OFFICIAL MULLY MOVIE THEATRICAL TRAILER

What happens when a six-year-old boy in Kenya is abandoned by his family and left to raise himself on the streets? MULLY is no ordinary rags-to-riches tale. It's the true story of Charles Mully, whose unlikely stratospheric rise to wealth and power leaves him questioning his own existence, searching for meaning in life. Against the better judgment of family and community, MULLY sets out to enrich the fate of orphaned children across Kenya. Jeopardizing his own life and the security of his family, Charles Mully risks everything and sets in motion a series of events that is nothing short of astonishing.

MULLY will open in select theaters October 3-5! Find theaters and order your tickets now. Keep checking back as more theaters will be confirmed as we get closer to the release date.

For more information on the MULLY movie, visit their web site.

Plan An Event for Orphan Sunday 2017!

 

www.orphansunday.org

The Most Anticipated Event of the Year!

In honor of Orphan Sunday, bring your kids to this family friendly event, and  help with hands-on projects that will serve vulnerable children in our community!

 

Pizza! Movie! Princesses! Superheroes!
Prizes! Photo Ops!
FREE admission when you RSVP Here.

Section Communities and Willow Creek's Vulnerable Children's Ministry, Safe Families for Children, Trafficking Ministry, Refugee Ministry, Kids Hope, Royal Family Kids Camp, & Angel Tree join together for the first time to bring you the most anticipated event of the year!

We are bringing a message of hope to the true superheros in the world today, orphans & vulnerable children!!!!

  Saturday, November 5th at 3PM
Willow Creek Community Church, So. Barrington, IL

Participate in hands-on projects that will serve orphans and children at risk! Kids are invited to walk through Activity Stations to help us complete the projects with help from their favorite Super Heroes and Princesses.

We will provide the supplies, pizza dinner with Movie Feature: Tangled, entertainment, drawings, prizes, and interactive live Storytime Show! Our favorite characters will help kids understand how much courage it takes to follow their dreams and be heroes! The Storytime interactive show starts directly after Willow's 5:30PM Love Everyone, Always message. 

It's all FREE, but you must RSVP! For a complete schedule of activities, click here!

Please share this email, or invite friends on Facebook! 

See you there!

Book review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

I recently finished reading this fascinating book, and highly recommend reading and learning more about this part of American history.  Although Orphan Train is a novel, it gives great insight into the history of the Orphan Train movement, and beautifully weaves in the plight of today's orphans in the foster care system.  - Dina Ackermann

Overview

Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?

As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.

Buy Orphan Train

Pray for UNadoptABLE Orphans

There are 163 million orphans in our world today. What does True Worship look like for the millions of orphans when adoption is not an option? What does True Worship look like for an orphan who longs to be known?

As we commemorate National Adoption Month in November and National Adoption Day November 21st, let's take a moment to pause and pray for the orphans that are unadoptable.

"Without A Net"- Reaching Orphans in Philippines

Without a Net 

Reaching Orphans in Philippines

 Orphans in the beautiful island nation of Philippines have little safety net, but God is doing great things through the local church.  Meet a primitive tribe caring for widows and orphans where the local pastor is a born-again witch doctor!  See how Christians are stepping out in faith to adopt and foster, soaring with joy as they build families.  This year’s Christian Alliance for Orphans film is packed with action and you don’t want to miss it!  

Download Video

Orphan Sunday with Stephanie Fast

In recognition of Orphan Sunday, Willow Creek and 
Loving Shepherd Ministries 

proudly present

Stephanie Fast

One Orphan’s Remarkable Story

Unwanted. Orphaned. Left for Dead. Rescued. Redeemed.

Author, speaker, Stephanie Fast’s story of survival as a four-year-old nameless orphan in Korea has inspired thousands of people to walk with vulnerable children down the road of hope and healing. Her story has been featured on Focus on the Family and remains one of its most popular broadcasts of all time.

Fuel  Your  Passion.

This event will inspire you to help children break free from their past — no matter how painful — and step into the future confident, full of purpose, and filled with hope.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

5:30 - 7:30 pm

Location:    Willow Creek Community Church

67 East Algonquin Road, South Barrington, IL

Room Blue Sky 1

Light dinner, presentation and expo of adoption, foster care and orphan care ministries.

