ORPHANS. ADOPTION. SIMPLY LOVE.

OPEN YOUR HEARTS. Learn more about foster care in your area, domestic and international adoption. Ask. Seek. Pray. Act!!

Orphan Study Part 4 of 4.

A family to INSIPRE... Lucy Lane!!

This weekend, as we prepare for Orphan Care Sunday... we really want to inspire you to look deeply in your hearts and pray about adoption. A dear bloggy friend, Kristi just traveled to Ethiopia to bring home their baby girl, Lucy Lane. A friend created a beautiful video to celebrate this incredible miracle of Gotcha Day!
One less orphan.
Watch and be inspired to take action!

Powerful video U don't want to miss!

Orphans need a family, a church home, and resources to empower!!
Our BEST is to put children who do not have a mommy or daddy into homes and families... a family is a permanent solution!! It's radical hospitality!! Adoption requires sacrifice!!

Orphan Study part 3 of 4

O.R.P.H.A.N CARE

6 Key Values of O.R.P.H.A.N. Care that Every Person Can Do

O pen your heart to orphans: Understand God’s heart for the orphan. He cares for them and expects us to care as well.

R ecognize your responsibility: Every person can care for a child who is vulnerable or orphaned in practical ways both locally and globally. Become involved in an orphan-care ministry in your church.

P revent children from becoming orphans: Advocate for children. Prevent children from becoming orphans by offering care and treatment of mothers, fathers, and children who are living with HIV.

H elp in practical ways: Offer relief, food, and clothing but don’t stop there. Focus on family-based, church-initiated solutions which are sustainable and wholistic emphasizing education and community development.

A ccept orphans into families: Work toward solutions which allow children to grow in families—not just homes or institutions. Promote adoption and permanency as God’s idea for the health, growth, and healing of a child.

N ever forget the church: The local church via the family is God’s answer for the orphan. Create partnerships with churches worldwide, encouraging the local church to own and direct orphan-care efforts.

S - Submit to God's Word & pray

Gather together with other members of your church to study God's Word and pray about the ways God wants you care for orphans.

Orphan Study part 2 of 4

We can all make a difference!

I'm so blessed to be a part of Cherish Kids... a special program at our church that advocates for foster care, domestic & international adoption. Julie and I will be at James River this Sunday, July 19th at the EXPO booth all 3 services (8:30, 10:00 and 11:30am) The church service will be simply amazing... advocating for ORPHANS!! Please join us if you are in the area and come say hi:)

We had the opportunity to watch Rick and Kay Warren's powerful study on orphans today. I want to share it with you, too. Take the time and watch the video..... it's passionate and crystal clear on our role as followers of Jesus Christ and His commandments to take care of orphans. Here is Rick Warren's orphan website and I will post the 4 part video each day.

Wrap your hearts around this today... There are 3 things YOU CAN DO to help orphans. We are called to obey and simply love.
1. Relieve their hurts.
2. Defend their rights.
3. Provide long-term solutions.... ADOPTION!!
We can all make a difference.

Orphan Study SVCC Part 1 of 4.

Friday Update for Formula Project Ethiopia...LOOK WHAT WE DID TOGETHER!!!!

YOU DID IT....the goal for Nutramigen formula for malnourished babies at Zoie's Transitional Home was reached today!!!!!!
Over $12,500 !!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you imagine what the Ethiopia staff & nannies are going to feel when 400+ cans of formula arrives in Addis Ababa!!! They will be blown away, ecstatic & incredibly blessed knowing so many people care about our children waiting!! We are saving one child at a time. This is a miracle of love!!
Simply Love one another!!!
DONATE HERE!!
add "Ethiopia Formula" in the notes.

Zoie's Story... you CAN make a difference today in a child's life!!

We met Zoie Senait for the first time on July 7, 2008 in Addis Ababa at the AWAA Transitional Home. We had been told by many staff and families that had traveled to Ethiopia before us that our daughter was VERY tiny. Nothing could have prepared our hearts for what we would see.


Our precious daughter was indeed tiny...
at 6 months old, she only weighed 8 pounds. All I could say when they placed her in my arms was...she's so tiny. Her head and legs and arms and tiny feet were the size of a newborn infant. I had brought a beautiful flower head band to give her, but it looked massive on her tiny head.

She had no strength or energy due to her health issues. We were so happy that day and in love with our sweet girl, but we knew we were facing dire circumstances. She had pneumonia, dehydration, a severe upper respiratory infection and fever. Her tummy was swollen, due to malnourishment, her tiny chest was sunken and her breathing fast and labored, even her head veins were bulging
All she could do was stare at us with her enormous beautiful eyes. She needed our help!! Our second night at the hotel with Zoie, we knew we were in trouble. She stopped breathing several times and in our panic and fear we made the difficult decision to take her to the hospital. The Hilton Hotel staff were incredible and they helped pile our family in a van in the middle of the night. The head nurse from the Transitional Home (our angel!) met up with us and we searched the night for a hospital and doctor who would help our tiny girl. We drove around the city for hours, but could not find any help and in desperation prayed to God for His protection. At 6AM, we finally made a connection with beautiful Dr. Sophie and she met us at her clinic. It was one of the most painful, challenging, uncertain nights of our journey. We started to unravel and doubt and fear what was going to happen next. Zoie Senait was fighting for her life!

