For the past several years, we have been on a journey together seeking God's heart for the orphan and marginalized. In 2010, we were dared to take a step and move towards those who are hurting, to simply open our eyes to the realities of so many in our world. We were challenged in 2011 to go near to the brokenhearted and visit them in their distress. This year, we have been invited to "Walk Beside" orphans and those who are caring for them, to love as Christ has loved us, and to be willing to share the cost with those who are on the difficult journey from brokenness to wholeness.
Please join us on October 27-28 during all of the weekend services at Timberline Fort Collins and Timberline Windsor Campus for our annual Orphan Care Celebration. Admission is free for a Sunday evening concert at Timberline Windsor Campus, 6pm, featuring Kristin Orphan and The Finally Home Band.
It was a beautiful day as twenty families gathered together to eat. Meat sizzled on the grill and grinning face-painted children ran around underfoot. It wasn’t a family reunion or a neighborhood block party, but rather a gathering of families on the similar journey of fostering and adopting kids who have experienced trauma.
On September 15, 2012, Timberline Church was home to the third Colorado Family Wellness Event sponsored by the Finally Home Foundation and put on through the efforts of many volunteers. Families from all over Northern Colorado committed their Saturday to learning and growing.
The parents spent much of the day working on skills like being a team with their partner, parenting as a leader and model, making rules, and solving family problems. The workshops, taught by certified instructors, counted toward the hours needed to maintain a foster-care license. In addition to learning practical strategies to strengthen their marriages and communication skills, they were able to spend invaluable time with other families and brainstorm solutions gleaned from their collective experiences.
Meanwhile, over 50 children ages one to thirteen had a day filled with fun activities including face-painting, inflatable bounce castles, board games, and age-appropriate crafts. If a child needed one-on-one attention, a qualified volunteer was there to help. For many, it was the first time parents had been able to leave their children in childcare knowing they would be able to remain for the day in a loving and supportive environment.
In the middle of the day, the SERVE 6.8 cooking team prepared and served a delicious meal including hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixings, macaroni salad, fruit salad, and chips along with cookies and brownies for dessert. Additional volunteers were on hand to hold open doors, help families juggle multiple plates and drinks, and clean up.
Fostering and adopting kids who have experienced trauma is a challenging road. Finally Home Foundation exists to encourage and equip these special families and give them a forum to connect with one another. The Family Wellness Event was provided at no cost to the families they serve.
The goal was to give families a much needed break and to make their day. Judging by the many smiles, they certainly did.
Building Hope Vision: To bring hope and healing through restorative home repair to families in our community.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is the tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
Building Hope will not be limited to, but will specifically serve: Foster and Adoptive Families, Single Parent Homes, Widows and those with health concerns or disabilities.
All proceeds from this auction will got to serve families in our community through Building Hope.
For more information about Building Hope contact: Kari Stewart at: Karalot9@gmail.com
Timberline Windsor has started collecting their filled backpacks!!! That pile will grow this weekend as people continue to bring in their backpacks. Windsor is partnering with Windsor School District and Weld County Children Services to distribute their filled backpacks.
Timberline Fort Collins will have Backpack sign-ups and supply list available in the mall this weekend. Filled Backpacks can be delivered to our Fort Collins campus the weekends of Aug. 4/5 and Aug. 11/12. Fort Collins is partnering with Foster and Adoptive Families of Larimer County and The Matthews House to distribute their filled backpacks.
When a child or youth is in a desperate situation they often don't have the supplies that they need to be successful in the classroom setting. When you take the time, expense and effort to fill a backpack for a child - you are making a deposit into their life that will not return void. :)
A Backpack of My Own Contacts: Timberline Fort Collins: Erin Branchflower - erinbeth21@hotmail.com Timberline Windsor: Lynn Peterson - LPETERSON6876@msn.com
We have been home from Hot Springs, Arkansas for a couple of weeks. Our experience individually and as a team touched us in such a way that we are each committed to be a part of next years team - I hope you will join us!
What does it mean to be present in someone's life? Being present sometimes means that you don't say anything - you are just there - serving and being a part of their daily life.
Our team was present in so many ways:
- painting 15 rooms in two cottages - this was a quiet and interactive way for us to get to know the kids
- painting 2 rooms in the administration building
- stripping wallpaper in the conference room
- trimming bushes at Highlands Maternity Home
- spending time with the young women at Highlands
- sorting, hanging and organizing clothes in their donation center
- children's ministry time every evening that involved games, devotions, bowling
- a minor league ballgame on the 4th of July
- going with 4 cottages on two different afternoons to an area amusement park
We ended our time with the staff and kids with an ice cream social at their large pavilion area. Dean and Beth brought the sound system from the gym down to the pavilion, sidewalk chalk (enjoyed by all ages) and bubbles. They have a basketball court right near the pavilion that we cleaned earlier in the week, so it was full of kids playing and enjoying each other. It was even more than we could have prayed for. It was a crazy moment to cry, but that is exactly what I did. As we began scooping the ice cream a song titled: "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts started to play over the sound system - the sounds of the kids laughing and the house parents and staff talking completely overwhelmed me because this song spoke what my heart was saying. At that moment Dean came up to me and asked what I thought of this amazing picture before us and the tears started to flow. We had talked about this ice cream social months ago when we first visited Hillcrest - it is an amazing thing to see the plans and ideas that God speaks to our heart come full circle. To know that we could have even been small part of God's plan in showing His love to these kids and staff this week was an amazing feeling - WHAT AN HONOR FOR OUR ENTIRE TEAM!
One of our team verses for the week:
I will be with you, I will never leave, fail or forsake you. Joshua 1:5
** We did make a video of our time at Hillcrest Children's Home. Due to privacy considerations we cannot post it on a blog or social media site. Watch for it in to be in a video loop in the Timberline Cafe soon.
Here is Rascal Flatts - My Wish
Saturday, July 14, 2012
If you are looking for something fun to do tomorrow, Sunday July 15 (9am - 5pm) come and join us in Old Town Square in Fort Collins from 9am to 5pm to watch as a playhouse is being built to benefit Building Hope.
Building
Hope is an outreach under SERVE 6.8 providing restorative home repairs
and renovations for foster/adoptive families, single moms, widows and
those with disabilities.
The
playhouse will be on display at various businesses over the next month
and will be at the Men's Ministry golf tournament benefiting Building
Hope on August 13th. An ebay auction account
will be set up for this playhouse. Bidding for the playhouse will end mid August. I
will post the link when it is up and running!
This is
a great way to be in our community advocating for the things that God
has put on our heart and given us the ability to be a part of.
Hi! My husband Jeff and I have been married for 31 years. We have 9 children. Three by birth and six through adoption. Our children were born here in the US, China, Korea, Haiti and Hong Kong. God put adoption on my heart when I was a little girl. I grew up in the Foursquare Church with my dad being a pastor. We often had missionaries in our home. The pictures of children that lived in orphanages where they ministered were permanently etched on my heart. :)
