ADOPT(ED)

ADOPT(ED) GOLF SCRAMBLE!

2010-08-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to sign up today for the Adopt(ed) Golf Scramble - it is held at the beautiful Golf Club of Oklahoma on October 4, 2010! Sign up as an individual or sign up your team HERE and email MINON if your business wants to be a tourney sponsor!

All proceeds benefit grants and loans to adoptive families, investing in the lives of foster care families, and international orphan care.

From last year's proceeds we were able to accomplish the following amazing things:

For Adoptions we gave out $16,000 in grants and loans that helped bring home 5 Children from Russia, South Korea, Ethiopia, and the US.

We were able to provide financial relief in partnership with Thirst No More to feed hundreds of orphans, provide water treatment for thousands, and provided financing to purchase a brick press that is a start to a long term development project in Haiti.  The first project of the press is to provide a 2000 square foot trade school for an orphanage in Caboret, Haiti - http://jbahaiti.org/

Internationally we have also sponsored two microloan projects for two women living in Cairo Egypt.  These women are widowers with children and we have assisted both of them by buying them sewing machines in which they can start seamstress businesses with.  We have also assisted with monthly food and financial assistance for these women to help them get going in their business during their first year of operation.  This project has been done in partnership with the Coptic Church

Lastly, we have hosted the Tulsa Advocates for the Protection of Children meeting.  This meeting had over 150 individuals that were involved in fostering children in the Tulsa County DHS program.  This event was meant to encourage these individuals and help them advocate for other families to become foster care parents.  TAPC doesn't always have the funding to put on these events and we were able to also provide the meal in partnership with them.

2nd Annual Chip in FORE Orphan's Golf Tournament!

2010-08-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hello ADOPT(ED) Group!

Just wanted to let you know that our 2nd Annual ADOPT(ED) Chip in FORE Orphans Golf Tournament is on the calendar for October 4th, 2010! It is being held at the prestigious Golf Club of Oklahoma.

All proceeds from this tournament will go to provide loans/grants to families that are adopting, to foster care ministry, and international orphan care.

So mark that date, and sign your team up! You can register your team by contacting Jessica Smith at jsmith@tcabc.com or 918-355-3699

Business owners who wish to support this effort with corporate sponsorships, please contact Minon Frye at minon@tulsametrowlaw.com for sponsorship information.

Sponsorship Team Volunteers are needed as well. If you would like more information about being on the Sponsorship Team (making contacts with business owners/managers), please contact Minon.

Alexis' adoption story....

2009-10-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

Our Adoption Story…

My husband, Bronson, and I dated six and a half years through college before we got engaged. We established our careers, got a dog, married, bought a home, paid some bills and then decided to get pregnant. We’d been happily married three years and wanted this more than anything. It was a natural and easy pregnancy and soon we had Jace, a beautiful, healthy baby-boy. He was smart, adorable and easy-going. We devoted all of our attention to him for the first three years. It was about that time he began to ask about a “baby brother or sister”. To be honest, I wasn’t sure we were ready but it seemed like the next step. We never had any fears of getting pregnant a second time. Our whole life together was written like a chapter book in perfect chronological order. We were blessed beyond belief.

Without going over every clinical moment in our efforts to conceive…I can state the facts. We tried for about six months and finally got pregnant and then suddenly lost it after only seven weeks. We had just begun to share our exciting news with everyone. I was shocked and numb. The doctor advised waiting at least three months after the procedure before trying again. The doctors ran a few hours behind schedule that day. I had plenty of time to go over every detail of what I could have done to cause the miscarriage. The hardest part was to see people’s faces and listen to them apologize after they had congratulated us minutes before. I waited until I was physically able to begin trying again. Emotionally I wasn’t ready, but I felt I owed it to my family to be “tough”.

Now, conceiving had taken priority in our lives. It became methodic, robotic, and unnatural. It took about nine months to get pregnant again. This time we held our breath, never allowing ourselves to get excited. We lost that pregnancy at five weeks. It had been exactly one year since our previous miscarriage, almost to the day. It was two weeks until Christmas. We didn’t want to ruin this for our son, so we kept all those events private. This was something we couldn’t begin to comprehend, how could we expect a five year old to understand? As our friends had their first then second child, we tried to wear happy faces. We listened to all the unsolicited advice and analyzed every possibility of what we could be doing wrong. I recorded my monthly cycles. Our son prayed every night for three years about getting a “baby-brother or sister”. One night, I went in to kiss him good-night and caught him crying. He wanted to know why God hadn’t answered his prayers yet.

We began to see a fertility doctor. We had a cabinet full of ovulation kits and a trash full of negative pregnancy test sticks. I had blood drawn numerous times. Maybe the professionals could help us make sense of all this. We didn’t care how much it cost; we were on a mission. I had all the fertility tests run then got a final diagnosis. The specialist reported I had very few viable eggs and the ones I did have, probably had chromosome defects. I was 35! I had been taking my vitamins, eating right and exercising for years. I was educated and had read all the right books. Then I began to resent my body. I had always been told I looked young for my age. If only people knew what was wrong with me on the inside. I was angry. Women had been getting pregnant since the beginning of time. This was the reason God had put man on earth…to procreate. It was so simple. What was wrong with me? There were people around us getting pregnant, who didn’t want to be pregnant. Why would this happen to us?

My husband and I haven’t always had a fairytale life. We both had “rough childhoods” and chose not to dwell on those pasts. During the time of our infertility, my husband’s Dad, had been diagnosed with cancer, of which, he slowly declined. I was no stranger to loss myself. My mother died when I was 12 years old. I can say being an only child of a young, single mom who died in a sudden accident was a challenge. I had successfully survived that tragedy. But I never imagined infertility would affect me, my husband, my marriage, my job and my life the way that it did. I learned a painful lesson about myself and about my deep desire to have another child. It was not something I wanted because it would be the logical next step or something just to please my family, friends and society. I wanted this like food, water or air. I feared this could end up being an empty hole in my life if I just accepted the situation. I felt ashamed for not being satisfied with one perfect kid. At times, I behaved in ways I wish had not. I just did not know how to deal with all the pain. I couldn’t even imagine my life as a mother ending with just my son. My husband was beginning to realize his father probably would not survive the cancer. And now he had to watch me slowly fall apart. We became strangers to each other. My husband thought if we didn’t talk about the infertility…it would go away. I tried to bury my feelings so I didn’t inconvenience anyone.

We began to attend The Church at Battle Creek as an effort to bring something positive into our lives. At that point, I was just going through the motions of my daily routine. Later we realized the church and Pastor Alex had a great passion for adoption. I only wished I had the courage to do something like that. I was scared and unsure of what would happen to our family. I felt guilt for not being able to give my son his greatest wish. I decided for once in my life to let go and not try to be in control of the future. That had always been my way of life, but had not been working for me recently. I was sick of crying and being in a bad mood, but found it difficult to dig myself out of that dark hole. I knew my options and was tired of talking about them. I even tried to accept the idea of having only one child and spending more time with our niece. I had a baby-niece who could always use our help since her parents were so young. Was this what God wanted for me? So, I finally asked. “God, if you only want me to have one child, PLEASE, make this desire go away. If I am to be blessed with another then give me a sign…any sign of hope.” I prayed that prayer multiple times a day for months.

