The Good News First

Update from Haiti

Good news from Haiti: As you can see from the photos below (Thanks to Dusty Cooper from IsleGo for posting these), construction began again recently on the House of Abraham.  The concrete roof was poured for the first floor.  Also, the walls are several blocks higher now than they were when our team was there a little over a month ago.

Further good news:  The kids and staff of HoA will be able to stay in their current house a while longer while work construction of the new home continues.

And now, the bad news: In messaging back and forth with Fenel earlier this week, I have also learned that construction stopped again shortly after these photos were taken.

The project is about $25,000 short of being funded.  Please take a moment to pray that the funds would be raised up, that these precious kids would have a permanent home, and that God would get the glory for it.  If you would like to give a Christmas gift toward this project, you can do that here.

Cookbook Update

We have sold over 100 Flavors of Forever Families cookbooks in the first week!  Thanks to everyone who has invested in families and the children they will adopt into them.  If you haven't gotten your book yet, they will be on sale at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando before and after services at least until Christmas.  You can get one online here.  (For online orders, please order by 12/17 in order to get yours in time for Christmas!)


Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Adoption Stories: The China Connection

The 4theVoiceless adoption cookbook, Flavors of Forever Families, released this past Sunday.  As we have stated in various ways in previous posts, the goal of the cookbook is three-fold:

• To raise awareness (and ultimately, funds) for adoption.  The part of this book that sets it apart from other cookbooks is the adoption stories from so many angles.
• To provide a tool for people to share their faith.  What God does through His adoption into His family of those who place their faith in Jesus Christ reflects what lengths he is willing to go to redeem fallen man.  God's adoption of us is reflected in so many ways in the adoption of children into families.
• To provide some really good recipes.  Many are recipes you could find in other cookbooks, but I guarantee you that we have some unique ones, too!

Over the last couple of weeks, we have shared parts of some of the stories in the cookbook:

• Jay Trawick's story of adoption and re-connecting with his birth family.
• Joe & Annette Payne's story of the call to adopt and the resulting frustration of waiting, waiting, waiting...and finding God's will for their family in the process.
• Vicki Sharp's story of two domestic adoptions that both happened in a rush of circumstances.
• Larry Gideon's story of an intriguing journey to find his birth family that didn't know he existed.
• Joel & Lisa Basinger's story of a journey through James that led them to a greater "Faith" journey.

Today, I want to share parts of the stories of the Kobes, the Pillstroms, and the Satchers.  Like the Paynes' story that we shared earlier, all of their stories involve adoption from China.

The Kobe Family: The Family That God Built

God really started our journey to China long before WE started our journey to China.   For eight precious months, He allowed us the privilege of being parents to our sweet little daughter Helen.  Born to us with a rare chromosome disorder, she was taken home to Heaven, but she left in us the desire to parent again.  This seed was planted and then nurtured through friends who had adopted  from China....

Our wait was the longest 11 months I have ever experienced, but once again, God's timing is wise.  I think it gave us additional time to work through our grief over Helen (She died June 2002.).  It gave me time to wallpaper and re-wallpaper –  never quite pleased with the results –  the room that was to be Lillian's.  It gave us months to read about hundreds of names, only to eventually turn back to family names....

Our story is not finished.  This year, God has opened a door for us...

The Pillstrom Family: Made in China, Loved in America

Our story starts with a ten-year-old little girl with big dreams.  I will never forget Christmas 1984.  The toy of the year was the Cabbage Patch Kid.  That was the only thing I asked for, and apparently so did every other little girl in America.  I didn't get a CPK that year, but what I received was the start of my heart for orphans.  My parents had a family friend hand make me an “adoption doll.”  She was hand-painted with green eyes and brown hair, just like me, and she was beautiful.  I'd never heard the word adoption until that day, but I was hooked!  Several years and about 10 Cabbage Patch Kids (of all colors) later,  I knew that one day I would adopt a child.

Fast forward 20 years.  Tony and I were married with one son and a child on the way.  We knew we were having another boy, but what we didn't know was God's big plan for our family.  Kaden was born in 2006 with a bi-lateral cleft lip.  No one that we knew of  in either of our families had ever been born with a cleft.  Tony and I knew then that God had something big planned for us....