We started feeding Zoie the same formula Tom Davis is donating to the AWAA TH. She ravishingly ate every 2 hours and we watched a miracle happen before our eyes. Within 24 hrs we could literally see our daughter healing. We started healing. We believed and trusted and rejoiced and celebrated our tiny miracle!

Zoie had been in the best care and showered with love at the Transitional Home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The staff and nannies are our heroes!! However,they are desperate to have baby formula that will help the children waiting for their families heal and grow and thrive. At the time, the staff did the very BEST they could with the nutritional resources they had. When we heard they came close many times to running out of formula, it broke our hearts.

Donating $30 for life-saving formula for babies in Ethiopia will make a huge difference in ways you may never understand. This formula would have made a major impact on our daughter's health. It's something simple we can all do, but it's changing the world one baby at a time. Simply love!!

Please DONATE today

The best is yet to come!!click photo to enlarge!!
(Fat Tuesday 09)

(the bow fits:)

Tom Davis' RIVITING new book trailer 'Scared'-donate today for Africa Formula Project!!

AWAA families...did you know *Tom Davis-website* is helping OUR Ethiopia Transitional Home? He is helping bring the best formula to our precious babies waiting!! Please take time to watch his amazing book trailer. Lets all make a difference & help provide formula...we can save a life.
Our Zoie was 6 months old & had dropped to only 8 pounds when we arrived in Ethiopia. She was so tiny & malnourished. I pray that the formula provided will help our babies in the TH thrive & grow very chubby:)

Book Trailer-take a few seconds to load!!
*Scared coming June 2009*

Scared - A Novel on the Edge of the World from Children's HopeChest on Vimeo.

A note from Tom:

URGENT NEED: Forumla Needed for Malnourished Babies in Ethiopia!! Famine and poverty are increasing the rates of malnourished infant babies in Ethiopia. Children's HopeChest has worked with the America World Adoption Agency (AWAA) on projects in Ethiopia and Russia over the past five years. This request came to us from their transition home where they are receiving severely malnourished babies into their care. This month, in honor of mother's day, I want to raise $12,500 to provide specialized baby formula to this transition home for these malnourished babies. (Please put "Ethiopia Formula" in the note section of the donate page.)

To kick this off, a friend of Children's HopeChest has offered a matching gift for the first $500 we receive toward this project.
DONATE TODAY HERE-link or on the "badge" provided to the right.

My Adoption Hero: part 4... Mentor (Jamie Jo Braner!!)

Have you ever been cliff diving? I spent summers at Kanakuk Kamp in the Ozarks and remember feeling petrified standing on the edge of a bluff looking down at the water below, trying to summon up the courage to jump. I never had the guts to make the big leap, unless I had a friend hold my hand...then I jumped screaming at the top of my lungs!! I guess you could say I was afraid of heights and danger and loss and pain and wild adventures.

Adoption is a combination of all the things I'm afraid of. For years, I wanted to make the big jump, but was too afraid. I had no idea what was below... would the waters be too deep or dangerously choppy? Roger and I believed with all our hearts God wanted us to adopt a child. But we always came up with every excuse in the book NOT to adopt: *we have two older children *we are getting old *it's very expensive *life is too convenient... the bottom line, we were afraid!!

My third adoption hero is Jamie Jo Braner, who mentored me through the process from A to Z. She was the one who finally said….no more excuses!! Jamie was tough as nails when she needed to be, but promised she would hold our hands. She never let go. Our mentor helped us with every single piece of paperwork or document to complete the home study and dossier. I would often call confused about a form and she would race down the hill to help me (we’re neighbors:) In the adoption world…we call this part of the process *paper pregnancy* and its challenging and miserable and painful and frustrating.
She never let go. When I would whine about how hard the waiting was, she would pray and support and encourage. She never let go.

Jamie and her husband, Andy have dedicated their time and resources to help many families during the adoption process. During our wait for Zoie, they adopted a precious baby girl from Rwanda and are still waiting for their daughter in China. They host an adoption fellowship group… mentoring families every month in their community. Jamie Jo, thank you for holding on and never letting go during our crazy adoption journey. You held our hands so we could JUMP!!

The Braners are moving to Durango, CO on May 3rd....you will be dearly missed!!
Here is their blog to stay in touch...branerpartyof7

AnNi Designs- Braner's non-profit ministry!!

