Five of us from the Leadership Team for the Vulnerable Children's Ministry at Willow Creek will be attending the Chrisitan Alliance for Orphans Summit in So. California.   Please pray for us as we seek God's guidence for our ministry.  Pray also that our hearts would be drawn closer to God himself, and our spirits and passions would be renewed so that we can serve the fatherless with excellence.  Below are additional prayer requests for Jedd Medefind, President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans.

Please pray...

• That God would prepare each person coming both to give and to receive much at Summit.
• That the countless details and the myriad volunteers, speakers, exhibitors, and attendees would all come together smoothly.
• That seeds sown and cultivated at Summit would bear much good fruit—for the fatherless, the Church and God’s glory for decades to come.

2012 National Foster Care Prayer Vigil

Many kids in foster care feel like they don't have a prayer...let's change that.

 

A vigil isn’t really about holding candles, staying up late, or even about the event itself. A vigil is about heartfelt, concentrated prayer. A vigil is about settling our hearts on things that matter—petitioning God to move in our world.

The National Foster Care Prayer Vigil is a call to believers to join with others and pray during the week of May 20-27.  Join thousands around the country as we cry out to God on behalf of the over 400,000 children in our nation's foster care system, workers, their families (foster and birth), and the church’s response to the foster care crisis.

Would you be willing to give some of your time to join with others to pray for our Foster Care System in one of the following ways.

• With your family
• With your small group
• With your church
• With your community
• With your co-workers over lunch
• With your foster/adoption agency workers

No matter which of these you choose, you can register your prayer vigil here.

See the map for a listing of vigils already scheduled. The red flags indicate community vigils that anyone can join. We’ve also created a downloadable prayerguide that can help you and others know how to pray.  

Do you have friends and family who would also be willing to pray for these children?  Please pass along this web site and consider encouraging them to plan their own time of prayer. 

To learn more about a prayer vigil being held here locally or to learn more about this national movement and what is happening in other parts of the country, visit www.FosterCarePrayerVigil.org.

Parenting Seminar for Your Adopted or Foster Child

Parenting The Theraplay® Way:
Attachment-Based Parenting for your Adopted/Foster Child
Thursday & Friday, May 10 & 11, 2012 (both days required)
10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Sunny Ridge Family Center
270 Remington Blvd.
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Workshop fee: $95 per person or $150 for two people

Light refreshments will be provided; one hour lunch - brown bag or on your own. 
Sunny Ridge is pleased to welcome The Theraplay Institute, an organization that has been helping parents build better relationships with their children for over 40 years. They understand that adopted and foster children often need a different kind of parenting, and that these parenting skills may not just come naturally to even the best parent. Their experts understand the neurological and developmental issues that might be challenging your child, and they will give you specific ideas and techniques to help you bring joy, fun, and laughter back home to your family.

The Theraplay Institute will share what you need to know about attachment and trauma, and how parenting "The Theraplay Way" will address your child’s challenges. You will see the activities being used with other families, and you will practice some of them to give you confidence to try them at home. This program is also appropriate for pre-adoptive parents as well as for extended family members such as grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

The workshop will address such issues as:

• How to help your child feel more comfortable accepting your guidance and leadership.
• How to nip negative behaviors in the bud without being punitive.
• How to get away from constant rewards and threats of consequence.
• How to discipline your child in a way that is effective and fosters learning rather seeming to make the child feel ashamed and vengeful.
• How to integrate playful, reciprocal interactions that will enhance your child’s sense of well-being and self-esteem.
• How to foster a feeling of connection and joy between you and your child that will last beyond the time of the actual activity/event.

Register On-line directly at The Theraplay Institute or call Janet Koestring at (847) 256-7334, extension 104.

One Man's Prayerful Consideration to Adopt

The following post is taken from Faith Focus, a weekly devotional from Buckner International.  www.bucknerinternational.org. 



I was a little nervous when my wife and I first discussed the idea of adopting a waiting child. With two girls in the family already, everything had to be considered, including the living arrangements, cost of care, our ability to emotionally handle whatever circumstances might arise and, most importantly, could we give the child the chance in life they would truly need?

Was God really asking us to consider this option? Were we being impatient? We knew we had to be honest with ourselves and make sure we truly believed we could provide a waiting child with the home he or she deserved. We also had to make sure we sensed in our hearts that this child was supposed to be "one of us."

