Foster Care Mom's Coffee Gathering

An Invitation.....

Who: Current or prospective Safe Families Foster Moms, DCFS Foster Moms, and Moms who are interested in playing a supporting role even if they are not

fostering children themselves.

What: Come to enjoy a time of sharing foster care experiences and ideas.

When: Tuesday, October 27th, 9:30 a.m.

Where: The home of Terri Hooker: 2000 S. Ela Road, Schaumburg IL 60195 (847-366-7502)

R.S.V.P. Terri at Thooker@americandooranddock.com.

Children are welcome. Please mention how many children you are bringing,

and their ages when you r.s.v.p.

Coffee, Tea and Pastries will be served.

Lydia Benefit Gala

Join AV4HC as together we attend

LYDIA's 2009 Benefit Gala

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Erwin Lutzer

Monday, November 16, 2009

5:30 p.m. Silent Auction

6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Dinner & Program

Location: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL

Dinner and parking are complimentary.

An opportunity to make a financial contribution will be presented.

Please consider supporting this organization whose mission is: to strengthen families to care for children and care for children when families cannot.

If you are not already registered and are planning on attending, we would love to fill tables and sit together. If you would like to attend with others from AV4HC, please r.s.v.p. to Sandy Kemink at kemsj3@sbcglobal.net or phone: 847-202-8973

For more information about Lydia and their programs, visit www.lydiahome.org.

2009 Midwest Adoption Conference

The 16th Midwest Adoption Conference is being held at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL on Sunday, November 1, 2009. This annual conference is for adoptive families, prospective adoptive parents, adoption professionals, adult adoptees, birth parents and foster parents.



This year's Keynote Speaker is Dr. Jaiya John, PhD who is an author and speaker and Founder of Soul Water Rising, a global human relations mission.



For more information and to register for this conference, please visit http://www.midwestadoption.org/.

Please note that despite the location at a Christian University, this is not a Christian-Based conference.

Adoption & Foster Care Conference

Tapestry, the adoption and foster care ministry at Irving Bible Church, will host its annual adoption and foster care conference on October 24, 2009, in Irving, Texas. As in past years, the conference will include a great line-up of practical breakout sessions that are highly relevant to adoptive and foster parents. This year’s conference sessions include topics such as the practical benefits of play, sensory processing issues, talking with children about the difficult realities of adoption and foster care as well as two sessions focused on older child adoption – just to name a few.

In addition, this year’s Tapestry Conference will once again feature speakers from TCU’s Institute of Child Development. Tabatha Gunn will lead a session entitled Making Sense of Sensory Issues, while Dr. Karyn Purvis will be featured during the general session with a talk entitled The Connecting Link: What Parents Need to Bring Healing to Their Children.

We hope that you can attend this year’s Tapestry Conference. However, if that is not possible we will provide future updates as to how you can obtain CDs, DVDs and other materials relating to the conference. In the meantime, be sure to check out resources from past Tapestry Conferences.

Ode To The Abused Child

ODE TO THE ABUSED CHILD

To all those who -

hear the stories

or witness the bruises

and notice

and stop the world

and time

and the spin

are sick of excuses

and finger pointing

and waiting for officials to act

or government to solve problems

or parents to grow up

To all those who -

can't wait for the cycle to wind down

or the qualified to intervene

or meth to vacate from our neighbors

or fathers to exhaust their rage

To all those who -

are willing to be educated

and feel inadequate

and get dirty

and wade into the filth of humanity

and expose your heart

And you -

don't mind having your world collide with suffering

or gut wrenched

and tears gushed because of inequity

or believe that there has to be a better way

and will shift time and money to captain change

So I declare -

I will rise

I will see

I will fully feel and act

I will be bold

and rude

and loud about love

I will not mistake money for power or authority for responsibility

or even permission for a purpose

I will not hesitate or think it’s someone else's problem or job

I will own it

I may not stop it

but I will slow it down and I will inject hope

and I will rescue one, maybe two

today, someone is me

today, no one is me

today, everyone is just me

child abuse sucks for everyone -

so I declare:
I am the solution!

Glenn Garvin - June 2009

A Voice for His Children Celebrates It's First Year

It was August 19, 2008, just over one year ago that a group of interested Willow Creekers met at my house to check out the possibility of banding together to serve orphans and vulnerable children. When I reflect back on what God has done in the past year, all I can say is "Wow!".

This posting is not a celebration of programs we've started or children we've served, contacts we've made or successes we've achieved, though all of these things have happened. It's a celebration of God's goodness, His leading, His faithfulness and His provision while using imperfect servants like us.