I was given my diagnosis from the fertility doctor on a Thursday and that following Sunday was Mother’s Day. As if it couldn’t get any worse, that morning when we arrived at church, we found out it was baby dedications. I quickly prayed “God give me the strength to get through this service”. I was doing well and all those cute babies were a distraction. Pastor Alex acknowledged it was a joyous time for these families, but he also wanted to recognize it was a painful time for others. Then that pivotal moment in our life came. He asked any families suffering from infertility to please stand and let the church pray for them at that moment. I felt my husband take my hand and together we stood. For once in my life I was speechless. Neither, my husband or I are emotional, but we were deeply moved by the people around us who began to pray. When we got out to the car, I looked at my husband and asked what he thought of us adopting. I had asked God for a sign; I just never imagined he would give us neon, flashing arrow pointing in the direction of hope. And that was the beginning, of the journey our family was about to go on.

Everyday after Mother’s Day was one step closer to our decision to adopt. We talked to friends and family about our plan to adopt a baby. We spoke to many families who had adopted both locally and internationally. The dentist I worked for had adopted his two daughters from China. Both local and international adoptions cost about the same, but international adoptions tend to take longer to complete. Then I began calling different agencies in Tulsa and Oklahoma City to find out what were the criteria and costs of adoptions. I have always been concerned that there are children all over the world who deserve to be adopted. At this time in my life, I felt there was a child who needed to be adopted, and possibly, near my hometown.

We were surprised at the expense, the strict criteria and the extensive background checks involved in an adoption. One agency with good recommendations required the adoptive family prove that one parent would stay at home with the child, until he or she was in the first grade. If a family planned to rely on grandparents, sisters or aunts to care for their child after they returned to work, they could be refused acceptance into the program. A mother who returns to her career, part- time, after her child is a toddler is considered less of an acceptable parent? What if the family has no other children living at home to interact with this adopted child? What if to cover the expenses of an adoption, both parents must work? One agency required documentation and an interview with the pastor to demonstrate your life long history in a church. I was raised in a single-parent household to a teenage mother and not given an opportunity to grow up in a church. Did this make me any less of a Christian?

When we found Heritage Family Services, we realized, it was an agency that shared our beliefs in an open adoption. Their goal is to put a child into a loving Christian home and have a positive outcome for all parties involved, be that, the Birth Mom, Adoptive Parents and Child. We felt a sense of peace and calm after our first consultation with the agency. My husband and I had many questions and concerns. It seemed from the moment we decided to begin the adoption process everything began to fall perfectly into place. It was nothing special we did. For the first time in my life, I let God be in control. Heritage helped us understand the adoption process and would walk us through each step. The agency would answer any of our questions and council us and the Birth Mom. From the beginning, we had great concern for the physical and emotional well being of our future Birth Mom. We hoped to have a local open adoption of a newborn. It never mattered to us the race or gender of the child. We hoped someday to be able to openly talk about our adoption as an amazing blessing that changed our family. We never wanted it to be something we whispered privately about. To act as if it was a secret, would lessen the impact it could have on our whole family. If by the grace of God, we were blessed with another child, we would never want to take that gift for granted. Hopefully, by sharing our story we could give strength to another family who may be going through a similar situation.

As we were going through the adoption process, we would go to my husband’s hometown on weekends to visit my Father-in-law, Fred. He was only fifty-nine years old and had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was receiving treatments. He was such a happy and carefree man. I don’t think any of us ever allowed ourselves to believe he could die from this disease. Fred was still going to work and only taking days off for his treatments. Six months into the adoption process we completed all the necessary paperwork and background checks. Debbie, at Heritage, told me to relax and take my time working on our Life Book. She was well aware of Fred’s illness because of all our recent meetings and interviews. She encouraged us to focus on our family and to prepare ourselves; it was going to be a long wait. The following week, we got a call from Bronson’s brother to come to his parent’s home because hospice felt the end was near. We rushed to Chickasha to be with all of Bronson’s immediate family. We had seen Fred just the weekend before and he seemed fine. Tired… but after all he was sick. I’m SO grateful we were given those last days to be with Bronson’s family and given the opportunity to say our good-byes to Fred. That was an experience I learned was priceless with my mother’s sudden death. Never assume that tomorrow there will be another chance to tell someone how much they mean to you.

We had our last church service with his Dad in Bronson’s Mother’s living room, by his father’s bedside. His father passed away the next day. We were all by his bedside and the funeral was three days later. After the funeral my husband insisted we get back home and try to continue in our normal routine of work and school. The night of the funeral we returned home late. As we listened to messages on our answering machine we realized we missed a phone call from Heritage. I called them back the next day from work. They asked how quickly I could get my Life Book turned in to the agency. They said they had a prospective Mom coming in that week and would like to have our book available with all the other families. I worked on our Life Book until 4 a.m. and turned it in the following afternoon. That Friday the agency called and said they had a Birth Mom who wanted to meet us after seeing our scrapbook. Our son still knew nothing of the adoption; so I took the phone call in the backyard of my home. I’m glad I did, because when Debbie, the social worker, began describing the physical characteristics of the Birth Mom they were similar to mine. Our mother and father were even the same nationality and we all wanted an open adoption. I remember Debbie saying she was carrying a baby girl who was due in 6 weeks!!! It was pretty much a blur after that. I could barely see as the tears filled my eyes. I just remember pacing and trying to get myself together before I called my husband at work and gave him the amazing news.

It was not as difficult as I thought it would be to keep our seven year old son from finding out we were waiting on the birth of a child. Jace had always been very trusting of us and never the type to question what we told him. About three weeks before the baby was due, we began working on our baby room and bringing baby items down from the attic. We chose a day he had been spending time with his grandparents to get some work done. As we prepared the room, we kept it locked to avoid our son becoming suspicious. We had never turned the baby room into anything else after our son moved into a big-boy’s room. At times, it had been a very sensitive subject. It was painful for me to even go in that room or look at the mural painted on the wall. The baby furniture was still in its place and the meadow scene was still on the north wall. I would even get upset when anyone else went in the room. The door remained shut and the room had been vacant for about the last four years.

About two weeks before the due date, Jace asked why his Dad was spending time in the baby room and where I was taking all those sacks and boxes. I told him we had a friend who was pregnant and she was alone and needed our help after she delivered her baby. I asked him if he would mind us helping her and he said “no” and that he thought it would be fun. Remember, Jace had been praying about getting a sibling for about three years now. He had always enjoyed playing with other friend’s younger siblings too. We knew he would make a great Big Brother. The hard part was being patient. Now it seemed our patience was about to pay off. I never allowed myself to get very excited. We knew legally, birth moms are able to change their minds after the baby is born. It was a scary thought, but one you had to prepare everyone involved for. I prayed for God to give me the strength to accept the birth mother’s choice no matter how painful. If this baby was meant to be our child, it would be. If the birth mom changed her mind, then the child was never meant to be ours. I could never pressure or force someone to make the decision to give up a child to benefit my family. That is a pain I would never inflict on anyone. I couldn’t live with myself if I was given a child knowing the birth mom regretted it. I knew what it felt like to lose someone you cared for very deeply.

