Monday, April 29, 2013

Ethiopian Students Need Sponsors


What would the world look like if each of us made it our responsibility to see one less orphan without an education…one less orphan without a growling hunger… or one less orphan without a bleak future of poverty?
In the next 45 days, our goal is to find a sponsor for every single child who has yet to be sponsored at our school in Lifesong Ethiopia. (Gulp! That’s a tall order! See below how YOU can help.) We are asking for an investment of just $19/month that will result in a future leader for the renewal of Africa from the inside out.
Invest in a life of a child. Invest in self-sufficiency. Invest in bringing hope to one more orphan.


Together we can get EVERY child sponsored! Will you help us?

How can YOU help each child find a sponsor:
  • PRAY: Join us in praying for the 587 children who are unsponsored in Ethiopia. Pray for the thousands that will be given the opportunity to sponsor–that hearts would be open to helping a child in need. Pray that God will raise advocates to help spread the word!
  • ADVOCATE: Maybe sponsoring a child isn’t an option for you at this time but you have a platform and a voice to let the need be known! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and share the One Less campaign with your friends & followers.
  • SPONSOR: Commit to sponsor a students at Lifesong Ethiopia School long-term for $19/month to help ensure that they get the incredible education, spiritual mentoring and food that they need to break the cycle of poverty. To see the children yet to be sponsored, please visit: www.zatproject.com/oneless
To learn more about the Ziway + Adami Tulu Project and details of sponsorship visit www.zatproject.com.






 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Last Chance to Register for CAFO Summit

Online registration closes on Friday, April 26.
Join us May 2-3, 2013 in Nashville, TN
EXPLORE and celebrate how God's profound love for the fatherless reveals the depths of His love for each of us.
LEARN to build up the local church as a vibrant center of adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry.

EXPERIENCE the burgeoning orphan care movement with adoptive and foster families, enthusiastic advocates, ministry entrepreneurs, and believers from around the globe.

GROW practical knowledge and skills for parents, churches, and organizations in more than eighty workshops and unforgettable plenary sessions including: David Platt, Randy Alcorn, Michele Bachmann, Bishop & Donna Martin, Nicole C. Mullen and other global leaders.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Webinar: Making the Best Use of Social Media for Good

Alliance Webinar Series
The Christian Alliance for Orphans Webinar Series is designed to help individuals like you create and grow effective adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry in local churches.
   
You're Invited...
Making the Best Use of Social Media for Good

 
 Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 Time: 1:00 PM Central

 
In today’s world some of the greatest impact in orphan advocacy is coming from online tools. How can you best use your voice for good while harnessing the technology at your fingertips? How can you get your message out effectively with both confidence and wisdom?

Join Shaun Groves, Coordinator of Blog Ministries for Compassion International, as he explores how to use your online voice for good in a way that will magnify your message and engage your audience.

Presenters: Shaun Groves, Coordinator of Blog Marketing, Compassion International

 
Each 60-minute webinar in this series will give local advocates access to the knowledge and experience of top Alliance member churches and organizations nationwide, covering key topics on adoption, foster care and/or global orphan care. Every webinar will be hosted by a local church orphan ministry and co-presented by one or more national experts on the subject matter. This pairing will deliver a combination of specialist information and resources alongside a “here’s how it works in a real church” perspective.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Special Health Alert for Ethiopian Children: Codeine

 
“The FDA recently announced that there have been 3 deaths in young children related to the administration of oral codeine after tonsillectomy. Children at risk have a specific enzyme that concerts codeine to morphine more rapidly and completely than the average person. The prevalence of this gene in African-Americans, Caucasians, and Asians is typically low (1-6%), but the prevalence in Ethiopian children is about 30%. It might be a good idea to inform parents who have adopted from Ethiopia that they might talk to their child’s doctor about this if their child needs medication for postoperative pain.”
Nancy Curtis, MD, FAAP

International Adoption Clinic at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm313631.htm

Thursday, April 18, 2013

FamilyLife Broadcast Friday on Summit IX and the Christian Orphan Care Movement!


