You can help change a future generation in Ethiopia. We’re seeing it happen every day. In fact, Meseret*, a young single mother in Ethiopia, raising two beautiful children on her own, will tell you herself that your prayers for the ministry of LSM and your financial gifts have completely changed their lives:
“I feel empowered. I am now relying on God to lead my path and am
making wiser decisions. I now have a support system to encourage
and help me. My children are receiving a good education and,
because of LSM, they have the support they need to complete it!”
Meseret’s own single mother knew how important it was to get an education. Somehow, she managed to scrape enough together for Meseret to attend school, even though it meant 4 hours travel every day!
When she finished 8th grade, Meseret had to go to the city to attend high school, a rare opportunity for a young woman in her village. But when she got there, a series of poor decisions, difficultly finding resources and little support left her with two small children, an unfinished high school career and living in severe poverty, at the young age of twenty-nine.
With our staff and church support, her family has been introduced to a personal, saving relationship with Jesus. She went through small business training and is now growing her own business, selling spices in the market. And her children are looking ahead with great hope.
With every prayer, with every gift and with every introduction to Jesus, lives like Meseret’s and her children are changing forever.
You are a part of this. Your prayers and your giving does make a difference.
This summer, because of your heartfelt prayers and financial support, 12 little boys were rescued from a life of rejection, pain and exploitation as we opened the doors to their new home-the La Source Home of Hope!
For the first time, each one of these boys can look toward a future free of fear and full of possibilities, surrounded by the love of a mom and dad within a safe, nurturing family!
First picture as a family of 14!
Imagine the ripple effects these little boys will have on their community as they reach their God-given potential!
Thank you for the powerful ways you are making life transformations with once vulnerable children. It is both humbling and exciting to see the Body of Christ working together far beyond what we could ever imagine, bringing lasting hope to children who need it most.
The family shared their first meal together at the opening celebration. Many of the boys have never seen this much food at one time!
Our LSM team shared their passion and joy at the opening of La Source.
We are privileged to serve more than 240 vulnerable children and 40 single mothers in Haiti and Ethiopia. Our small U.S. staff supports LSM’s vision through fundraising and mobilization with the U.S. church. It’s our heart to always empower people in their own cultures and communities to care for the vulnerable children among them. As we continue to expand our ministry in Haiti and Ethiopia, we have growing needs here in the United States as well.
Do you sense God calling you to join the LSM Team? Or do you know of someone who would qualify for this role and has a heart to join this life-changing work?
JOB OPENING: MOBILIZATION COORDINATOR
LSM is seeking to fill an immediate need for a Christ-centered, highly motivated individual to help build and develop relationships with ministry partners via digital marketing, social media, and regional awareness campaigns. Candidates must be willing to work from LSM’s Bluffton, Indiana, offices. Ideal candidates will have professional social media experience, possess very strong writing and communication skills, be able to do public speaking and networking, and be effective at scheduling and making their own appointments.
Please contact Joe Gerber at joe@loving-shepherd.org to receive a full job description and more information about the position.
Please join us in praying for the right people to continue to join the LSM team here in the States, in Haiti and in Ethiopia.
Share this job opening with a friend who might be qualified.
There is a brand new future waiting for 12 vulnerable boys.
Recently, Pastor Wilfrid Remonvil, our Haitian Home of Hope Director, joined us in the Midwest to talk about this new Home of Hope in LaSource, Haiti.
Just one month prior, Pastor Wilfrid stood among the ramshackle huts that pepper the Haitian countryside, deeply saddened at the terrible conditions many children in his country are forced to live in. Through much prayer, searching and interviewing, our Haitian team selected 12 vulnerable boys to be a part of this new LaSource family, where their lives will take a dramatic turn.
Pastor Wilfrid has also already worked with a young couple who have a heart for God. Jean and Emise have been selected to be the new Home of Hope parents at LaSource. They are now fervently praying that the arrival of their precious new children, 12 boys they will call their sons, will become reality.
You can come alongside this new family as an ongoing family sponsor to ensure these boys will never again have to go through another day without the love of a mom and dad, or suffer through the night with an empty belly.