(Tobie wrote a post for this blog several months ago that tells more of their story.  You can also follow their story on her blog.)

The Satchers: From an Orphanage to Our Home

Our adoption story really began many years ago for me personally.  I have a neurological condition, which contains a genetic mutation, that makes it 50% likely that any biological children would also be born with this condition.  With the difficulties I have faced throughout my life, I did not want to put someone else through my pain.  After marriage, my wife and I discussed this possibility, and we decided to take the risk and have a biological child.  Shortly after Arabella was born, I began to notice through some physical signs that she most likely had NF1 also.  This burdened my heart greatly because I know the difficult journey she has ahead of her.  After Arabella was diagnosed with NF1, April told me she wanted to talk about adoption for our next child....

In life, road blocks occur, and just after we decided to look into international adoption, my father died suddenly.  This sent my life into a whirlwind and put our adoption on hold....

At the time that I am writing this, we are still a family in process.  We are trusting God to provide us with the current expenses for the adoption, and we trust that we will be matched with the perfect little Chinese girl who will complete our family… for now.

(Michael wrote a post for this blog several months ago that gives some background of their story.  You can also follow his family's story on their blog or Facebook page.)

Read the rest of these remarkable adoption stories in Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes and Redemption Stories, available here online, at the CHC offices during regular business hours, and at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights until Christmas. 

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Adoption Stories: Give Me Faith

Two days away from the release of Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes and Redemption Stories, we offer a taste (pun intended) of another adoption story.  This is Joel and Lisa Basinger's story (written from Joel's perspective) of how God brought a feminine touch to a boy-heavy family:

Give Me Faith

If I have been asked this once, I have been asked it a thousand times, “Why adoption?”  There isn't a simple answer to this question.  First of all, we don't have any issues with fertility.  Lisa has been interested in adoption for a while.  I on the other hand, thought we had a big enough family with three boys and couldn't see providing for another child.  God had other ideas for us! Almost two-and-a-half years ago, I decided to do an in-depth study of the book of James.  Little did I know, before I finished chapter one, I would go through a complete transformation.   James 1:27 states, "Pure and undefiled religion is this, to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from this world."  Wow, what a revelation!  it is clear that we, as Christians, are all adopted into Christ's family through His sacrifice on the cross and directed to care for the fatherless.  Does that mean that we are all called to adopt into our family?  No, but it is clear that we are called to care for orphans, just as we are called to make disciples of all nations.

So I don't think the question should be "Why adopt?"  I think it should be "Why not adopt?”  We explored international, foster care, and domestic adoption and went back and forth several times until God led us to an amazing adoption agency in Abilene, Texas.  During this time of exploration, God worked in Lisa's heart to have her explore different aspects of adoption: race, special needs, drug use of parent, and gender.  Through each of these, Lisa learned to trust God to be faithful to give us the child He wanted us to have.  We submitted the beginning of our paperwork in April of 2012 and attended the adoptive parent orientation in July.  We met some great couples that are still friends to this day.  We submitted all of our paperwork in September, and we were approved to be shown to potential birth mothers on October 15.  We were excited; several of the other families that we went to orientation with had already received babies, so we thought it would happen quickly.  We continued to  wait while we kept seeing friends get matched.  We started to get impatient; meanwhile, in February, God decided to move us from Mississippi to Texas.  Maybe He knew what he was doing...

Coming: The China Connection

Next week on the blog, the China connection.  The first time I ever heard the suggestion of an orphan care ministry at CHC was at small group one night in the home of a couple who had twice adopted from China.  Several of the stories in Flavors of Forever Families are of adoptions from China.  There seems to be a special kinship among families who have this experience in common, so next week on the blog will be China week, when we will bring you a sample of each of these stories. 

All of the adoption stories can be read in their entirety in Flavors of Forever Families -- even as you browse the rest of the book for some new favorite recipes.  Order your copy today or pick one up at either CHC Southaven or CHC Hernando this Sunday! 

