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Humanitarian Parole and The Lamb

March 8, 2010 by Paul Pennington

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. - 1 Thessalonians 4:17

On Saturday night March 6th and into early Sunday Morning there was a type of rapture that happened in Haiti. As many of you know Hope for Orphans has been advocating for children at the Haitian Children’s Rescue Mission for most of the last 7 weeks. Twenty-two of these children were eligible for what the government calls “humanitarian parole” and to meet their adoptive families in America. Each of these kids had been chosen before the earthquake to be grafted into a family. They were chosen not because of wealth, good deeds or talent. They were chosen out of the unconditional love of families willing to pay the “ransom” in grace and bring them to places prepared for them in their own homes.

Seven of these children went to the airport on Saturday expecting to be joined with their new family in Miami, but instead, despite the signature of the Prime Minister, there was a complication. Haitian authorities at the airport said these children could not leave without a passport! Haiti is not issuing new passports. So all these confused children were loaded back on a bus and sent back to the orphanage. This was not how the story was supposed to go. This was not what anyone expected or wanted. How, after so long, could these children come so close to the dream and the Lord allow them to go back?

God’s ways are not the ways of men and His plans are wonderful. The Lord holds the heart of the king in His hand. Negotiations began immediately between the US Embassy and the Haitian immigration officials. Back at the orphanage, the caregivers and Dr. Leininger were feeling pretty down and grim. Then one of the orphan girls came to Dr. John and she said with a smile, “We are going home tomorrow.” John was not so sure. She said again “We are going home tomorrow.” Dr. John says that 15 minutes later the phone rang and a voice on the other end said the Embassy is going to work all night and eleven children will fly tomorrow on a donated charter WITH PASSPORTS.

If these 7 had not been turned away on Saturday in a small international incident, the 4 scheduled the next day would most likely not have had a chance to leave.

I once met a Pastor who runs an orphanage in India. He that said sometimes they run very, very low on basic necessities. I asked him what they did. He said with a smile, “We get all the orphans together and ask them to pray to their heavenly Father for help. He listens to them and we have what we need.”

Late on Saturday night He was listening again, as 44 orphans, 11 from the Haitian Children’s Rescue Mission were taken up into the air and met their families at 2 AM down in Miami. It was a new day and new life and a new family.

Please pray for the other 45 that we are working with the government to be considered for humanitarian parole as well. There is legislation that would require this. HR 4603.

I am thankful this morning, that because of sovereign grace, I was granted parole to join the family of the Lamb.

A Haitian Child Welcomed into Her Forever Family

Posted in Adoption, Bible, Hope for Orphans, Orphan Care | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

Adoption Day: A Letter to My New Son

March 3, 2010 by Jason Weber

Just recently, we finalized the adoption of our son, Joshua, from the foster care system.  On adoption day, I wrote the following letter for him to read as he grows up:

Dear Joshua –

As I write this it is about 5:30 in the morning.  The house is very quiet right now, but it won’t be for long.  In less than three hours, you, me, your mom, and your 3 sisters (who will probably be wearing very fluffy dresses) will pile into the van to go the courthouse for your adoption day.  While you’ve been with us for just over six months already and I considered you my son the moment you arrived, there is something very important about today.

What makes today different is the fact that you being my son and me being your dad becomes FINAL. When something becomes final, rest always follows.  When God created the world and everything in it – from trees to dandelions (don’t let anyone tell you they are weeds) to the duckbilled platypus – He finished all of that and then there was rest.  When your mom and I finish a hard day of working, there is rest.  When a runner runs a race and it is finally over, he rests.

So today, when the judge hits the top of her bench with the gavel, your mother and I will take a deep breath inside and feel this great sense of peace and rest.

Josh, one of the reasons adoption is such a privilege is because when I think about the process of adopting you and your big sisters, it helps me to understand God much better.

The Bible says this:

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure.”  – Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

There are many times when I don’t understand why God would ever want me as His son.  There is nothing special about me and I am always messing stuff up.  There are things I know He wants me to do that sometimes I am afraid to do or just too lazy to do.  But that verse tells me that He didn’t adopt me because I was good enough to be adopted by Him.  He adopted me because He just wanted to. He just wanted to and it gave Him GREAT pleasure!  Now, this is something I really understand.  And the only reason I understand it is because I have had the privilege to adopt you and your sisters.   Joshua, I just want to adopt you.  It gives me such great pleasure to do so.  In fact, I can’t believe I get to adopt you.  Your mom and I love you so much and we are overjoyed to be able to call you our son.  It gives us GREAT pleasure!

