If you haven't read my post about my adoption dilemma, go read it here first. In this post, I talked about my thoughts on adoption and that we really need to be thinking beyond just adoption when it comes to orphan care. So I want to give you some suggestions about ways for us to be involved beyond adoption.
1. PRAY!
I know that this is hard. We want to be directly involved, feeling like we are doing something to help the situation. We want to be the one holding a child's hand.
But I really believe and have seen that prayer is the only thing that will make a real, long-term difference. Prayer should be the basis for everything that we do. Ask God where He wants you to be involved and ask Him to care for the children in the world.
We can only do so much, but God can do everything if we just ask.
Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.
2. If you can, adopt or foster a child.
There are hundreds of children right here in the Triangle that need foster parents. These kids are being neglected and abused in some cases, maybe you are the one that God wants to use to give a child right here in Durham or Chapel Hill or Raleigh a chance to be loved and hear the Gospel. If you can provide them a home, pray about it and see if that is something that God might want you to do. If you are not in a place to do that, I am not, support those that are. Babysit for them or just go and play with the kids and let mom have a break! Buy t-shirts and coffee and chick-fil-a from those who are adopting. I really do think that these are wonderful ways that we can be involved in changing the world for a child.
3. Sponsor a child.
There are countless organizations that you can go through to sponsor a child, both here in the States and around the world. Of course, do your research, ask around, and make sure that the organization that you choose to go through is a good organization that will actually get your money to the children that need it.
Don't want to spend a lot of time doing research? Here's a great organization that needs lots more sponsors and will continue to need more. And I know that they are wonderful because I have been there!!
4. Help fundraise for an organization, orphanage or adopting family
I don't mean to keep talking only about my favorite orphanage, but, oh well haha. Crosspoint has had to turn away so many children over the past year as they wait for the money to expand their facilities.
Here's the deal, in order for an orphanage to take good care of their children, it takes more resources than the bad ones that neglect their children. It takes more workers, more space, more food, more clothes, more tutors, more everything- and all of that, requires more money. Are you good at fundraising and coming up with ideas to inspire people to support work around the world? Good! That is a gift from God! I am not good at that stuff, I wish that I were. You can be huge in helping people all around the world raise the funds that they need to take care of the children that God wants to entrust to them.
Find an organization that you are passionate about and ask them how you can help. Chances are, they will not say no!!
5. GO
Everything changes when you meet the children that we are talking about. We can use statistics all day long and it will mean nothing. We are so immune to statistics. I say that there are 147 million orphans in the world, that does very little to us. I can say that there are 80 million children living in desolate conditions in India, 27 million of whom are orphans as well. That means nothing.
What changes it is when you know they're names.
Knowing that there are 27 million orphans in India breaks my heart because I don't hear a number, I see a face and I hear a name in my head. Those children are not just a statistic to me, they are Rani, Shivani, Jameson, Chaitan, Ruth, Ester, and I could go on and on.
Seeing their faces changes everything.
So, go. Find somewhere and go spend some time volunteering at an orphanage overseas. Go downtown and find someway to volunteer with the foster kids. Go volunteer at the local YMCA or work with groups like CEF that minister to inner-city kids. Go to India. Here's the website for the Christmas team that will be going Christmas 2011. It will be the best Christmas of your life so far- no lie. There are also a lot of other trips that Crossroads take throughout the year, check those out. Pray about it and go!
Just go.
I believe that doing these things and anything else that God leads you to do to serve the orphans of the world will change your life. God will use these experiences to change the way you see the orphan crisis and the way that you see yourself being involved in orphan care.
Caring for orphans is not for some special class of Christians. Its not just for those who are called to adopt or those who are called to go live on the other side of the world. It is for every single one of us.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" James 1:27
1. PRAY!
I know that this is hard. We want to be directly involved, feeling like we are doing something to help the situation. We want to be the one holding a child's hand.
But I really believe and have seen that prayer is the only thing that will make a real, long-term difference. Prayer should be the basis for everything that we do. Ask God where He wants you to be involved and ask Him to care for the children in the world.
We can only do so much, but God can do everything if we just ask.
Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.
2. If you can, adopt or foster a child.
There are hundreds of children right here in the Triangle that need foster parents. These kids are being neglected and abused in some cases, maybe you are the one that God wants to use to give a child right here in Durham or Chapel Hill or Raleigh a chance to be loved and hear the Gospel. If you can provide them a home, pray about it and see if that is something that God might want you to do. If you are not in a place to do that, I am not, support those that are. Babysit for them or just go and play with the kids and let mom have a break! Buy t-shirts and coffee and chick-fil-a from those who are adopting. I really do think that these are wonderful ways that we can be involved in changing the world for a child.
3. Sponsor a child.
There are countless organizations that you can go through to sponsor a child, both here in the States and around the world. Of course, do your research, ask around, and make sure that the organization that you choose to go through is a good organization that will actually get your money to the children that need it.
Don't want to spend a lot of time doing research? Here's a great organization that needs lots more sponsors and will continue to need more. And I know that they are wonderful because I have been there!!
4. Help fundraise for an organization, orphanage or adopting family
I don't mean to keep talking only about my favorite orphanage, but, oh well haha. Crosspoint has had to turn away so many children over the past year as they wait for the money to expand their facilities.
Here's the deal, in order for an orphanage to take good care of their children, it takes more resources than the bad ones that neglect their children. It takes more workers, more space, more food, more clothes, more tutors, more everything- and all of that, requires more money. Are you good at fundraising and coming up with ideas to inspire people to support work around the world? Good! That is a gift from God! I am not good at that stuff, I wish that I were. You can be huge in helping people all around the world raise the funds that they need to take care of the children that God wants to entrust to them.
Find an organization that you are passionate about and ask them how you can help. Chances are, they will not say no!!
5. GO
Everything changes when you meet the children that we are talking about. We can use statistics all day long and it will mean nothing. We are so immune to statistics. I say that there are 147 million orphans in the world, that does very little to us. I can say that there are 80 million children living in desolate conditions in India, 27 million of whom are orphans as well. That means nothing.
What changes it is when you know they're names.
Knowing that there are 27 million orphans in India breaks my heart because I don't hear a number, I see a face and I hear a name in my head. Those children are not just a statistic to me, they are Rani, Shivani, Jameson, Chaitan, Ruth, Ester, and I could go on and on.
Seeing their faces changes everything.
So, go. Find somewhere and go spend some time volunteering at an orphanage overseas. Go downtown and find someway to volunteer with the foster kids. Go volunteer at the local YMCA or work with groups like CEF that minister to inner-city kids. Go to India. Here's the website for the Christmas team that will be going Christmas 2011. It will be the best Christmas of your life so far- no lie. There are also a lot of other trips that Crossroads take throughout the year, check those out. Pray about it and go!
Just go.
I believe that doing these things and anything else that God leads you to do to serve the orphans of the world will change your life. God will use these experiences to change the way you see the orphan crisis and the way that you see yourself being involved in orphan care.
Caring for orphans is not for some special class of Christians. Its not just for those who are called to adopt or those who are called to go live on the other side of the world. It is for every single one of us.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" James 1:27
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are a love language!!