Orphan support

Hi all! Merry Christmas! We are currently in Wisconsin with family right now... but I wanted to let you know that the site for Liberia's orphan support is now up and running, so if you were excited to help out in that way, now you can. It's a really well-put-together site, with a few tidbits of info on the country and it's peoples' situations. If you are interested, please take some time to read the FAQs... many great questions regarding the support are asked and answered. Sponsonships or one-time donations are available. Thank you SO much to those who choose to help in this way... we cannot express what it means to us that if God leads you in this, that you would extend any of your resources to Liberia's children... and by doing that, help to care for Kelvin & Hawa.

Here is the letter from our agency about it, and the link to the site follows. Also, we heard that Edgar signed our papers late last week, and so our paperwork should be headed to USCIS... if it's not there already. That's great news, and now we covet your prayers that we get approval in a miraculously FAST time... maybe it will be waiting in the mail when we get home!! I am anxious to bring our kids home. I cannot wait to hold them. :)

~Corrie


"CAS Perspective Adoptive Parents,

Christian Adoption Services' commitment to caring for orphaned children in Liberia goes beyond placing children into loving,Christ-centered families. Because there are approximately 500 children at the two orphanages we work with in Liberia and many more waiting for spots to open up at the homes, we know that we will not be able to find families for all of the children in Liberia who need them. However, we can work to ensure that all of the children at these orphanages have food, an education, medical care, and an understanding of the gospel. CAS is excited to announce a new online sponsorship program that is dedicated to meeting this goal. Please go to http://www.africanchildsponsorship.com/ to check out this program. A child can be sponsored for $40 a month and/or one time donations can be given. We would be encouraged if you would like to share details about the sponsorship program with family, friends, and fellow church members. Once an individual sponsors a child, the sponsor will have access on the website to a monthly newsletter update and additional photos. Below is a copy of this month's update."December 2008 During the summer of 2008, 92 additional orphans and indigent were admitted to the Daniel Hoover Children's Village at Dixville, outside the capital city of Monrovia, Liberia. Many more families wait for openings to become available at the mission. Due to the current global financial crisis, food and supplies have risen in cost dramatically in Liberia over the past several months. Coupled with a decrease in donations from the West, the task of providing for the children has become a great struggle. Currently, teachers are months behind in their pay and teachers at the home for deaf children have stopped teaching. In addition, caretakers have had to ration food at the orphanages. However, our God is mighty to save, and the caretakers and children are putting their hope in Christ to take care of their needs. Christian Adoption Services and African Christians Fellowship International are working together in several areas to try to improve the current challenges. One of these areas is the adoption program. Though there was a moratorium on adoptions in Liberia for about seven months in 2008, they are once again being processed. This provides individual children the hope of having a forever family who will love them and raise them up understanding the truth of the gospel. In addition, some of the funds from each adoption go to providing orphanage support for the remaining children. In addition, this new sponsorship program has the potential to provide for the majority of the day to day needs of feeding, educating and providing medical care to the children. Thank you for your commitment to the most vulnerable children of Liberia. You have the potential to change many lives. Finally, a mission team is planning to serve at the orphanages in March 2009. Their primary objectives will be to shore up security around a warehouse that stores food and supplies for the children, provide medical checkups, train teachers, set up and provide leadership and technology training for key staff members, and interact with the children. If you would like to contribute supplies for the trip, please contact us through this site. The team will need over the counter medicines, children's clothing size 4T to adult, hygiene products, and school supplies.

Blessings,

Angel Rutledge

Liberia Program Coordinator

Christian Adoption Services "


http://www.africanchildsponsorship.com/

The Faithful One

I decided not to do Christmas cards this year. I had purposed to do them every other year, and this is my year off, but I did want to send a few Christmas greetings out to the family members that we will not get a chance to see over the holidays. So- I went to my trusty Wal-mart and had a look at the options. I saw cute cards, and "religious" cards. I saw funny cards and cards with really great designs. Then I saw these kind of ugly ones. They were a mustard color, with a small bit of green at the bottom with gold words. If you know me... I'm kind of particular about pretty things... colors and designs and such... so why did I notice this rather dreary card? Well, across the top in big font is the word "Jesus". Now, I love a God-honoring Christmas card, but let's face it... some are really cheesy. But this one was different. Right under the word "Jesus", the card said "The Faithful One".

Jesus
The Faithful One

The confidence we have...
the trust we hold...
the hope we carry...
rest in his faithfulness.

Every promise He has made
He purposes to fulfill.

He has the authority to
accomplish all He has spoken.

His power is limitless...
His character changeless...
His love endless!

The names and traits of our God move me. When I am faithless, he remains the Faithful One. When I am restless, he is the Prince of Peace, when I lack wisdom, he is my Wonderful Counsleor. I'm so thankful.

In this season of waiting to bring Kelvin and Hawa home, God constantly has to remind me that "he has the authority to accomplish all He has spoken". It seems that we have been waiting on people for over a year now in this desire to adopt children. Social workers who never called us back, background checks to be approved, or for Edgar to sign our papers (you can pray about this one - it's currently why our homestudy is not yet in the hands of USCIS, where is needs to be) But really... God moves or doesn't move all of these people. So we don't really wait on them, we wait on our God... who has plans for us, who loves Kelvin and Hawa, whose perfect timing I can trust.

I guess this Christmas card just really said some things that I appreciated.... things I can relate to. Our hope, our trust and our confidence rest in his faithfulness. And there's no safer place for my heart to be.

So, Mom & Dad, Oma, and other family members who get a strange-colored card in the mail... you were fore-warned! :)

P.S. - The site for donations/sponsorship of children in Liberia is not yet up and running. I will post it as soon as it becomes available. It sounds like the kids have food right now, and that their December shipment will arrive in the next few weeks. Please pray that it is released from the port in Monrovia so that the staff can use it ASAP... things sometimes get held up at the dock for weeks.

Update ...

We just wanted to pass along the most recent information we've been able to get on the food situation at the orphanage... this is the letter that Angel, the Liberia program director, wrote:

"I spoke with our adoption director in Liberia on Monday and food had been secured for the children. Christian Adoption Services sent $1000and a couple of donors sent $2000. A container of food was shipped from the US in October and should be arriving at the port in Liberia shortly. Please pray that it will beeasy to get it out of the port. It can sometimes take up to 3 weeksto get it out of port and to the orphanages. Christian Adoption Services is working on a new sponsorship program where people will have the opportunity to sponsor children at the orphanages for $40 a month. The website for the program should be finished in about a week. I will post a link to the site when it isfinished. There has been a small sponsorship program maintained by a family in Pennsylvania, but less then half of the children are sponsored and monthly donations are at about one-third of what is needed to maintain the orphanages. The family in Pennsylvania is excited about this new opportunity that will provide better communications between children and sponsors. Please continue to pray with us that God would provide abundantly. Blessings, Angel"