So with that, I am going to get up and iron my shirt and get ready to take you to the courthouse, little man.  Let’s get this thing final and enjoy the rest that will come.

Love,

Your Dad

Posted in Adoption, Foster-Care | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments »

The Children of U.S. Foster Care: A Call to Prayer — Part 4

February 24, 2010 by John Moore

Over the past couple of weeks, I have discussed the need for prayer for the children, families (birth families and foster/adopt families), and workers in our nation’s foster care system.

There is another group of people for whom prayer is needed as they relate to the children in foster care.  Historically, the church has cared for the marginalized in society out of obedience to God’s commands and as an outpouring of the grace we have received from Him in our lives.  God still desires for His people to be His hands and feet to those who are hurting and forgotten, including those children in the foster care system.

By and large, the role of caring for these children has fallen on the shoulders of government agencies for the past several decades.  The church has taken a back seat to social services in meeting their needs.  The constant cry of some to keep church and state separate has kept some in the church from becoming more involved.

Thankfully, that is changing.  More and more, we are seeing that church and state can not only find common ground on which to stand for the benefit of kids, but they can actually work together to see that the kids’ needs are being met and that, as a result, they have a better chance at becoming all they were intended to be.

Having been involved in foster care for ten years, I have seen quite a change in the way churches and government relate to each other in this area.  Where once there was much suspicion and mistrust on both sides, now we are seeing both sides opening up to one another and engaging in open dialogue and partnership.  It was quite a telling statement when I heard a local child welfare official say in a recent meeting that the government doesn’t do a good job taking care of kids, and that they wanted to give that job back to the church, where it belongs.

All over the country, God is moving churches to start foster care ministries.  Amazing ministries have sprung up in Florida, Arkansas, Colorado, South Carolina, Texas, California, and more, helping literally thousands of children.  We should pray that God would continue to raise up churches to care for the needs of the children in their communities.  We should also pray that many believers would open their hearts, homes, and families to these children by fostering and/or adopting them.

If you would like to speak up for the kids, families and workers in your local foster system, as well as for the church’s response and involvement, please visit www.FosterCarePrayerVigil.org.  Download or order the prayer guide.  Please start praying today for all involved in the system.  Then make sure you plan and register a vigil for your church, family, and/or friends during the week of May 16-23.

Posted in Foster-Care, The Church | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The gospel is the foundation of orphan care…by David Leventhal

February 21, 2010 by John Moore

David Leventhal is still in Haiti.  He wrote the following after addressing 100 Haitian pastors:

“This morning Paul Myhill (President of World Orphans) & I had the opportunity to speak before 100 Haitian pastors at a Campus Crusade for Christ training conference in Port Au Prince.  The training was being led by Esperandieu Pierre.

Esperandieu asked us to cast vision & encourage these pastors in their love & service for the orphans in their community.  We didn’t have much time & because Esperandieu had to translate for us the time we had was cut in half.

When I woke up this morning I began asking the Lord what He wanted me to communicate to these men.  It had to be short, easy to remember & useful.  As I worked through my thoughts & reflected on a couple of passages I realize the best place to start & finish was at the very cornerstone of all we believe.  I distilled it down into two main points:

  • The gospel is the basis for WHY we care for orphans
    • The gospel frees us to love others – we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
    • The gospel frees us to look outside ourselves towards the needs of others – we look at Christ who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Philippians 2:5ff).
    • The gospel provides the power by which we can love sacrificially when it doesn’t make sense for us to (Romans 6:11ff).
  • The gospel is the model for HOW we care for orphans.
    • The gospel is offered free of charge – we are to care for orphans without expectation of receiving anything from them (John 3:16).
    • The gospel is not dependent upon our abilities – we are to care for orphans irrespective of their physical, mental or emotional capacity (Ephesians 2:8-9).
    • The gospel addresses the whole person – we are to care for the spiritual, physical & emotional needs of vulnerable children.  This is more than just basic food, clothing & shelter (James 1:27, 2 Corinthians 4:16ff).
    • The gospel cost Christ his life – we are to spend ourselves for the cause of the orphan, the vulnerable & the defenseless (Romans 8:32, Romans 5:8)

At the end of the day orphan care should tie back to the grace of God made fully known in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.”

