His little Feet Concert!

The family and I went to see His Little Feet perform. His Little Feet’s Children’s Choir travels the United States, being the voice for orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide. The purpose of the tour is to bring the awareness to the millions of children around the world in need of care, as well as facilitate opportunities for Americans to respond to the needs of children through giving, sponsoring, going and adopting. Oddly enough, the missions group they promote is the same organization I hope to go to Africa with in April!~ www.visitingorphans.org


We had a lovely time seeing all those gorgeous Haitian children sing with their beautiful proud voices. It was hard for my children to learn that each and every one of the children were orphans. Real life orphans. It was harder yet to see that the 9 year olds were the size of my sized 6 year old. These kids were TINY compared to my kiddos. I explained to my children that it often is the case with orphans that may not have had healthy amounts of fresh food to be smaller in appearance than those that are well taken care of from birth. My children could hardly believe their eyes! It was moving to hear accounts on how even teenagers can help change the world for 1! The most uplifting moment for me was listening to these precious Haitian children sing "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord." I'm sure all of us know the hardship affecting so many Haitians right now. These JOYFUL children sing of God's goodness even though they are without parents. I'm sure they get asked all the time if they are available for adoption! Huatzin wanted to take the two 9 year old's Falencia and Johnson home. ;-) Please consider going to a His Little Feet event, or booking a HLF event in your area or at your church.
http://www.hislittlefeet.org/Tour_Schedule_1.html

Sunday, January 23, 2011
9:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
Coastline Church
2215 Calle Barcelona
Carlsbad, CA 92009

Wednesday, January 26, 2011
10:00 a.m.
Faith Christian Academy - School Chapel
450 W. Elm St.
Coalinga, CA 93210

Wednesday, January 26, 2011
7:00 p.m.
Faith Fellowship Church
450 W. Elm St.
Coalinga, CA 93210

Saturday, January 29, 2011
5:00 p.m.
South Hills Community Church
2585 S. Main Street
Corona, CA 92882

Sunday, January 30, 2011
9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
South Hills Community Church
2585 S. Main Street
Corona, CA 92882

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
8:20 a.m. & 9:45 a.m.
Capistrano Valley Christian School - Chapel
32032 Del Obispo Street
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Thursday, February 3, 2011
6:00 p.m.
Capistrano Valley Christian School - Family Night
32032 Del Obispo Street
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Sunday, February 20, 2011
6:00 p.m.
Calvary Church
2101 Gay Street
Longmont, CO 80501

Sunday, February 27, 2011
10:00 a.m.
The Life Connection Church
1015 West Main Street
Jenks, OK 74037

Wednesday, March 2, 2011
7:00 p.m.
Victory Church
4300 N MacArthur
Oklahoma City, OK 73122

Sunday, April 10, 2011
9:00 a.m. & 11:15 a.m.
Tower Hill First Presbyterian Church at Red Bank
255 Harding Road
Red Bank, NJ 07701

Wednesday, April 13, 2011
7:00 p.m.
Word of Faith Fellowship
3871 Heritage Parkway
Dearborn, MI 48124

Sunday, April 17, 2011
5:30 p.m.
Canaan Baptist Church
5409 Baumgartner Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63129 tiny.

December 1st World AIDS Day

Enable Education (Don't forget to pause the music on playlist so that you can hear the videos)
Dec 1 is World AIDS Day-Consider how you can help the millions of children orphaned by AIDS! Please watch, read, share and pray for ways to help. (James 1:27)
Watch the video below and educate yourself about the TRUTH! Also, please grab the Dec 6 issue of People magazine and read about an amazing adoptive family (Kiel & Carolyn Vetter Twietmeyer )!The Truth Pandemic World AIDS Day Campaign is part of an ongoing educational initiative to encourage public awareness about the facts regarding HIV transmission and orphans living with HIV/AIDS. Project HOPEFUL believes that education is key to addressing the needs of orphans with HIV and families/individuals who would seek to adopt them. Truth Pandemic - Learn the facts about HIV/AIDS and Adoption, How you can get the virus and how you cannot. Help spread the Truth Pandemic video by sharing it with 5 of your friends. www.ProjectHopeful.org

How can YOU help for World AIDS day?
http://www.hopechest.org/5for50/ There are 5 things that every one of us can do to help the 50 million people in our world suffering from HIV/AIDS. Here’s how it works:
Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.
This is a way everyone can participate and be part of the solution to a world crisis.

A few HIV Adoption Resources
http://www.projecthopeful.org/resources
http://www.positivelyorphaned.com/

History of Foster Care in the United States

History of Foster Care in the United States

Some of the earliest documentation of children being cared for in foster homes can be found in the Old Testament and in the Talmud. These references establish caring for dependent children as a duty under law. Early Christian church records also show children were boarded with "worthy widows" who were paid by collections from the congregation.

It was English Poor Law, however, that lead to development and eventual regulation of family foster care in the United States. In 1562, these laws allowed the placement of poor children into indentured service until they came of age. This practice was imported to the United States and was the beginning of placing children into homes. Even though indentured service permitted abuse and exploitation, it was a step forward from almshouses where children did not learn a trade and were exposed to horrendous surroundings and unsavory adults. Various forms of indenturing children persisted into the first decade of this century.

In 1636, less than thirty years after the founding of the Jamestown Colony, at the age of seven, BENJAMIN EATON became this nation's first foster child.

In 1853, Charles Loring Brace began the free foster home movement. A minister and director of the New York Children's Aid Society, Brace was concerned about the large number of immigrant children sleeping in the streets of New York. He devised a plan to provide them homes by advertising in the South and West for families willing to provide free homes for these children, whether for charitable reasons or whatever help these children could be to them. In many cases, these children were placed in circumstances similar to indenture. However, Brace's daring and creative action became the foundation for the foster care movement as it exists today.

As a result of the New York Children's Aid Society's placements, sectarian social agencies and state governments became involved in foster home placements. Three states led the movement. Massachusetts, prior to 1865, began paying board to families who took care of children too young to be indentured. Pennsylvania passed the first licensing law in 1885 which made it a misdemeanor to care for two or more unrelated children without a license. South Dakota began providing subsidies to the Children's Home Society after it was organized in 1893 for its public child care work.

During the early 1900's, social agencies began to supervise foster parents. Records were kept, children's individual needs were considered when placements were made, and the federal government began supporting state inspections of family foster homes. Services were provided to natural families to enable the child to return home and foster parents were now seen as part of a professional team working to find permanency for dependent children.

Isaiah 65:24

Isaiah 65:24

It shall come to pass that BEFORE they call, I WILL answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. isn't this so good.what a reminder that before we even ask of the Lord, He is answering.....this encouraged me greatly.the creator of the universe who spoke this world into existence is waiting to hear from me....Jesus already knows our prayer but there is life and healing in the obedience of speaking it to Him i hope it encourages you too.

~~~~~~
This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa...
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but
in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby
and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the
baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an
incubator).
We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the
equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student
midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that
the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came
back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst
(rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water
bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled
milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst
water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores
down forest pathways.
"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can,
and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily
die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because
her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send
us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be
dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And
while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so
she'll know You really love her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly
say,"Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I
know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits,
aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would
be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost
four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was
teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was
a car at my front door.
By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda,
was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could
not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded
the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.
Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard
box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes
sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of
mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the
weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be?
I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I
cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He
could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward,
crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small,
beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I g over with you and give this dolly
to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of
the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in
answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
"Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24)