From the beginning, we really wanted to get to know our Birth Mom. This was a relationship that was going to have a huge impact on our family. If not today, then someday when our adopted child is grown. Honestly, the trust develops over time, but it also requires a leap of faith. We wanted to put ourselves on the line, at least in the hopes of helping someone in need. There had to have been some reason we were all brought together. We were surprised at how quickly our friendship developed. All of our meetings felt natural and easy. There was an instant connection and respect for our Birth Mom. We could not have dreamed up a more perfect birth mom. To this day, I don’t know if she realizes the magnitude of the positive impact she has had on all my family and friends.

We realized the importance of medical records and personality profiles. One of the most important reasons to develop a good open relationship with the Birth Mom is for the adopted child to know all the effort, planning and love everyone put into placing them in the best home. Also, making sure the birth mom, adoptive parents and child all have the best chance at health, happiness and a sense of peace in how the story ends. The benefit of an open adoption is that there are no closed doors; only the opportunity to extend the amount of love that surrounds this child.

There are no rules in an open adoption. The best rule is to achieve good communication about what everyone involved is comfortable with. Being respectful, communicating and listening to what each party wants. We loved our Birth Mom the moment we first met her. In just a few weeks, we tried to get to know her as a person. We didn’t want to treat her as though she had something we would benefit from. We wanted to treat her like we would any young girl who was pregnant and needed support both physically and emotionally. We wanted what was best for her and her baby. I tried not to think of the baby as mine…not yet, at least. A couple of weeks before she went into labor, she asked if I would like to be in the delivery room. I said “yes”, but had no idea that event would be life changing. When she went into labor, she called me from the hospital and told me I could come up. I got there as quickly as I could. I was warmly welcomed by her two girlfriends who would also be present during the delivery. They helped me take pictures and video of our big day. We were so grateful of all their kind and supportive words about my husband and I being the baby’s parents. I got to know her friends as we patiently waited on the baby’s arrival. Whenever the nurses came in to check on her progress I would go update my family and friends in the waiting room. I was speechless when I witnessed my daughter being born. We named her, Alexis Jillian. Jillian was after my mother, Jill. I will never forget the flood of love and emotion that hit me the moment I saw her beautiful face. Where had this all come from? I had kept my heart safely guarded from a baby I had never seen or touched. Now in this moment, I realize my logic was powerless against the intense love I felt for this child. There is no less intensity, of my love for this child, even though I did not carry her for nine months.

Bronson and I got to walk Alexis down to the nursery and give her, her first bath and bottle. With my son, I had a C-section and the side effects from the spinal block took a long time to resolve. I didn’t see my son for the first few hours after he was born. The birth of my daughter was nothing I expected or had experienced before. The benefit of not giving birth is the ability to experience all this with complete clarity. After my son’s delivery, I shivered uncontrollably as a result of the anesthesia. The hospital wouldn’t allow me to hold my son until that adverse effect ended. I was shaking that day Alexis was born too, but couldn’t put blame to the cause. I assume it was all the adrenaline. That same excitement kept us standing beside her bassinet in the nursery until 1:30 the next morning! My husband practically begged me to release my hand from her bassinet. I was afraid to walk away. I felt protective and afraid if I left I would miss something. I couldn’t stop staring at her. She was breath taking! What could I have possibly done to deserve this gift? For months after we brought her home, I would catch myself studying her face. How can God create something so perfect? I’ve never been the type to cry at funerals or sad movies. But often, I found my self joyfully crying when she smiled, or at her peaceful expression as she slept in my arms. I was blessed once with my son, and now, like a dream, I was being blessed to experience this kind of love, again. All I can do is show gratitude by sharing my story. I try not to focus on the fact I don’t feel I deserve this experience, but maybe Jace and Alexis do.

After we left the hospital and took our baby girl home, we felt a weight was lifted. My husband and I could relax and enjoy Alexis, with out concern of sharing her with anyone. At the hospital, the staff always turned to the Birth Mom on any of the babies needs. At times we felt like outsiders. Our Birth Mom had not done anything to give us concern. She had just wanted to spend time with Alexis until we took her home from the hospital. We made ourselves available for every possible moment we could bond with our new baby. We also believed Alexis needed to hear and feel love from the only mother she had ever known. Still we felt the burden of the remote possibility; she had the right to change her mind. She had the right to be a mother to this child if she believed she could. We believed, if she didn’t change her mind in the first couple of days at the hospital, it was unlikely she would do it after we had taken Alexis home.

The biological parents all went down to our county court house and signed the legal documents, only four days after she was born. We were shocked and appreciative at how quickly they did this. Legally, it was like we were fostering our daughter and Heritage was her legal guardian. That day, when Jace came home from school, Bronson video-taped me telling Jace that our friend (Birth Mom) had asked us if we would like to keep Alexis and make her a part of our family. He was a bit confused at first. When he finally realized his wish had come true, he became very excited. He had no idea that he had participated in picking Alexis’ first name. He said “now we don’t have to pray to God about bringing us a baby- brother or sister anymore”. I couldn’t believe how smoothly everything had gone. Now we could enjoy our new family until the legal finalization in about six months. That first six months flew by! We got to watch Alexis grow and make wonderful memories with her. She has brought so much more meaning and purpose to our life. She is such a happy little girl and has the most beautiful smile. From this experience, I not only appreciate our daughter but I realize what a miracle our son is. It has given me a stronger relationship with Bronson and Jace. I learned a few things about myself and my sincere desire to be a mother too.

We would need to wait six months before we could petition to have her legally adopted by our family. At that time we would be responsible to get our own lawyer to represent us in our final hearing. On Mother’s Day, when Alexis was five months old, she was dedicated to our church. The baby dedications at TCABC are only twice a year. It had been Mother’s Day one year earlier at church when we were inspired to adopt.

Today, Alexis has brought immeasurable joy to my son’s, my husband’s and my life. I can’t imagine how life was before she became a part of our family. Life was good and now even better! I’m appreciative and respectful of the painful journey my family endured to get our daughter. I believe that I would not be the same person if I had easily gotten pregnant with our second child. If I learned one thing…it is sometimes you have to lose something important to realize what it means to you. I will be forever changed and humbled by my second chance at motherhood.

This adoption has had a powerful impact on everyone involved. People never cease to amaze me with their gifts, prayers or words of support. Members of my community group at church brought meals when we came home from the hospital. Life-long friends ask to babysit so Bronson and I can have a “date night”. It would take an eternity to acknowledge the people who have made this whole experience easier. Family, friends, coworkers, TCABC, Heritage Family Services and just people I share our story with along the way. Like, the generous woman who does my families alterations. She wants to do all our alterations but will not accept any money. She said our story has touched her life and just seeing this happy little girl is payment enough. At times I get embarrassed and have argued her generosity. I have to remind myself, to not accept her gift would only be my pride. Just as not sharing my story would be selfish. I might miss the opportunity to give one family or one person hope that miracles do happen. Even to everyday people who haven’t always lived a spirit-filled life.

