GOD’S HEART FOR THE ORPHAN

 

November 10 is Orphan Sunday, a global day that churches and individuals set aside to pray and advocate on behalf of the orphan. We hope your church or family takes a moment this weekend to learn more and to get involved as well!

 

John 14:18 teaches that all believers are former spiritual orphans who have been adopted by God. This means that God’s special affection for the orphans in our world is the same love that prompted Him to send His son to die for us. For this reason, helping and advocating on behalf of orphans is a cause that should resonate with each us personally.

 

 

Christian Alliance for Orphans estimates that there are 140 million orphans worldwide. Here in the U.S., 112,000 foster children are waiting to be adopted, some of whom are classified as “hard to place. ” The term “hard to place” can be due to several factors. Some children have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse, leaving them with PTSD and detachment disorder. Trust is difficult for them. Sibling groups and children with special needs are also difficult to place.

 

In developing countries, the plight of an orphan can be even more dire. Twenty percent of the world’s young people never attend school, and eight percent of the world lives on less than two dollars a day. These realities disproportionately affect those living in developing countries, especially the most vulnerable. A child’s nation of origin may even determine their chances of living past 5 years old. Tragically, about 15,000 children in the world die daily from preventable causes, especially in developing countries.

 

 

But the wonderful news is that since 1990, that number has been cut in half! Global poverty has also been reduced by more than half in the last 20 years, due largely to the united efforts of governments, nonprofits, and advocates like you.

 

Among other examples, international and domestic adoption have provided a tremendous benefit to the world. CAFO reports that over the last decade, more than 112,000 domestic and 103,000 international adoptions have occurred here in the U.S. And many vulnerable children who haven’t been adopted are being reached in their home countries through ministries like LSM.

 

 

Not all orphans and vulnerable children will be adopted. This is especially true with some governments closing their borders to international adoption in recent years. It’s crucial that we provide comprehensive, in-country support in the parts of the world where we see the greatest needs. Here at LSM, we’re working hard to create generational change through Family Sponsorship, Child Development, Trauma Healing, Vocational Training, and much more.

 

Thank you for partnering with LSM to help ensure that every child is given an opportunity to achieve their God-given potential!

 

 


 

WHAT CAN I DO?

 

  1. Learn more details about the realities facing vulnerable children around the world by viewing research compiled at un.org, brookings.edu, and cafo.org. Talk to your church or family about ways you can do more to help orphans and vulnerable kids around the world.
  2. Join churches around the world on Orphan Sunday (Nov 10) in praying for the vulnerable. And ask God how he’s calling you to help.
  3. If you believe God may be calling you to meet these needs by considering adoption or foster care, we’d love to help you start gathering information. Please visit our free Adoption Resources page.

 


 

CARING FOR FOSTER & ADOPTIVE FAMILIES

We are thrilled to be expanding our care for local foster and adoptive families through the LSM BrickHouse program. This summer, LSM gained a new arm to our domestic work with the merge of BrickHouse Family Ministries. (Read more about it here.) As we reimagine this program, we’ve considered how we can best support foster youth in our community – and the families that welcome them home.

 

FREE CHRISTIAN COUNSELING FOR FOSTER & ADOPTIVE FAMILIES

 

It’s clear that foster and adoptive families often face unique challenges as they bring healing to children from hard places. Even if a child has been in the family’s care since they were very young, there are often attachment issues that they bring with them since before birth! Add on the complexities of racial integrations, neglect or abuse a child might have faced, and there’s a myriad of difficult scenarios to navigate through. We want to offer help!

 

 

Adam Carroll, LMFT-A, is our first Christian counselor on staff – and he’s excited to be able to provide free counseling for local foster and adoptive families as he has availability. We’d love to offer this critical support for families in the Bluffton, IN area. If you know of a local family who is currently or who is considering adoption or fostering, please share this with them! To learn more, please email Adam at adam@loving-shepherd.org

 

ADOPTION RESOURCES

 

In addition, we continue to serve hundreds of families each year through our free adoption resources program. The road to adoption is complicated and sometimes eligibility within certain countries is not clear. Our staff can help answer those questions for you, break down the costs and coach you on the right questions to ask – all free of charge. It’s our prayer that these tools will empower you as you seek to care for the vulnerable child God has for you!

 

 

LEARN MORE AND START YOUR ADOPTION RESOURCES FORM TODAY!

 

Whether God has called you to be a foster or adoptive parent, or you’re best suited to financially support others raising vulnerable children, we believe everyone has a place in His work! As we serve together, we want to thank you because none of this is possible without your prayerful support. You are enabling us to help care for these families – and the vulnerable children they love.

 


GET INVOLVED

  1. Pray for foster and adoptive families – and the children they are raising! We pray their stories can be testimonies of His goodness despite the brokenness of this world.

 

  1. Help us provide free counseling and adoption resources for families answering His call. We can’t provide these resources without your help! GIVE HERE.

 

SACRIFICIAL LOVE: A LADIES’ BRUNCH

Saturday morning, our new LSM Event Center opened! We hosted a wonderful ladies’ brunch to support foster and adoptive families. Businesses and individuals sponsored tables of family and friends who came to hear guest speaker, Leslie Ludy talk about “The Power of a Poured Out Life: Exchanging Selfish Pursuits for Sacrificial Living.”

 

 

It was a moving morning as Leslie passionately shared about laying down our desires, cutting out the noise of the world around us, and opening ourselves up to what God wants to accomplish through us. Her family’s own series of adoption stories were powerful – and it reminded us that when we walk into the unknown, there is a richness that can come from it!