For me, this has been a year of seeing God in a new light, discovering his heart and passion for children, especially orphans and children in vulnerable situations. I've discovered his heart for adoption and realized that not only do I have adopted children, but I AM an adopted child of God. That I was an orphan with no voice and no direction and no one to nurture me until I met my heavenly father who adopted me and gave me a voice, gave me direction and welcomed me into His family for eternity. Indeed my heart has grown closer to God as I've discovered His love for us, His adopted children.

This past year has also been a year of connecting with some incredible people from churches, ministries and organizations that are on the front lines of serving orphans. With each new connection I am energized and inspired by the movement of God, working through His people. It has also been a wonderful experience to be connected with Willow Creekers, whether paid staff or volunteer, who are so passionate about the work of God. I am so proud to belong to a church where "the least of these" matter and where my passion and desire to serve orphans is supported, encouraged and celebrated. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of expanding a vision of serving orphans, adoptive families and foster families.

As you read about the activities that have taken place this past year, I hope it will remind you as it has reminded me what a good God we have and that apart from Him we can do nothing.

Our first initiative was the Lydia House Safe Families program. To date, we are in contact with all the Willow Creek/So. Barrington (WCSB) Safe Families and have monthly support meetings so that they can be supported, encouraged and educated while they foster children. We also have a support team that is available to provide respite care, logistical items and childcare during the monthly meetings. Our prayer is that a solid core of SF will be built, and many more WCSB families will consider becoming foster families.

In November and December, a group of us hand-made and personalized 175 Christmas cards for orphans in Nicaragua being served by OrphaNetwork (O.N.). Our hope and prayer was that these cards would somehow let them know that God loves them and is watching over them, even in the midst of their circumstances. We were also able to partner with O.N. to print and laminate for them hundreds of pictures of children in a community where they serve. The pictures will be used at an outreach event at a local church and for spreading the word about the work of O.N.

Four of us from A Voice for His Children (AV4HC) had the privilege of attending the Christian Alliance for Orphans Conference in Dallas, TX last spring. God stirred the hearts of many others who prayed for us and donated enough funds so that the four of us could go. It was an eye-opening, heart-melting, God-connecting time for all of us. We were educated, inspired and challenged. One of our team members, Brooke, was so moved by the Heart Gallery display at the conference, that she is now working on starting one here. The Heart Gallery is a display of beautiful portraits of children in foster care that are adoptable. It raises awareness and breaks some of the stereotypes of children in foster care. It also gives God a chance to tug at people's hearts as they look at the beautiful portraits and open their hearts to considering adoption.

We started the AV4HC blog where people can come to be inspired, supported, educated and learn about serving opportunities. Through the blog we have been able to rally some advocacy opportunities so that people could sign petitions and call Senators and Congressmen to have them support legislation that specifically pertains to orphans, adoption and vulnerable children. With the help of the International Justice Mission (IJM) several of us were able to meet personally with our Congressmen to discuss a bill that seeks to combat child trafficking.

In May we celebrated National Foster Care week by holding a prayer vigil where we prayed for foster kids, foster families, social workers and our DCFS system.

This summer we piloted a 5-week study called "Considering Adoption". My husband and I led the group with three other couples. It was a rich time of going deeper to discover God's heart toward orphans and adoption, and to facilitate discussions about adoption in each of the families. We are now recruiting additional adoptive families to lead the study in their neighborhoods. We have also designated a follow-up 1-day workshop for families that have decided to adopt and need more information to take the next steps.

I pray that each of you who reads this will prayerfully consider how God is calling YOU to serve orphans. We'd love for you to become a part of what God is doing for His children through "A Voice for His Children". Please check back soon for opportunities for you to serve in November as we celebrate National Adoption month, and Orphan Sunday on Nov. 8th.

Dina Ackermann

Haiti Adoption Update

The Joint Council of International Children's Services has released the following update regarding adoptions from Haiti:

UNICEF estimates that 490,000 children are orphans in Haiti. This translates to just about 6% of Haiti's population. In 2004, at the height of intercountry adoptions into the U.S., over 350 children were served through intercountry adoption into the U.S. Thousands more were served by the orphanages in Haiti, which often provided support to the community. However, over the past three years the processing of adoptions in Haiti has slowed to a crawl. Abandoned children endure adoption processes lasting two or three years before being united with adoptive families. Not only is such lasting institutional care damaging to the children who wait and wait, but the slowed process has had a negative effect on the many desperately needy children of Haiti who are not waiting in orphanages. Many orphanages support free medical clinics, schools, nutrition programs and family preservation programs. Orphanages have been a resource for temporary care for children following a family crisis, such as a fire or illness. But now that children languish in orphanage care for years, orphanage directors report that the beds are full, the food and medicine supplies are insufficient, and the children needing temporary care are left on the streets with little prospect for life.