Alexis is now nine months old and we had our final hearing in court to legalize the adoption. The last year was one of great joy and sadness for our families. This time last year my father-in-law was coming to the end of his battle with cancer. Our hearts were breaking. If you could have told me that a year into the future I would be the mother of a beautiful nine-month-old little girl, I might have told you to slow down. Unbelievably, the adoption process only took six months from the day we began working on our paperwork with Heritage to having Alexis in our arms. There is no other way to explain it than to say it was and is “a miracle”. We did nothing special except have faith.

There are many different types of adoptions: local, international, open, semi-open and closed to name a few. One is right for you and your family. I’m grateful we have found the one that has worked for us. I believe if the desire of your heart is truly there, then it is meant to be. Our God wouldn’t allow you to feel eternally empty if there was a sincere desire to be filled. Just have an open mind, a lot of patience, and remind yourself that you will have your baby someday… it just may not come the way YOU planned it. Maybe your idea of how the story will play out is not how it was written. There is purpose in the slow development of the story and the characters in it. If we always knew how our story was going to end, we could never possibly appreciate the happy ending.

Orphan Sunday-November 8, 2009

2009-09-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Click here for details on how to organize your own local Orphan Sunday activity.

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

We Are All Orphans

2009-09-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

By Adam and Michelle Palmer

This is us:

And this used to be us:

Can you spot the difference? I mean, aside from the old couch/hammock bait-and-switch and the wardrobe change.

Yes, there's an extra kid with us now, and he's Ugandan, and he used to be an orphan. His name is Sterling. He is the ostensible reason we have moved our family to Jinja, Uganda from Tulsa, USA. The details make it a lengthy story (which you can read by clicking here), but the long-and-short of it is this: we began to adopt little Sterling back in the summer of 2005 (he was called Francis back then, but now he's Sterling--an explanation of the name change is here). Through an increasingly oddball series of legal harangues, we came to a point where we were the boy's legal guardians but were unable to bring him into the United States. So we moved our family here to Jinja in February 2009. If we couldn't bring him to us, we knew we were supposed to bring us to him.

From the time we decided to come to the time we arrived, four months passed. That is an insanely short amount of time to sell, donate, or store everything you own and prepare to live in a different culture. It doesn't give you a whole lot of time for fundraising opportunities (which is why we're trying to raise $5000 for a vehicle today through our giant Facebook campaign), and it makes seasoned missionaries look at you with concern and consternation. But it was what we needed to do, so we did it.

Everything was a whirlwind, but we knew God had specifically told us we needed to come here. That was really the only way we were able to uproot ourselves from our family and friends back in Tulsa and come to this strange place where we knew no one. Plus, in addition to moving to a new city, we took in a new family member when we got there. A five-year-old boy, with all the energy and lack of focus of five-year-old boys everywhere. Who was also an orphan, and therefore didn't know how to be in a family. And who was also from another country, meaning we had to learn to overcome the cultural impasse between us as well. So many levels of adjustment for all of us; we had to rely on God or we'd go crazy.

In other words, we've been here for six months and we're still figuring out how to make this happen. But we know that God has called us to be a family, to be an example, and by being that example, to demonstrate the heart the Heavenly Father has for his children (i.e. you). In addition, we had a pretty immediate opportunity to lead worship at our local church here, which we accepted. It looks like this.

Other than that, all we're "doing" here is just being a family, which makes us oddballs of a sort. There is so much need here, so many hurting, sick, starving, impoverished, lost, and uneducated people, it's difficult to not feel swallowed up and a little bit hopeless. And most of the mzungus (the word used here for "foreigner") are here for some missionary-ish, ministerial purpose. God has called them here to do, while he has called us here to be.

At least for now. We keep making connection after connection with various ministries and just plain people. These connections intrigue us because they almost always involve us as a sort of middleman, where we connect people in the US with people here, or other people in the US, or people in Europe, or people in other parts of Africa. It's like we're becoming some sort of universal joint. We feel like these connections will lead somewhere larger than we can see right now, but we aren't trying to force anything. Instead, we're being still and knowing that God is holy.

We're also starting to get the impression that God has placed us here to minister not just to one orphan, but to the orphan spirit that pervades the atmosphere. That's why the top banner here at OneRoofAfrica.com bears the slogan "Bringing Family to the Orphan Heart of Africa." Yes, there are 2.3 million actual orphan children in Uganda, making up about 15% of the children here, but there are so many more people who, while they may have parents, carry the heavy burden of the orphan spirit. They have no knowledge of God as a loving Father who is crazy about them just because. Religion is prevalent here, especially the false religion that says you have to earn God's favor through the things you do.

For many people in Uganda, God is a distant entity who must be appeased and pacified, not a Dad who loves his kids unconditionally. And honestly, I think that's the way many people around the world see their Father. Because, in a sense, we're all orphans in need of a family. We all approach our faith with a certain amount of workiness, that chalkboard-scratching itch in the backs of our minds that tells us we have to impress God in order to have him pay out. But Ephesians 1 tells us God adopted us out of love, because it pleased him.

This is the message we're learning for ourselves as we encounter this orphan culture. We're starting to unearth these things about Jinja, and Uganda in general, and are starting to see that our family is in the midst of God's mystery, in the midst of what he wants to accomplish in this country. Even when we were at church the other day, we realized there were three separate orphanages represented, as well as other adoptive parents and a woman who feeds children whose parents don't take care of them. Even at church, we're surrounded by the orphan spirit. This is why he called us here, to sing a new song, a song of family and unconditional love. We'll know more in the future as we follow his lead, but for now, we're content just to do what he tells us and take it from there.

We told our story recently at a youth conference that was packed with maybe 300-400 young people. When we finished, the pastor of the church that was hosting the conference came to the microphone and said, "We thank you for coming for one of our Ugandas," and Michelle was quick to go back up to the stage. "We didn't come for a Ugandan," she said. "We came for Jesus."

And that's really the crux of our story. God asked our family, "Will you go to Uganda for me?" And all we did was respond, "Yes, we will."

Little Chinese Starfish

2009-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

A post from Chrissy Adams, missionary to orphans in China:

I walked into a government orphanage in China with 7 other volunteers. Our mission was to find the babies that looked the un-healthiest and take them to their new home at Starfish Foster Home where they would be nursed back to health in a loving environment. So we walked into a room with at least 35 infants lined up in cribs and started searching for the sickest looking babies. The room was pure chaos as we began our search through the cribs for our babies. We only had a short window of time where we would be at the orphanage so we had to make a quick decision on which child we would help rescue. As I walked next to crib after crib I was overwhelmed with the idea that I was only allowed to pick one child but then I saw him in the back. I saw this little baby boy wrapped up in several blankets. All you could see was his little head sticking out of the blankets so tight on his little body that he couldn’t move. He had a cleft lip but he was also very, very malnourished. And I remember thinking he looked the un-healthiest out of all the babies I had seen so I picked him up and I chose to take him. I started the process of weighing him to take him to his new home when 2 nannies from the orphanage tried to take this little frail boy out of my arms. I started scrambling for the few Chinese words I knew and then saw the director of Starfish Foster Home across the room from me. So I quickly called her name in a state of panic and she came quickly to see why the nannies were taking this little boy out of my arms. She started talking with the nannies for a few minutes before they hesitantly gave me the little boy back. In the heat of the moment I had no idea what was going on, all I knew is that I knew that boy wouldn’t survive if he stayed at the orphanage and that I was going to do anything and everything in my power to take him home with us. So we proceeded to weigh and measure the babies that we were taking back with us and quickly shuffled out of the orphanage as 8 foreigners with 8 Chinese orphans in our hands and we all piled into taxi’s to make the journey back to Starfish.