Previous previews:
"Temporarily Todd"
"Growing Paynes"
"It All Happened So Fast"
"Found! God's Perfect Timing"

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Adoption Stories: Found! God's Perfect Timing

Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes & Redemption Stories is a cookbook/adoption story book that will be available at Colonial Hills Church this weekend and online next week.  In the days leading up to the book's release, we are sharing parts of the stories that are included in it.

Today's teaser comes from a story that I discovered during a hospital visit, of all things, earlier this year.  This may be the most fascinating adoption story I have ever heard.  I have known Larry Gideon for many years, but I had never heard his story.  I am very grateful that he shared it with me and now with you.

Found! God's Perfect Timing -- Selected Quotes

 "She put me up for adoption because she was already on what was then called “relief” for herself and the six children living at home."

"I was adopted by closed adoption through the now-defunct Tennessee Children's Home Society (TCHS) in Memphis, run by the notorious black market baby broker Georgia Tann."

"I really had no desire to find out about my birth mother.  I never knew her and surely did not want to hurt Mama's and Daddy's feelings by making them think I was not happy with my life with them." 

"Daddy passed away in 1999, and Mama –  already diagnosed with Alzheimer's –  never recognized me again after Easter of 2001."

"... I was the only qualified person to open them.  I agreed to make the request."

"...my sealed adoption records were mailed to me."

"After getting over the shock that I had other siblings, Joy and I began searching for my relatives." 

"... I was about ready to give up, but my wife was determined."

"This woman said that the first names sounded like the names of her cousins from west Tennessee..."

"She said that now it all made sense."

"Our mother had told her and our siblings living at home that she was going to Paris, TN, to have a tumor removed from her abdomen."

"Our mother had given false information about our family..."

"My sisters thought he was delirious..."

"...she asked if she could ask me a very personal question." 

"...after what she had just heard from me that she was entitled to ask me anything." 

"I am told that had I made this contact with my birth family as little as a year before I did..."

"God knew we were going to need some type of replacement family when this happened..."

"It is only because of Him that this remarkable story is here for me to share."

 Larry's story is one of eight that are part of Flavors of Forever Families.  There are some pretty good recipes in the book, as well!   Get your copy for only $12.  Pre-sales will be going on at Information Central tonight at CHC Southaven before Wednesday Night Reveal classes and at CHC Hernando after Reveal classes.

Prior teasers:

"Temporarily Todd"

"Growing Paynes"

"It All Happened So Fast"


Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Adoption Stories: It All Happened So Fast

... and with just a click, it was gone.

Months of soliciting recipes.  Weeks of gathering stories and photos, categorizing recipes, changing it all when more copy arrived.  Ten days of formatting, re-formatting, tedious proofreading, editing, re-formatting again.  A furious last edit.  And then, this morning, with just a click, it was out of my hands and on the way to the printer.  Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes and Redemption Stories will be a reality by the end of the week.

There were about 10 of us who looked over at least part of the final project.  Even so, there will still be some things that we missed, I'm sure. None of us has ever produced a book before.  I hope everyone who invests in this project by purchasing cookbooks finds at least a few new favorite recipes, but the purpose of the book is adoption.  To tell the stories.  To pave the way for more stories of adoption.

I have given you a preview in blogs past of some of the stories that will be included in the book:
     "Temporarily Todd"
     "Growing Paynes"

Here is another adoption story that had me frozen in worship as I entered the story into the book this past weekend:

It All Happened So Fast

by Vicki Sharp

The Sharp family: Steve, Elliott, Vicki, & Sarah

Our story started on September 14^th, 1985, the day God put us together as one.  We thought we would be like any other normal couple and be able to conceive children.  However, God had another story planned for us.

Over the next six years, we both visited several doctors and had many tests performed to discover that they were not really sure why we couldn’t have a baby.  So we started sharing with our family and friends about how we wanted a baby.  One night a friend called and asked if we would like to try to adopt a baby.  She had met a woman during a meeting about tough love with teenagers.  She said she had a girl working for her who was pregnant and didn’t want to tell her family.  She agreed to let us adopt her baby and ten days later we were the proud parents of our son, Elliot.