Click on the picture to visit AnNi- a simple way to help support adoption!!

My Adoption Hero: part 3... Hope (Chapman Family!!)

I remember walking through Target and this adorable book caught my eye.
Shaoey and Dot. It’s the cutest Chinese face with a bug on her nose. I picked it up and knew instantly I would need to get this for my daughter for Christmas. As I read the introduction from the authors… I started weeping. Just like their daughter, our nine year old daughter had prayed faithfully for an entire year that we would adopt!!

My third adoption hero... who exemplifies hope, is the Chapman family. They have been the voice for millions of orphans. They founded Shaohannah’s Hope, “which exists to enable children living without the love and hope of any earthly family to be adopted into “covenant homes.” This amazing family adopted three beautiful girls from China. They have provided thousands of families financial grants to offer support and hope.

This was the statement that moved me to tears…
“Adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ. Psalm 68:5-6 tells us that as the Father to the fatherless, God delights in setting the lonely in families. It has been our experience that the scriptural mandate of caring for orphans, such as the one found in James 1:27 is really a wonderful invitation to experience God in a profound way by being a part of His sovereign plan for His precious children.”

I signed the front cover of the book…dated Christmas 2005. Dearest H, you are our ambassador in this adoption journey. God is using you to help us move forward! Please keep praying and never give up!! Someday God may have a “miracle girl” for us to call our own. Love, Mommy

Thank you Chapman family for giving our family hope to adopt! You have set the bar high and poured out a tremendous amount of resources that give families hope all over the world. We are honored that God directed us to America World Adoption (your agency, too) and even though we did not adopt from China like we first had planned….God had our precious Zoie waiting for us in Africa. Thank you for your ministry, your support, your encouragement and your faithfulness to advocate for orphans!!
www.shaohannahshope.org
I can't wait to share my hero #4!!!

My Adoption Hero: part 2... Awareness (Angelina Jolie!!)

On September 5, 2005, I was flipping through the pages of a People Magazine and I noticed a beautiful photograph of a huge movie star and her recently adopted daughter. Roger and I were at the “talking” phase at that time, but still had not made any plans yet to adopt a child. We had no idea where to adopt or who would help us. I cut out this article and saved it in my Bible (I still have it) just in case.

My second adoption hero ... who exemplifies awareness, is Angelina Jolie!! For me, I knew in my heart, if this actress could adopt, maybe so could we!! We had no idea about the process, but I finally had one name of one adoption agency that we could trust. Regardless if you agree with Angelina’s career, you CAN’T disagree with the fact that she has helped spread incredible awareness concerning adoption all over the world. She did something only a superstar could do ... splash photographs in every major magazine and interviews about the problem of millions of orphans in need. She has adopted from countries that still have their doors shut tight, but they let her in!! It’s incredible the resources she has poured into making the world aware and understand that there is a way you can make a difference!

Just like her character in the movies, she is a real-life Lara Croft. We have this strong, independent, intelligent, passionate, independent woman who has let us watch action packed adventures, battling the bad guys, eliminating any obstacles that stands in her way, and in the end discovers treasure in 3 third world countries: Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam!! Bravo!!!

Thank you Angelina Jolie for being passionate about orphans & helping the public *awareness* of children's needs all over the world!! I hope we can all join you in helping spread the news...

Who is your adoption hero...I want to know:)
My hero #3 coming soon!!

My Adoption Hero: part 1... Courage (Randi Shetley!!)

Our daughters took dance class together, so we started hanging out in the Starbucks upstairs sipping our grande skinny Caramel Macchiatos:) Little did I know the impact those coffee dates would have in my life. Over our first coffee, I asked her to tell me the story of her adoption from Ethiopia. With her drama background, the story she told me was mesmerizing… just like a movie. Her adoption journey left me feeling like I could accomplish anything. A lot like the movie Seabiscuit where you find yourself standing up in the movie theater cheering as the horses are battling down the home stretch. A story about not having a chance in the world to defeating every obstacle put before her. I was inspired by her story of courage and determination and perseverance and ultimately love. She is one of the first brave pioneers that adopted from Ethiopia, without the assistance of a staff or agency to help her.

