Aging out

Here is something I read on http://www.orphanepidemic.com/. They talk about 38,000 orphans aging out of the system everyday. 38,000! Whoa. Where do these children go? What happens to them? Orphanages are definitely needed but are solutions for these children who they have to leave, when they don't get adopted. I'm thinking there are already organizations working on such solutions. But I'm also thinking that more could be done. Just something to get you guys thinking.

The orphan epidemic refers to the fact that there are over 143 million orphans in the world, about 5,000 are children are orphaned each day, and 38,000 orphans age out (forced out) of orphanages where 90% or them either fall into crime, prostitution, slavery, or suicide.

Our mission is to bring awareness in the next generation of the need for orphan care. We believe that the next generation is poised for a massive groundswell to make a difference in caring for orphans. We want to see generations of orphans rise up as disciples of Christ so that they may take hope to the hopeless.

Awareness

Meeting the needs of orphans is not the goal, but just the beginning. Every 2.2 seconds, an orphan ages out (is forced out) of an orphanage. Over 38,000 children age out each day. Orphan Epidemic is about bringing awareness to the need for spiritual growth and life skill development of orphans, especially those who are at risk of aging out. We want to engage the next generation in the United States and educate them of the orphan epidemic at hand.

Action

Once we bring awareness to the orphan epidemic, we want to convert that awareness into action. We want to mobilize people by connecting them to our partners to go and put their hand and feet to work by being knee-to-knee and eye-to-eye with orphans and spiritually disciple them and develop their life skills so that those orphans may in turn bring hope to the hopeless. This action must be in place so that these orphans would in turn take the hope of Christ to the hopeless.

Unwanted and Thrown Away

Two weeks ago, at this outreach event we were blessed with a precious gift. As our group was driving away, we saw the other members of our group looking down at something on the ground. What had they discovered? What they were looking at? Shortly afterwards, we got the news that they found a puppy and to pray for it. When we met up with them, to my surprise, we found out the puppy was a newborn. As they were walking down the street, they heard wimpering coming from inside of a box. So they went to check it out. At first they were a little scared because they thought it could have been a baby. I would have thought the same because of all the abandoned babies you hear about in the news. But it was a tiny puppy in a box and a hamburger(so random). He was so fresh out of the oven that he was still rocking his umbilical cord. He couldn’t even open his eyes. So defenseless and cold. He was so cute, small enough to fit in your hand. Black with brown spots. Some of our members guessed that he was probably a pit bull or boxer.

Who would have done such a thing? The person who put it out there obviously didn’t care that much. Or did they? I mean if you didn’t care, they wouldn’t have even bothered to put him in a box outside for someone to feel compassion for him and take him home. Did they put the hamburger in the box for him to eat? Or was it someone passing by? Whoever it was, obviously had no idea that they might as well have put a rock in there because there was no way he could have consumed a hamburger. They had it all wrapped in a beanie and a t-shirt to keep it warm. He kept trying to wiggle out to seek even more warmth. All he wanted was to be with mommy. Anyways, the group bought some regular milk for him at a convenience store because it was late and nothing else was open. As they were leaving the place, a man shouted, “Do you want a baby bottle for the puppy?” and went and bought baby bottle for him. Its so cool when strangers feel compassion and act on it. The puppy continued to drink milk in small quantities. One of the ladies took it home because she knew a vet who could take care of it until it became old enough to survive on its own with the hopes that someone adopts him. I found out the other week that the puppy is nursing with some surrogate mother dogs and is doing much better. That’s so awesome how God hooked that up. His name is David(Little King David) and fittingly the tshirt, the hat ,and the bottle were all purple. Although little David was thrown away to fend for himself, he was found and rescued to be given another chance. How much more does God love his children than someone who finds a thrown away puppy? The children we are going to serve were also abandoned by their parents, because they didn’t want them or couldn’t afford them. Like the puppy, they may have been dropped off at the orphanage or left to fend for themselves on the streets in the hopes that someone would be able to take care of them better than they could. These children probably feel like they are unwanted or thrown away. Each one deserves to be fed milk and be wrapped in a t-shirt to be kept them warm. Each one of them is precious and deserves a surrogate mother who will feed, love, and take care of them. Each one of them was designed by God and has a specific purpose. As we get closer to our trip, please pray that the absence of love that they didn’t get from their parents, be filled by the only love that can replace it, the love of Jesus. And that they can heal from pain they have experienced, which will likely be a lifelong process. That our hearts break more for these children as well. Please pray that each one of these children gets the love and attention they deserve from the workers at the orphanage and hopefully someone can adopt them to take care of them.

Phnom Penh... in Tucker???

Just a quick update on the group retreat... the big surprise?!?!?  We made dinner together... in a Top Chef meets Iron Chef kinda style.  We were give a table full of ingredients, pots, pans, utensils, etc and told to go to work.  We had a blast cooking, helping each other, and then the best was eating all the food!  It was all so yummy!  I will have to get the pictures and upload them to here soon.

Then, last Saturday all who could make it headed to Tucker, GA for some Cambodian cooking. Saegye had a great idea that we should have at least tried Cambodian food before heading over and he found a restaurant called, fittingly, Phnom Penh.  I have to be very honest... I loved the food!!  It was amazing and it made me even more excited about our up coming adventure!!

Tonight we have another group meeting.  Tonight we will divide into our groups and start planning our time in Cambodia this week. Our different teams include:  Anna, Kristie, and Saegye on Arts/Crafts; Elloa, Mike, and Lisa on curriculum; and Stuart, Dominick, and Zach for sports.  Amazing how the guys chose sports, hmmm... hehe!


Every week I am getting more and more excited to be going!!