We thought Elliott would be our only child, but he decided he wanted a baby sister or brother so he started praying.  A couple from church had adopted children from the state so we decided we would try.  We attended classes and were approved to adopt.  Meanwhile, a cousin of Steve’s called and asked us to come and talk to a girl about adopting her baby.  However, she had left a message that she had given the baby to another couple.  We didn’t want to give up so we continued to pray.

One day while I was working in the church nursery, another friend told me she had been talking to a girl that was trying to give her baby up for adoption.  We received a call early one morning from our friend asking us to meet the girl now because she was in labor.  Steve was very shy about praying out loud, but after a heartfelt prayer from him, she said she wanted us to adopt her baby.   So seven days later we had a new baby girl, Sarah.  We truly believe that only God could have planned our adoptions. 

Steve passed away to be with the Lord earlier this year, but he was always eager to share our story; he always said it was his testimony.

 
This weekend, Vicki handed me two treasures: Steve's life story as he had written it when Elliott was six years old and a letter Steve had written to his small group leader after Sarah's adoption.  I could hear Steve's voice in my mind as I read his own words of praise for what God had done in building his family through adoption.  Steve's words are included in Flavors of Forever Families.  I pray that his story continues the legacy of adoption that he built in his own family.

More stories will follow throughout the week on this blog as we move toward the book's release this weekend.  The books will be available for $12 at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando this Sunday.  We will release info next week on online options.  I want to personally thank you on behalf of the families who will move closer to bringing a child into a forever family for your investment in the steps of faith.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Friday Little Bits: Progress Report

Here are a few ministry progress updates from 4theVoiceless:

Orphanology

Wednesday night was the first night of our Orphanology study at CHC Southaven.  There were 18 of us in attendance, a great group.  The study will continue through November 7 on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:00.  This past Wednesday, we focused on how orphan care reflects the gospel and how God’s commands to help the “voiceless” have always been to His people.  Therefore, believers have a responsibility to minister to orphans.  We ended with this video, which.powerfully captured the first session of our study.

Lauren Johnson, adoption specialist, will join us the next two weeks as we focus on adoption and foster care.  Lauren and her husband Chris are active in the orphan care ministry of Lifepoint Senatobia.  If you live in the DeSoto County area, please join us on Wednesday nights.

Adoption Cookbook

We are hoping to complete the 4theVoiceless cookbook sometime around Orphan Sunday (Nov. 4) so that they will be available during the Christmas season.  The cookbook will help fund our adoption fund as well as create awareness about adoption through some pretty remarkable stories.  The recipes are still coming in slowly.  Would you use your influence to help us gather about 300 more recipes in the next month?  Each person can submit up to 10.  Click here for the form.

Hope for Haiti

Not much change in the Hope for Haiti campaign over the last couple of weeks, at least as far as funding goes.  We are still at about 26% funding for the new House of Abraham.  4theVoiceless will be selling paracord bracelets and paper bead jewelry at the Trinity Baptist Church (7200 Swinnea in Southaven) crafts fair tomorrow from 9:00-3:00.  We will be at the Tricia’s Hope fundraiser extravaganza at Jim Saucier Park in Southaven (near the library and police department) from 11:00-dark on October 13.  Finally, we will be at fall festivals at CHC Southaven (Go Center) and CHC Hernando (Conger Park) on October 31.  Get the word out!

Work continues on the orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti, as you can see in the photos below.  Thanks to Dusty Cooper of IsleGo Missions for the update!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday is a day when churches around the world focus on God’s call to defend the orphan.  This will be the first Orphan Sunday at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando, and we are still in the planning stages.  More and more churches are joining in.  Check out the Orphan Sunday website for the story behind the day and to see what churches around the world are doing on this year’s Orphan Sunday, November 4.  If you are part of a church that would like to get involved, please let me know; I have recently been asked to serve as an area coordinator for the Orphan Sunday organization and would love to talk to you and share ideas.

Thanks for reading.  Now, move.
Al