Northern Colorado Christian Alliance For Orphans

A Regional Alliance for Christian Alliance For Orphans is forming in Northern Colorado. Our goal is to unite churches, organizations and agencies for the common goal of advocating for orphans, locally and internationally.

Please join us at Johnny Carinos at noon this Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010.
The address is: 1455 Rocky Mountain Ave. Loveland, CO 80538

Email me if you have any questions: Karalot9@gmail.com

Our trip to Haiti

Before our trip to Haiti last week I would have said that my heart was broken for the needs of orphans. I am passionate about their needs and so I advocate for them. However, what I didn't realize was that my heart had only been tender towards them, not broken. This trip to Son of God Orphanage proved to break my heart.
It is one thing to read or to see a picture of children in an orphanage, it is quite another to be there in person. To feel their fingers tap your arm, to hear them sing, to hear the little ones cry out to be held, their little arms and hands reaching out to you. What did we do? We picked them up, we held them in our arms, we kissed their heads, we gave high fives to the older kids who wanted connection, but not a hug. We smiled a lot! It doesn't make sense, this was the poorest conditions that I had ever seen a child living in and we were smiling. We were smiling because we know that the God we serve loves these children more than we ever could. It is impossible not to smile at the beauty of their faces and respond to the look of hope in their eyes. While their lives are challenging, they remain hopeful. Hopeful that someone will cry out for them. Who will that be? I hope all of us in some way.
God has a plan for each and every one of these kids and just maybe we are to be a part of it. Now that is a humbling thought. Seriously, who am I that I could have a part in a positive, eternal change in these children's lives? I am just like them - I am a child of God and I believe that when we step out in obedience God's grace and love falls in abundance and we find ourselves doing things we never thought possible.

-Timberline Church provided a chicken dinner for the staff and children. This is a huge treat in Haiti! While the staff was preparing the meal a little boy tapped my arm and said through our interpretor, "Thank you for the chicken dinner, it has been a long time." The sincerity on his face and the truth of his words brought tears to my eyes. I knelt down, gave him a hug and told him that we loved him and that it made us happy to give them the dinner.

-We me a young girl who had been raped by her step-father and as a result had a daughter. Both her and her daughter are at the orphanage now. She is a precious young lady and I know that God can bring healing into their heart and lives.

-We were given wooden cars that were donated which was a huge hit with all the kids. Within moments some of the kids had string tied to them and were pulling them around, others were having races with them. The cars were a blessing - Thank you!!! :)

There are many more stories to tell from our trip. It is a trip that I will never forget and the beginning of something amazingly special in all our lives.

Luke 9:48

Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For he who is least among you all -- he is the greatest."

If you would like to know more about joining us in this journey please contact:

Sean and Tiffany Cherry: seanandtiffany@gmail.com

or myself: Karalot9@gmail.com

Let Love Live :)

Focus on the Family - Wait No More Event

Mark your calendars for this important event: Focus on the Family will be hosting their next Wait No More Event in Denver, CO on September 18, 2010 at Grace Chapel, 8505 S. Valley Highway, Englewood, CO from 1-5pm.

Wait No More has made a significant difference in the lives of many waiting children in CO. Since they had their first Wait No More event 2 years ago the number of waiting children has gone from 800 to 365. They work together with churches, ministries and agencies to advocate, educate and support families who respond and open their hearts and homes to Colorado's waiting children.

To find out more about how you can get involved click on the following links:

http://www.icareaboutorphans.org/Colorado.aspx

http://project127.com/

Adoption is more than just a good idea. It was God's idea and plan for us to be adopted into His forever family. I know that not everyone is called to adopt, but we are all called to do our part in advocating for those and supporting those who are called. :)

Son of God Orphanage

Off to Haiti!!! :)

A new video was just posted of Son of God Orphanage last week. I will put the video in another post for some reason it won't connect right now.

Tomorrow we will be there!!

Please pray:

-for our team (Pastor Reza, Sean and Tiffany Cherry and myself) , Hopechest staff (Vince arrives in Haiti today) as we travel together and seek God's will for Timberline's partnership with Son of God Orphanage.

- discernment into what their immediate needs are and how we can meet them or help them find local support to get them met

- clarity and unity of vision

- safety and health

- please pray for all of our families at home. It is tough to have mom and/or dad away for any period of time.

We are very excited to meet the directors, the staff and the kids at Son of God Orphanage. :)

A Backpack of My Own Update

THANK YOU TIMBERLINE CHURCH FAMILY!!!!!

We were able to deliver 240 filled backpacks, 60 scientific calculator and 20 flash drives over the last two weeks to Foster and Adoptive Families of Larimer County and Weld County. When Jeff and I delivered two carloads full of backpacks yesterday morning, one of the foster dad's said to me "It is so awesome that your church would bless us this way. It is a huge blessing to us and to our children."

It is just as fun watching the backpacks being brought in by all of you who were blessed to be a blessing!!! Because of your obedience you have planted seeds of hope and love to these kids and their families.

Thank you!! :)

From Nightlight Christian Adoptions

Nightlight Christian Adoptions and Every Child Has a Name would like to thank Timberline for its strong support and encouragement of the recent Russian Tour. Specifically, we would like to thank those that attended the kids’ performance on July 25^th. We had a great turnout and look forward to bringing another group next year!

It was a complete honor on our part to host this event and get to know these amazing children and your staff. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity!!

To learn more about Nightlight Christian Adoption there web address is:

http://www.nightlight.org/

They have an office in Loveland:

150 E. 29th St. #255

Loveland, CO 80538

(970) 663-6799

:)

Respite Care Training

The Adoption Exchange is hosting a training for those interested in providing Respite Care for adoptive families on Tuesday, August 10 at Life Bridge Church in Longmont.

Respite Care can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on the agreement between the adoptive parents and the respite providers. Providing respite for a family who needs a break can make a huge difference in the success of an adoption. When families are parenting children with challenging behaviors, they need to rest mentally and physically.

Please contact Leslie Van Dyne at: 303-829-4296 or leslie@adoptex.org