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The Children of U.S. Foster Care: A Call to Prayer — Part 3

February 18, 2010 by John Moore

In part one of this series, I talked about the need for prayer for the children in our nation’s foster care system.  In part two, I talked about the need for prayer for the families of the children – both the birth families, as well as the families that have stepped forward to care for them through foster care and adoption.

There is a third group of people involved in the children’s lives that we must remember when we pray.  The many workers who are involved in the foster system are on the front lines for these kids – making decisions that often affect their lives in profound ways.

Most who enter social work do so with the noblest of intentions – they have a genuine desire to help people and bring healing to broken lives.  The social workers who enter the foster system often do so because they have a real heart for children and they want to help the children become all that they were created to be.

Unfortunately, the realities of the job can overwhelm even the most committed workers.  So often, caseloads are too heavy, time is too short, and competing interests become draining.  Many times, social workers become fatigued….with the fatigue leading in many cases to burnout.

As Christians who are concerned about the well-being of, and justice for, children in the foster care system, we must remember to pray for the social workers who oversee their cases.  We must pray for the attorneys or the guardians at litem, who argue for their best interests in court.  We must pray for the judges, who often make very difficult decisions regarding short-term and long-term custody for the children.

The children in our nation’s foster care system will benefit most from dedicated workers who are driven to seek their best interests.  We must therefore pray for all of the adults who work in the child welfare system, that:
•    God would raise up laborers to fill every void:  judges, attorneys, guardians at litem, social workers, court appointed special advocates (CASA), support staff, therapists, and others.
•    God would encourage our state’s social workers and that they would not grow weary in doing good.
•    the workers will seek justice for everyone involved.

If you would like to speak up for the kids, families and workers in your local foster system, please visit www.FosterCarePrayerVigil.org.  Download or order the prayer guide.  Start praying today.  Then make sure you plan and register a vigil for your church, family, and/or friends during the week of May 16-23.

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Update from David Leventhal in Haiti – 02/16/2010

February 17, 2010 by John Moore

David Leventhal sent this update from Haiti:

Today was a good laying the groundwork day.  Our team met with CMBH (Southern Baptist Group in Haiti) & World Relief.  The net result of our time is that we will be able to meet with 46 churches in the coming week.  Definitely a great start to the church to church partnerships we are hoping to create to care for Haiti’s orphans.

Our time with World Relief was especially sweet as we got to hear about all the great things they are doing to care for orphans & vulnerable children.  Their headquarters in Port Au Prince was destroyed so they are working out of one of their hospital / orphanage facilities called King’s Hospital.  After our meeting we were able to spend some time with the children in their orphanage.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing like getting eyeball to eyeball with a child that has lost everything.  It brings a renewed perspective that you simply cannot get from a book, a sermon or a meeting over coffee. It will wreck you in the best possible way.

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The Children of U.S. Foster Care: A Call to Prayer — Part 2

February 12, 2010 by John Moore

In my last post, I talked about the need for prayer for our nation’s more than half a million foster children.  These children have been beaten down in their young lives – abused, neglected, abandoned…very often by their own parents — and they need people willing to advocate for them – through prayer and through many other ways as well.

As we learn more and more about the children in foster care, and as God begins to give us a heart and a growing burden for them, it would be easy and natural for us to develop a real anger toward those who have hurt them so deeply.  It would be natural to judge them harshly for their acts and to want them to pay dearly for their crimes against the children we have grown to love.  We must be careful, though.

The Bible teaches us that all people are made in the image of God.  As Christians, this means that we must treat all people with the respect and honor and dignity that comes with being made in His image.  No one is exempt.

The Bible also teaches us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  This means that in spite of the pain these parents have caused to these children we love so dearly, when we’re honest about our own condition, we find ourselves in the same boat as they are in…we are all sinners who have no chance before a Holy God apart from the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Yes, the children deserve justice and those who hurt them should pay a price, but we must not allow our righteous anger to become a self-righteous anger, and we must not allow our anger to obscure the truth that the blood of Christ can cover the sin of the child abuser just as it covers ours.  We can rightly want justice for the children, but we can and should also pray for the salvation of those who harm them.