15 YEARS AGO, ON JULY 22, 2002, LSM OPENED ITS DOORS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A 300-SQUARE-FOOT OFFICE IN DOWNTOWN BLUFFTON, IN. IT’S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE RIDE.
Since then, hundreds of the world’s most vulnerable children have come into loving families where they are reaching their God-given potential. What a privilege it’s been to be on this ongoing journey together! As we praise God for His work, we’re also humbled to announce that He’s provided open doors for further ministry opportunities as we enter the next 15 years.
WE ARE MOVING OUR HOME OFFICES TO CREATE MORE SPACE FOR THE AMAZING THINGS GOD IS DOING THROUGH YOU AND LSM!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MOVE:
Where will your new offices be?
Our new offices are located on the north side of Bluffton at 1935 North Main St. Bluffton, IN 46714.
When will you move?
We don’t have an exact timeline for moving locations, but we hope to complete the move in the Winter 2017/2018. Check our blog and Facebook for more information!
How are you paying for the new building?
We feel blessed that five partners who are passionate about growing LSM so that more vulnerable children and families can be reached, have covered the cost of the building.
None of the costs for the purchase of this new building are coming out of our current budget for the work we’re doing with vulnerable children in Haiti and Ethiopia.
What do you need the additional space for?
Currently, our offices are filled to maximum capacity and we are extremely limited on what we can do with volunteers who want to get more involved with LSM (see below for information on THE GOSPEL PROJECT, which some of this new space will be used for). We also currently rent additional space at a separate location for our warehouse and shipping. At the new building, we will be able to house everything in one location and have plenty of opportunities for volunteers to grow our community outreach! This space will also allow local groups to learn about Haiti through walk-through exhibits and prayer rooms.
We pray this will become a space where your whole family can learn more about the plight of the vulnerable and serve right alongside us in tangible ways!
What is the Gospel Project and how can I get involved?
The Gospel Project connects volunteers in the U.S. with our Home of Hope families in Haiti! Gospel Kits with a variety of Haitian-Creole books, hygiene materials and other necessities will be packaged at our new offices and then shipped to Haiti, where our Home of Hope families will be able to share them in their communities. Through the Gospel Project, families in the U.S. can actively contribute to the physical care of vulnerable children in Haiti, as well as help share the Gospel in tangible ways. Stay tuned for updates on the Gospel Project, as well as ways your youth group, bible study and family can be part of this experience!
Does the extra office space mean you’re expanding your U.S. Staff?
No, this space allows us to grow our community outreach and volunteer opportunities as well as provide space for our staff and board to meet with more flexibility. While over time we may add minimal U.S. staff for specific projects regarding stateside logistics, that is not our goal with the new move.
It’s our privilege and desire whenever possible to hire local people in the countries we serve to reach the children in their own communities. In fact, we have over 150 Haitian men and women serving in various capacities in Haiti, with no full time American missionaries on the ground. Additionally, our committed team in Ethiopia operates without any U.S. missionaries on the ground as well. We believe in the power of local people, partnering with the local church, to bring long lasting change in their own communities!
How can I help with the transition?
As you know, moving several offices and getting the new (to us) building ready will take some work. If you’re interested in volunteering some time, please email rebecca@loving-shepherd.org for more information.
We’d love to hear from you! Leave a message in the comments or email us at info@loving-shepherd.org.
DONATE to help LSM continue to reach the lives of vulnerable children.
Last Saturday, July 8, a group of over 140 women sat down for a beautiful morning at the SEEDS OF HOPE Ladies’ Brunch. In the middle of daisy bouquets and coffee shop treats, they took a stand together for sisters, daughters and mothers on the other side of the world just like them but who were tragically born into abject poverty and pain. It was a powerful morning learning about the plight of vulnerable families in Ethiopia and considering how each one of us can make a tangible difference.
Throughout the morning, seeds of hope were planted by women just like you into the lives of mothers who are struggling to provide even the basics for their children.
Our Ethiopian Servers!
We sincerely believe that Saturday’s commitments will grow into a beautiful harvest in the next generation—both for 40 precious families in Ethiopia and for the families right here who are changed with every connection, story and investment they make in the lives of the hurting.
We’re grateful to the local businesses that hosted tables and brought together their own passionate groups of women! A special thanks to those who invited and encouraged their friends and co-workers to come.