Meeting with our social worker to discuss the waiting child list helped us. We worked through a medical condition worksheet that forced us to be real about what challenges we felt would work within our family. After our social worker left, we had a total peace about what was in front of us and began looking almost daily at the waiting child listings. We knew it would be clear to us which child was supposed to be our child.

The day we saw our son for the first time on the webpage, my wife and I broke down in tears. She found him first and sent me a message at work. I logged in and she did not even have to point him out to me. As soon as I saw his face I knew which child she would direct me to.

Four months later, we traveled to Korea and brought him home. He has taught us how to be more loving, less self-centered and the joy of life itself. He is a perfect fit for us and our lives would truly be incomplete without him.

God calls us to love the fatherless (Isaiah 1:17), and there is no better way I can think of than building your family through adoption!

Brady Speers and his family live in Texas. They adopted their son from Korea through Dillon International. 

Parenting/Leadership Training

awaken to your potential ...

* as a parent
* as a leader
* as a person

Thursday, April 19th, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Elgin DCFS Office, 595 State Street, Elgin, IL 60123

For more information or to RSVP contact:
Colleen    (708)888-7235 colleen.woolwine@illinois.gov or
Robyn      (815)793-5847 robynh@strengtheningfamiliesillinois.org


* Foster parents will receive training hours.


A transformational process that will strengthen your leadership skills at home, at school and in the community. A great opportunity to learn from others and set goals for yourself, your family and your community.

Sponsored by Strengthening Families Illinois and D.C.F.S., Elgin. For a complete schedule of Strengthening Families Illinois events, training sessions and Parent Cafés, visit http://www.keepyourfamilystrong.org/.

Make Way Partners: Baby Cristobal

Below is a blog post from Kimberly Smith of Make Way Partners, a ministry devoted to the most vulnerable and least protected, to end human trafficking.   I have been receiving blog posts from Kimberly for probably a year now.  Some of them have given me sleepless nights.  Some have driven me to tears.  Some have brought great joy and celebration as reports of God's miraculous ways are reported.   All have shown me the desperate plight of orphans, especially in Sudan.  Below is a recent blog post regarding a baby named Cristobal.  I encourage you to pray for him and the many orphaned children in Sudan. 

 

**********************************

 

 

 

Baby Cristobal was born on Christmas Day, 2011. In the same moment he drew his first breath, his young mother exhaled her last. Her tender life was snuffed out because there was no one with proper training to tend her during Cristobal’s delivery. When her labor didn’t progress as quickly as those attending her thought it should, they applied too heavy pressure upon her abdomen. She bled to death. In a land with no hospitals, and scant medical or midwife training, it is often left for babies to help other babies deliver babies.

 

        Keeping with the local legend for babies of mothers who die in childbirth, Cristobal was abandoned and left for dead, so that he could join his mother. The day after Christmas someone dared to break tradition, and snuck Cristobal to Romano, the director of our Hope for Sudan orphanage. Cristobal was severely malnourished, and struggling for his life.

 

        Four months into the battle for his fragile life, death is still clawing after this baby boy. He grew ill a few days ago and began refusing to eat. He has malaria. This frail child has no reserve to survive even the slightest illness, and there is nothing slight about childhood malaria. Malaria is, in fact, the number one killer of children.

 

        Amos, (our Health Manager) and Eugenio (logistician) are working to get him airlifted to Kijabi hospital in Kenya.

 

        The logistics of getting a child with no documentation across international borders is a huge challenge in itself. Coordinating flights in and out of war-torn Sudan certainly complicates the issue. It will take a couple of days to work out all these logistics. Please pray for Cristobal’s strength as he waits. Also, of course, for the doctors and care givers that will tend him.

 

If you would like to partner with us to cover Cristobal’s travel and medical expenses, please click here.

 

http://www.makewaypartners.org/ 

Human Trafficking Forum at Willow Creek

Join us for our monthly Human Trafficking Forum

 

Guest Speaker:  Rachel Durchslag with Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE)

 

Topic:  Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution:  Investigating Root Causes and How Faith Communities

Can Help

 

When:  Wednesday, April 18th, 7:45 p.m.

Where:  Room F392, Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL

Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation has a preventative mission to stop demand in human trafficking and sexual exploitation.  Learn about the simple ways you can make a difference.

About our Guest Speaker...

