Adoption Blog

Spirit of Adoption Seminars

There are only 14 more “Spirit of Adoption” seminars left in 2009.  It is National Adoption Month and as a follow up to Orphan Sunday, now is a great time to invite your family and friends to a seminar near you.  Remaining 2009 seminars will take place in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.  We are already beginning to add seminars for early 2010 as well.  For more details on upcoming seminars, visit us at www.awaa.org/events and register to attend today!

“Growing In My Heart, Not Under It” Story

America World Associate, adoptive mother and freelance writer, Andrea Kidd, recently wrote an article for SunburstWomen.com.  Check out her story at http://sunburstwomen.com!

 

America World's 2010 Calendar Contest and National Reunion

Time is running out!  There are only two weeks left until all pictures must be received for America World's Photo Calendar Contest, as well as for registering for America World's National Reunion. 

Don't wait until the last minute to try and participate in either of these wonderful events!

All photos for the 2010 Photo Calendar Contest must be received by Friday, October 16th.  All families must register for the National Reunion by Saturday, October 10th.

For further details on the 2010 Photo Calendar Contest, you can click on the following link, or copy and paste it into your web browser's address bar:  http://www.awaa.org/events/photocontest.aspx.  You may also email any questions to media@awaa.org or jason.west@awaa.org.

Similarly, for more information on our upcoming National Reunion, you can simply go to:  http://www.awaa.org/events/national-reunion-2009.aspx.  If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to email national.reunion@awaa.org or lisa.mcmillan@awaa.org.

We look forward to your participation in the Photo Contest as well as seeing you at the Reunion!

“Spirit of Adoption” Seminar – Boise, ID

“I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you.” John 14:8

We had the privilege to help facilitate an AWAA adoption seminar in Boise Idaho in August. It was the first AWAA seminar conducted in Boise and we were very encouraged to see how many couples came to hear about the “Spirit of Adoption”.  We, along with two other adoptive families shared our stories, as well as showed the AWAA DVD presentation.  Our prayer is that each person who came to the seminar left feeling encouraged and blessed in some small way, and that fruit would come from this seminar. We thank God for all that He has done and for His heart for the fatherless.  We are all blessed to be used by Him and we look forward to seeing what He will continue to do in the lives of these families that attended the seminar. Thank you AWAA for all you do in prayer and hard work to spread this message, and help bring families together through the miracle of adoption.  God is so good!

 

Mike and Sarah Strand
AWAA California Associates

Annual AWA Photo Calendar Contest!

It is once again time for the much-anticipated Photo Calendar Contest! 

Submit your favorite pictures of your adopted child(ren) - limit of 5 submitted photos, per family - to media@awaa.org.  These can be pictures of your whole family, multiple family members, or just individual pictures of your children.  At the beginning of November, America World's corporate staff will vote on their top 13 favorite pictures.  The Grand Prize winner will be placed on the front cover of America World's 2010 Calendar and Runner-Ups will be placed on various months throughout the calendar.  All winners will also receive multiple free 2010 calendars as well as other gifts from America World.  All America World families, no matter what stage of the process they are in, will also receive one free 2010 calendar.

For further instructions and guidelines, visit our Annual Photo Calendar Contest page at http://www.awaa.org/events/photocontest.aspx.

This fun contest started on August 20th, but will end on Friday, October 16th - so don't wait until the last minute to submit your pictures!

“Orphan Sunday” Website Launch

After a technical delay, the new “Orphan Sunday” website is now up and running at www.OrphanSunday.org .  At  the official website you’ll find:

• Ideas for local Orphan Sunday events;
• Support materials you can download for free, from posters to study notes;
• A national map to add your local event and view others;
• Contact information for your state’s Orphan Sunday coordinator;
• And much more…

Orphan Sunday!

Orphan Sunday 2009 - November 8th

Don’t Miss the Opportunity!

We’re thrilled to announce the official launch of the 2009 Orphan Sunday campaign!  November 8, 2009 is simply this:  a chance for Christians whose hearts burn for orphans to spread that fire to their church, community and friends.  This day is for you!

Join with individuals and groups across America and beyond, planning your own local Orphan Sunday activity.  From a sermon or prayer during Sunday services to a small group study or prayer gathering, from a concert to a recruiting event for an orphan-serving ministry.

At  the official Orphan Sunday Website you’ll find:
• Ideas for local Orphan Sunday events;
• Support materials you can download for free, from posters to study notes;
• A national map to add your local event and view others;
• Contact information for your state’s Orphan Sunday coordinator;
• And much more…

We also invite you to help spread the word.  Please forward this information to friends, highlight Orphan Sunday on your blog, and add the banner (below) to your website.

