Category Archives: Orphan & Widow Care As the New Horizon for Children hosting program comes to a close, these precious children are preparing to return to their orphanages in Latvia. MANY of the children hosted by their families will be adopted, but there are several whose host family’s new they were unable to adopt–yet they felt called to host them over […]  Truly–it is amazing…when you take moments to step back…and you watch God working. About 3 years ago (if I’m doing my math right) I began dialoguing with an old high school acquaintance of mine through Facebook. Her heart was being stirred–and she was beginning to draw close to the Lord…she wanted to know more…talk about […] EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Just now seeing this! Thank you for the sweet words and for spreading the word! Sister, since you wrote this ANOTHER supporter of our has pledged to match ANOTHER $5000, which is ONLY HIM because we needed a total of $20,000 for the home itself and the security wall built around the property. So we raise $10,000 and it will be matched. Only God. Praise. His. Name. Love this!! Christy’s story is just so beautiful and it’s been absolutely incredible to watch it all unfold over the last couple years as I’ve read her blog and followed her on facebook. Her faith is so real!! Praying that all $10,000 is raised before Christmas! I saw her comment above… so that would mean the whole thing gets fully funded! WOW!! God is so good!  The ministry that our family is a part of {www.wiphan.org} ministers to 450 orphans and 100+ widows in Ndola, Zambia. These orphans will not be adopted–or at least not how we think of adoption. The closest thing they will ever know to having a family might even be their sponsored family back on this side […] Thank you for this beautiful reminder. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Can I ask … why will these children not be adopted? (I ask because my hubby and I are still trying to land on a country so we can move forward with an adoption.) Again, thank you. Beautiful post. Thanks, Andrea. We are actively involved in Lifesong’s work in Ethiopia. Here is the link to our website, where you can read more and sponsor a child: http://www.adamituluproject.com/ One of my sweet friends started a non-profit sponsorship program to benefit two orphanages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after realizing the need during their own adoption process. As you said, many of these children will never be adopted, but their basic needs of things like food, education, and medical care are things we can so sacrifice small things for and change their lives. If God is speaking to anyone about the DRC, this is a great organization to help orphans there. They still have many who need to he sponsored and due to the war in DRC, there are new orphans being brought to the orphanages every day. You can learn more about Mercy’s Mission at http://www.mercysmission.org. precious reminder of our precious Savior’s heart for His children! Living 1:27 is a ministry to the children and families involved in GA’s foster care system. There are 7500 kids just in Georgia’s system! Great first steps for those with a heart are prayer team, group home visits (boys & girls), respite care (watching kids for foster families for a night or wkend). Visit http://www.living127.com for more information. Great post–and I actually chuckled when you mentioned coming up for air now your child is 3, because mine is about to turn 2 and I’m nowhere near air! 🙂 I identify with that because I’m looking forward to being “me” again, without trying to rush through these years. We’ve been called to focus in our hometown and state. So while technically most of these kids are not “orphans” in our typical understanding of the word, they often are in other senses of the word and often spirtually just as in need. We are excited to be a part of a state-wide church vision toward making every single foster child placed in a Christ-centered home, along with support in those families’ personal churches, so that not a single one remains in a group home or the hallways and offices of social workers. It is the job of the church body to provide for the widows and orphans in their distress–not the state. Check out my state’s website at http://nochildwaiting.org/. Find out if the churches in your states are doing the same thing–I know my state isn’t the only one. Our numbers are epidemic: pushing 13,000 in foster care this month. There’s so many ways to meet God’s commands in this area–perhaps this is also someone else’s calling too, so I wanted to share. I believe in the importance of ALL the different methods–overseas, local, emergency, long-term, short-term, etc–because just as God created us all differently, He created different ways to serve Him and glorify Him. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your heart for Africa–it has been wonderfully challenging and spiritually humbling for me! Sorry to ramble so! Amanda, Hey! Love this post and love your heart….it echoes a lot of what I’ve been feeling and thinking. It’s hard to know what to do when you are in the trenches of motherhood, raising little ones. I just wanted to share that my husband and I stepped out in faith to start an orphan sponsorship program for street kids in Kinshasa, Congo. We have teamed up with missionaries there who provide for the children’s shelter, food, clothing, care, etc and we have made a way possible for people here in the states to provide for these children to help meet their basic needs. We offer options to sponsor them on a monthly basis or to sponsor them to help pay for their education on a yearly basis. If anyone is interested in more info you can check it out at http://mercysreach.blogspot.com/ The ministry is called Mercy’s Reach. hey! thanks for sharing. i work with orphans in Kenya and it sounds like we have similar adoption rules as Zambia… so few children are internationally adopted here. The Americans I know who have tried have been involved in the process for 2-3 years and are still living in Kenya, waiting. I work for Project 82 Kenya and we just opened a baby rescue center and pray pray pray for God to raise up Kenyans to care for their country’s orphans in their homes. The church is strong here, but there are still full-to-the-brim children’s homes all over the place… approx. 3 million orphans. our ministry keeps older orphans as well, but we try our best to keep the homes small and as family-like as possible. still, finding caregivers to commit their lives to orphans is a hard task. changing moms every year is heart-breaking for the kids. i wish so much for these kids to have families… believing that God wants the same and will provide it! thanks for loving orphans 🙂  Can you believe only in less than a month from today thousands around the world will be celebrating Orphan Sunday? Help grow a heart for orphans by joining others in fasting from Saturday evening, Nov 3rd, till 5 pm Sunday, Nov 4th. Join us by breaking the fast with an Orphans’s Meal from 5-6pm, then […]  We received this email from Stacy in Zambia: Henry Swanzi is out of surgery! Praise God! The doctor estimated 40 minutes for surgery but it ended up taking three hours because once they got in, they realized that the muscles were torn as well the break taking place through his growth plates. The doctor installed […] Hi My name is Jenna, and I came across your site. It is wonderful what your family is doing. Here is a new poem I wrote, it’s called it takes courage: |
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I did notice that you put (even bolded) – There are no requirements other than each parent must be 18 years older than the child….but that is just it…you are missing one…you said “each” and in other parts of this and another post about adopting..you said “both”…meaning you have to be married. You can’t be a single parent. So that would mean there is more than just the “age” requirement.