One of the cruel realities of the foster system is that many of the children who age out of the system at 18 without a family end up having children in the system themselves one day.  The abused or neglected child therefore grows up to become the abusive or neglectful parent.  Why?  Because it’s all they know, and until someone shows them another way, the cycle will not be broken.  Yes, they are responsible for their own choices, and we must never excuse poor parenting by blaming it on the past, but just as we all learn habits and behaviors from our parents, we must recognize that these children are no different.

As Christians engaged in the foster care system, we must resist the urge to vilify the children’s birth families and we must embrace God’s call for us to love them and treat them with dignity.  It doesn’t mean that we should support sending children back to an unsafe home, and it doesn’t mean we support contact between children and birth parents if that contact further traumatizes the child, but it does mean that we can pray for the families and seek justice for them and truly hope for God’s best for their lives.  One of the greatest blessings in our journey adopting children from foster care has been the friendship that we’ve developed with our children’s birth families.  We recognize that friendship is not possible in all situations, and we have had to make some hard decisions regarding contact with our children’s birth families, depending on what we believe is best for our children at any given time.

In addition to praying for the birth families of the children, we also need to pray for families that have stepped forward to care for the children in foster care.  From time to time we hear horror stories of foster families who abuse the children in their care, but we must remember the many families that quietly care for and love them day by day, far out of the limelight.  God uses these families to bring healing, and in many times, permanency through adoption, to these hurting children.  We need to pray for God’s grace on them as they parent the children while navigating what is often a very difficult and thankless system.

If you would like to be an advocate for the kids and families in your local foster system, please visit www.FosterCarePrayerVigil.org and download the prayer guide.  Begin praying today for the children and their families, and then make sure you plan and register a vigil for your church, family, and/or friends during the week of May 16-23.

Posted in Foster-Care | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Hope for Orphans Joins the Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT)

February 9, 2010 by David Leventhal

Hope for Orphans is proud to be a part of the Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT).  HORT is a cooperative effort of disaster response experts and U.S. based ministries that have joined together to respond to the orphan crisis in Haiti.

The first deployment, which I will be a part of, departs on February 14th with the specific mission of supporting the churches of Haiti to care for the orphaned children in their communities. HORT will collaborate with and train Haitian ministries to sustain this effort beyond the deployment period.

The primary goal of this first initiative is to better enable Haitian churches to reunite children with their families or to keep children within extended family structures. For children that have no other options, HORT will help Haitian churches to provide direct care in home environments, as opposed to institutional orphanages.  The focus is on long-term, sustainable orphan care through the local church.

U.S. churches are also part of the solution and are being recruited by HORT to come alongside these Haitian churches in church-to-church partnerships to initiate, strengthen and grow their outreach to orphans in their immediate communities. These partnerships will also work towards the self-sustainability of the orphan rescue and care efforts in Haiti.

A couple of things you can do:

  • Pray like crazy that this team would:
    • Exalt Christ as we look for long-term orphan relief strategies
    • Remain unified & focused on the goal – we want to set aside logos & egos for the purpose of glorifying God as we care for the least of these
    • Be protected physically & spiritually while in Haiti.  We deploy on 2/14.  Some will be returning on 2/24 & others on 2/28.
    • Be able to identify churches on the ground in Haiti & in the U.S. that will be able to partner with us and one another.
  • Advocate: Spread the word via
  • Support the HORT effort financially through the website below
  • Educate: Learn more at www.haitiorphanrelief.com

Posted in Hope for Orphans, Orphan Care | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Children of U.S. Foster Care: A Call to Prayer — Part 1

February 9, 2010 by John Moore

In recent weeks, the world has watched as the stories of Haitian orphans have been broadcast to billions.  The faces are etched on all of our minds as we see them on TV, in print, on the internet…it seems like everywhere we turn, we are faced with the plight of Haiti’s neediest children.  Through it all, God is awakening more and more of His people to the needs of orphans, not just in Haiti, but around the world…including those in our own backyard.

There are currently more than half a million children in the United States Foster Care System.  Of those, more than 120,000 are currently waiting for adoptive families.  Each year, about 20,000 will age out of foster care and onto the streets…18 years old…with few if any life skills, and no family to call their own.  Their lives after foster care will all too often be marked by homelessness, addiction, crime, imprisonment, teen pregnancies, and worse…

Many in the church have taken on the cause of foster care, and God is using His people to bring real transformation to many children’s lives as a result.  Still, far more must be done if we will see the number of waiting children and emancipating youth reduced to 0.

