Adopted by Design

Host Family Application Deadline Extended

America World has extended the deadline for host families to apply to our Summer 2012 Ethiopia Hosting Program.  Applications are being accepted through February 10^th, 2012.

The children will arrive on June 30^th and stay with host families through July 28^th.  If you would like to be considered as a host family and live within 1.5 hours from any of the locations listed below, please contact Michelle.Reed@awaa.org for more information. 

Indiana - Angola

Texas - Austin/San Antonio, Houston and College Station

California – San Diego, Santa Barbara

Pennsylvania – Dresher

Maryland – Union Bridge

Montana – Bozeman

Idaho – Boise

Welcoming Angels: Reverse Hosting Trip to Haiti



Come join America World as we travel to Haiti, March 25-30, 2012.  The purpose of this Reverse Hosting Trip is to meet some of the spiritual and physical needs of the children living at one of our partner orphanages in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This orphanage is the home of 80+ children ranging in age from 6 months to 16 years. Many of the children are over the age of 4.

As a team, we hope to build relationships with the children and gain a better understanding of their way of life and every day experiences. Trip participants will have the opportunity to bring donations, plan activities and spend time giving individual attention to the children currently living at the orphanage. While many of the children at this orphanage are currently available for adoption, we will plan special activities to reach the older children that may not have the opportunity to join forever families. AWAA staff will assist trip participants with travel paperwork and travel arrangements. While in Haiti, the team will be accompanied by AWAA staff and local guides/translators.

The trip is limited to the first 20 individuals that apply. 

Trip Costs = $2,100 per person. Costs Include: 

International airfare
Airport transfers
In-country transportation
Translators to accompany the team
Accommodations for 5 nights
Breakfast and dinner at Guest House
Bag lunch for the day
Free WiFi and phone calls to the U. S.

*For a trip application or more information please contact Michelle.Reed@awaa.org.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Welcoming Angels - Recruiting Host Families through January 31st

America World is actively recruiting host families for our Welcoming Angels Hosting Program through January 31st, 2012. Hosting Communities are currently forming in the following areas: 

• Santa Barbara, CA
• Fresno, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Dresher, PA– Chelten Baptist Church
• Houston, TX
• Union Bridge, MD – Uniontown Bible Church
• Angola, IN
• Central Illinois (potential hosting community)

If you are interested in hosting an older child from Ethiopia (ages 8-14) for 4 weeks this summer and live within one hour of one of these locations, please contact Michelle.Reed@awaa.org for more information. We need a minimum of 5 host families in each area to build a hosting community. Please join us in praying for this program and for the children in Ethiopia.

Hosting comes to Maryland!

            
Welcoming Angels is excited to announce the formation of a new hosting community for Summer 2012 in Union Bridge, Maryland. If you live near Uniontown Bible Church and are interested in becoming a host family for a child between the ages of 8-14 from Ethiopia please contact hosting@awaa.org for more information. We are also looking for individuals, families, organizations and ministries interested in supporting this hosting community.

Welcoming Angels Hosting Programs in California

           
Welcoming Angels is currently forming hosting communities in California for 4 weeks in the summer of 2012 to host children ages 10-15 (possibly boys ages 8 & 9 as well) from Ethiopia.  If you live near Fresno, San Diego, or Santa Barbara, California and are interested in becoming a host family or providing medical, financial/fundraising or spiritual support for these hosting communities, please email Hosting@awaa.org or contact Michelle Reed, Welcoming Angels Coordinator at Michelle.Reed@awaa.org or 1-800-429-3369.  Host family recruiting will continue until January 31st, 2012.

Welcoming Angels: Hosting Liaisons Needed

We are excited to announce that our Welcoming Angels Hosting Program is recruiting adoption and advocacy minded families to host older children (ages 8-14) from Ethiopia for four weeks during the summer of 2012 and winter 2012 in several locations around the United States.  We are looking for volunteer Hosting Liaisons to help recruit host families and coordinate a community of churches, organizations, individuals and ministries to support our hosting families in their area.  We are currently recruiting families in Fresno, CA, San Diego, CA and several other locations.   If you are interested in Hosting in your state or would like more information on how to become a volunteer Hosting Liaison, please email hosting@awaa.org or contact Michelle Reed, Welcoming Angels Coordinator at michelle.reed@awaa.org or 1-800-429-3369.

