Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Come to Ethiopia With Us!


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Maybe you have always wanted to go on a mission trip but never had the chance.  Maybe God has been urging you to step out in faith to serve ‘the least of these’ in Ethiopia.  Maybe you’ve never considered doing something so… out of your comfort zone!


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We have a mission team forming who will travel to Ethiopia at the end of October for about two weeks and there’s room for you to join them!  This team will be serving many of the families in our Adoption Ministry 1:27 program – delivering food to the hungry, loving on men, women and children living in very desperate situations, visiting our Mana Gammachuu orphanage and bringing Christ’s love in very tangible ways to many grateful recipients. 


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Fall is the perfect time to visit Ethiopia – the weather is beautiful, the rainy season has ended and God seems to smile from blue skies every day.  You’re in for a life-changing adventure!


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If you would like more information about joining this team, please contact our missions director, Mark Wolbert:

Monday, June 23, 2014

Let’s Get This Done!


Our friends at Both Ends Burning have asked for our help in passing the Children In Families First Act (CHIFF) through a special push this week on social media.  Right now, this bill is sitting in the Foreign Relations Committee and needs to move on by August. 

This bill would establish an office in the State Department to implement effective child welfare systems – getting children into safe, permanent and loving families.  It is not a request for more money.  It’s not solely about international adoption.  It isn’t telling countries how to care for vulnerable children.  The goal is to utilize funds to support and partner with governments to place children into families.

Because every child deserves a family

SOME EASY STEPS IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS

Sign the Petition
Enter your name, email and zip code here and submit to sign.  How easy is that??!

Call Your Members of Congress
Tell the staff member that you want your Congress person to support CHIFF, and be sure to leave your name and address.  Click here for help with what to say and who to call.

Like CHIFF on Facebook
Go to https://www.facebook.com/childreninfamiliesfirst.

Change Your Profile Picturechiff-fb-profile
Click on the CHIFF icon to access a file to save and use as your profile picture for Facebook and other media sites.

Tweet #SupportCHIFF
See the CHIFF social media examples page for sample tweets.

Share about CHIFF on your blog
Use ideas from the CHIFF website and Facebook page to get started!

Share the Facebook posts you’ll see this week on our Facebook page.




I know you agree that the safest and best place for a child is in the loving arms of a parent.  You can help make that happen!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Healing, Loving, Giving Grace

Empowered to Connect is a go-to source of so many excellent resources for adoptive parents.  If you’ve never taken the time to browse around on their website, please invest at least 30 minutes there.  You’ll be encouraged and challenged with parenting tools and ideas for helping children from hard places attach, bond, connect and heal.

Today we’re featuring a few articles recently posted there.



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Band-Aids Heal More Than You Can See
by Kayla North

Giving and receiving love may seem like an easy thing, but for many adopted and foster kids it is hard. They have given love to people only to have those people disappear from their lives or not return their love. They have received love only to be moved to a new home, or the “love” they received was not love at all.
These kids are confused about what it means to give and receive love.
Many of them are indiscriminately friendly with adults and other kids. While on the surface it seems that they are so affectionate and loving, as a mom it is scary to watch. They don’t understand appropriate interaction with others and must be both shown and taught how to appropriately give and receive love. We talk often about personal space and when and how it is appropriate to give hugs and kisses.

Continue reading here



This is Mercy
by Becky Metcalfe

He knew he had been pushing my buttons all day, and as he lowered the blankets he must have sensed the coming storm. But as he stared at the end of my accusing finger, (yes, the very same finger that I was taught by Dr. Purvis to point up, but never at my child), and as he observed the scowl on my face… something in his eyes flickered.

In that moment I saw a reflection of myself in him. Something in his eyes that I can’t even completely identify stopped me cold in my tracks. Was it fear…shame…guilt…insecurity? His eyes were displaying what I feel all too often.

Continue reading here



Don’t Embarrass Me
by Colleen Derksen

…I wonder whether I will be able to un-learn those instincts that would shush her and point out her errors in front of other people. It’s something I struggle with, these feelings of embarrassment that drive me to respond in less than desirable ways. Whether it’s a meltdown in the grocery store, a display of defiance at church, or a poorly timed observation, I too often find myself thinking about what other people are thinking instead of what my children need.

Continue reading here


Monday, June 16, 2014

Adoptive Mom Retreats ~ Ahhhhhh


Every mom needs a getaway every once in a while and adoptive moms are no exception.  But there is a wonderful fellowship among mothers who have adopted or are adopting that just isn’t easy to find! 

We want to let you know about two upcoming retreats designed to refresh and encourage you – as moms and as daughters who have been adopted by our Abba Father.  One is on the east coast and one on the west.  You’ll need to plan ahead to get the dates on your calendar now, to have the finances and to reserve a much-coveted spot!



createdforcare
Created for Care has two retreats scheduled for 2015 to try to accommodate everyone who wants to go.  Registration opens Aug 15 and this retreat fills up quickly!  Read about how this weekend impacted some YWAM moms here and here.

February 6-8 and March 6-8, 2015 in Buford, Georgia at the Lake Lanier Legacy Lodge and Conference Center.




called to love
Called to Love began in 2013 and several of our YWAM moms attended the first retreat (read more about their weekend here).  Registration for this year's retreat opened on May 1st and I’m sure spots will also fill quickly!

November 14-16, 2014 at The Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton, Oregon.



Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Beautiful Bracelets


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Every woman and girl should have a pretty bracelet to wear! 


