THE POWER OF ONE

September 27, 2019
, , , , , , Caring for Orphans, Family, Haiti, LSM

WHAT IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO CHANGE A CHILD’S FUTURE?

 

Roseline* lived in a remote village up in the mountains of Southern Haiti. She barely remembers her father, who died when she was very young.  He left behind seven small children. Her mother desperately tried to provide for them, but there was never enough. Hunger and hopelessness became part of their day to day lives.

 

 

When her mother died tragically, Roseline watched in horror as two of her siblings were taken to distant neighbor’s homes to become restaveks (child slaves.) One by one, her siblings were scattered across the countryside. Who would protect her?

 

THAT’S WHEN THE BODY OF CHRIST STEPPED IN

 

LSM’s Haitian staff learned of this orphan girl and brought her into the Isabel Home of Hope family, which means “God’s promise” and “I am God’s Daughter.” That name has become a beautiful testimony for Roseline. As part of the Isabel family, she not only has a loving home, she also receives three healthy meals a day, goes to school and attends lots of additional LSM activities. She no longer worries about what she will eat or who will take her away. She is cared for and protected. Most importantly, Roseline once again has the love of a dad and mom who treat her as their own precious daughter.

 

 

YOU CAN CHANGE A LIFE LIKE ROSELINE’S

 

Roseline’s story isn’t unique. 240 children in our care have been rescued from child slavery, starvation and abandonment. But today, they are thriving in a loving family through LSM!

 

GET INVOLVED:

 

  1. Prayerfully consider becoming a Haiti Family Sponsor and joining the family! You’ll impact the lives of 12 children like Roseline in a powerful way!
  2. Learn more about helpful tools so you can stay connected to your Home of Hope.
  3. Pray for our Home of Hope families who are helping 12 formerly orphaned, at-risk or exploited children find hope and healing.

 

 

SHARING THE GOSPEL IN HAITI

April 4, 2019
, , , , , Uncategorized

Our faith guides everything we do at LSM. It has fueled our hearts for the vulnerable and caused us to go deep with the children we serve to provide holistic healing and growth. We continue to provide new opportunities so each child can reach their full, God-given potential.

 

 

Last year, we introduced The Gospel Project to help teach our kids in Haiti more about sharing their faith and modeling the compassion of Jesus. Gospel kits are packaged in the States by volunteers and sent to Haiti where our families are able to reach out in their communities and share God’s love.

 

The love and support of many of you through LSM has allowed these children to find personal relationships with Jesus. Now, it’s something they are excited to share with others! The gospel kits allow them to build relationships and pray for their neighbors. As a result, individuals are learning about Jesus and giving their hearts to Him!

 

 

This month, as one family shared kits in their community, they were able to pray with a neighbor who accepted Christ!

 

 

What an extra blessing to see the ripple effects of our work with individual children! Imagine what God can do as this grows and 240 children who are passionate about Jesus are reaching out in their communities!

 

GET INVOLVED:

  1. Learn more about opportunities your group can bring to The Gospel Project.
  2. Schedule a tour of the Haiti Education Wing at the LSM Offices.
  3. Pray for those receiving Gospel kits and for our children as they grow in their faith and boldness with evangelism!

 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO WALK THIS ROAD ALONE

March 13, 2019
, , , , Business, Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia, Family, LSM

The monthly Ethiopia Program updates was looking pretty standard. It was full of positive conversations and new things the team wanted to accomplish. Over 40 families in Ethiopia have access to some incredible programs that are helping single mothers provide for their kids.

 

And then my eyes caught on one word… CANCER.

 

 

Two moms were diagnosed with cancer in the last month. Another young mom lost partial vision in both eyes. I wish I could take away those words and the weight they carry for their sweet families, but I can’t.

 

These precious mommas have faced some terrible things in their life already. They’ve had to make the heartbreaking choice between feeding their child and sending them to school. It’s unbearable to think about life as a single mom in one of the hardest places in the world, deeply entrenched in generational poverty with a stigma around their shoulders. I place myself in their shoes for a moment and imagine  what this diagnosis would feel like and what this means for their children.

 

BUT THEN I’M REMINDED… THEY AREN’T WALKING THIS ROAD ALONE!

 

 

In the last three years, these families have all entered the LSM program in their village. It’s enabled their children to go to school. It’s given them food stipends so they don’t have to worry about whether or not they can feed their children. LSM has helped them start their own businesses and walked alongside them so they can succeed. We have watched these families make huge progress. Beyond all of that though, they’ve connected to a local church and are mentored by volunteers in their community on a regular basis. They have support groups that they’ve started in their own communities. Their fear and stigma have faded and they’ve gained confidence in themselves.

 

 

Cancer, blindness and the pain they’ve faced isn’t fair, but they know we will walk alongside them in this season of their journey just like we have in the last season. Despite the ravages of sickness, poverty and sin in this world, there is a big God who is above it all!