I’ll never forget seeing his little legs, arms and swollen belly. I had always seen malnourished babies on National Geographic but I had never held one in my arms. The baby I had in my arms was incapable of bending his limbs and barely moved at all. He just starred up at me for that whole 45-minute taxi ride with little eyes that were glazed over. He never once responded to my voice or to any movements around him or even my kisses on his little cheek. I remember being so fearful that he was going to die in my arms on the taxi ride and just praying that God would keep him safe until we got home.

When you volunteer at Starfish and you go to the orphanage and bring back a baby you get to name them. So I named my little boy Cameron. I remember the director of the orphanage giving me very detailed instructions on how to feed Cameron and how worried she looked at him in my arms. And I remember the chaos of that day and how everything seemed to be spinning at 60mph around Cameron and I. But I held him and kissed him and prayed over him until the day was over and I had to leave him behind. I left him that night lying in his crib not knowing if he would make it through the night let alone survive for a week. But I prayed and I prayed and I prayed that God would spare his life and allow him to grow healthy and strong. And that God would allow Cameron to be placed in a Christian adoptive home that would raise him in the ways to be a Godly man that loved the Lord and that loved the people around him.

One month later I saw Cameron for the first time since the day I had met him and he had changed my life. And he was hardly recognizable. He was chubby and healthy. I remember picking him up and seeing him smile and be so responsive. His little arms and legs were moving freely and with ease and his little belly was no longer swollen because it was malnourished but it was swollen because he had drank so much milk that day. And now I get to spend every day working at Starfish Foster Home and giving kisses and hugs to the 50 other babies as well as Cameron that all have a similar story to his. It wasn’t until later when talking with the director of Starfish that I realized why on the day that I met Cameron those 2 nannies were trying to take him away from me. They thought Cameron was too sick to save, they didn’t think we should waste our time to save his life because in their minds this baby wasn’t worth saving. And that is a common story of the babies in Starfish, someone didn’t believe that they were worth saving but through Gods grace and provision, Starfish Foster Home believes that every child is worth saving. No matter how sick, how neglected, how emotionally damaged the children may be, we take them in and love them. Whether they are with us for 2 days, a few weeks of a few years. Every child deserves a chance at life, and through God’s amazing provision that is exactly what every child receives at Starfish Foster Home.

Chrissy Adams: www.placemeinyourplan.blogspot.com - Please visit Chrissy's blog to read more about her journey in China working in several orphan care organizations. But more importantly please check out the Starfish Foster Home information and look at ways to get involved with this amazing organization that choose to care for every beautiful orphaned child.

Starfish Foster Home Info:
E-mail: Chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com
Blog: www.chinesestarfish.blogspot.com
www.chinesestarfishcleft.blogspot.com
Website: www.thestarfishfosterhome.org
Photos of Cameron, Then....

And now....

ADOPT(ED) fundraiser

2009-08-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

The ADOPT(ED) golf tournament and banquet fundraiser was a big success. Over $30,000 was raised to provide adoption grants, foster care ministry, and international orphan care. Thank you to all of those who came out to support this great ministry. We are so excited to see the Lord working through churches and individuals to love, evangelize and raise up leaders among a very special population: the vulnerable child.

Two of my personal favorites of the evening:

-After hearing Pastor Alex's sermons on adoption, one recently wed couple had decided to live out James 1:27 by starting their family through adoption as "Plan A" rather than the traditional biological method. While the cardboard testimony rehearsal was taking place, just minutes before the banquet started, the Woods received the phone call they have been waiting on for several months. A little orphaned baby boy in Ethiopia named Silas had been chosen to become their son. Isn't God's timing and sense of humor amazing?

-A woman stopped me after the banquet, telling me that the Lord had just really did a work in her heart through the testimonies she had heard that night. She said she felt the Lord saying it was time to let go of infertility treatments and embrace adoption or foster care as the way He wanted to grow her family. She said she, in fact, was going to talk to her own pastor about starting an adoption/orphan ministry in her church.

Thank you Lord for what you are doing in your people, and may we be open vessels bringing hope to your most precious children.

Hoops of Hope....It's the little things that make a difference

2009-08-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

To learn more about Hoops of Hope click here.

2009-08-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

Adopted : Golf Tournament Promo from The Church at Battle Creek on Vimeo.

Upcoming Events!!

2009-08-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to remind you of a few upcoming events we would love for you to be a part of! The first is the heart of what we do and the second is to support the heart of what we do!

Saturday, August 15

We are treating the kids at the local shelter to a day out. The younger children will be going bowling in the afternoon while the older kids are going to a baseball game. If you would like to join us, just leave us a comment and we can get the info to you!

Tuesday, August 25

Tickets are now being sold for our first annual Chip in Fore Orphans Golf Tournament and Community Banquet! If you play golf, are a sports collector (we have some great auction items), love orphans, or just have a giving heart, we would be delighted to have you! Check out www.tcabc.com for more information and to register on-line!

Walking a fine line

2009-08-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

I think we all try to balance life as best we can. I know very few people who feel they aren’t busy. At the same time, I believe an aspect of stewardship is being able to have enough margin even with our time that we are able to respond as needs opportunities arise.

I saw an email from our local shelter this week saying that they needed volunteers to go to the hospital to hold a baby. Let me tell you, life has been BUSY at our house in the last few weeks. Most of my friends could tell you our lives never slow down, but it has been exceptionally busy as of late. Anyway, I don’t have time to go to the hospital and hold a baby, but I wanted so badly just to commit to the time and go do it. So, I did. My assigned time…Saturday evening.

The weekend came and part of me just wanted to relax and stay at home with my family. But when 4:30 came around, I got in my car, left my husband with instructions on how to make spaghetti, and drove to the hospital. I found the pediatric floor and then the baby’s room. She was sleeping in the arms of another volunteer when I walked in, but it was time for me to take over.

The next 3 hours my focused changed. Instead of thinking of everything on my to do list, I focused on this tiny baby. For 3 hours I held this child, encouraged the staff, prayed for her, sang to her, and wondered what would come of her life. I wondered if anyone else would ever sit with her and tell her that Jesus loves her and even more if anyone would demonstrate that to her…if enough people would demonstrate that to her so that one day she would believe it herself.

The Lord of the Universe created this child. She is no less important than you or I. If we are the body of Christ, why our His creation suffering? Why do we not care for each other as brothers and sisters? Why would this child ever have to be alone?

I know giving and serving can be a fine line to walk. We hear stories of people who give so much to others that they have little left for their own spouses or children. While the Lord has given the blessing and responsibility for our family, this line of thought cannot be our excuse to ignore the pain around us.

All she needed was to be held. All I had to give was a little time. The Lord was glorified.

To Emma from Momma

2009-08-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

(A letter from an adoptive mother's heart).......