In an attempt to move towards transparent and democratic government, Haitian officials now adhere to the Haitian Constitutional law regarding adoption, written in 1974 by Jean Claude Duvalier. While the law of 1974 places severe limitations on the size of family and age of those who may adopt, it also allows Presidential Dispensation for those not meeting the family size or age limitations. Unfortunately, Haiti lacks an organized and transparent system for obtaining Dispensations. This confusion over Dispensations, along with the absence of a sense of urgency regarding institutionalized children has caused extensive delays in the adoption process and further victimizes children who have already lost much.

Haiti has a pending solution to this legal logjam. A newly proposed adoption law will clarify who may adopt; increase protections for Haitian children, their birth parents, and adoptive families and streamline the adoption process. This legislation is supported by the United States and French governments along with the NGO community, including Joint Council. Joint Council's work in Haiti has been extensive, from working with the Haitian government, adoption service providers, orphanages and other NGO's on developing and implementing Standards of Practice for Intercountry Adoption, which were signed at the U.S. Embassy in Port-A-Prince in January 2009 (see Joint Council's page on Facebook for the pictures) to advocating for a change in the current law.

In August Joint Council launched the first of many advocacy efforts to support the change in law. Joint Council's efforts, entitled the Haitian Children and Families Initiative, strives to ensure the new law is implemented. A second effort will occur this month. This effort will include a petition to U.S. Congress requesting support of the law. You can sign the petition by clicking here.

More details on this month's initiative will be available on Joint Council's Haiti country information page in the coming week.

Safe Families Testimony

Volunteering with Lydia Home’s Safe Families program has been a huge blessing for our family. We knew it would be rewarding to help underprivileged kids on a very personal level, but it has definitely impacted our lives in ways that we had never even considered. The immediate rewards were obvious. The foster children that we have had the privilege of caring for have adapted quickly when provided with a stable, secure home. A little love and a sense of security really does go a long way. The smiles and laughter alone are enough to make the small sacrifices of having them in our home more than worth it, and the moms have been truly grateful, as well. Sometimes, the little things that we take for granted are the really big things to them, and to be able to provide these little things for even a short period of time is very gratifying. These kids openly respond to the natural need to just be loved, but the experiences of the moms have often conditioned them to doubt love and fairness and justice. We hope that by offering the moms a love without reason, we can help them recognize that God’s love is real.

Our first motivation to join the Safe Families program was the obvious desire to help kids in need, but we also hoped to help our own children overcome the price of privilege. Our kids have never known what it means to go without. Our kids, Bailey, Peyton, and Tres, are ten, eight, and seven. We’ve tried to teach them about gratitude and service and Jesus’ desire to help the poor and disadvantaged, but they never really understood what all that meant. To not have a home or a family car or three meals a day or two parents that you can depend on were foreign concepts to our kids. Realizing that not all children have the kind of life that they have has been somewhat of a surprise to Bailey, Peyton, and Tres, but it is teaching them about a much truer, deeper sense of compassion. Of course, there have been some ups and downs and a few trials, but the experience has always taught us and our children things that we needed to learn.

We expected the Safe Families experience to be rewarding and that it would teach our own kids some really important life lessons that they might not otherwise understand, but it has turned out to be so much more. Specifically, it has taught our family a great deal about racial reconciliation, and it has allowed me to be able to more openly talk to others about God. When we decided to become a foster family, it just never really crossed my mind that all or most of the children that would come to us would be children of color. We can talk all we want about prejudice and discrimination, but by having these foster children in our home, we have shown Bailey, Peyton, and Tres that people of different races or ethnicities are no different than we are; that they need to be loved and cared for just the same as we do. More importantly, it has shown them that we all need God’s love in the exact same ways. Having the foster children in our lives has initiated some very open conversations about racism that we may not have otherwise had, but I think our children have learned the most about racial reconciliation just by observing what goes on. These lessons for us and for our children are priceless.

