Adopted by Design

Hope For Orphans Institute Conference

The Hope for Orphans Institute conference is designed for “preparing the Church for today’s toughest adoption issues” and will be held September 16-17^th at The Hope Center in Plano, Texas.  This conference is designed to equip and help orphan ministry leaders, families, pastors, counselors, social workers and advocates to better serve the increasing number of families adopting special needs, at-risk and older children.

Leading experts will be there to better serve families at all stages of the adoption process.  Additionally, each speaker will hold an extended Q&A session just for HFO Institute attendees following each presentation.

Licensed Social Workers, Counselors, and Marriage and Family Therapists can receive Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.

Register today at HFOInstitute.org or call 800-358-6329.  The $99 registration fee includes lunch on Friday and a special concert with Geoff Moore on Friday evening.

 

Encouragement for Today

 Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

Family Spotlight

Let America World spotlight your family!

Over the years, I have had the wonderful task to work on America World’s annual calendar.  Through these pictures, I’ve been provided the unique privilege to peer into the joys and love that families experience through the wonderful act of adoption.

Each year I speak with families who love the calendar just as much as I do (if not, more) because the pictures remind them that God is actively building families through adoption.  Time and time again, folks have communicated to me that they appreciate being able to celebrate the miracle of adoption as they view the beaming face of each adopted child.

Obviously, the calendar is only a small representation of all of the families that have been completed through the miracle of adoption.  We receive thousands of pictures each year from families whom are excited to show others how much of a blessing their son(s) and/ or daughter(s) are.

Because it is our desire to be able to celebrate families that have been built through God’s design of adoption more than just once a year, America World is beginning a new venture on our blog: the Family Spotlight.

Here’s how it will work:

Every week we’ll put the spotlight on an adopted child and/ or their families on our blog.  We’ll include a handful of pictures (provided by the family).  We will also provide participating families with a handful of fun and simple questions for the parents or the child to answer and return to us.  For example, you might see the questions: What are your child(ren)’s favorite activities?  What is one favorite family memory?  How have you seen your child(ren) be a blessing to extended family/ your church/ your community?  Once we've collected all the pieces, we'll post these on our blog to share with others.

In this way, we hope that families will not only be able to celebrate God’s faithfulness to your family, but also to feel more connected with the adoption community at large.

If you are interested in being featured in the Family Spotlight, or simply have questions, please email your pictures and completed copy of the Media Consent and Release Form* to media@awaa.org.  (These submitted pictures can also be used for our 2012 Annual Calendar Contest, if you wish.)

*Once you have filled out, signed and returned the current version of the Media Release Form to America World, we will keep this on file so that you will not have to fill this out again for any upcoming projects or events.

In Him,

Jason West, Director of Development

CEO Blog

I’m writing to let families know about a great opportunity to attend an adoption conference September 16-17.  The conference is being put on by Hope For Orphans and features many of the best speakers on adoption related issues.  One of my friends and our agency’s Board Member, Mark Gregston, will be presenting, along with my friend, Paul Pennington, and other experts in this field.  The conference is a great opportunity for adoptive families, prospective adoptive families as well as for adoption professionals.  I encourage you to check out the conference’s website and consider attending.

Vote for Visiting Orphans

We have a wonderful opportunity to help Visiting Orphans be blessed with a grant of $50,000 this year from “Giving of Life”!  Right now Visiting Orphans is sending over 1,000 men and women of God each year to walk out James 1:27 in thirteen different countries. With a $50,000 grant, they could possibly double these numbers, reaching hundreds more orphans in over 26 countries, bringing hope and love to each one of them… changing their lives by sharing the good news that they are adopted by their Abba Father, and that they are not forgotten by Him or us!

You can help VO continue their plight for the Orphan by voting for Visiting Orphans on Giving of Life. It’s easy. It’s simple, and both those who visit and are visited will be blessed. Click here to vote for Visiting Orphans.

Welcome Home!

Please join us in welcoming home more families from China. The travel group consisted of families who departed for China in July and were in country for about 1 ½ - 2 weeks completing their adoptions. The first few days of the trip were spent in Beijing experiencing the Chinese culture and visiting many different sites such as The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and more.  The families spent one week in their child’s province where they were united with their children and completed adoption paperwork and appointments. The last week was spent in Guangzhou obtaining their child’s U.S. visa to fly home. Please join us in welcoming these families and their children back to the United States!

China Waiting Children Program July Referrals

The China Program team is excited to announce that throughout the month of July, 10 referrals were accepted by their forever families through the Waiting Children (WC) Program.  These referrals were for boys and girls of all ages and medical needs. The referral wait time continues to vary depending on the age request, gender and special needs a family is open to considering. We know many families are waiting for their referrals and we continue to pray for all families throughout their process. Families who would like to learn more about the program and referral opportunities can contact China Program staff.

2011 National Reunion - Thank You for a Great Day!

America World staff was excited to spend last Saturday with many families that attended our 2011 National Reunion. A big THANK YOU to all those who came out and made it a success! We had families from as far away as South Dakota and Florida join the festivites.

For the staff, it was a joy to see the fruit of our work in so many happy children running around. Families, we hope you enjoyed the sweet fellowship of other families who share the same passion and heart for adoption. What a blessing to marvel together in the way God has designed each family.

We will add more photos to our Facebook page this week. Feel free to add your own to the wall and let us know what you thought about this year's reunion!