 

Each local Orphan Sunday event will be a candle lit to cast light on God’s call to “defend the cause of the fatherless.”  Together, they add up to a nationwide blaze.

Your Church and the Orphan Workshop

Join us for Family Life’s Your Church and the Orphan workshop on October 3, 2009 at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA. We know from the Word that we are to plead the case of the orphan, the poor, needy and destitute. As the Lord opens our eyes to the millions of orphans around the world, but especially those in Africa due to the AIDS pandemic, we hope to affect a long-term solution of involvement among God’s people here in America through God’s means of grace such as this seminar. 

If you have not been to the Hope for Orphans website, please visit it (http://www.hopefororphans.org/Display.asp?Page=churchandorphan) to see the Ten Ways we can help the Orphan (it isn’t just adoption) and the seminar information/registration. If you have not watched it, please view a 14 minute promotional DVD: http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e91ee405ae528cf582e1.  Family Life wants teams of 4-12 per church, each registering individually on their website. The event is $20 per person for the day (9a-4p) and does include lunch.  James 1:27

Rob Mitchell and the Castaway Kid

"Castaway Kid" is a true story of a homeless and hopeless boy who grows up to be a man who finds, not only the home and hope that he had been searching for, but more than he could have ever asked or imagined, in Jesus Christ.  The author, Rob Mitchell vividly paints the picture of his life experiences as an orphaned child and how he overcame the feelings of rejection and ultimately learned to forgive.  This book will rivet you from start to finish.  We highly encourage anyone to pick up a copy of this book and give it a read.  You will not be disappointed.

We are also very honored that Rob Mitchell will also be a guest speaker at our Orphan's Ticket Home's Orlando, FL Gala on October 30th of this year.  For more information on our Orphan's Ticket Home campaign or other galas planned in your area, you can visit our Orphan's Ticket Home website at: http://www.orphanstickethome.org/

For more information about Rob Mitchell and his book, "Castaway Kid," you may visit the website: http://www.castawaykid.com/

Adoption Sunday

We are the Ramseys.  We live in Southern California and our family has been part of the El Salvador program for two years.  We are waiting for a referral of a little girl and yes, the waiting has been extremely painful.  God has used this season of waiting to give us a passion for orphan advocacy.  I am blessed to serve as the Missions Director at our church and last month we did an "Adoption Sunday" service.  It was a powerful morning and we will never forget it.  We heard numerous comments from people who were deeply moved and had never been part of a service which focused on orphan care and adoption.  Our hope is that by reading this update, others might be encouraged to approach their churches and coordinate a similar service.

 
Last year our lead pastor's family adopted a little boy named Luke.  Our pastor obviously shares our passion for adoption and was very open when we approached him with the idea of "Adoption Sunday."  The entire service was covered in prayer and every aspect focused on adoption (from the bulletin cover to the worship songs).  My husband and I were blessed to share part of our adoption journey with the congregation.  We shared the story of how God called us to adoption, the struggles of waiting and the love we feel for the little girl that we have yet to meet.  We also showed a short video on adoption which tied in with our story.  Our pastor gave an amazing message on adoption, which included his family's personal adoption journey.  It was an incredible message on how adoption is at the heart of the gospel.  You can download the sermon at http://www.villagechurchirvine.com/audio/missionSunday053109.mp3.   After the message we invited another America World family, Pat and Kacie VanWinkle, to share their story.  The VanWinkles have three adopted children from China, Korea and Ethiopia.  Their story was very moving and you could hear many sniffles and tears throughout the room (during the entire service!).

 
We closed our service by inviting people forward who had been touched by the miracle of adoption.  I had already contacted the families that I was aware of and had asked them to read designated scriptures on orphans and adoption.  We had over twenty five family members come forward to read what God's Word says about adoption.  Our oldest son (who is seven years old) read John 14:18 - "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."  It was an incredible visual picture to see so many people from the congregation whose lives had been changed through adoption.   There were many tears (and many people commented that we should have provided tissue during the service!).   One family came forward to share that God had spoken to their hearts to pursue adoption during the service.  Praise God!  We had representatives available from three organizations to provide resources on foster care, local and international adoption.  Many people said that the morning was one of the most touching, challenging and memorable services they had ever been part of.  We know that God defends His orphans, and we were so honored to share in a little piece of His heart during our service.  We hope that others will be given the opportunity to share their stories and to challenge their congregations as well.  "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.  God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."  (Proverbs 24:12).  We are so grateful that our eyes have been opened and we are blessed to share in the miracle of adoption!!!      - Jenni, Mike, Jordan and Aidan Ramsey (Tustin, California)