Going to the most vulnerable & least protected to end human trafficking.
Dear Orphan Lover,When I was a child, we used to sing a song called His Banner Over Me is Love. One of the stanzas we sang declared, “He brought me to His banqueting table, His banner over me is love.”
Even though I was born and raised Appalachian-style poor, I never went hungry. My experience of being able to tangibly taste, touch, and feel the Goodness of God as expressed to me through family, church, food, and material provision cleared a logical path for me to understand God cared for me. When I did suffer, having a baseline experience of the Goodness of God made it easier for me to trust that He would help me through those difficult times.
When I compare my relative “good” life with that of a scared and lonely orphan’s, the question comes to me, “How does the extreme opposite of that “good” experience affect an orphan who has known nothing but desperation, fear, loss, disease, and hunger?”
Perhaps that—more than any other reason—is why God tells us to care for the Fatherless, so that they may know and experience their Father as they taste, touch, and feel the banquet of His Goodness.
So many demands at the table of our lives can crowd out the orphan’s hunger and despair. What measures can we take to ensure we make room to hear their cry?
One way to “make room” might be to set aside intentional time to ask God to open our eyes and increase our heart for the orphan. As you plan your 2012 calendar, I ask you to consider setting aside one day to be a banner of His love over the world’s most vulnerable children.
Just one day, November 11.
Each November Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) calls for churches around the world to set aside one Sunday to focus on our call to care for the fatherless. This year that Sunday is November 11th.
As thousands of churches around the world devote their entire worship service to hear God’s heart for the fatherless, you have a unique opportunity to make a global impact from within your local church. November 11th, Orphan Sunday, is beautiful way to unite, educate, and mobilize the members of your church to be His banner of love over the orphan.
Many churches don’t stop with sermons or music, but also hold public concerts, shared meals, prayer vigils, dramas, and youth activities—all designed to equip and ignite their members toward care for the orphan.
As the Spirit rouses Believers to the plight of the orphan and prompts them into action, people need a channel through which they can respond. Adoption agencies are one venue, of course. Thanks, in large part, to CAFO’s powerful work, thousands of American Believers have opened their hearts, homes, and families to an orphan through adoption.
Still, whether due to war, corrupt regimes, US sanctions, or inaccessibility, adoption is not an option for millions of orphans in our world. How can we invite these most vulnerable of the vulnerable into our lives, if not our living rooms? Orphan Sunday provides an excellent opportunity to introduce your pastor, Sunday school class, or other parts of your church to Make Way Partners and the unadoptable orphans of no-go zones.
November may seem a long time away, but church calendars are planned far in advance, and now is the time to begin preparation for this most important day of our liturgical year...a time of true worship according to James 1:27.
On November 11th, thousands of locally led, orphan-focused events will resound across America, all moving toward a single goal: that God’s great love for the orphan will echo through our lives. Take action today to make sure that your church finds their unique voice in God’s orchestra for the orphan.
One day. One voice. One purpose. Now is the time to approach your pastor and mission committee.
For Orphan Sunday resources click here: http://orphansunday.org/
Cristobal’s story http://kimberlylsmithblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/hope-rushed-in-starting-new-year-right.html is a great way to introduce unadoptable orphans and the work of Make Way Partners to your church. For Make Way Partners’ material to share with your church please contact Audrey Moore at audreym@makewaypartners.org
Forward this email, pick up the phone, offer a prayer.
From under His banner of love,
k
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