 
The FamilyLife Today radio broadcast tomorrow (April 19) will focus on Summit IX and the Christian orphan care movement. Dennis Rainey, Bob Lepine and Jedd Medefind dig into the history of Christian care for orphans and its vibrant expression today.

You can catch it on your local Christian radio station’s broadcast or on the Family Life Today site HERE.  Locally in the Chicago area, tune in to WMBI 90.1 FM at 11:00a.m.

See you at the Summit!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Webinar: Making Adoption Affordable



The cost may seem daunting, but there are many ways to make adoption affordable.

Please join us on April 16 at 8 p.m. EDT
for our webinar, Making Adoption Affordable.

  • A tax expert will speak about the adoption tax credits and other options to consider when financing adoption.
  • A family will share their adoption stories and why they didn't wait until they "thought they could afford it."
REGISTER NOW for the Live Webinar!

Can't make it to the live version?
Register to get the link to the recorded version when it's been posted.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Ethiopia Family Night!

YOU'RE INVITED!
Bring the whole family and learn about Loving Shepherd Ministries (LSM) in Ethiopia!
If you're in the Bluffton (IN) area, please join them for a great evening to learn about Ethiopian culture, buy ethnic items and sample foods. You'll also have a chance to hear from Allen and Susan Stoller (LSM Missionaries in Addis Ababa) and learn how you can be involved in rescuing children and their mothers from prostitution.



Read some stories of rescue in Ethiopia here. Join LSM on April 26th as they band together to care for these vulnerable women and children!

Share the event on facebook here!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Oak Park Adoption Agency Announces New Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Adoption-Link will partner with Acres of Hope/The African Alliance for Life
to provide hope to orphaned children in The DRC


Adoption-Link, a full service Hague-accredited adoption agency in Oak Park, Illinois, has joined forces with Acres of Hope (AOH), a charitable organization dedicated to supporting the vulnerable people of Liberia. Recently AOH expanded its mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, calling its program there “The African Alliance for Life.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, is the second largest country in Africa with a population of nearly 72 million. Despite a wealth of natural resources the country has experienced devastating political instability and over 5 million DRC citizens have perished due to war and associated famine and disease. The African Alliance for Life will work with authorities to identify and find help for vulnerable children, including the verification of orphan status for children who have lost their families.

“The goal of our new partnership is to aid and support families and orphans in The DRC through social responsibility and, where appropriate, adoption,” noted Noreen Davidson, Executive Director of Adoption-Link.

Stephanie Francois, Director of International Programs for Adoption-Link, commented on the new relationship. “We are so excited about our new DRC program. We are partnering with an established organization with a huge heart for the DRC and Africa! We look forward to finding families for the many children waiting for permanent, loving homes.”

Potential adoptive families who may be interested in the DRC Program can find detailed information on the Adoption-Link website,
www.adoption-link.org. DRC will accept qualified families consisting of married couples or single women. There is no upper age limit for qualified adopting parents to meet United States Citizenship and Immigration Services requirements.

Adoption-Link is accepting new applications from qualified adoptive families for all of its programs, including DRC. Families interested in adopting from DRC are invited to contact Ms. Francois at the Adoption-Link office,
708-524-1433, or email her at Stephanie.Francois@adoption-link.org. For additional information please visit www.adoption-link.org. Adoption-Link will be hosting an Information meeting on Thursday, April 11 from 7-9pm. Potential attendees may register online or via email at info@adoption-link.org.