Additional Sponsors include: IN Balance Books and Courtney and Jodi Pfister
Our volunteer committee poured many details into the SEEDS OF HOPE Ladies’ Brunch to bring beauty, artistic flair and a smooth flow to the entire event! We’re so pleased with their efforts, and we know that because of the passion and inspiration their unique gifts inspired in the attendees, many vulnerable families in Ethiopia will receive the life-giving support they desperately need.
Quiche from Crimson House (Ossian, IN) and Cinnamon Roll / Coffee from Hugh’s Coffehouse (Bluffton, IN)
From fair trade shopping that creates dignified jobs for single mothers to ongoing family sponsorships and commitments to prayer, there was an incredible outpouring of support.
GET INVOLVED:
Do you have a passion to serve vulnerable women and children? We’d love to talk to you about hosting a SEEDS OF HOPE Ladies’ Brunch in your city. Email amber@loving-shepherd.org to learn more.
Linese* was very young when her father died. Her mother was left to provide for her family alone. Work was incredibly hard to find in their poor community and there were many days when Linese and her siblings went without food. Linese never went to school and even lacked basic medical care for a knee problem that kept getting worse. As her mother took increasingly desperate measures to survive and escape her life’s unfortunate turns, it became clear that something was going to have to change.
Linese was just one step away from being sent to live with another family as a child slave (restavek.)
It seemed hopeless. Linese was just another of the millions of vulnerable children in Haiti, not because she’d done anything wrong, but because death, tragedy and deep poverty had been a part of her country and her family for too long. It’s a story we know all too well. At a conference recently, professor, author and speaker Christena Cleveland said it well,
“Sometimes we have a theology of scarcity around justice. But God has abundance to give us and His hand is not short.”
His had was certainly not short for Linese, although it was hard to see that in those terribly long arduous days as a child on the brink of disaster. But, through the dedicated work of LSM and the Body of Christ coming together, Linese’s story is not ending as a tragic statistic.
You see, our Homes of Hope are a lifeline for desperate children like Linese. And before she was old enough to really understand the ramifications, she was brought into a new family who would love and nurture her. It was something she never could have dreamed of before.
Now 14, Linese is thriving. She’s still very aware of the millions of young children in her city that that are sick and need the same life-giving care she’s gotten, even when they can’t afford it. She dreams of becoming a pediatrician so she can help kids just like her who have no way to receive the care they desperately need. And with the full continuum of care we provide through adulthood for our Home of Hope children, she really has the chance of doing just that!
Changes like this doesn’t happen without the dedicated, long-term work of those who believe in the justice and compassion that Jesus taught us. So keep fighting in your corner, whether it’s justice, advocacy, adoption, or a host of other hard, day-to-day roles caring for the vulnerable. We all have a part. Linese will tell you a thousand times over that your sacrifices for ONE child are worth it.
We’d love to help connect you to ways to live and care for the vulnerable. Here’s a few places to start:
Your life in the U.S. can have a powerful impact on another person’s life halfway around the world. Sound impossible? Here’s just one of the countless examples how this can happen every day.
Ammet is a single mother in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She grew up in hopeless poverty with no food to eat, no school to attend and no peace in her life. Her father was an abusive alcoholic. She was just 12 years old when she ran away and stayed with her uncle, hoping to finally be able to go to school and have a chance at a better life.
Quickly, though, Ammet found herself the forced personal servant to her aunt, who severely abused her. Finally, she escaped, and married a young man, grasping once again at hope for a better life. But things rapidly spiraled further downhill. Ammet suffered more abuse, this time even inflicted upon her child, Aben. To save herself and her son, Ammet fled to the city, forced to forge a way for both of them. Which often meant simply surviving from one day to the next.
It wasn’t until LSM found Ammet and started working with LSM that a flame of hope was struck in an otherwise dark life of desperate survival.
Ammet received small business training so that she could provide for Aben. But the support from LSM was more than the chance at earning a dignified, living wage. More even than having people surrounding her who proved to her that she was worth it. Is this:
“Because of LSM, I am now receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. It’s the biggest blessing in my life. One I can pass down to my son.”
