Ps 68:5 “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is our God”.FROM BRYANNA:
The Lord has mandated us, as His people, to be the ones who care for “the least of these”. The tragic state of so many areas of the world, stricken with poverty, hunger & injustice, gives us the opportunity to shine the light of God’s love in the world. There are millions of orphans and widows that need care, and the Lord is looking for those who will rise up at the sound of His calling and declare, “Here am I, Lord! Send me!”
We are creating this newsletter to let you know about the opportunity you have to get involved in this tremendous work of helping the orphans of Africa. This is our first issue, of a bimonthly publication.
FROM DAN …In 1998 God began to speak to Regina and me about adopting a child or two. After Regina got done laughing and me
questioning and crying, we decided to move our family to Haiti for a few months and adopt a child. We had no idea what we were in for.
God led a very sick little 3-year old girl named Lovena into our arms and hearts. It was heart-wrenching to see her plight – orphaned soon after birth; raised by an aunt who had three kids, no husband, and was not able to feed her own adequately; so she was left at the voodoo temple to fend for herself. She weighed 17 lbs, slept on the dirt floor by herself in the voodoo house, was always feverish, and had no one to care for her. We did all we could to complete the adoption, but before we could bring her home, she died. She was buried in a common grave, without even a casket or headstone, by the hospital in Port-au-Prince where so many of the poor are buried.
Lovena is just one little orphan in a little village in a little country. God put her into our family for a moment – but it changed our lives forever. We began to identify personally with the millions of uncared for orphans who will struggle to survive day to day with no one to help.
In 2001 I read an article in Newsweek about the 10 million children orphaned from AIDS in Africa, and I felt my conscience gripped and the beginning nudges of a call of God. I allowed myself to wrap my mind around the staggering statistics and allowed God to touch my heart with compassion. Before I was done with that magazine I told God I was willing to help if he wanted me.
That was a dangerous prayer! Within just a couple years I was able to go with a team of young disciples to Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa, to areas that are some of the worst-affected by AIDS in the world. It was life-changing. I knew after this visit, that, apart from the work and ministry involvement I carry on at home in the US, I must also bear the work of caring for “the least ones” in Africa.
Thus Orphan Hope was born. Our church leadership embraced the vision, and we started an account with a mission objective of raising money to pour into the orphans in Africa. Our first project is in the area of Mpumalanga, South Africa, through the channel of a home-health organization called Thembalethu. Right now they serve well over 3000 orphans. Many of them are living with relatives or neighbors. They have over 200 “orphan-headed households” on their rolls. They are beginning to build small orphan villages – 5-10 orphan homes in a small plot of land, with house- parents and Christian training.
My desire is to make a way for every Christian to get involved in some way: come on a short-term trip; “adopt” an orphan-headed household and make sure it has food and secure housing; help pay for construction of a new building ($10,000); etc. Even children can help!
Before we left for Africa in March, a 13 year old boy brought a bag of odds and ends from home – used pens, pencils, calculators, bouncy-balls, paper, stickers, bungee cords - you can imagine. I would not have taken it if I had known about it. Well, we got to our last days in Africa and visited a little orphanage with 32 kids, way out in the sticks. They barely had enough food for the week. They were alone and depending on God for help. We just came and did work around the place and held the kids and heard the amazing stories of survival. Regina pulled out that little sack of stuff, and they were elated! We apologized, but they cried in joy! They need $100 every month. Could a congregation support them? There was a lady with TB – too sick to work, but with no one to support her family of five kids – when we gave her the little money we had (about $10 US), she knew she would have food for her family for a week. Would someone want to support her every week? I could give you 10 more options – 200 more options!
"Do little things; love greatly.” – Mother Theresa.
| Ways to get involved: ·Send $30 / month to support an orphan. ·For mission developers – come with me to Africa this winter and we will discover ways to improve our serve. ·Go with a short-term team to loose your heart in Africa. ·Send $10,000 and we will name an orphan home after you! And you can be the house- parent, too! ·Become a volunteer staff – web design, media productions, fundraising, etc. Contributions are tax-deductible. Send donations to: Orphan Hope c/o Open Door PO Box 65 Sheridan, OR. 97378 (503) 843-OPEN orphanhope@onlinemac.com www.orphanhope.com | FACTS •There are 2300 verses pertaining to the poor. •Yet, according to a recent Barna poll, non-Christians are more likely to give to African aid than Christians (fewer than 3% are giving). •Twice as many people die daily from AIDS in Africa than died in the Sept 11 tragedy. •Every month as many die in Africa from AIDS as died in the recent tsunami in Asia. •If every family in our network of churches (8 churches) gave $10/mo, that would be $84,000 a year – enough to house 100 orphans and feed 70 orphans for a year! •Imagine – if Africans orphans were raised in a Christian environment, what an impact that would have on the continent of Africa! |