 

 

 

This morning was a call for each woman present to stand up for “Sacrificial Love.” Because of your generous gifts, we were able to exceed our matching grant of $10,000! This will enable us to help many more foster and adoptive families who are starting their journey of sacrificial love.

 

Leslie quoted Bett Scott Stam who said at age 18, “Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost.”

 

 

 

What might God do if you prayed this radical prayer for your life? We were deeply moved by this message, and are praying that He continues to guide each one present on Saturday to lay down their lives for the Lord. Right now, a vulnerable child is waiting on your surrender. Will you join us in loving sacrificially?

 

 


GET INVOLVED

  1. Pray Betty Scott Stam’s prayer over your life!
  2. Learn more about LSM’s Adoption Resources and how you can support foster and adoptive families! GIVE HERE

 

LEARNING TO LISTEN

excerpt from page 159, Glimpses of Hope, a collection of devotionals

by Gabriel Walder


 

When my wife Lindsay and I decided to become foster parents, I was excited, nervous, skeptical, and afraid. She came to me with the idea out of nowhere one day. I knew very little about foster care and even less about what it was like to become a foster parent. I mainly had negative images in mind when it came to the “system.” Kids in and out of care, parents who don’t care, or do care but cannot overcome their problems, under-resourced agencies, a faceless governmental structure that at the end of the day just wanted to do what was easiest, not what was best. So needless to say, when she approached me about whether we should become foster parents by initial gut reaction was “no.”

 

 

At the time, I worked for Loving Shepherd Ministries and I care about vulnerable kids, but to invite them into my home to live with me, eat my food, mess up my living room and sleep schedule was a next level calling.

 

Nevertheless, I agreed to go to the training sessions just to see what it was like. After hearing about the intensity of the need in my own backyard and the lack of good homes, the weight of the problem began to lay on my shoulders. I knew I was being called to stand up. I knew we had a God who cared about the afflicted and fatherless and He was calling me to care alongside Him.

 

Psalm 10:14 – “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.”

 

 

After a whirlwind of training sessions, physicals, home studies, and background checks we received a call for our first placement before we had even received our license in the mail. On the other end of the line they said there was a little boy named Isaiah who was four months old at the hospital that needed a home. We had 30 minutes to decide. Lindsay drove to pick him up. When she arrived, she was surprised to find a little boy named Martell who was only two months old. It brings tears to my eyes to say that this little boy is almost three years old now and has been my officially adopted son for the last six months. He is one of the biggest joys of my life and I don’t want to imagine my life without him in it.

 

The moral of the story is that if God (and your wife) are calling you to something, you would be wise to listen.

 


 

GET INVOLVED:

  1. Learn more about foster care and adoption here.
  2. Pray for the families considering adoption and foster care in your church and community.
  3. Order your copy of Glimpses of Hope here.

 


 

Adoption in 2019

“Adoption is a journey of faith, from beginning to end.” – Johnny Carr

 

Every year, our adoption staff updates the ever-changing resources and information about agencies, countries and types of adoption so we can best serve the hundreds of people who come to LSM to learn about their options in adoption or foster care.

 

 

A QUICK LOOK AT ADOPTION IN 2019

 

Whether you are interested in adopting or not, please pray for families considering these realities and the children effected by these statistics.

 

INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

 

International adoption continues to trend down. In 2018, only 4,059 children were adopted. That’s a 13% decrease from the year before, and a 82% decrease since 2004! (source) LSM will help you find the country(ies) your family is eligible to adopt from, and provide a list of reputable organizations working in those countries.

 

If you’re considering an international adoption, it’s best to be prepared for a 2+ year wait, spending between $30,000 – $45,000 and bringing home a child at least 2 years old with some level of special needs.

 

 

DOMESTIC ADOPTION

 

If you’re considering an infant domestic adoption, expect a wait of 1-2 years and expenses to be around $43,000 when all the fees are done. (source) The more open you are to gender, race, special needs or drug exposure, the more likely you are to find a match. You should also expect some level of an “open” adoption – meaning that the birth mother will have some kind of involvement in the child’s life. Costs and details vary depending on the agency you choose.

 

FOSTER CARE

 

Reunification is always the first priority in the Foster Care system, so if you walk into this process looking to adopt, you will need to keep an open mind. Children coming into your home often have trauma exposure, attachment issues, have suffered abuse or been exposed to alcohol or drugs.

 

There is a huge need for Foster families who are willing to open their homes and hearts to vulnerable children in the States. What a beautiful opportunity to share the Gospel with these children AND their bio families!

 

IS YOUR FAMILY CONSIDERING ADOPTION OR FOSTER CARE? WE CAN HELP.  

 

We know the road can be daunting! Our knowledgeable staff is here to help you navigate the many decisions ahead. We provide FREE, personalized information and support as you consider the best options for your family. You start with a simple online assessment form. From there, the process looks like this:

 

 

It’s our prayer that many families like yours will answer the call to care for vulnerable children. Through the difficult scenarios, we have seen countless stories of God’s goodness as He knits families together!

 


GET INVOLVED:

 

  1. Interested in learning more about how LSM can help you walk through the adoption process all FREE of charge? Start here.

 

  1. Pray for a family you know who might be considering adoption! The task ahead of them is great, both financially, emotionally and spiritually as they raise a child who has come from hard places. Consider how you can support a family you know who is fostering or adopting in your church or community!

 

  1. Support our Home of Hope families in Haiti where a Haitian couple has brought 12 vulnerable children into their family! Learn more here.

 


 

November: National Adoption Month

By Jen Schwartz, Adoption Resources Coordinator

 

This is National Adoption Month, a chance for us to celebrate everyone touched by adoption! God can orchestrate a beautiful story for so many children with past hardships and little hope through the love of a permanent family.

Read More