*childcare will NOT be available

Register at: https://ourcommunity.willowcreek.org/default.aspx?page=3965&event=7890

Contact Dina Ackermann with questions at: vcministry127@gmail.com

Visit www.loving-shepherd.org/Stephanie-fast

Learn more about Orphan Sunday and find additional resources at: orphansunday.org

Help Send Chinese Orphans to School

September, 2015  It's back to school time. Can you help?     Our education program serves 65 children from various orphanages in Jiangxi province in China. We have some very bright young adults whom we've helped get through college or vocational training programs, and are now launched successfully into the work force, and we're very proud of them.  What a change this is from years past when they would just languish in the Welfare Institute as adults.  And we have some more orphans now ready for the same advanced training and education. We also support many disabled children who really need the stimulation, patient teaching, and steady rehab training only a special education facility offers. Those facilities are few and far between in China; it's very exciting that we've located some for children that didn't previously have access to one, especially in Shangrao and Yichun. Naturally, that kind of intense, specialized training comes at a price. We're seeking donations to be able to send these children to a school that gives them their best chance at fulfilling their potential. So far we know that at least 15 kids will need full or partial scholarships for the school year starting now.  For a listing of children, more information and to sponsor a student, click HERE.

Host a Chinese Orphan This Christmas

HOST A CHILD FROM CHINA THIS WINTER

CCAI is proud to announce our 2015 Winter China Hosting Program!  Please consider giving the gift of family and make a difference in an orphan's life for 3 to 4 weeks this holiday season.  

Families choose to host for a variety of reasons.  All families want to share the gift of holiday with an orphan; some families ultimately want to adopt the child they host; other families host a child to advocate for their adoption. Whatever your reason is for hosting, please know that you are impacting the life of a child in more ways than you will ever know!  

As the result of hosting, 86% of older children that were hosted through CCAI’s China Hosting Program over the past year have found their forever families.  These children may never have been adopted or even had the opportunity to be adopted if it were not for the hosting program. 

The Winter 2015 Photo Listing is available. Register now to see the photo listing of orphans who are participating in this program: https://www.ccaifamily.org/Hosting/Host-Register.aspx.  Registration is free. Once you register you will receive a confirmation email with a link and a password to view the private photo listing.  If you have questions, see a child you are interested in hosting this winter, or if you are interested in being a back-up host family, please contact the China Hosting Program Coordinator at hosting@ccaifamily.org or at 303-850-9998. We have volunteers who can answer questions after hours and on weekends: For the Eastern half of the US you can contact Kelly (407) 925-3732, and for the Western half of the US you can contact Michele (540) 847-9265. Many of the children will be placed on hold VERY QUICKLY!  

For more information on hosting a child from China this winter, please visit our website at http://www.ccaifamily.org/hosting/chinahostingprogram.aspx.  Please help us spread the word about CCAI’s China Hosting Program!  We have attached a flyer you can print to use at churches, schools, or other community organizations.  

Sheila King, LCSW

Domestic Adoption Program Coordinator

Parent Training Coordinator

China Hosting Coordinator

CCAI - where families grow and dreams come true

A Hague Accredited Adoption Service Provider

Phone: 303-850-9998 x42

Fax: 303-850-9997

"If You Were Mine" Workshop Available Online

If You Were Mine is now available online!

Hope for Orphans recently shared their new website with all of their initiatives and resources highlighted. This includes HFO’s If You Were Mine video-based workshop as an "on demand” resource for the first time through Right Now Media and Vimeo on Demand. The If You Were Mine adoption exploration workshop has been used in hundreds of churches and by thousands of families investigating adoption from a biblical and practical perspective.   Hope for Orphans is excited to announce their partnership with Right Now Media that has helped over 10,000 churches and ministries gain access to the best Christian digital content. It’s essentially the “Netflix of Video Bible Studies” because churches will have instant access to thousand of great videos for kids, youth, parents, married couples and more from some great teachers. If You Were Mine will now be part of this great resource. If you don’t have access to Right Now Media, you can access this resource directly through Hope for Orphans and their Vimeo on Demand interface and can be viewed as content on demand for your orphan ministry, small group, workshop or private use. This 7 part series will explore topics like:     • God’s heart for the orphan     • The realities and channels of adoption     • The processes and challenges of adoption     • Developing a plan for finances     • How to select an adoption agency     • How to prepare your family, yourself and your home     • What to expect after your child comes home In addition to the video resources, they've made the If You Were Mine workbook available in their online store.

Watch If You Were Mine Session 1 for free!

