We Invite YOU to join us to PRAY for the Collins and Smith Families!

We'd love you to join us as we pray for the Collins and Smith families, THIS SUNDAY, 11/10 for their upcoming adoptions! We will meet 9:15-10:15 AM in Rm 124 (upstairs). Each couple will give us a brief update before we pray together.

The Collins have a court date on 11/12. Please come and be part of what the Lord is doing by praying together!  We are thankful for your friendships and support.

New Foster Care Resource from Hope for Orphans!

Safe Harbor:

A Christian's Guide to Foster Care

Safe Harbor Guide

OR

sign up here for Hope for Orphans updates and Safe Harbor guide download:
Hope for Orphans
 

New RVA Group for Adoptive Moms (or Moms to be) and Foster Moms

Calling all women whose families have grown through adoption (or going to!) and/or involved in foster care! Regardless of where you call your church ‘home’, we welcome you! 

The purpose of this group is to encourage women to fellowship together, be reminded of the gospel and love of Christ, and share some tangible ways to love our families and children in light of our unique family stories. 

We will have an initial kick off time on September 22 at 9am at West End Presbyterian Church (WEPC)*, rm 35 basement level.
Going forward, mark your calendars for every 3rd Sunday of the month (again 9am at WEPC).

We will be using the Created to Connect: A Christian’s Guide to the Connect Child. You may purchase the guide online, place your order at our kickoff or download a free pdf at: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/guide .

Excited for this opportunity and hope you will be too! Invite your friends and join us!

Questions/Comments, please email Cindy at 1blessedfam@gmail.com
*feel free to use the nurseries and Sunday school available at the same time

Another way to 'live out orphancare'!

Sometimes it's good to put the horse before the cart;p  After learning more and more about how an orphan 'becomes' an orphan, it's clear that in some situations, the church coming alongside those moms in need can help PREVENT A CHILD FROM BECOMING AN ORPHAN!  Here is one of those opportunities.  A chance to step in the middle of brokenness and watch and wait on the Lord's redeeming love.  Check out all the ways you can love and serve!  Proud that these co-leads with a heart for the Lord are our sisters and friends:)





YoungLives Camp 2013 – Rockbridge
Summer planning for the 1st Rockbridge YoungLives Camp is already in high gear!  Rockbridge has
never hosted Camp for teens and their children.  You can only imagine the amount of supplies
necessary to carry this off successfully!

ROCKBRIDGE – CAMP DETAILS:
DATE:   Monday afternoon July 29 – Sunday noon August 4, 2013 (Teens & children arrive July 30).
WHERE:  Rockbridge Alum Springs, Goshen, VA ( only 150 mi. from Richmond)
WHO:  Women, men, teens (age 14/15 with parent, age 16/17 with adult, over 18 alone), family teams, mission teams, Bible Study groups, mother-child teams…you get the idea!   Come one, come all!
OPENINGS:  Immediate needs are for 13 – 15 Nursery Leaders,  100+ Child Care workers, knitters to make and donate blankets, help writing ‘thank you’ notes, and those able to bless camp via our Amazon.com registry!
WHY:  We extend the love and hope of Christ to pregnant teens, teen moms and the children.  The
    teens get away, relax, have tons of fun and meet peers in a safe, beautiful and relaxed camp  setting.
They learn of Christ’s great love for them and His desire to have a relationship with them.  Child care
workers watch over and play with the little ones-  giving them loads of love and attention.
WEBSITE  for more info:  http://www.younglife.org/YoungLives/CampChildcareOpportunities/
VIDEO PROMO for Camp: Watch this and sense the excitement!   http://vimeo.com/55874234

 WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO HELP?
Go to www.Amazon.com.  Click on “WISH LIST” in upper right.  Click “Find a Wish List or Registry”. Click on “BABY”. Type “Rockbridge YoungLives” in the space.   The list will appear.   It is called Rockbridge YoungLives and Joyce Lawrence's Baby Registry.  You can ‘sort’ by priority, price and such.  Make your purchase(s) and the item(s) will be sent directly to Rockbridge camp.  Thank you!  These items will be reused year after year!
Donate gently used items (must meet present safety standards) and have all parts intact.
(You can get a precise idea of our many needs by reading through our Amazon.com “Baby Registry”).
Pack N’Plays with carrying case + sheet, in very good condition and toddler cots.
Strollers – reclining style preferred.   Double strollers are also needed!
High Chairs (from our Registry only), booster seats with safely belts
Childrens life preservers, sand toys, sprinklers, floats
 Bouncey seats;  floor mats for infants.
CD players plus music, songs,  cd’s
Plastic toys, appropriate books, wagons, small riding toys, blocks, chalk, crayons, coloring books.
Changing tables and changing pads, diapers, wipes,  batteries, file boxes.
Financial Contribution – we’re happy to do the shopping for you!  Contact Joyce or Sylvia.
Help monthly at the local level in Metro Richmond  (Northside),  E. Henrico/Varina area  - or soon in the Hermitage High School neighborhood.   Contact Dianne Claiborne (dianneclaiborne@gmail.com)
Needs are:   Mentors, Committee members, Fundraising, Prayer, Child Care, Food providers, Leaders,  Transportation, Administration, Drivers.