We are here today, helping her child, Aben, now 10 years old, from continuing that cycle of poverty and abuse into the next generation. We are helping to provide stability for their family by connecting them to an active church community, ongoing support and education for Aben.We, arm-in-arm with our donors, are the hands and feet of Jesus in their lives.
Here are three things you can do right now to help Ammet and Aben succeed as an independent family filled with dignity and hope:
Pray.
Pray for success in Ammet’s small business and confidence in her heart as she leads her family with dignity and hope. Pray for Aben and the life-changing opportunity he has to attend school. Most importantly, pray for his salvation and that his mother would continue to grow in her faith.
2. Join us at Seeds of Hope.
Join us on July 8 to hear more about Ammet and other vulnerable families at our SEEDS OF HOPE event. Learn more here.
3. Become an Ethiopia Family Sponsor.
Become an ongoing Ethiopian Sponsor and change the futures of many families like Ammet and Aben with us! You’ll receive powerful updates like this on a regular basis and see the transformation coming to a new generation in Ethiopia.
This year’s Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit Conference (CAFO) in Nashville, TN, was a powerhouse of tools for caregivers and those working in ministry. The theme “JUSTICE AND THE INNER LIFE”was a stark reminder that we will have little left to give unless we are intentionally cultivating a spiritual depth from which we can continue to draw strength.
Jedd Medefind, President of CAFO, said, “There is something worse than quitting our ministry. It is when we keep doing it, but have lost our love.”
Do you find yourself in that place today? Have you exhausted your resources? Are you feeling discouraged and empty instead of enthused and fulfilled? At times, all of us will have days when our service, our hard work, our best efforts seem to do so little.
This is a simple, quiet reminder to refresh your passion for the most vulnerable. Cultivate your soul. Go back to the source, and find a strength there that is far greater than yourself.
Individuals, families and churches from over 30 countries, representing more than 150 organizations working around the world in orphan care, came together at CAFO, went back to the source, and were refreshed by a resounding and deeply encouraging weekend.
In the light of this powerful weekend, and the work still to be done, would you pray with us for several needs post-conference? Please pray for:
Conversations LSM Staff will have with attendees from the conference over the next few weeks. Please specifically pray for a desire growing in the hearts of many to go deeper alongside LSM in ministry and in care of the world’s most vulnerable children.
Leaders in the orphan care movement to keep their eyes focused on Jesus and continue to serve out of a greater love!
Find more resources and thoughts from the CAFO Summit HERE.
To become a Prayer Partner, and to submit your own prayer to the Prayer Team so we can lift you up over the coming months, CLICK HERE.
Over the last 15 years, LSM has helped over 7,000 families on their journey through the adoption process.
What an incredible ride it’s been.
When we began assisting families in 2002, international adoptions were on the rise in the U.S. In fact, over 21,500 international adoptions happened in that year alone. By 2004, the number had grown to 23,000 (an all-time high.) Our services helped families research and choose the agency that best fit their individual needs, walked them through the decisions they needed to pinpoint where to adopt from, and navigated them through the piles of paperwork needed to bring their child home.
The landscape has dramatically shifted since then, but our passion is as strong as ever.
Because of a radical shift in government regulations around the world, and Hague requirements that severely restrict the children who can be adopted outside of their own country, the number of international adoptions in the U.S. slid to just under 5,700 in 2015—a 75% decrease from 2004. With that shift, many adoptive parents turned to different avenues of adoption. Today, approximately 17,000 babies were adopted domestically and roughly 53,500 were adopted from foster care. With all of the twists and turns along the journey, you need to know where you’re going.
You need the best personalized adoption information possible—all FREE of charge.
If you feel like God is calling you to bring a child into your family, we are here to help. Our adoption resources program will give you the best personalized information throughout your adoption journey. Together, our adoption staff has over 20 years of experience in adoption and are here to answer any questions you have along the way, at no cost to you.
To learn more and begin your adoption assessment, start here.
Sources:
U.S. State Department
Adoptive Families Research
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / AFCARS Report
Pray for success in Ammet’s small business and confidence in her heart as she leads her family with dignity and hope. Pray for Aben and the life-changing opportunity he has to attend school. Most importantly, pray for his salvation and that his mother would continue to grow in her faith.
