Safe haven for families living with AIDS / orphans

We came across this great orphanage the other day and wanted to share. We’re always inspired by people who give up comfortable lives and friends and family here, to go and give their lives to serve the less fortunate. Whether they are Natives of that country or they come from another country to serve, they still give their lives and put themselves in harm’s way to help others. For the many of you out there that fit this description, we honour you!



Place of Rescue is an orphanage in Mongkol Borey, Cambodia. Cambodia is known for child trafficking issues, making orphans extremely vulnerable. Their website states: “Place of Rescue is a safe haven for families living with AIDS, orphan children and orphan grannies and young unmarried pregnant women. Rescue was founded as a Cambodian NGO in 2003. At that time all we had were 15 houses for AIDS families. Today Place of Rescue is home to 196 orphans and 23 destitute elderly women. In addition 57 more children live with their parents who have AIDS. Place of Rescue II located in Mongkol Borey, Cambodia is home to 100 orphans. In the province of Pailin 32 children are helped with donations of rice and school supplies. We hope to build an orphanage there soon to give them a secure home.”

You can watch a video here of the founder sharing stories of changed lives on 100 Huntley Street.

Maybe take a minute and send them an email today, encouraging them in the work they do or do the same for an orphanage or friend you know serving the needs of the orphan. With so many day to day issues orphanages must face, I’m sure every note of encouragement speaks huge volumes!

Adoption info seminar in Burlington, Ontario

Please RSVP to hopefororphansworkshop@gmail.com to register.

Wisdom from a 1st grader...

We thought this was some good wisdom from a 1st grader that our pastor shared with us this week.

Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair colour than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, "I know all about adoption, I was adopted."

"What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child.

"It means," said the girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!"

I love how children see things. Reminds me of when Jesus was talking, in Matthew 18:3, about seeing and receiving the Kingdom of heaven like a child.

Adoption Information Seminar

We are having our next adoption information seminar on April 14. 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, April 14, 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 April 7.

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

Southgate Church answers the call to child sponsorship!

This past Sunday, we announced to Southgate Church that we had just received word from our church-plant in Jamaica that the orphanage they are connected with, New Hope Children’s Home had to turn away three babies because they could not afford the formula and diapers. We were heartbroken by this, as was the congregation, as evidenced by their response to our new sponsorship program. The orphanage currently has 24 children and they can accommodate up to 31 if the finances are there. We laminated 24 child packages and joked with the first service that maybe they would take them all.

Well, take them all, they did and there was still a line up at the table! So we furiously ran to the back to duplicate the 24 packages, so that there are two sponsors for each child at $20/month each. This huge blessing will enable the orphanage to help provide for their needs and make sure that they can take in new babies as they come.

Needless to say, we are so proud of our congregation for stepping up to meet the need after a 2 minute presentation! By the end of the second service, we only had 8 packages remaining. If you’re reading this and you have a spot in your heart and on your fridge for one of these little beauties, send us an email and we’ll get one into your hands. Pray with us that the orphanage will be blessed as they serve the needs of these precious souls.  

tamara@southgatechurch.ca