Where do we start?  We start where we should always start – on our knees before our God, pleading on behalf of our nation’s most vulnerable and at-risk children.  We never know what will happen when we pray, but we do know that prayer helps align us with God’s will for us and for the world. For that reason, we pray expectantly, knowing that God can and will use the prayers of His people to do things we can never imagine.

A few years ago, a handful of people gathered in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The purpose was simple – to pray for the needs of the children and others involved in the Pulaski County foster care system and to be available for what God wanted to do through them.  That small gathering has exploded into a ministry that now involves 150 churches in more than 15 counties in Arkansas (with a chapter in Alabama as well).  The C.A.L.L. (Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime) is now hard at work helping children find their forever families, children who might still be waiting had it not been for that handful of faithful believers who gathered to simply pray.

That small prayer vigil has exploded in other ways, too, on a national level.  In 2008, the first National Foster Care Prayer Vigil was organized as a joint effort by Hope for Orphans, Focus on the Family and Shaohannah’s Hope (now known as Show Hope).  That first year, there were 100 vigils in 32 states.  Last year, the numbers grew to 220 vigils in 47 states, and this year we hope to see 500 vigils in all fifty states.

If you would like to be an advocate for the kids in your local foster system, please visit www.FosterCarePrayerVigil.org and learn how you can host a prayer vigil in your church, home, workplace, etc…  Once you have planned your vigil, please take a moment to register it on the website, so we have an idea of how many gatherings are happening, when, and where.

The needs of the children in the foster care system are tremendous.  God’s love for them, however, is greater than their needs, and His plan for them is you…and me.  We must make ourselves available for how God wants to use us in their lives, and the way to start…is on our knees before Him.

Posted in Foster-Care | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

In His Time: Haitian Girls Singing

February 7, 2010 by Paul Pennington

Click below to hear these girls singing:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:25-30

On January 12th, God allowed a violent earthquake to rock Haiti. He also allows earthquakes in every one of our lives. Have you ever noticed that God has used earthquakes to punctuate important times where He is working. Examples include the crucifixion, the resurrection when the stone was rolled away and increasing earthquakes as the day of His return draws near. Earthquakes, whether geological or personal, get our attention. How we respond makes all the difference.

Two weeks ago, I spent 5 days at a Christian-led orphanage in Haiti. Almost everyone I met there knew someone who had died in the quake. The orphanage director, a pastor, lost his entire house and belongings, but he led the children in praise to the the Lord who had saved their lives. Almost every day I was there the aftershocks continued. The children were all sleeping outside each night afraid to go back into the building. Our team of medical and orphan advocates brought all that we could including a few tents. A group of the middle school aged girls enjoyed one of the tents and eagerly took care of some of the very small children each night. I noticed from my first day there, that despite having almost nothing, no biological family present and still living with the terror of the earthquake, they still sang in the morning and they sang as they went to bed.

On the afternoon of the aftershock that measured 5.9,  I was sitting on a 3rd story balcony. The whole building began to sway. The children began to scream, the doctors scrambled and we all ran out into the yard. This was a very personal reminder that our lives are but a vapor and no one has anything but each breath God gives us. About an hour later, I was walking by the middle school aged girls tent and I heard some of the most wonderful singing I have ever heard.  They were singing in Creole. I leaned into the tent with my iPhone and began to record. At first, I was taken aback by the smell of the urine that was no doubt evidence of the number of babies sleeping there each night. But, as the girls sang, I was quickly immersed in worship that can only be described as pure. After a few more moments, I was able to recognize the tune they were singing….It was In His Time. Incredible. Then I realized in the midst of that praise so soon after the 5.9, that I didn’t smell the urine any more. Instead I was aware that the Lord was in that place. The thought came to my mind, that for those of us in America we think we live in such ease and comfort…..but really we sleep in tents that smell as well….unless we are praising God and living for Him,  especially when the earthquakes come.

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to the staff of FamilyLife about my trip. I played for them my recording of the Haitian orphan girls singing In His Time. You can listen to by clicking on the play button above. The neat thing is that one of our staff actually knows the author of In His Time.  Her name is Diane Ball. My friend told her about these girls singing her song and she began to cry. When earthquakes come into our lives, we should pray that the Lord will give us the grace to sing like Paul and Silas and these wonderful Haitian orphan girls.

Posted in Orphan Care | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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