God is taking me on another journey. He always wants the best for me. In this new journey He’s asking me to follow Him in caring for orphans. I will step out in faith and obedience, just as He asked of me 23 years ago when He began to radically transform my life. He came to me~ He called home, He called me His son. I’m not sure where this journey will lead but I know He is leading.
I lived in an orphanage till I was 18 years old. I know what it is like to want to feel like you belong, to desire a normal family, to be adopted. Where ever this journey takes me, I have no doubt that God has healing in the wings for the orphan within me.
Home Study and Foster Care
First let me share that Ann Marie and I will be supporting and fostering a young boy from the children’s home that I was raised in. We have completed our home study and in the coming weeks, we expect Jose (14 years old) to begin weekend and holiday visits. After we finish the MAPP class and become a licensed foster home, we will likely move toward full time foster care. Stay tuned and please pray for Jose. Also pray for Ann Marie and I as we take the MAPP class.
Night time reading and Together for Adoption conference
Of late, my night time reading has included Adopted for Life by Russell Moore and Children on Consignment by Philip Michael Sthal. Waiting on my bedside table are Fields of the Fatherless and Scared by Tom Davis.
As part of our Churches Missions Committee, Ann Marie and I will attend, Together for Adoption Conference October 2-3, Franklin, TN. Come join Us. “ With over 143 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.” www.togetherforadoption.org/.
Swaziland and Ethiopia
As I’ve researched various orphan related ministries, I believe God would have me join Children’s Hope Chest www.hopechest.org/ on two exposure trips, one to Swaziland and the other to Ethiopia. These exposure trips will provide an opportunity to witness the spectrum of orphan care (children head of household type ministries, care points - utube video, orphanages etc). In Ethiopia, I will also visit Joe Bridges, a past participant of Beyond Imagination (shared with his permission). Joe and his wife Karyn, Direct “The Forsaken Children”, a ministry in Ethiopia www.theforsakenchildren.org/
I would like to ask you to partner with me in this new venture by praying for wisdom as I seek God's direction and about the exposure trips to Swaziland and Ethiopia. Pray God gives vision and clarity for the next step, connection with the team I’ll be traveling with and the many missionaries and orphans along the way.
In my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined that God would have me be involved in orphan care but now it seems so right.
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