This Sunday, November 8, is "Orphan Sunday". As you are aware, this is a topic very dear to our hearts. Please pray and consider how God wants you to be involved in this "pure and undefiled religion" (James 1:27). It may be by praying fervently for the orphans and the families who adopt or care for them. It may be by financially or materially supporting orphan ministry or adoptive/foster families. It may be God is calling you to be one of the families that make a personal difference in an orphan's life through adoption. Whatever God calls you to, be courageous and embrace it. Each of us has a vital part to play - I encourage you to do your part wholeheartedly.
Today I found a great resource for blog designs. Ali at Mission Field Designs creates custom blog designs for several blog platforms, including Homeschool Blogger. Aside from being a creative outlet for this mom of four, Ali is working to raise funds to help bring another precious child into their family through adoption. Having adopted ourselves, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to pay for the myriad of fees related to that process. If you have looked longingly at the plethora of templates available for other blogging platforms and wished there was something you could find for your HSB blog, head over to Mission Field Designs and let Ali help make your blog reflect you. Take a look at her gallery and see some of her creativity in action.
Over 50 million orphans in the world need families. This Christmas, consider giving the gift of a loving home to a child who wants nothing more than a family to love and belong to. If you can't open your home to an orphan, please consider helping another family bring their precious child home. Individually, we can't do everything, but together, we can each do something to make a difference in these dear children's lives.
Well I don’t know if you remember me or not
I’m one of the kids they brought in from the home
I was the red-haired boy in an old green flannel shirt
You may not have seen me – I was standing off alone
I didn’t come and talk to you, ‘cause that’s never worked before
And you’ll prob’ly never see this letter anyway
But just in case there’s something you can do to help me out
I’ll ask you one more time
All I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose
Shoulders to ride on if I win
There’s so much I could ask for
But there’s just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
is a family
Well I guess I should go ahead and tell you now
If it’s really true about that list you have
Somehow I always seem to end up in a fight
But I’m really trying hard not to be bad
But maybe if I had a brother or a dad to wrestle with
Well, maybe they could teach me how to get along
And from everything I’ve heard
Sounds like the greatest gift on earth would be a mom
All I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose
Shoulders to ride on if I win
There’s so much I could ask for
But there’s just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
Is someone who’ll be there
To sing me “Happy Birthday”
For the next 100 years
And it’s OK if they’re not perfect
Well, even if they’re a little broken, that’s alright
‘Cause so am I
Well, I guess I should go
It’s almost time for bed
And maybe next time I write you
I’ll be at home
‘Cause all I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I’ll never be alone
Someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for
Well, there’s just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
All I really want for Christmas is a family
Today I found a video clip of an interview Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife MaryBeth had on ABC news in early August. They shared candidly about the loss of their precious Maria Sue and how God is helping them heal and continue being there and engaging in the lives of their other children. I was blessed by their transparency and willingness to share their hearts as well as the sensitivity of the woman who interviewed them. I hope you will be blessed too.
This morning I woke to the news that little Maria Chapman (first little girl on the left, sitting in her daddy's lap in above photo), the youngest daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, was killed yesterday in a tragic accident. The Chapman family adopted their three youngest daughters from China and have been instrumental in promoting awareness of adoption and helping many families bring precious children home to their families. Please pray for this family.
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;
but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." -- Romans 8:15
My DH and I had a date night last night - our first, in... I don't know how long. It was wonderful! After dinner together, we attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert north of Pittsburgh, PA. The concert was great on it's own, but it was made even better by the thousands of attendees sharing hope with a family in the process of adopting one of God's treasures - an orphan child in Ethiopia. Over $4500 was given to help this family bring their precious child home. I speak from experience when I say that every penny counts. Being able to see this family blessed so generously was priceless. God is so good!
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." -- James 1:27 (NIV)
Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife MaryBeth have adopted three little girls from China, and in the past several years, their heart for the orphan and families wanting to give homes to them has been a prominent part of his concerts. Mr. H and I saw SCC in concert about six years ago, and that night, God's plan for us to adopt was solidified. In God's timing He provided for us, and in October 2006 we traveled to China to adopt our son. Our DS has been home for a year now. We are so blessed!
November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and because it is so dear to my heart, I wanted to share it. Not everyone is called to adopt, but those who are need the prayers and support of family, friends and the church body. Some people have been blessed by God with financial comfort and material blessings. Such people could make a vital difference in the lives of orphans by sponsoring adoptive families. By sharing their abundant resources they can significantly reduce the number of orphans in the world by helping bring children into families. Regardless of your financial status, everyone can pray for the orphans and the families waiting for them. These are some of the ways we can share hope. Everyone can do something to make a difference in an orphans life.
"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." -- Edward Everett Hale
Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents. 1
At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. 2
Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS. 3
Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s. 4
Where are they?
43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean. 5
1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone. 6
At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. 7
In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls. 8
What about AIDS?
More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. 9
By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million. 10
AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents. 11
As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. 12
What happens to the children?
Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation. 13
Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade. 14
Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict. 15
Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs. 16
What about foster care?
On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years. 17
118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004. 18
On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years. 19
Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care: 20
Outcome 21
Earned a high school diploma: 54%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
Were unemployed: 51%
Had no health insurance: 30%
Had been homeless: 25% 22
Were receiving public assistance: 30%
Is there any hope?
Yes. There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan.
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. We can each do something.
