We are once again collecting school supplies to fill backpacks for children in foster care the week of August 1 to 8. Basic things like pencils, pens, erasers, folders, notebook paper, crayons, markers, rulers, glue sticks, and colored pencils will be collected. Backpacks are welcomed too! Start watching the sale papers toward the end of July when everything starts to go on sale and place your donations in the box at church.
Give thanks that the Adoption Tax Credit was extended through 2011 in the "Obama-Care" health bill. Jedd Medifind did a great job breaking this down a bit at his blog at Christian Alliance for Orphans. This link should take you straight to it:http://christianallianceblog.orgPeople need to check with their accountant about how this specifically applies to them, but they have now made it a "refundable" instead of a "non-refundable" credit. That could be huge for a lot of people.
THANK YOU to the Orland Park Christian Preschool. They raised over $600 for the Orphan Ministry in their Trikathon earlier this month. Great job, kids! Thanks for helping other children.
Please continue to keep the millions of orphans throughout the world in your prayers. Thanks for your continued support of the Orphan Ministry!
Nine members of Orland Church (Ken, Yogi, Jill, Jack, Dave, Cal, Carol, Kyle & Chris) set out to visit Hogar Amor orphanage in Honduras. Through All God's Children we traveled along with 11 others to Comayaqua, Honduras.
The week we spent there was incredible! From the very first step off of the bus at the orphanage we fell in love with all the children. We spent time worshipping together on Sunday morning with the children from Hogar Nazareth and watching the older boys soccer game.
Each morning we had our morning devotions at various parks and church fronts.
During the week we played card games together such as "Old Maid" & "Uno"...somehow the kids won most of the time! Some played soccer on the basketball court or did some crafts. We visited a campus for handicap children.
Our church members spent a day and a half at the Hogar Amor orphange, which we as a church have a direct involvement with. We took Pastor Arvil and his wife Miriam, who run the orphanage, shopping for a new refrigerator and microwave and a new water tank. These purchases were possible through funds raised specifically for these items during our auction last Fall. New updated photos were taken of each child....and more time was enjoyed playing games with all of them. Shopping for schools supplies for the Hogar Amor children's upcoming school year was made possible through the donations from the Polar Bear Plunge donations.
We as a whole group visited the Brickyard, which is a very poor area where the men make bricks the way they used to in Bible times in Egypt. The workers only earn $1 a day for this hard work. At the Brickyard we saw the overwhelming need for such basic life necessities that we take for granted. We handed out toiletries and t-shirts and other clothing through the windows of our van. So much need that they were pushing and shoving to get something handed out the window.
Much fun was also had during our 1 on 1 shopping trip with some of the children from Hogar Nazareth and our Fiesta party with all the children from each orphanage!
And the end of each day we had so much to be thankful for. We'd gather for an hour after dinner and share our God-sightings of the day. There were occasional tears as we could see how God was not only allowing us to be used for the children of the Honduras, but also how he was transforming our lives during this time spent in Honduras.
We want to thank all of our church family, friends and family for the parts they have played in making it possible for the opportunity to be the Heart and Hands of God to the children of Honduras, and for the growth in our own relationship to our Father in Heaven who loves us all so much!
¡Dios es dios impresionante! God is an Awesome God!