Dearest Emma,

You have gone without a mommy for so long. Now you are discovering what it means to have a mommy. A mommy is not someone who dresses you and feeds you and washes your face. A mommy is someone who holds you and whispers sweet words in your ear. A mommy is someone who looks you in the eye, even when it’s hard for you to look back, and reveals LOVE through one glance of her eyes. A mommy kisses you and holds you when you fall down. A mommy rejoices when you learn new things. A mommy tells you over and over again that she loves you and will never let you go. A mommy sometimes goes out the door, but she always comes back.

You are starting to figure it out aren’t you? You are starting to trust me a tiny bit aren’t you? I think you might be very sad that you have missed out on having a mommy for so long. I think you might even feel a little bit angry. I think you’re afraid. Afraid it won’t last. Afraid I will go away. Afraid you will have to go away. I think your heart is overwhelmed with joy and sadness. Overwhelmed with love and fear. I think all of those crazy emotions you’ve never felt are raging inside and sometimes you don’t know what to do with them.

And now you suddenly find yourself craving what you never knew you needed and in fear that it might not last. You’re trying to soak it all in as fast as you can, and then you overload and your little heart can take it. I will keep telling you that I love you. I will keep reminding you that I always come back. I will stroke your hair and kiss your cheeks and whisper my prayers in your ears.

Sometimes your demands are hard to bear, and I wish I could somehow whisk away all your pain and all your sadness with one breath. Sometimes I feel confused and helpless too. Sometimes I don’t know what you need, but I do my best to give you what I think is best. Sometimes I fail miserably. Sometimes I feel the triumph of love. I’m done taking it personally. I know it’s not about me, but it’s all about the pain inside of you. I’m here. I can take it. I will convince you that I will be here forever and you will be ok.

Love,

Momma

Children from Hard Places

2009-08-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

A child that has been abused, abandoned or neglected or has spent time in an orphanage or foster home naturally will have difficulty trusting adults and may have difficulty attaching. Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child, is a wonderful resource for adoptive parents in teaching how to build strong connections with the adopted or at-risk child. Her presentation from Summit V April 2009, Children from Hard Places, can be heard by clicking here. I highly recommend her books and teaching to any adoptive parent no matter what the age or background of the child. Dr. Purvis' website can be found here: empoweredtoconnect.org

Intercountry adoption trends and statistics

2009-07-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

International adoption statistics in 2008:

Country Total adoptions
Guatemala 4,123
China 3,909
Russia 1,861
Ethiopia 1,725
South Korea 1,065
Vietnam 751
Ukraine 457
Kazakhstan 380
India 307
Columbia 306
Haiti 302
Philippines 291
Taiwan 267
Liberia 249
Nigeria 148
Mexico 103
Ghana 101
Kyrgyzstan 78
Poland 77
Thailand 59

Three wilted flowers

2009-07-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

TCABC has started a ministry to the local children's shelter, and I had the opportunity to go volunteer there tonight for the first time.

The boys were all out on an event so I got to hang out with the girls (plus one boy who lost his going-out privilege. Being outnumbered 15:1 should teach him to behave next time!).

There was one little girl who really latched on to me. She seemed SO sad. I kept trying to distract her with stories and games, talking about what she likes to do, etc. I asked her what was bothering her and she just shrugged her shoulders but continued to follow me around and hold my hand the whole evening.

I remembered a nugget of wisdom from Karyn Purvis about connecting with the hurt child, and I said, "Sweetheart, I would do anything in my power to meet your needs but you have to tell me. What do you need?"

Those were the magic words. She began to cry and she said, "I wish Daddy wasn't in jail. And I wish Mommy would get a job so I could go home. I miss her so much." I didn't know what else to say but "I know you do." And I hugged her and it took everything in me not to cry with her too.

(When I asked her to tell me about her mom, she said, "Well, she's pretty fat." :) Man, I love kids!)

I wish I could grant this little girl a safe and a happy future, guarantee her a wonderful childhood and life. To be honest I felt completely helpless knowing her hurts were obviously so deep and her needs so great, and there was so little I could do in a two hour period. I'll be back next week or next month but she may not be. I may never see her again.

That little girl picked three flowers for me on our walk, three flowers that are already wilted. Three little flowers that almost just went into the trash can, but will instead decorate my bathroom mirror to remind me of that little girl and will remind me to pray for her. I may have no clue where she is next week. I may be not be able to meet her needs and guarantee her a happy life, but I know Someone who loves her far more than I do and is far more capable than I of meeting her needs. You'd better believe I will be praying for her. Maybe you will join me tonight in prayer for my new little friend.

Laura Dester outings and volunteers

2009-07-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

Churches and individuals can get involved in meeting the needs of children in foster care by donating food, clothing and miscellaneous items to the local children's shelter. However, the staff at the Laura Dester Children's Shelter have made it clear that the greatest need for the children in their care is adult mentors.

TCABC wants to help meet this need in two ways: Providing outings for the children in care, and sending volunteers to the shelter on a regular basis.

Outings:

This Wednesday, July 15, TCABC is going to be hosting the first monthly outing, an ice cream and matinee movie outing for the middle house (elementary kids). We are looking for volunteers to come and just to spend this time with the kids and have fun with them. (You do not need to be an official LDCS volunteer to be a part of this).

Volunteers:

Being a volunteer at the shelter is a very simple process. Applications can be picked up at The Church at Battle Creek or Laura Dester. All it takes is an application, a background check, a couple of references, and a very simple orientation, and you can make a difference in the life of vulnerable children by rocking babies, reading books to toddlers, helping elementary kids with homework, or teaching a teenager how to play the guitar or balance a checkbook. The possibilites are endless and your creativity is encouraged.

Male volunteers are especially needed and appreciated. (By the way, gentlemen, the shelter has a big screen TV. Big screen. Surround sound. ESPN. NFL. NBA. Catch my drift?)

To see a video about TCABC's involvement at Laura Dester click here.

Orphans Deserve Better

2009-07-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

I just signed a petition to urge Warner Brothers to contribute a portion of the proceeds of the movie Orphan to help the boys and girls who share the movie's name. Orphan is a horror movie depicting a 9 year old orphan girl who haunts her adoptive family and everyone she comes into contact with.

Please go here to sign the petition. You will also have an opportunity to share your own orphan story on the site (which I did), and read other families' orphan stories. Please spread the word about this important message. Perhaps this attack on the most vulnerable children can somehow be turned around to actually help them.

ABC Ministry-Swaziland, Africa

2009-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

In a small mountain village in Bulembu, in Swaziland, Africa, lives a christian husband and wife who have devoted their lives to offering God's hope and restoration to a dying race. Swaziland is rated the highest in the world for HIV/AIDS infection and has left tens of thousands of children orphaned as a result.

Over a decade ago, Robyn and Gerry Richter saw a great need and started Abandoned Babies for Christ Ministry (or ABC Ministry). Whether or not there is room, whether or not there are funds, the Richters take in abandoned children from all over the country. They have extended God's love through medical care and education and have begun to raise up godly leaders of the next generation. To see a video about this wonderful ministry, please click here.

Teenagers in Foster Care-Be a Mentor!

2009-07-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

Last night, in our final foster care training session, a group of three teenage boys came to speak to our group of prospective foster parents. They were all living in a group home and were getting ready to age out of the foster care system. To "age out of the system" means that the child has spent a majority of his or her teenage years in foster care, has technically reached adulthood, and is no longer eligible for adoption. The child is sent off into the world with a small check and a "Good Luck!"