QUESTIONS?   Contact us!  We are Co-Chairs for Rockbridge YoungLives “Inventory”!
Joyce Lawrence (290-0785)  Email:  jcl7577@comcast.net
Sylvia Littlepage ( 282-0501) Email: sylvia.littlepage@gmail.com


  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Forever

For weeks, I have been struggling to remember that I am not just preparing for 1 trip, 1 first meeting, 1 first hug and kiss (if she will let me) 1 set of gotcha day photos taken, etc.

I am finding it easy to compare to the preparations of a wedding. There is a lot of prep, a lot of waiting and then... THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. I still remember the moment (once we took off on a plane for our honeymoon), I realized I should have been more focused on my soon-to-be-marriage than my fleeting 6 hour wedding day. Not b/c something bad had happened, but because I had lost all sense of perspective.

This feels very similar.

Awhile ago, I complained to a friend that I felt I was always praying the same things for Sugar Plum... that she would be feed, kept safe, be healthy and loved, etc. And while all those are good and necessary for my mama instincts, she basically told me to be praying about the rest of our life together ;)

So when I look at her new pictures, I am struck by the reality that I DO NOT know this little girl. I had memorized her in the original pictures and apparently convinced myself that I knew her. Well, yesterday was a stark reminder that I do not. And while Owen reminded me that I didn't know him before he was born, I still can't shake the new found fear.

I don't know why this is suddenly hitting me. Perhaps it's because we are getting closer? Perhaps it's because our family's picture ironed onto a blanket is in the hands of a precious child in China?

Perhaps it's because we are welcoming a complete stranger into our lives forever!

I can look at her pictures and search intently for all the "good" I can see. It looks clean, she looks well, she is smiling. For all I know she was placed in the best spot in the orphanage for these pictures.

I have been haunted by some photos recently taken by families there now who are receiving their children. As much as I would like to think these places are ok. Growing up in an institution without a family is not ok.

I am terrified about what it will feel like to leave all the other children behind. How can I possibly only bring 1 home? Will this haunt me for the rest of my life? I suppose, I hope it does. Because 1 less, is NOT enough.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord. Psalm 117:2

My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

I am forever His. May this change who I am, forever.

Written by Ali Fogarty, group member, in process of adopting from China
 

STUCK documentary TONIGHT!!

How about joining us for a little 'education' on how you can help with 'orphancare' by championing for their rights to a family! Many WEPC folks and other RVA peeps will be at the Bowtie Movie Theater tonight, 7pm for the 1st showing of STUCK! Tickets sold at the door too!

 http://player.vimeo.com/video/59302895

"Hosting" an Orphan

In case you're wondering, IT'S TIME NOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO CONSIDER HOSTING an orphan for the SUMMER (August) hosting programs.

We asked Jill Smith to share about their recent "Hosting" as a part of orphan care and here's what she had to say...

Hosting an Orphan

This past fall, God nudged my husband and I to consider hosting an orphan over Christmas. My immediate reaction was to ignore the prompting in light of our already busy Christmas schedule and our noisy house of young boys. We decided instead to take a leap of faith and follow God's lead. It was one of the most exciting experiences we have had in a long time. We were quickly dazzled by God's blessings and provision. As we stepped out of our comfort zone to prepare for a 9 year old orphan girl from Ukraine, God showed us that He is with us and He is faithful. Clothes, crafts, gifts, gift cards, money, translators and more were donated. Friends, family and strangers were eager to participate in loving her and praying for her. We were very encouraged as we saw the body of Christ surround us. The almost 3 weeks with our visiting orphan were some of the most intense and joy-filled weeks we've shared together as a family. Our children were stretched and enriched. God enabled them to pour out love on this sweet girl and they experienced many glimpses of Christ's love for them in the process.

We prayed for forever families for all the orphans visiting. Though we don't know the final outcome for every child hosted, we know that they were given many new opportunities and loved in ways they likely have not experienced. Most importantly though, we prayed that the orphans would see Jesus. I believe that seeds were planted in their hearts and that they got to experience His love in a tangible way this Christmas. We pray with hope and faith that God will continue to water those seeds and they will flourish with new life.

This summer, will you consider sharing Christ's love with an orphan? For our family, the richness of trusting God to meet our needs while we cared for a needy orphan was life changing. It was an experience we will not forget. "A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

There are two hosting programs that will bring orphans to the Richmond area (and beyond) this summer. For more information, check out these websites:
Journeys of Joy (many WEPC folks hosted through them in 2012)
http://www.journeysofjoy.org/info/orphan-hosting-program-kids.php
and
New Horizons (a reputable Christian hosting organization)
http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/


or talk to a WEPC Love on a Mission MCG contact, or leave a message here!

Lots of ways to 'do' orphancare...

If you've heard it once, you've heard it loads of times here...there are lots of ways God uses our gifts, talents and resources that are at HIS DISPOSAL in caring for the needy, particularly orphans!

Cindy and Kaylee Ann Schwarz are headed back to Ethiopia to love on orphans and the people of Ethiopia.  As they go, they will also see if there are ways to partner with a community in a longer term relationship.  Keep them in your prayers as they get ready to depart on 3/8!

You can find out more details about ways you can be a part of their trip here:
made4mercy