My first adoption hero...who exemplifies courage, is Randi Shetley. She and her amazing husband, Shane received a referral for 2 sibling boys from Awassa, Ethiopia in 2001. Randi’s mom owned an adoption agency, but this was brand new territory for them. Americans had rarely had a successful experience adopting from Ethiopia. They waited 15 months to travel to Addis Ababa to bring the boys home, but tragically, they lost the boys to circumstances that were out of their control. The day they heard the news, they were shocked to hear they received another referral for a boy-4 and a girl-6

This time, Randi completed her new paperwork and updated her home study in record speed and 3 months later headed to Addis Ababa to officially complete the adoption procedure…ALONE!! The family that traveled right before her had spent 10 weeks in Ethiopia to bring their children home, so she knew she was heading into the unknown... the road less traveled, literally. Every morning she headed to court, but was turned away day after day due to the judge out fishing (for real!!) She hit every obstacle imaginable during her extended time in Ethiopia, but never gave up. Finally meeting the judge, he took one look at her completed authenticated dossier and threw it in his garbage can…yelling at her (and I quote) NO GOOD…START OVER!! She left his office completely discouraged, but not destroyed. She would pull out all the tools she had and start again. I always had a hard time believing this part of her story, but it was true. My adoption hero started over from scratch in a foreign country. For all of us that understand the incredible amount of paperwork that is involved…this was truly a heroic, action packed, massive undertaking. Randi never gave up. She trusted in God to help her through every single detail and He showered her with mighty miracles every step of the way. She was protected from the corruption at every level, but slowly… page-by-page, she completed a new dossier. She felt beat up, bruised and punished emotionally, but in the end, after spending over 3 weeks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she WON the race and came home with her beautiful children!!!

I met Megin, her first week in America. My husband and I were helping out at Kindergarten indoor recess, due to the rainy day. I recognized her immediately as the precious girl recently adopted from Ethiopia, but had no idea her new mom was going to be my hero:) I smiled at her & she immediately came over and sat in my lap. I was in heaven. I signaled for Roger to come over and say hi. He smiled and reached out to pat her shoulder. All of a sudden, this quiet calm little darling let out a blood-curling scream & went into hysterics. Poor Rog waved his hands up in the air, so no one would think he was pinching the screaming child.
Beautiful, courageous, radiant, vivacious Megin is now 12 years old and is our adopted niece. She still teases Roger by screaming at the top of her lungs when she sees him!!!! LOL

My adoption hero started a ripple effect in our community. There are dozens of families that are adopting from Ethiopia, but I have had the rare opportunity to know one of the *pioneers* who helped pave the way to make these adoptions even possible. Thank you for being so brave and strong and passionate about the children of Ethiopia. Thank you for making a difference. Thank you for holding my hand through the crazy ups & downs, never doubting for a second that we would bring Zoie home.

Randi & Shane currently live in Kansas with their Awesome 5 children …2 biological and 3 gifts from Ethiopia!!!!
We love you!!!

*Please share YOUR adoption hero story*
I can't wait to share my Adoption Hero #2

My Adoption Hero.

Do you have an adoption hero? Someone that has inspired you to take that crazy leap into the adoption world. I have adoption superheroes. My heroes may not even realize they are my hero. They certainly don't *fly* around promoting the fact that they are THE one that inspired Kari to adopt a child from Ethiopia. I've thought a lot about what each of my heroes did to inspire and educate and help and advocate and pave the way for my family to have the proper tools to adopt a child. What kind of characteristics does an adoption hero have to make that kind of impact in my life or on the world for that matter? What kind of personality does an adoption hero have to create the passion, the driving force in others to adopt?

In my next 5 posts, I'm going to share with you my 5 Adoption Heroes. The individuals that inspired me, as well as others, to join the incredible community of adoption. I want to honor my adoption heroes and celebrate their compassion, their perseverance, their strength, their faith, their hope, their passion, their courage to make a difference for children in need in their own community and all around the world.

On Monday, I will share with you who my first adoption hero is.
Be inspired!!

One Day Without Shoes...April 16th!! *TOMS*

(Zoie & H barefoot:)

* Fact #1: In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to food, clean water and to seek medical help.
* Fact #2: Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
* Fact #3: Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
* Fact #4: In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
* Fact #5: Podoconiosis is 100% preventable by wearing shoes.

The impact a pair of shoes has on a child can be life-changing. Help TOMS raise awareness this April 16th. Take off your shoes today!!!

Haregewoin Teferra *goodbye*

My heart is sad. Somehow I missed the heartbreaking news that on March 17, we lost a hero in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"If I was asked to name my Top 5 favorite books, without a doubt There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Green would be on that list. It is an amazing, amazing book about orphans in Ethiopia. A lot of the book focuses on Haregewoin Teferra, a woman who, after the death of her husband, decides to stop thinking of her own unhappiness and begins taking in children orphaned by AIDS. After filling her home with these kids, she branches out to running 2 orphanages, including places for children with HIV, which many orphanages at the time when she began a few years ago, before HIV medication was widely available in ET, would not do. Melissa just posted on her blog the following; "I have learned this morning that our dear friend Mrs. Haregewoin Teferra has died. She felt sick, called for a friend, and died in her bed. I have no more details at this time. I will post here as I learn more." I am so sad to hear of this, as Haregewoin is such an amazing woman and was making HUGE changes in Ethiopia."
Praying for ALL her children!!
(thanks Nikki)