If You Were Mine on Right Now Media

If You Were Mine on Vimeo on Demand

If You Were Mine Workbook

Connecting Healthy Timing & Spacing of Pregnancies & Orphans in the Devoloping Countries

(Photo: Reuters/Tim Shaffer)

 

 

By Jenny Eaton Dyer, PhD and Jedd Medefind , 

CP Guest Contributors

Christian Post
June 11, 2015

Those of us who care deeply about human needs often speak as if the one issue we're most passionate about stands alone: hunger, AIDS, poverty, governance, trafficking. We have fallen into that trap at times, too. But here's a vital truth we can't ignore: just beneath the surface, pressing human needs are intertwined. So any aid or development effort that fails to reflect this truth will most always fall flat.

Let's make this personal. Jedd Medefind leads the Christian Alliance for Orphans, working to see orphaned and vulnerable children well cared for around the globe, and Jenny Dyer directs the Faith-Based Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children Worldwide and Senator Bill Frist, MD's Hope Through Healing Hands, which seeks to empower women in the developing world to better time and space their pregnancies.

Many would see these as widely differing undertakings. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Let's start with this question: "What causes a child to end up an orphan in the first place?" Of course, there are myriad roots to what UNICEF has called the "global orphan crisis" – from disease and disaster, to abuse by parents, to adults feeling forced by poverty to abandon their children. These vexing problems defy simple solutions, so caring for orphaned children will likely remain an immense need for decades to come.

But it is also clear that if these causal factors can be reduced, the number of future orphans can be significantly decreased. Consider the fact that pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls age 15-19 worldwide. Yet even small cultural shifts can alter this reality.

For example, the average age of marriage in Ethiopia is 16. Becoming pregnant between ages 15-19 creates twice the risk of death to a mother as becoming pregnant between 20-24. Likewise, if a mother becomes pregnant within two years of her previous delivery, she is more likely to die or have a miscarriage. Simply delaying pregnancy until age 20, and spacing pregnancies to two or more years apart, can greatly decrease maternal deaths.

Read more  HERE  

Orphan Hosting for your Church

 

 

On Monday, April 13 at 7:30pm there will be a presentation on Orphan Hosting. The focus will be on how it can jump start or grow your church's existing orphan care ministry. We will discuss how the program works, how your church can get involved, and how it can benefit your church's ministry and the families that participate. 

Please invite interested families and any church leaders that may want or need to hear this. 

Please email an RSVP to Craig Isaak (cisaak_72@yahoo.com) so we know how many participants to plan for. But, last minute participation is always allowed. We can also bring this presentation to your church specifically for a one on one discussion. 

Please join via Zoom Meeting (video will be off, but a brief ppt presentation will be shown):

Topic: Orphan Hosting as Church Orphan Care ministry Tool
Time: Apr 13, 2015 7:30 PM  Central Time (US and Canada) 

Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android:        https://zoom.us/j/158318240

Or join by phone: 
    +1 (415) 762-9988 or +1 (646) 568-7788 (US Toll) 
    Meeting ID: 158 318 240 
   

Questions?  Contact Craig Isaak, Harvest Bible Chapel Naperville

312-523-5047

cisaak_72@yahoo.com

What Made Roman Smile Again

This past Christmas season was extra special for a young man in Ukraine. A 19-year-old young man named Roman.Unfortunately, at a very young age, Roman lost both of his parents. He was sent to an orphanage and later met local Christians who minister to children and young adults within the orphanage walls and after they age out. 

Roman is a very curious kid by nature. He has asked many questions about life, about people, and about God. Another characteristic about Roman anyone would quickly notice is that he would rarely smile, displaying a tight-lipped frown on a somewhat gloomy face. Knowing the hardships of life he had faced, it didn't come as too much of a surprise.

This past September, as he entered a tech school to become a builder, he was invited to attend a Bible Study at a Lifesong Transition Home. He gladly accepted and started to attend. Although, he wasn't quite as quick to accept the invitations that were offered to attend church.The Lifesong staff started to pray for his repentance, as they sensed he was seeking the Lord.

As the staff continued to get to know Roman better, they discovered that his lack of smile had a reason behind it. Roman didn't have any front teeth! Our staff connected him to a charitable dentist who helped Roman at a minimal charge to bring his smile back. And guess what? Roman decided it was time to start smiling again. Shortly after, right around Christmas, he began to walk in fellowship with God, believing in Jesus as his Savior! And now, as you can see in the picture above, he hasn't stopped smiling!

Thanks be to God for drawing this young man to Himself! Please pray for Roman as he starts his walk with Christ, that He would be filled with the Spirit and walk in His Truth!

Learn more about the lives changing in Ukraine at www.lifesongfororphans.org/countries/ukraine.