CEO Notes

I traveled to Florida earlier this week to spend time with National Council For Adoption’s China Delegation.  While in Florida, I had the opportunity to meet with our agency’s Director of Social Services as well as with some of our Florida Associates and adoptive families.  It was great spending time with these families and hearing how passionate they are to help spread the message that God uses adoption as a means for building families and placing children in Christian homes. 

I also know that our agency had families travel to China this week and these families will be meeting their children on Monday.  We’re praying for these families – some of whom have waited many years for this moment!  Also, “Welcome home!” and “Congratulations!” to those families who returned from China this week!

We’re excited about our agency’s hosting program, Welcoming Angels, and the opportunities we have to help bring older orphans to the United States for 3-5 weeks in Summer 2012.  We’re currently recruiting “Hosting Liaisons” to help recruit and coordinate this within their local community and in partnership with their church.  For more information, please contact hosting@awaa.org or call 800-429-3369 and ask to speak with Michelle. 

Please keep praying for the children waiting to get visas from India to join the His Little Feet Choir.  We know that this choir will be used by the Lord in a great way to bring awareness to the need for older orphans to find families.  Please also continue praying, along with our staff, for the two families whose paperwork is awaiting approval by CARA for their adoptions from India.  These two families have waited a long time, and this final stage of approval will allow them to begin setting up court dates and planning travel.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. –Philippians 4:6

-Brian Luwis

Welcoming Angels featured in Zone Magazine

Zone Magazine recently featured an article about America World's Welcoming Angels program, which brought five Ethiopian orphans to the Baltimore area this past May. The full article and link are below. 

http://www.thezonemag.com/Welcoming.html

America World Adoption Agency launched their Welcoming Angels program on April 19th with the arrival of five orphans from Ethiopia. Due to arrive on a Saturday, their trip was postponed three days by Ethiopian immigration officials who kept them from boarding the plane. Holding the necessary paperwork from both the United States embassy and orphanage directors, they were required to go to court for another power of attorney from the Ethiopian government. Five families from Baltimore, Harford, and Carroll Counties were anticipating their arrival and disappointed over the delay. On Tuesday, April 19th, three boys, two girls and one chaperone emerged from Dulles airport and were introduced to their host families. Under the impression that they were visiting the United States for a camp program, these children were unaware of the potential impact this journey could have on their future.

The Welcoming Angels program, directed by Mary Noble, was birthed with the intent of introducing older orphans to potential adoptive families. According to the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism put out by Brandeis University, ninety-five percent of the world’s population of orphans is above the age of five. Since families are more likely to pursue the adoption of an infant, programs like Welcoming Angels can help prospective parents overcome fears related to older orphan adoption. Welcoming Angels does this by providing families with an opportunity to develop a relationship with the child before making a commitment to adopt.

Hosting Children En Route to the U.S.

America World is pleased to announce that five children are en route to Montana from Ethiopia to participate in a hosting program done in collaboration with Sacred Portion.  This is America World’s second hosting group from Ethiopia.  The children will be living with American families, allowing them to experience life in the United States, while also offering parents a better understanding of older child adoption.  When the month concludes, the children will return to Ethiopia, and our hope is that they will be adopted by a family in the near future.  Thank you for your prayers over these children and their hosting families over the coming month!

First Hosting Program A Success

It is one week since the children who participated in the Welcoming Angels Hosting trip returned to Ethiopia. The children left from Dulles International Airport with Caitlin Edwards, Africa Family Coordinator, for their return to Ethiopia.  Our staff in Ethiopia wrote us the following: “The children for hosting program are arrived safely with Caitlin and the children joined their friends at orphanage. The orphanages have prepared a small party to welcome their kids back”.  The children also returned with many donations for their orphanages.  America World is very grateful for our partner in this hosting trip, Grafted Families in Maryland.  They were wonderful to work with and coordinated all the activities, events and medical care the children received while here in Maryland.    

Hopefully you have been following the Hosting trip here on the blog. If not, please refer to the archived Welcoming Angels posts to read about the children and the activities they did during their time here.  If you are interested in  hosting a child in the future, or organizing a hosting trip to your area of the country, please contact Melissa.Blauvelt@awaa.org.

Blessings,

Susan Maines

Executive Director of Programs