Rachel Durchslag has been working in the social justice community since 2000.  in June of 2006, she founded Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), an organization that works to eliminate sexual exploitation through litigation and advocacy, organizing and policy reform, and prevention and resource development.

Seminar: The Adoption Process

The Process of Adoption:

  From Termination to Finalization of Parental Rights

Monday, June 18th ~ 5:30-7:00pm

Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave (Route 31)

Jodi Perko,

DCFS Adoption/Guardianship Supervisor

Jodi will help us understand how an adoption case travels through the Department of Children and Family Services. She will explain the various court requirements, background check processes, necessary paperwork and the generally expected timeframes for each. Jodi will also touch upon Post Adoption and Adoption Preservation services.

Please RSVP to Deb McQuaid at debm@casakanecounty.org or 630-444-3110

Sponsored by CASA Kane County

CASA Kane County is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that advocates for the best interest

of abused and neglected children within the Juvenile Court system.

Webinar: Identity and Adoption

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

7:00 p.m. central time

8:00 - 8:30 Q & A

Join a panel of adult adopted people as they reflect back on how being adopted shaped their identity.  The panel will answer questions and give adopted parents practical insight into how they can best support their children to forma  healthy sense of self. Learn more and register

•    Learn the challenges your children may face when forming their identity
•    Hear stories and examples of how others have faced these challenges
•    Pose your own questions to the panel

Dr. Gina Samuels, researcher, educator and an adopted person will lead the discussion.  Learn more about Dr. Samuels

Register Here:

http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/catalog/webinars/an-insiders-guide-to-identity-and-adoption.cfm?utm_source=jcicsidentityweb&utm_medium=jcicsidentityweb&utm_campaign=jcicsidentitywebinar

Submit your questions for the panel HERE or by tweeting them to @adoptiontweet using #adoptionid.

Sponsors:

Blue Sunday

Abused Children Shouldn't Have to Pray Alone.

National Blue Sunday is April 29, 2012  Join churches across the nation as they take the time in their morning service to pray for the victims of child abuse and those that rescue them.  Take the lead in making a difference in child abuse prevention efforts.  Visit http://www.bluesunday.org/ to learn more and to access their resources.

Short-Term Serving Trip to Serve Orphans in So. Africa

When you're willing to extend a hand of compassion, God can use you in ways you never expected.  Be part of a short-term team that helps meet the needs of a Willow Creek partner organization in South Africa.  You don't have to preach.  You don't have to speak the language.  Just show up ready to embark on a journey that will change your life.

What: Orphan Care International Team
Where: South Africa
When: October 18 - 29, 2012
Cost: Approximately $3,000

Who: Members of Willow Creek Community Church are invited to apply.

Willow Creek is planning this team to serve alongside their partner ministry Genesis in East South Africa. Activities for this team will include various orphan care activities. If interested, contact shorttermteams@willowcreek.org for more information.

Prayer Night for Child Trafficking in India

The Moody Church is hosting a Chicago-area prayer night for As Our Own, a ministry that rescues girls from certain enslavement and exploitation in India's red light districts. We'll hear testimonies of children rescued, worship, get a ministry update from the founder, and pray together for children trafficked in India.

Wednesday, April 11 from 6:45 - 8:00 p.m. in room 108 at The Moody Church (1635 N. LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60614).

http://asourown.org/our-events/prayer-meeting-at-the-moody-church/

 Join LifeSong for Orphans to IMPACT lives in Zambia...

(Don't forget to mute the blog music  on the bottom of this page before viewing the following video.)

  

    

"Hi.  My name is Richard.
 I am in grade 7.
 I stay with my sister, Josephine.
 I have three brothers and two sisters.
 My other sister attends Lifesong and is in grade 5.
 Her name is Emelia.
 My mother stays in a village far away.
 My father died in 2006.
 Thank you for supporting me and may God bless you and add more days to your life.   My favorite subject is art."

Richard is just ONE of the 253 students that we are blessed to serve at Lifesong Zambia.  He is also one of the students that will be moving on to grade 8 this fall.  Without the construction of new classrooms, Richard may join the 95% of Zambian children that are not able to attend High School. 

Will you join LifeSong for Orphans in impacting the lives of children like Richard?

To add to the excitement-­‐-­‐thanks to a generous donor,
all donations will be matched up to $225,000!! 
All donations are tax deductable.

  

To join the Impact Zambia 100 team, email info@lifesongfororphans.org or visit http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/.