Monday, April 8, 2013

STUCK Documentary Coming to Chicago

 
The award-winning documentary film, STUCK, is the story of the struggles and rewards of international adoption. It is travelling to 60 cities over 3 months, beginning March 1. It will be in Chicago on April 26 at the Music Box Theater.
STUCK follows the stories of four orphans from Haiti, Vietnam and Ethiopia and their heartbreaking struggles to come home to their families. To view the trailer, purchase theater tickets, or download the film for personal viewing, please visit www.stuckdocumentary.com.
Prominent Americans including Gerda Weissmann Klein (Jewish Holocaust survivor, author and human rights activist) and Jedd Medefind (Christian Alliance for Orphans) have endorsed the film. Their inspirational words can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/61031241(Gerda) and http://vimeo.com/59461549. (Jedd).
More than a movie, this is a movement – a movement to ensure that every child has the possibility to grow up in a loving family. Viewers are asked to move beyond politics and borders, and address the lives of children who are stuck in a broken system.
The STUCK film is designed to raise awareness – and outrage – over the deplorable system of international adoption. Bureaucracy, inefficiencies and politics keep children incarcerated in orphanages around the world when loving families are willing and eager to adopt them.
The award-winning documentary film was created by Both Ends Burning, a non-profit dedicated to international adoption reform. Founder and President (and STUCK Executive Producer) Craig Juntunen is passionate that it is every child’s fundamental right to have the opportunity to grow up in a loving family. As producer of the movie, his vision is for STUCK to be a change-agent in reforming the current broken process of international adoption.
During the day, the STUCK team will visit local media, houses of worship, community organizations and universities to create a sense of community involvement and pride in adoption. If your group is interested in organizing or hosting an event, please contact Rochelle Rickoff, Volunteer Manager at Rochelle.rrr@gmail.com.
The STUCK Tour bus will end in Washington, D.C. when the petition signatures collected during the trip will be delivered to legislators on Capitol Hill during the Step Forward for Orphans March on May 17th.
What are some easy things you can do to help?
· Come see the movie! Advance-purchase film tickets are available and highly encouraged. To see when STUCK will be near you and to buy tickets for the film, please visitwww.stuckdocumentary.com/.
· Volunteer to be part of the STUCK team when the film comes to your city athttps://bothendsburning.org/initiatives/stuck-tour/volunteer/.
· Sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/make-a-child-s-right-to-a-family-our-priority or text “orphans” to 67463 to sign the petition right from your phone! The goal is to have 1 million signatures by May 17th.
· Join us for the National March for Orphans in Washington, DC on May 17th. Register athttps://bothendsburning.org/initiatives/the-step-forward-for-orphans-march/.
· Spread the word. This movement is highly dependent on social networking:
o Like our Facebook page here, share it on your page, change your Facebook cover photo to our “Official STUCK cover photo” and share your city’s event tab with your friends.
o Follow STUCK on Twitter/Instagram(@Stuck2013) and use hashtags #StuckTour, #JoinTheMovement, #STUCK, #SaveAChild, #CelebrateFamily.
o E-blast this information to your family, friends, colleagues, houses of worship, community organizations and interfaith networks. The sky is the limit!
· If you cannot attend a film screening, download and view the film for individual use atwww.stuckdocumentary.com.
For more information, call the Both Ends Burning office at 877-908-5161 or visit the STUCKWeb site at www.stuckdocumentary.com.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The Children's Closet



The Children’s Closet is an organization supported and utilized by churches and community groups throughout the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. It is hosted at Calvary Community Church in Schaumburg IL . They work with agencies such as DCFS, Safe Families for Children and organizations caring for families in need with children.

The Children’s Closet provides clothing free of charge to help families who are providing temporary homes for children in need. They also provide children's clothing to low income families in need.

If you are in need of children's clothing or would like to donate clothes, please contact Lisa Phalen at phalen245@att.net.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Monthly Pot-Luck Gathering At Willow Creek


The Vulnerable Children’s Ministry

Invites you to a

Monthly Pot-luck Gathering 

for those interested and involved in
Adoption, Foster Care, Safe Families and Orphan Care

 


Join us as we welcome the Gorbatenko family from Willow Creek,
and hear their story of adopting three of their children from Russia.  It’s a story of God’s faithfulness and their test of faith to bring home the children born in their hearts. 
You won’t want to miss their exciting adventure!

*********
 
We will also be celebrating Compassion Sunday.  If you currently sponsor a child through Compassion International or any other sponsorship program, please bring the picture(s) of your sponsored child(ren) to the meeting.  If you are not currently sponsoring a child, you will have the
opportunity to sponsor one through Compassion.

 
Sunday, April 21, 2013

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Willow Creek Community Church
67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL 60010
Room F150 (park in the F lot and follow the signs downstairs to room F150)

 
Pot-Luck Dinner begins promptly at 5:00.  Please bring a dish to pass.  Beverages will be provided.

Childcare is available if you R.S.V.P. to vcministry127@gmail.com
with the number of children and their ages.