There is nothing, in my opinion, more desperate and heartbreaking, than teenagers getting ready to age out of the system. They are getting ready to be released into the world with nobody to claim as their own. Nobody to share their hopes and dreams with, nobody to cry at their graduation, nobody to walk them down the aisle, nowhere to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas, and no shoulder to cry on in the hard times.

Many of these kids are physically adults but inside they are still little children, unable to make rational decisions, never having learned to trust and attach, struggling to care for themselves let alone children they may bring into the world. It is a vicious cycle of hopelessness.

Boy A on the panel admitted he had "blown" dozens of foster home placements because of his bad temper, but said he had been given an opportunity to be adopted recently at age 16. The adoptive family "seemed really nice" but he "didn't think it was going to work out". My interpretation? He wanted desperately to be loved, even to be adopted, but he couldn't believe that anybody could love the boy who spent 9 years in dozens of foster homes. He couldn't trust, couldn't attach.

Boy B , 17, a sophomore in high school, demonstrated an incredible amount of insecurity. He too has spent his entire life, since age 4 months, in foster care. He said he had lost count of how many homes he had been in. When he was asked if there was a person in his life who inspired him or gave him some kind of hope, he couldn't name anybody. He said he was going to drop out of high school and didn't know what he was going to do after that.

Boy C was 16, a sophomore in high school, and wheelchair bound. He was different. He smiled and laughed a lot and said he was excited to finish school. He wants to go to college and learn computers. He too had spent years and years in foster care and his parent's rights had been terminated. When asked who inspired him and gave him hope, he didn't hesitate to answer. "One of my foster dads took me hunting once. I shot a buck and a doe within an hour. I never thought I could do anything right but that experience taught me to think differently of myself." He urged the group of prospective foster parents: "These kids need you. They just need role models, they need mentors. They just need you to hang out with them and make them feel like they are somebody, that they are special. That makes all the difference in the world."

Boy C is getting adopted next month. He is going to be a big brother. :)

I guess what I learned from these boys is that we as christians have such an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children. Sometimes adoption is not the solution to the problem. But godly female AND especially male role models are so effective and so necessary in the generation of the fatherless. I just want to encourage anyone reading this to be a mentor! In the next few days I will be researching and posting ways to get involved in the life of a vulnerable teen. If you who are reading this have any suggestions to add, please let me know so I can post them soon.

Top 10 Things You Can Do For A Foster Child

2009-07-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

10. Pray for the children in foster care and their families.

9. Collect birthday gifts for the foster children in your community.

8. Have a baby shower to collect baby essentials.

7. Donate luggage for foster children in transition

6. Collect school supplies.

5. Mentor a foster child.

4. Be an alternate caregiver for a foster family.

3. Contact your local OKDHS foster care specialist about needs in your community.

2. Host foster children's visits with their birth families at your facility.

1. Become a foster parent.

To participate in the Top 10, go to www.faithlinksok.org.

Russian orphans coming to Oklahoma-Need host families!

2009-07-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

Announcing the Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project: a unique opportunity to impact a child’s life for Christ and the future, with a cross-cultural experience for your family! The Lighthouse Project is seeking families willing to host a Russian orphan in their home approximately August 20 -- 29, 2009. During this time the children will participate in a Russian-language Vacation Bible School, receive a Bible, enjoy family activities and attention not available in an orphanage, and hopefully meet a family wanting to adopt them. Families not residing in Oklahoma are welcome to host if they are able to travel to, and stay in, Oklahoma for the duration of the trip.

It is not required that host families be interested in adoption, as children are introduced to potential adoptive families during the trip. Most children who travel on Lighthouse trips are subsequently adopted due to the trip; it is crucial children find host families, without whom they are unable to travel.
Available children are ages 5-14; there are single boys, girls, and sibling groups. The cost to host a single child is $1000, which covers part of the cost of passport, visa, airfare, and train travel from the orphanage to Moscow. Donations to help host families offset the cost of the hosting fee are being sought. For more information on hosting, adopting, or making a donation, please contact Becky De Nooy at (616) 245-3216, or visit www.lhproject.com or www.RussianOrphanLighthouseProject.blogspot.com .

All of the children pictured below are expected to be here and they are all in need of host families! Please help spread the word!

Free Copy of Book by Tom Davis

2009-06-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Get a free copy of the book Scared by Tom Davis. For details please go here. Tom Davis is the author if the inspirational book, Fields of the Fatherless.

Meet Timothy

2009-06-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I sent out an email to friends and relatives, announcing our plans to adopt our daughter (pictured in the middle), and requesting donations for our fundraiser garage sale (which raised over $2,000 by the way).

The most precious donation we received that Saturday was from this brother and sister pair (pictured below), Alden and Lilly. Their mom had told them about our family's plans to adopt, and Alden and Lilly both wanted to help bring a little orphan girl home to her forever family. I really tried hard that day but was unable to hold back my tears as they both emptied their little piggy banks onto the table to help our Ava make her way home.
What made this gesture particularly touching for me is the fact that Alden and Lilly's daddy unexpectedly passed away just weeks before Lilly was born about 6 years ago. Knowing that Alden and Lilly would have loved to have a brother or sister of their own, and yet seeing their loving sacrifice towards our family instead, was so meaningful to me.

A few months ago I tried to fight back my tears again (I didn't do so great) as I took some donations to their garage sale. You see, even though their mommy is still a single mom, Alden and Lilly are going to have another brother after all.

They are raising money to adopt a brother from Hong Kong into their wonderful, sweet family. I am so proud of my friend Justine for following the passion of adoption that God has laid on her heart, despite the circumstances that she never would have chosen for herself. She is an amazing woman, loving and dedicated mother and I know she is going to be a wonderful adoptive mommy. Please meet Timothy, who will soon no longer be an orphan but instead will be a part of this very special family!

Imagine Spot 2

2009-06-23T21:43:00.001-07:00

How does a Wendy's Frosty sound this weekend?

2009-06-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

When you viisit Wendy's on June 20th & 21st and purchase a Frosty, $.50 from each sale will be donated to help find permanent loving homes for America's Foster children.

Our Ukraine Adoption Journey-The Urban Family

2009-06-16T05:31:00.001-07:00

We are the Urbans. John, Charissa, Simeon, Liesel, Jude, Hope and Ava. This is the story of our quest to Ukraine to adopt a little girl with Down Syndrome. For the rest of the story, click here.

".....the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.."

2009-06-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

Dick Rutgers is a single man who is working as a missionary in Guatemala through Hope Haven International and Bethel Ministries. His love and sacrifice for the people of Guatemala is inspirational and is without a doubt close to God's heart.

His primary mission is to provide and maintain wheelchairs for orphans and impoverished children and adults. He also assists in building houses, feeding the hungry, providing education to handicapped orphans, and hosting a camp for handicapped children. Dick's weekly journal blog is one that never ceases to inspire and move one to tears as well as laughter. To read and subscribe to Dick's blog go to dickrutgers.com. (Be sure to click on the video link to the left of the little boy with his new wheelchair----a must-watch!)