I think it is awesome that many of these kids are finding their forever families, but I really hope that the only reason the other children aren’t being adopted is because the family hosting them is homeless, and jobless. Otherwise, I can’t understand how these children, who need parents, could possibly be sent back. Jesus never sends us back ever. I really hope that every single one of these children end up with a family!~
Marie–singles can also adopt from Latvia!! So you are also eligible!!!
I have sat on the phone for an hour today with one of these precious host moms who put her host son back on a plane for Latvia today. She is heart broken. She is grieving and hurting. However, she heard the call to LOVE on this child – she begged the Lord to make it clear if they were to adopt him – and neither she nor her husband feel they are being led to adoption. Should that have kept them from hosting? Absolutely not! They gave the child a trip to remember, precious memories, planted the seeds of Jesus in his heart, invested in his life, told him that he was LOVED by God, showed him the love of a family. Now today, they sit in Virginia with a little boy that changed them forever heading back to Eastern Europe. She will advocate for him to find her forever family. She will fight for him. She will stand in his corner. She will pray for him and cheer him on. They only signed up to be a host family. The Lord is writing this story – not us – if it had been us, there wouldn’t be a need for hosting or orphanages – because the kids would be with their first families. Jesus in on the pages; the story is being written. He has a plan – and it’s bigger than what we might expect. All of these children are precious, but that sweet Viktors has a place in my heart. He has captivated me. His host mom and I have hearts that are intertwined and committed to finding this boy his forever family – may Jesus’ Name be written on the pages of the stories of every one of these kids.
May God allow my words to be perceived with the humility, love and tenderness I intend to convey. Respectfully, I mean no harm to Lynn, but I’m shocked and sad to read her statement, “I have other adopted teens and I wish I could switch out for this guy!”. Children are people. People are not objects or possessions for which we can trade in. I don’t know Lynn, so I realize it is possible she was teasing. I am an adoptive mommy of 8 blessings, including 2 teens and 2 preteens. We have fun and tease and joke around with each other alot, but not about our love for or devotion to each other. Speaking for our own children, they have been through so much doubt, rejection, insecurity and hurt in their past. There are areas of their hearts and minds that I think will always be fragile. They don’t need to ever wonder about their parents’ love or their commitment to them. Thank you for listening. ~Growing in grace, Melissa *Ps 113:9 * II Cor 9:6-8 *
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Just letting you know I’ve linked up with you here, http://bonesinmyheart.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/will-you-please-help/ and also shared your post on facebook and twitter! Yay! Spreading the word!
I would definitely be interested in this. Not sure how to go about doing this. We are in process of completing our homestudy for domestic foster/adopt, because out of country adoptions were just very pricey and I do not have the budget for the travel time and expenses to go back and forth and back and forth through all of the red tap and such.
How does this work? Is it easier to adopt through hosting?
What joy filled my heart when I saw Maija posted on here! She was my host child this Christmas and what a blessing she was to our family. We are not in a position to adopt, but have prayed daily for a forever family for her. She has been so tender and sweet to my 5 and 6 year old with amazing patience. My daughter adored having her in our home and will have a forever big sister. There is so much love in my heart for her and I am so blessed to have been a part of her life for 4 weeks. I have daily contact with her through email and skype. She wants a forever family so badly. I pray there is someone out there that feels the Lord’s calling to choose her! If you are interested in her and have questions, please let me know. She is a remarkable young lady with a bright future ahead.
Terina – I know your heart was in the right place when you made those statements, but it is not that simple. I do as the Lord calls me to do. I walk in obedience with Him. He did not call me to adopt my host child. I will NOT do as I please, but as the Lord calls me to do. I prayed every day before, during, and now as to my role in her life. The world will always have their own opinion, but I only worry about what God thinks of me. I can not make decisions based on what others tell me to do. I am hoping and praying that her forever family is out there. Maybe it’s you! That would be wonderful! I pray that you are open to God’s calling in this.