Why orphans?

 

 "You can always give without loving,

but you can never love without giving."

-Amy Carmichael 

  ~* ~*~*~*~

 

   Someone recently asked me,  “Why orphans, and why Africa?”  Many people have asked me the same question in the past. Well, here is my answer: as followers of Christ, it is our duty and blessing to reach the lost and the hurting in the world. We are to minister to the poorest of poor, the lowest of low.  For me, that means the orphans. Truly, they are the poorest of poor in today's society; having no one to call family and nothing to call their own.  

According to Orphan Hope International, there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide. As of today, 48.3 million of those are in Africa.  By age 16 these children “age out” and are no longer in the adoption systems. 38,493 orphans “age out” each day . With diseases like malaria, HIV, AIDS and yellow fever, 5,760 children are orphaned each day. The vast majority of these have never heard of Christ. They live in villages where witchcraft and demon possession is rampant. The witch doctor is their only doctor, and consequently their “religious leader.” 

  My heart absolutely breaks for those precious little ones, living in those circumstances!! How can we ignore their cries, their pain!? We can't change the world, but we can lives. None of us has the power to save the world, but we have the love to save the lost.

“Not all of us can do great things. 

But we can do small things with great love.”

-Mother Teresa 

  Mother Teresa had it right. Not everyone is destined for great deeds, honor or fame. But all of us, regardless of our current circumstances can do little things and still change lives, if we do it with great love.

    There is a fire burning deep within my heart, fueled by the Lord, to do what I can to help His children. Even if I only impact one life, it is enough. For that is one life more that will one day be in heaven. This side of heaven we may never know how many will be with Christ one day because of us, but we still have to try to reach them. Love speaks far greater than words. It is not enough to simply say you feel for them, we have to REACH OUT TO THEM. 

"Give me the love that leads the way, the faith that nothing can dismay, the hope no disappointments tire, the passion that will burn like fire; Let me not sink to be a clod: Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God."
-Amy Carmichael   “For the glory of God!

Say a prayer

              “Mama! Maaaaamaaa! Maaama!

     I smile as I hear my little niece’s voice squealing for her mama. It was bedtime but Blessing was strongly protesting the fact that she had to lie down. As I listened to her continual squawking, my thoughts turned towards the orphans of the world. My heart breaks as I think of all those little ones who are crying out for a different reason tonight. I bleed for those precious children.

   I often think of the stories I’ve heard and the things I’ve seen about orphans. Though I’m home and can no longer be hands on with them, I have by no means forgotten them. Seldom a day goes by when I do not think of them. My heart cries out against the injustices and pain they face. There is NO reason a child should suffer the way they do.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think of what they go through. 

  Tonight my little niece goes to bed with a full belly, her thirst satisfied with clean water. She sleeps in a warm bed. She's sheltered, loved, and protected. She’s healthy and secure in this family who adores her and seeks to take care of her. Does not every child deserve the same?? Do they not all wish for that??Each one has a dream and each dream includes being loved and secure.

   We might not all be able to adopt or fly somewhere to take care of an orphan, but we can ALL be doing something to help. We can pray! I beseech you tonight, DO NOT FORGET THE WORLD’S ORPHANS! Pray for them, please. Even if you can’t do anything else, pray!! Do not forget them.

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;  

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

 Psalm 82:3

 
"For the glory of God!"

Every Orphan's Hope

I pray that as you watch this you will have an open and ready heart for whatever God tells you.

 

  "Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 

~Psalm 126:2~

  This is why EOH does what they do, to bring the joy of God to those hurting children. Through Every Orphan's Hope God is turning tears into laughter, heartache into peace and sorrow into joy. Daily He is transforming and renewing lives through people like you. Please pray about how God wants you to help and if He so leads, take that small step of faith on behalf of the children.

"For the glory of God!"

Be a miracle!

       You hear the rain pattering on your window as you slowly open your eyes. It’s 6 am, you shiver against the cold and pull your robe tighter around you. With a full belly and warm clothes you head off to work. At the end of the day you come home to your cozy home and warm bath. You sit down for a filling meal and enjoy a relaxing evening around the fire with your loved ones. At bedtime you lay your head down on your pillow and sleep the night away in comfort and warmth.  This is America.

   Across the globe children wake up too, but theirs is a different kind of day. 

   The first thing this child hears when she opens her  eyes at 5am is the rain leaking into her house. She shivers as she gets up to boil water for her bath, yet she thanks God for the roof over her head and the worn out clothes that she has.  As she sits down to the only meal she will receive that day, she is grateful she has sustenance to fill her belly for the time being.  Her day is long and hard, with very little play. By night fall she is exhausted. She lays down on her worn out mattress and tugs the thin blanket tighter around herself. As she drifts off to sleep one last thought floats through her mind. She is scared and hungry.

    In the same town another child is going to sleep as well, but unlike the first, this child must find shelter before the rain comes again.This child woke up this morning to the cold rain on his face and mud forming under his makeshift cardboard bed. All day he has frantically scrounged around for scraps to eat. Tonight his belly is empty. He is lost and alone, hurting, confused, scared. When at last he finds shelter it is merely an overhanging roof. He lies down on the cold ground, wet and bitterly hunger. An abandoned orphan left to starve in the streets. This is Africa.

   Billions of children around the world are orphaned each day. Abandoned and neglected they are left to starve in the streets. These children are in serious danger and they need help. YOUR help. We are the future for the children of the world, how we respond to their need determines whether they survive. Please be a helping hand to these children, a miracle in their life! There are plenty of orphan outreaches throughout the world, pray about where God wants you to help and DO SO. If you use your financial or physical means to serve these children, the least of these, God will bless you effort! Don’t take for granted what you have. You have it for a reason…so GO!

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18

"For the glory of God!" 

http://everyorphan.org/