 

And in the middle of our mess, we can point each other to Jesus, take each other’s hand and say simply, “You don’t have to walk this road alone.”

 

GET INVOLVED:

  1. Help us support families like this in Ethiopia as a family sponsor.
  2. Pray for these three moms who are suffering from cancer and blindness.
  3. Learn more about our work in Ethiopia here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Miss Out!

October 10, 2018
, , , , , , , , , , , Caring for Orphans, LSM, News

Vulnerable children around the world would give anything to know the love and security of a family. LSM is passionate about providing just that, however we can’t do it without your prayers, advocacy and financial support.

 

If you’re in the area, we would love to see you at these upcoming events. Would you please join us in praying for the impact of these nights?

 

IL BENEFIT AUCTION (OCT 12)

 

This Friday, our Central IL friends and family will gather at Five Points Washington for a benefit auction. Each dollar raised will help in making a tangible difference in hundreds of lives! Learn more here and please pray with us.

 

Friday, Oct 12

Starting at 5:30 pm

Five Points Washington, 360 N Wilmor Rd, Washington, IL 61571

 

 

ORPHAN SUNDAY (NOV 11)

 

Churches around the world are uniting in prayer, advocacy and action on Sunday, Nov 11 for Orphan Sunday. We hope you’ll join us for a family-friendly event where you will have the opportunity to step into Haiti and Ethiopia, and walk in an orphan’s shoes. Enjoy a petting zoo and LIVE Gifts of Hope Christmas Catalog experience, do some Christmas shopping and visit our Family Sponsorship Christmas tree. It is our hope that these events will help you connect to the heart of the orphan, and make a real difference! Learn more here and please pray for this global movement to stir many hearts for the vulnerable!

 

Sunday, November 11

4 – 7 pm

LSM Offices: 1935 N Main Street, Bluffton, IN 46714

 

If you can’t make the event, you can still participate!

 

Take Action:

  1. Sign up for our emails and don’t miss updates and future events.
  2. Join our prayer emails.
  3. You can still give if you can’t make it to an event. Partner here.

 

 

Unrest in Haiti

July 9, 2018
, , Haiti, LSM, News

“A riot is the language of the unheard.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

On Friday, the Haitian government announced a steep increase in fuel prices (38% increase in gasoline, 47% for diesel and 51% for kerosene) that resulted in violent protests across the country.

 

In recent months, the cost of living in Haiti has increased dramatically, causing rising discontent and anger at the difficulties of daily life. Fuel increases became a tipping point in already rising frustrations.

 

 

While President Moise has now put a temporary hold on this fuel increase in an effort to appease the protesters, the situation remains tense.

 

It’s been a scary weekend for many in Haiti amidst burning cars, roadblocks and looting. LSM’s staff and families are safe, but everyone remains on high alert.

 

Please pray for:

  • The continued safety of our staff and Home of Hope families
  • Vigilant caution from our staff as they maintain operations
  • Peace in the country and economic solutions for the poor who struggle every day just to survive
  • For the vulnerable children (orphans, child slaves and at-risk children) who are often the first to suffer the downstream effects of the unrest

 

Find more background & pictures here.

 

You May Never Know the Impact You’ve Had

May 26, 2017
, , , , , , , , , , , Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia, Family, LSM, Uncategorized

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:

 

  1. 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.

 

 

*names changed for privacy

CAFO Summit 2017 – Justice and the Inner Life

May 11, 2017
, , , , , , , Caring for Orphans, LSM

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.

 

For Our Dads

June 15, 2016
, , , , , , , , Caring for Orphans, Family, Haiti, Uncategorized

We want to give a BIG shout out to you, dads. Those who are raising your kids to love Jesus, who are faithfully serving Him, and who are selflessly caring for others. We know you have a tough job. And we are so thankful for all the ways you rise up to the task.

 

Here’s a beautiful message for you from a couple of adopted kiddos:

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A Generation That is Learning to Serve

June 10, 2016
, , , , , , Caring for Orphans, LSM, Uncategorized

This past weekend, over 200 youth gathered in Bluffton, IN to make new friends, inspire one another, and help several organizations with service projects. It was exciting to see so many passionate young people learning to make a difference, and then putting what they learned into action in tangible ways. We were thrilled to have some of them come to learn more about Haiti, including how they can make a difference right from the heart of Indiana!

 

After learning about Homes of Hope and seeing some of the real difference LSM is making in these children’s lives, the young men and women had a chance to write out personalized prayers for each of our Haitian children!

 

Read More

How the Easter Message is Transforming Lives Around the World

March 24, 2016
, , , , , , , , , , Adoption, Caring for Orphans, Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia, Haiti, LSM, Uncategorized

“I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand on the earth.” Job 19:25

 

The Easter message is a powerful story that many of us have grown up with and has woven into the fabric of our lives. But for millions around the world, their introduction to this message comes in drastically different ways.

 

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