For me, personally, being involved in Safe Families has stretched me in other ways, as well. I can honestly say that I am not an evangelist. It is just not in my nature to candidly talk to acquaintances or total strangers about God. When you go to the grocery store, park, gym, a restaurant, or wherever with three white kids and two or three African American kids, you get a lot of attention. People I know or total strangers often ask “Are all these kids yours?” or “Who are all these kids?”. I tell them about Safe Families and am questioned about why I would want to take this on. I simply say that because we have been so hugely blessed in our lives, we just really want to give back---that it is not only our desire but that is almost our responsibility to give back. This either opens the door for a spiritual conversation or just offers an open demonstration of my faith. Many times, the conversation is with someone I’ll never see again, but I walk away knowing that I have impacted them. They just don’t understand why we would want to take in inner city kids that we don’t know when we have three children of our own and a great life in the suburbs. I think they realize that it is God’s love that motivates us.
So, when I say that being involved in Safe Families has been a huge blessing for our family, it is an understatement. God has worked in our lives in ways that we could have never predicted. As is always the case, by giving of ourselves, we have learned and grown and been abundantly blessed in return.

Terry Hooker

"Treasure of Jesus"

I came across this beautiful song and video from togetherforadoption.org that I think you'll find powerful.

(If you know how to add a youtube video to blogger, please contact me so I can post the video and not just the address.)

Please take a moment to click here and watch and listen to this video and see how God might speak to your heart.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCK8dMoErRA

Adoption Conference

Together For Adoption Conference 2009

We are pleased to announce that the next Together for Adoption (T4A) conference will be held at Christ Community Church (Franklin, TN) on October 2-3, 2009 (see conference schedule, childcare information, and list of hotels).

Registration for our breakout sessions is now open. Visit our Breakout Sessions page for instructions.

Join us as we explore “Our Adoption in Christ: What it Means for Us and for Orphans.”
Registration: $40 per single or $60 per married couple. Group rate is available (email dan.cruver@TogetherforAdoption.org for information). New: College Student Rate: $25 (Parents may also utilize this rate for children 9 years old and older).

With over 132 million orphaned and vulnerable children in the world, what our world needs is Christians who have been freshly gripped by the stunning vertical reality of their adoption by God. If anything can mobilize the church to address our world’s orphan crises, it will be the good news of vertical adoption.

Join us as we seek to connect the dots between our adoption by God and the adoption of children. Registration is now open.

General Session Speakers and Topics:

Michael Easley, Topic: Orphan Care and Jesus, the Great Servant of the Poor
Michael Easley recently joined the pastoral staff of Fellowship Bible Church (Nashville, TN) as a teaching pastor (read his church bio). Dr. Easley came to Fellowship Bible Church from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, where he served as president (and currently president emeritus) since March of 2005. Michael and his wife, Cindy, have four children, three of whom were adopted.

Russell Moore, Topic: Adoption and the Renewal of Creation
Russell Moore has served as the Senior Vice President for Academic Administration and Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since January of 2004. Dr. Moore is also a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, where he ministers weekly. He is a senior editor of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity. Dr. Moore has also written the forthcoming book, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. Russell and his wife, Maria, have four children, two of whom were adopted.

Scott Roley, Topic: Adoption and the Pursuit of Racial Reconciliation
Scott Roley is Senior Pastor of Christ Community Church (Franklin, TN). Based on his experiences in local mercy ministry, Roley authored God’s Neighborhood: A Hopeful Journey in Racial Reconciliation & Community Renewal which traces his personal call to racial reconciliation and community renewal and shares the powerful narrative journey of a white pastor’s identification within an African-American community. He followed that book with its sequel, Hard Bargain, to be published in 2009. Scott and his wife, Linda, are parents of a multi-ethnic family and live in Franklin, Tennessee with their five children, three of whom were adopted.

Scotty Smith, Topic: The Freedom of Adoption
Scotty Smith is Pastor of Worship, Preaching and Teaching at Christ Community Church (Franklin, TN). Scotty is Founding Pastor of Christ Community church, a member of The Gospel Coalition, and author of five books: Unveiled Hope, with Michael Card; Speechless, with Steven Curtis Chapman; Objects of His Affection; and his latest two, The Reign of Grace and Restoring Broken Things, with Steven Curtis Chapman. Scotty and Darlene, his wife of thirty-five years, have two adult married children.

Ed Stetzer, Topic: The Gospel, Social Justice and the Missional Church
Ed Stetzer is President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. He is also Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ed has written numerous books, two of which are Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (with Philip Nation) and Breaking the Missional Code (with David Putman). Ed and his wife, Donna, have three daughters.

Worship will be led by Kevin Twit of Indelible Grace. Zach Nielsen, blogger at Take Your Vitamin Z, will be live-blogging the Friday night / Saturday conference. The list of our excellent breakout sessions (four breakout session slots) and other conference details are forthcoming. Childcare will be provided—limited availability, additional fee. Together for Adoption Conference 2008 audio. Review of Our First Conference.

For more information or to register visit http://www.togetherforadoption.org/.