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Orphan Sunday resources

It sneaks up on us every year... Suddenly, it's November, and it's Orphan Sunday... and we're not prepared.

Never fear, Orphan Sunday site is near! http://orphansunday.org/resources/ - hymns and songs, bulletin inserts, children and youth ideas... It's all there! :)

Right now, immersed as I am in orphan care, I'm reading Russell Moore's "A guide to Adoption and Orphan Care." Just my speed - short little chapters from different authors.

I'm currently thinking through HOW to care for orphans - because, an orphan is not an orphan is not an orphan.  There are "true" orphans, no relatives, no options, no hope.  There are partial orphans - maybe they have one parent who is not equipped to care for them, or extended family who is not equipped to care for them.  And there are all kinds of flavors of orphans in between.

Our children's home is home to children who, for the most part, have some relatives somewhere.  Our goal is to place them with their relatives when that situation is deemed stable enough and the children are less vulnerable (i.e. older, not ill, etc.).  We then follow with the children in their village with their relatives, support them where needed, and we are working out, as a team, what discipleship of those children should look like.

Few would argue that a family-style setting is ideal for a children's home... but what does that look like for children who are not intended to be with us for their entire lives? It really becomes a pseudo-family setting, because a family is truly forever, but our goal is to provide a semblance of family for a few vulnerable years of a child's life.  Our goal is to invest heavily in the time that we DO have with each child.

I welcome your thoughts!

Isaiah 1:17 "Defend the cause of the fatherless."
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Lydia's Light said…
It is very hard to find a balance. I have 5 1/2 foster kids...lol...one comes and goes because of his unstable home. All of them have parents, except one who was abandoned at a hospital. I think the hardest is trying to educate the parents. They are stuck in their culture and can't see the benefits of even providing half-way decent food (if they are able). For me, it's just something I have to entrust to the Lord every day for wisdom. Living in a better area now, not in the village, the higher class people are beginning to see the need but since it's not bothering their family can we ever get them to do something about it? Especially for the special needs children (which are 3 of the ones I have).
7:26 AM
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