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

-Mark 10:14

Adoption thru foster care...sisters

2009-06-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

"We started out to do foster care and foster care only. We were 2 single girls (and sisters) who love kids and we didn't want to wait to get married to start to make a difference in the world. We got M first and the goal was to get her back with her sisters and parents. Our job, whether we had her for a day or a year, was to equip her with the tools to survive when she went back home. Circumstances changed and through the next 2 1/2 years, we got M's sisters one by one....H, A, and S The state also changed the goal to adoption. It wasn't just that we got attached to the girls, but the Lord changed our hearts. He told us clearly that our job was not to just equip them for the next home, but to make our home their "forever home". We also got the privlege to have 7 other children in our home....some for 24 hours and some for 11 months. People say that our girls are so lucky to have us, but we are the truly blessed ones. As you can imagine, with a house full of 6 girls, we have the most fun...tea parties when we want, manicures when we want, dresses, dance parties in the kitchen, lots of shopping...as well as the most mood swings EVER! Two single people can't adopt together, so we each adopted 2. To answer the question that everyone is thinking....what happens if you get married?........WE DON'T KNOW! What we DO know is...the Lord didn't bring us this far to just drop us off! This is what obedience means for us right now, and He is totally in control of our future! "

Photos by Ashley Ann Photography

Adopt(Ed) t-shirts

2009-06-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Thank you to those who have already been spreading the word about Adopt(Ed), posting links, and so forth. We want this to be a place to share stories, so please, if you have a story to share whether it is related to adoption, fostering, or any other form of orphan care, please let us feature your family here. We want this to be a place to be informed, educated and inspired. It is fun to see God working in various ways among unique family experiences.

A couple of people have asked where the Adopt(Ed) t-shirts can be purchased. They can be purchased online at the Adopt(Ed) store by clicking here. Otherwise they are available at the Adopt(Ed) kiosk at The Church at BattleCreek. The proceeds go towards the Adopt(Ed) ministry, mainly to fund adoption grants.

Adoption through Foster Care

2009-06-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Jacoby, Cabrina, and Tybreana are just three of the estimated 129,000 children waiting for adoptive families in the United States foster care system, (per the Administration for Children and Families report). While the primary goal in foster care is to reunite the child with his or her birth family, for whatever reasons, many times that is not possible. Adoption through foster care is a wonderful way for christian families to meet a very real need in a practical and tangible way, right here in our very own country. Just because there are no orphanages in the United States doesn't mean there are no orphans.

The average age of a child waiting for an adoptive family is 8 years and 8 months old, although the ages of waiting children range from infant through age 21. For more information and to see the beautiful faces of some of the children still waiting, please visit AdoptUsKids. Please be aware there are many, many more children available than what is shown on the website. The children featured on the waiting child photolisting are typically those who are considered most difficult to place; sibling groups, older children, and children with special needs. There is contact information listed on the site if you are interested in adoption through foster care.

2009-05-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
-Mother Teresa

The Least of These

2009-05-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is Little Guy. I'm not sure I'm allowed to post his face or his real name, so I'll just call him Little Guy.

Little Guy was removed from his family a couple of weeks ago and is now living in foster care with my sister and her family. My sister is out of town for a few days, so I have had the privilege of caring for Little Guy until she gets back tonight.

So this morning Little Guy was running a little bit of a fever and was obviously not feeling his normal toddler self. I gave him some Tylenol, filled his little sippy cup with cold water, and sat down and snuggled him for a long while, thinking what a shame it was that his own mother was missing out on this sweet bonding experience. I couldn't help but think of the scripture....you know, the one that talks about giving a cup of cold water in His name.....I couldn't help but feel that there I was, being Jesus to this precious little soul, and all the while, he was being Jesus to me.....giving me an opportunity to share a cup of cold water with Him. It was a precious experience.

I can't tell you exactly what Jesus looks like, but here is a little peek from behind......

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Mt. 25:35-40

The Horton Family Adoption Testimony

2009-05-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

Since this video was made, the Hortons have adoped their third child from Korea. If you are interested reading about their newest addition, Drew, or would like to see more of their beautiful family, visit their blog.

Meet the Larsen family (and Olivia)

2009-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Amidst a new job, a move to a new city, two house payments, finishing a master's degree, not to mention the busyness of everyday family life, the last thing the Larsen family needed to be thinking about was adding another child to their family through adoption in December 2007. Yet that is exactly what God was laying on their hearts. When asked what she wanted for Christmas, Christina answered, "...a little girl from China." Unbeknownst to her, daughter Corinne had the same Christmas wish.

About the same time the Larsens had started attending The Church at Battle Creek. There they found a community that offered spiritual, emotional and even financial support, heard adoption discussed as an extension of the Father's heart, and truly began to see adoption in a whole new light. They signed up for the Adopt(ed) community group which played a key role in offering information, encouragement and support as they started the adoption process. Pastor Alex's online Adopt(ed) sermon series also offered them inspiration as they began their adoption process.

They contacted Dillon, an international adoption agency. While they originally sought out a child from China, they were directed instead to a little girl with special needs in Korea. Before they knew it, the whole family had fallen in love with little 4 year "Ka In" and were all planning a trip to Korea to bring her home. Ka In, soon to be Olivia, has a hearing impairment and wears a hearing aide and a cochlear implant device. Christina says she is amazed at how excited her children, Corinne and Ian are about having a new sister in spite of her disability.

The Larsens said that one of the key stressors throughout their adoption journey has been the fear of not having the money. Yet God has met every need and they are confident He will continue to provide until the completion. They want to encourage other families considering adoption to not hold back out of fear but to trust God to meet every need.

Christina said, "The Lord knows HOW to provide for an adoption and HOW to equip you to take care of a child that you adopt. The Lord knows HOW to stir our hearts so we hear his desire for our lives'. I set out on this journey knowing that I would regret not following the prompting of God if I didn't obey and pursue adoption. Not that I would be punished or forsaken, but that I would miss out on the blessings that he had in store for our lives'. I didn't want to get to the end of my life and wonder, what if? I had been faithful and followed. I would be missing out on a beautiful little girl who needs a family like ours. It may not be perfect, but it has love and it knows what it is like to have a relationship with God. Something God wants for ALL of his children."

-The Lord knows HOW to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment" (2 Pet 2:9)

We encourage you to be a part of the Tim and Christina's adoption process through prayer and/or financial support. If you would like more information about their adoption or would like an invitation to their adoption blog, email them at timandchristina.larsen@gmail.com

They expect to travel this fall to pick up their little Olivia. Please join The Church at Battle Creek in welcoming her home......

Laura Dester Children's Shelter

2009-05-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

James 1:27

2009-05-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Care- (verb)- To look after or provide for

How does the church look after and provide for orphans today? Certainly adoption is the most beautiful and perfect picture of Christ's love and sacrifice for us. However, orphan care goes much deeper than adoption and involves every believer, not just adoptive families.

We have all been called, Christ will equip. We have a corporate cause, but individual callings. Caring for the orphan and the vulnerable child can look many different ways. After all, God has given each of us a unique set of qualities, personalities and talents. The purpose of this blog is to share those individual stories, announce events and opportunities, but mostly to be a place for people to connect and be inspired to obey the calling.