November: National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month. 

Oklahoma has a great website that highlights children currently 

legally available for adoption and are waiting for a family in the State. 

As we enter the holiday season, please use this time of Thanksgiving to pray over those who

are without this holiday season.

Oklahoma's website is: http://www.heartgalleryofoklahoma.com/

And the National Photo list of children available for adoption can be found at:

www.adoptuskids.org

All Aboard!

 

 

If you've read here before, you probably know that one of the ministries that I love and adore

is the folks at Children's HopeChest; an internationally focused organization based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their motto is simple: Encourage orphans to thrive in their home culture and know God through a personal relationship with Christ.

 

While HopeChest's model is simple, it is the approach that I adore.

Take an American community; a church, a school, a business, etc.

and partner them with an international community;

a village, a church, a school, etc. who is in need of encouragement and capital.

This partnership provides that the American partner obtain individual sponsors at $34 per month for

the children currently in the international program

to provide basic medical care, school and uniforms.

Individual sponsors are encouraged to send letters to their sponsorship child.

 

But the commitment doesn't end there.

The American partners are encouraged to send a travel group at least once a year to check the progress of the development and assess other needs which may lead to other development projects.

 

For example, this year, LoPa Art stepped up to fund through our art sales, a brick making project for the Hand for the Needy care point in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Currently, all of the children at HFN are individually sponsored, but the care center

was is desperate need of income generating ideas for the elder boys aging out of the system.

Thus, the brick making project was born.

(And fully funded by the way. :)

 

 

Currently HopeChest has 150 care points and projects in 8 different countries wold wide.

 

I have advocated for HopeChest to partner with two congregations in our metro area 

and LOVE watching the communities here fall in love with two separate communities in Uganda.  

 

While my family sponsors other children through other organizations over the world, I love through our church that all of our children know each other. Each time a trip from Westmoore Church travels to Ngariam, Uganda, we are updated with pictures and videos of our kids.

Our family's small group love sharing letters from one another's sponsored kids.

Such a beautiful picture of community here in South Oklahoma City.

And in Ngariam, Uganda.

 

So image my giddy delight when HopeChest asked me to accept a volunteer position with them.

To advocate for other churches, schools and businesses to travel with me once a year to the different countries HopeChest serves worldwide.

Uh...YES!!!

I only had one request...that this first trip would be to my favorite place.

You know what it is...

Ethiopia.

 

So that's where we're headed.

July 6-16th, 2013.

There are currently 5-6 new locations that are looking for an American partner.

We will travel to these locations as well as 2 sites that are currently being sponsored so that

you may see the difference between what a partnership and un-partnership can mean.

We will spend time in the capital city of Addis Ababa and also in the rural region of Awassa.

We will also be traveling to the red light district in Addis to minister to the over

40,000 prostitutes and children who live there.

 

If you, your pastor, your best friend, your manager, your church leadership board would

like to know more information about partnership, email me.

I'll send you some information about travel, partnership and Ethiopia in general.

I cannot wait to lead this trip with HopeChest staff and see the way God uses this for His glory.

Now...go pack your bags!

 

One of my favorite people and Ethiopian travelling companions called yesterday.

She was working on a blog post about K, she and I's friendship and the book.

As we talked, she was perusing her pictures from last year's trip to Ethiopia.

 

She asked me if she had sent me all of the photos from her camera.

I couldn't remember if she had or not.

So I told her to email them to me just in case.

 

Enjoy.

 

I did.

 

 

But this one is my absolute favorite!

Probably of all time.

 

I have less than 200 still in my possession.

I am blown away and truly humbled by all of this and I am honored that you all have supported me so much through it all.

I just can't wait to sell the remainder so we can start planning the REAL fun...global, clean WATER solutions!

 

So if you want to order, click on the BUY NOW button and order before Friday, so I can ship it for Christmas.

 

You can now find the book on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles.com.

If you received your book and loved it, please go to these websites and rate the book.

 

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Speaking in Public.

I don't scare very easily, but this last Saturday, I was definitely shaking in my sparkly pink TOMS. Westmoore Community Church held their annual women's conference and asked me to come speak about our adoption and sponsorship opportunities through Children's HopeChest and the work we do in Ethiopia through LoPa.
I'm used to public speaking, but speaking in front of a group of women is the scariest thing I've ever done and my own personal nightmare. Remember, I have girl issues.
We had done a run through on Friday night and I thought I would be holding a hand held microphone for my talk. Imagine my surprise when they hooked me up to a wireless mike ten minutes before I was to start.
I had been really good at controlling my breathing and not staring at the 200 individual female faces staring towards the stage. But about 10 minutes before I was to go on, I suddenly had the urge to tinkle. "You should go" i told myself, just in case, despite the fact I went 5 minutes prior.
I hurried into the little girls room and locked myself in a stall. I turned to unhook the battery pack from my belt loop and my sweaty hands slipped against the plastic of the case of the mike and...
I watched in slow motion as the battery pack hurled itself into the toilet. I felt myself scream but it was too late.
That was it. I'd never be asked to speak again.
Or I'd permanently have attached to my resume, the woman who sinks expensive audio equipment.
If I was nervous before, I was terrified now.
The urge to tinkle had vanished and I bolted from the stall as if I was being chased. The audio guy was already having a bad day since he was the only testosterone in a sea of estrogen, so my little accident was not good news. I was almost sobbing when he realized he not only had to fix my mike, but also calm me enough so the next speaker spot wasn't filled with a crying, hysteric woman who babbled about toilets and microphones. He graciously took my wet mess of equipment, repeatedly assured me he'd fix it, but I'd have to use a hand mike for my talk.
I nodded and then I was being introduced.
There was no more time to be nervous, only time to get going.
I clenched my Bible and my notes and griped the hand held microphone. I prayed that God would be glorified and that my voice would carry His message.
My 30minutes flew by and I only cried once (& it wasn't about the mike incident)!
It was an amazing time sharing how God used our family's story for lifting up His heart and LoPa got to display a booth to continue to raise awareness for what we do in Ethiopia. Thank you so much Westmoore Community Church for letting me share.

At the time of this posting, the microphone is fixed and continues to be in use. Whew!