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These beautiful bracelets, made of memory wire strung with hand-crafted paper beads, are made by single pregnant women at Living Hope Maternity Home in Ethiopia.  A beautiful statement is made about the babies' lives saved from abortion by the addition of Precious Feet which dangle from one end.
 
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These bracelets are a lovely representation of the passion of our ministry for women and children in Ethiopia and for birthmothers in the United States who are placing their babies for adoption. 
 
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They cost $18 each (which includes $3 for shipping)... $9.50 of each bracelet sold goes into a savings account for the women at Living Hope and $5.50 goes to help with needs of birthmothers we minister to here in the United States through Adoption Ministry.
To order one for yourself, your mom, your daughter, your teacher and your friends, please call our office (253-770-2283 or 1-888-968-2367) and we will happily help you!  

Monday, June 2, 2014

Persecuted

by Joy Casey


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During my recent time in Ethiopia I had the opportunity to accompany a new friend from Scotland to places in the southern part of Ethiopia I have never been before. My new friend is Malcolm and he heads up a Scottish ministry called Steadfast Global (www.steadfastglobal.org ) that works with Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Canada.

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I am on a steep learning curve about the persecuted church and bringing the gospel to unreached people. I loved hanging out with this incredible man of God for four days. We visited one M*sl*m area where YWAM is supporting families, building a school, and providing Income Generating Activities for evangelists. Then we visited three other fundamental areas of Ethiopia where churches are small and struggling and where converts are few. We grappled with how to disciple new converts and how to help them with the intense persecution they will encounter if they come to the Lord. We listened to a struggling church and found ways to help, encourage and motivate them. Steadfast Global is helping with a safe house in one town where converts can come to get established in their faith and learn how to reintegrate into their culture.

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None of this is easy! Throughout my time on the road, I met dedicated men and women who helped me understand the culture of this unreached group and clearly laid out the obstacles and persecution arising out of establishing a Christian presence in such hostile territory. Some of the stories I heard were terrifying and very recent. God must have known what I would be facing because I was given the book The Insanity of God before leaving for Ethiopia. This is a book detailing the persecuted church throughout the world, and reading it certainly heightened sensitivity to my surroundings.


Prior to meeting Malcolm, I spent some time at the opposite side of Ethiopia with a band of evangelists who have brought thousands of people from their former religion to the Lord. I felt a little like a character in a spy novel meeting with them as it had to be done very carefully and secretly. I took down nine mind-blowing testimonies about how God put His finger on their lives, sometimes in visions, sometimes with an audible voice (like to Paul on his way to Damascus), sometimes through divine revelation, and always accompanied with intense persecution in some form. The small Christian church in this area is afraid to share the gospel and sits huddled together, but these men working amongst their people and at great personal risk daily share about al-Mesih Isa (Messiah Jesus) and the Holy Spirit is blessing and drawing people to Him by the thousands.

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While I was with these men, I was so glad to be able to give each of them a personal audio Bible in their own language and a solar powered light. MANY THANKS to those of you who have purchased these items from our gift catalog!!

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To give you a sample of some of the stories I have heard over the past several weeks, here is Ishmael’s testimony (name changed). Reading this story will help you understand why I feel I am living in the Book of Acts!



Ishmael was raised in a M*sl*m home that also was involved in witchcraft. As a teenager, he went to work in the bush with his brother. While working, he heard a voice say, “Ishmael, why are you against me?”
A frightened Ishmael replied, “Who are you?”

“I am al-Mesih Isa.”

“I am M*sl*m, I don’t want you.”

“If you won’t come to me, you will die in your sins.”

Ishmael fell down and became like an epileptic foaming at the mouth. His brother witnessed this but did not hear the voice.

Ishmael continued his life as a M*sl*m and participated in witchcraft like his parents. One day, he became suddenly blind and the same voice came to him for the second time, “I am al-Mesih Isa. I have come to you two times now. This witchcraft is not good, and I have blinded your eyes.”

Desperate, Ishmael pleaded, “If you will open my eyes, I will stop the witchcraft.” His eyes were opened and he kept his promise and threw out all his witchcraft paraphernalia but did not seek out Jesus.

Two years after this he went away from his hometown and began chewing khat (pronounced ‘chat’ - a narcotic found in a leaf that is chewed resulting in a high; it is not illegal and readily available) and making spells (witchcraft). He decided to attend a Christian conference because he heard that the speaker could read minds and could tell people what they did and he wanted to see this. During the session, the speaker described the witchcraft Ishmael had been doing and called to him to come forward, but he would not and left the conference.

That night, he had a dream where someone came to him with a Bible and with fire. “Who are you?”

“I am al-Mesih Isa.”

“I don’t want the Bible, I want the Qur’an.”

“This is your last chance. This is three times I have come to you. I have also spoken to you through my servant.”

“I don’t know about this Bible, how can I do this?”

“I will teach you.”

“My mother and father will reject me.”

“I will teach you and you will serve me. Your mother and father will also serve me.”

Ishmael then sought out the conference speaker and told him everything and the evangelist prayed with Ishmael to accept Jesus as his savior.

When his parents found out what he had done, they kicked him out of their home and were very angry. He moved to another town and lived with a Christian brother and learned much from him. He then went to another area and started an underground church with the M*sl*ms who he convinced to come to Jesus. There is a Christian church in this area and Ishmael works both in the mosque and with the pastor of this church. The good news is that after a year, Ishmael’s entire family … the family so involved in witchcraft … has been converted and are now avid followers of Christ.



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