciate it! 

Steven Curtis Chapman is coming to town on behalf of the orphan!

We are excited to let everyone know about a concert and conference coming up on Friday, April 8, 2011. Steven Curtis Chapman is coming to town with the “End the Wait Tour.” Steven Curtis Chapman has a ministry called Show Hope http://www.showhope.org/ which was the first ministry we first saw that assisted families wanting to adopt. They are also partnered with an orphanage in China. This ministry was such an inspiration to us, as we dreamed about what might be possible in Canada. As we looked at what they do and how they do it, we began to put together the Canadian ministry “Above and Beyond.” The Chapman’s have an amazing heart to see waiting children find “forever families” and the focus of this tour is to raise awareness in 13 cities across Canada about adoption and how the church can be involved in this important mandate from scripture. There is a conference happening in five of the cities and Burnaby will be one of those cities! We are fortunate to have a chance to speak at the conference and we would love as many people as possible to come out and support us on this journey, as well as see what role you and your church could play in the orphan crisis. Steven Curtis Chapman and Geoff Moore will also be sharing in a question and answer period during the conference about our response to the needs of orphans. We really hope you’ll join us as we dream about getting Canada excited about what we can do to see the wait ended for millions of precious children! Here is the link if you want to learn more about this event:

http://www.endthewait.ca/tour/

The Time is Now!

Last Thursday, in the weekly life group that we lead, we talked about the state of world poverty, what the Bible has to say, and our response to it. It is a subject that we are very passionate about. We feel so blessed to live where we do, have the opportunities that we have and not have to live in daily fear about our safety or where our next meal will come from. Living in a country as incredible as Canada is truly a blessing, but it is also so easy to get comfortable in our blessings and forget how the rest of the world lives. Of course we don’t really forget, but it sure can seem distant as we deal with the daily stresses and issues of life here. I find that often, I need to be brought back to the reality of the true state of the world, to remind myself what is really important and what my mission really is here on earth. Here are some statistics that really shook us up. As you read them, let them sink in, let them cause your heart to break. These stats make us uncomfortable, but if we allow them to break our hearts, they will move us to action.

Of the 6.7 Billion People in the World Today:

1 Billion people don’t have enough food to eat.

25,000 children die each day from largely preventable causes (9.2 million children per year).

1.1 Billion people do not have access to safe water.

We use about 100 litres of water for a five-minute shower; a person in a developing country would average about 10 litres per day.

90 Million children are not in school.

2% of disabled children in developing countries receive an education.

33 Million people are living with HIV in the world today.

5,479 people die each day of AIDS.

12 Million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS (This number is projected to reach 14 million by 2015.)

300,000 children under 18 currently serving in government forces or armed rebel groups.

9 Million children have been forced to flee their homes and live as refugees.

After a visit to India, Gospel for Asia founder, KP Yohannan returned with the following newspaper clipping:
 On the front page there was a picture of a little boy lying on a sidewalk next to a dog, and if you look closely at the picture you can see that the boy is actually sucking milk out of the female dog, just to get a little bit of nourishment. The caption under the picture said, ”This dog is his mother.” The article went on to explain that there are 100,000 children on the streets of just one city in India who don’t have anyone at all to take care of them.

In a world where we are so advanced and have so much at our disposal, this should not be. However, it is the world that is a reality for most orphans around the world. They are the most vulnerable; they are the ones that are affected most by these stats. In the position of blessing that we find ourselves in, here in North America, we must respond to this challenge. The time is now!

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Luke 12:48b

Statistic Sources:
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2008; FAO, 2009)
- United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2009. The State of the World’s Children.
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report (HDR) 2006.
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2003. World Environment Day website.
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 2007. Education For All Global Monitoring Report.
- Child Rights Information Network 2007
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). 2008. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2008.
- Human Rights Watch 2006. Facts About Child Soldiers.
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2007.

Righteous anger!

We just finished a meeting with our team and we are encouraged about the direction things are going! We are moving ahead and it feels like we are making progress towards the goal of seeing waiting children come into their forever families. Earlier this week we read some discouraging things about the world state of adoption. There seems to be increasing roadblocks for families trying to adopt and the children that are so desperate for a family and someone to care for them. It’s hard not to become angry when you hear stories of children suffering and dying for lack of a family, families that want to adopt and then governments or individuals standing in the way and stopping the two from coming together. We must remember that God is bigger than these challenges and it is His heart’s desire to see waiting children in loving homes. We must continue to pray for these things and “rally the troops” to answer the call to action. Will you help us raise the alarm and pray?

Our friend Jason Kovacs from ABBA Fund in the US (http://abbafund.wordpress.com/) posted an article this week about the state of international adoption. Here is a little sampling of it:

“International adoption is under siege, with the number of children placed dropping each of the last several years, and many countries imposing severe new restrictions. Key forces mounting the attack claim the child human rights mantle, arguing that such adoption denies heritage rights, and often involves abusive practices. Many nations assert rights to hold onto the children born within their borders, and others support these demands citing subsidiarity principles. But children’s most basic human rights are to grow up in the families that will often be found only in international adoption. These rights should trump any conflicting state sovereignty claims.”

It appears obvious that the rights of the child are being “advocated for”, but really are the last thing actually considered. Those involved are more concerned about ensuring “heritage” is preserved or a country keeps those born there, than actually giving a child a chance for a loving family or a future. We know that human trafficking is major problem in our world today, but Jason followed the article with this interesting quote: “To say international adoption leads to human trafficking and should be stopped is like saying marriage leads to spousal abuse and should be ended.”

Again, we must come back to the fact that God is bigger than the forces that try to block what He is doing on the earth. It is healthy to feel anger well up inside over issues like this. However, the proper response is not hatred and anger at those involved, but rather turning towards God in prayer and asking what our part would be to take action and make a difference. What will your part be?

An Orphan's Prayer

An Orphan’s Prayer
I am waiting...somewhere far...far...away on the other side of the world. I may not know who you are or what you look like, but some how deep in my heart I know you are out there. That one day you will come and find me. It's a long journey,and it takes a lot of time... I wish it could be easier. But I know that the ones who come for me will not count the cost. They will only see the joy of finding me. For now I abide in the fields of the fatherless. Day by day wondering why I was born here and not somewhere else? Asking....why my life couldn't have been different.

It is so lonely...Even though I am surrounded by hundreds of other children, I know something is missing... I know in my heart I need a place to call home. My arms long to be wrapped in a father's embrace..I long to be saved by a mother's love...

Gazing out the orphanage window I offer a prayer of hope,"Oh, God, please help them come quickly." Even as I lay there in the darkness each night somehow I feel assured, that no matter how lost I appear I am not alone,

Holy hands guard my steps, sacred fingers wipe my tears, touching my lonely heart. The one who made me, the God that knew me before I was born, hears me every time I call. He whispers his promises in my ear. I listen with hope to His voice.

But what I worry about most is that no one wants to look for me. The fields are vast and there are so many scattered all over the earth. I wonder how one little child, so lost can be found?

Yet he calms my heart and assures me,that He will find you. That he will make sure that you hear His voice clearly. He has promised me that He will make a way through the fields. That he will personally cut a path,and lead you right to my orphanage door.

My prayer is... When he speaks... Please don't forget to listen... When he calls don't be too afraid to go. For I am waiting somewhere, far,...far...away, on the other side of the world... TO COME HOME.

This poem was taken from the adoptive magazine "All God's Children"