Please update your bookmarks and blog reader subscriptions:

http://juliegumm.com/

A few days ago one of my friend posted a video about Raven & Lily, a non-profit studio dedicated to empowering impoverished women through design partnerships and micro-enterprise opportunities. What I love about Raven & Lily is that there not just using these women to MAKE the products, but they’re involving them in the design process. What a beautiful way to instill confidence in these women!

After I watched their amazing video (below), I of course had to take a peek at their web site and absolutely fell in love with two things:

This and this 

Isn’t that necklace GORGEOUS. Plus it’s made by women in Ethiopia. Unfortunately a little bit out of my price range right now. I DO have a birthday coming up dearest husband But the bracelet made my shopping list for sure. They’re currently out of stock on the blue so it was a debate between the black and white and I had to get my friends involved with a Facebook poll. And then I ignored most of them.

The black was my first instinct because I wear a lot of black. But there is something about the clear beaded one that intrigued me. It’s a little dressier but then the leather and snaps make it casual so I could imagine it with nice jeans and a cool top. The majority of my friends voted for black (they know my wardrobe well) but in the end I ordered the clear. Can’t wait til it comes!

Watch this video that tells more about their mission and then head over to the Raven & Lily shop to check out some beautiful and unique items.

Raven+Lily: EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH DESIGN from raven and lily on Vimeo.

World Orphans will be there so I’m not sure how many of the breakout sessions I’ll be able to attend but I’m totally going to be there for Dr. Karyn Purvis and her session Giving Voice to the Orphan. She’s the author of one of my favorite adoption books – The Connected Child.

This year there’s going to be a big focus on working through the local church which is, of course, what World Orphans is all about!

If you’re passionate about the fatherless see if you can get to Summit VI. There’s some more details below. Let me know if you’re coming because I’d love to say “hi”.

With Haiti’s earthquake drawing global focus to the plight of orphans, Christians from across America and beyond will gather in Minneapolis, MN, for the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ Summit VI on April 29-30, 2010.   The objective:  to inspire and equip Christians to “care for orphans in their distress” through adoption, foster care and global orphan care ministry rooted in the local church.

What you can look forward to:

• Featured speakers will include national champions of orphan care and adoption, including John Piper, Mary Beth Chapman, Tom Davis, Doug Sauder, Stephanie Fast, Jedd Medefind, and Al Mohler. Compelling voices from the global church will join as well, from Africa to Central America.
• Music will be led by Steven Curtis Chapman, Peder Eide, Desperation Band and other artists.
• More than 50 workshops delivering nuts-and-bolts for adoption, foster care and global orphan programs – designed for both laypersons and leadership
• Orphan care resources for church ministries, as well as personal orphan care and adoption journeys
• Breakouts will also include 5 “Hague Hour” Credits for Adoptive Families.
• Q&A sessions and networking opportunities with respected adoption, global orphan and foster care organizations and veteran ministry leaders.
• For Christians stirred by the plight of orphans, Summit offers the biggest and best opportunity of the year to learn how to act upon conviction.  To learn more and register now, visit the Summit website here.

A taste of breakout topics:

• Haiti and the Local Church: What’s Next?
• Bridging the Great Divide:  Building Positive Relationships Between Church Ministries and Government
• Understanding Childhood Development of Overseas Orphans
• A Lifelong Love:  Keeping the Gospel at the Center of Orphan Ministry
• Church-Based Orphan Ministry 101
• Fundraising for Orphan Ministry
• Starting in the Right Direction:  Helping Pre-Adoptive Couples Make Sound Decisions
• Now What? Helping Children Age Out of Foster Care
• The Financial Challenge of Adoption and How the Local Church Can Respond
• Engaging Church Leadership
• A Child’s Journey Through the Foster Care System
• How Does It Work? Models of Global Orphan Ministry Based in US Churches
• Practical Ideas of Orphan-Focused Events
• Understanding HIV/AIDS and the Orphan
• And many more…

And there’s more!  Five sessions will provide pre-adoptive families with needed Hague credits.

• Adoption and Orphans:  Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family
• Adoption and Orphans:  Attachment and Trauma (Part I and II)
• Adoption and Orphans:  Grief and Loss
• Adoption and Orphans:  Acclimating to a New Family Member

One great factoid from the interview. There are 100,000 kids in the U.S. available for adoption today. There are 300,000 churches in the U.S.

Do the math.

If ONE family in only 1/3 of our churches would adopt a child we could wipe out that list.

It’s actually a very cool God-driven story that just illustrates how the passion for orphans can spread. We have really good friends Dan & Alisha that we’ve known for years and attended church with for a time. Dan is a professional basketball player that plays overseas, currently in Ukraine. So they’re really only in Phoenix for a few months out of each year.

Well this summer they were here when Mark and I were doing a study on the book “Fields of the Fatherless” and they decided to join us. Dan & Alisha have the hugest hearts but they will be the first to tell you that they really never planned on having kids. Well, by the end of the 8 week study, guess who was adopting? Not just one, but two!

In the midst of that, Dan & Alisha went with Mark on a World Orphans trip to visit our project in Kenya. (See the video at the end.) They played basketball with the boys, colored with the girls and absolutely fell in love with the kids. Since that trip they have gathered several of their friends and together they support one of the girl’s homes at that project. How cool is that?

Shortly after the study ended, Dan got a contract to play basketball in Ukraine, so off they went for their next adventure. Whenever they are overseas they’re always trying to connect with other players for Bible study, etc. and just use that time to glorify God. This time Alisha set out to find an orphanage that would let her come and volunteer (she’s also a nurse). It took her awhile but she stuck with it and eventually found an orphanage where she could minister. It was there that she met sweet Vanya, an almost two-year-old, who is blind. Alisha started a blog and it became her personal mission to find Vanya a home.

Then came the Oberhauser family who are stepping out in faith to bring this sweet boy home. As part of their fundraising efforts we’ve created a Ukraine window decal that can be purchased HERE.

If you know of any adoptive families from Ukraine, please pass it along.

And for fun, here’s the video from Dan & Alisha’s Kenya trip.

It’s what World Orphans does best – equipping the indigenous church to care for the orphans in their community and it’s been exciting to be part of it.

So my already busy work day was put into overdrive in order to do the HORT web site, set up social media sites, online fundraising, etc. I think my head came extremely close to exploding last Tuesday night but alas, it still sits firmly on my head.

Sunday a team of 11 HORT members left for an initial trip to Haiti to identify churches that we can train, equip and RESOURCE to care for the orphans. You can follow along with the team at the HORT website, Facebook page or Twitter feed.

This was my favorite quote from the team today (from David Leventhal of Hope for Orphans)…

There is nothing, absolutely nothing like getting eyeball to eyeball with a child that has lost everything.

It brings a renewed perspective that you simply cannot get from a book, a sermon or a meeting over coffee.

It will wreck you in the best possible way.

This Saturday I spent some time bundling and counting the results of their efforts…

220 PAIRS OF SHOES!!

So proud of those kids!

I laughed so hard. Glad to know he thinks so highly of my cooking skills.

Here’s the typed version…

I hate my diet for  many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many reasons. First off it keeps me from having a lot of my favorite foods. I’d list them and the other foods I like that I can’t eat but that take a year or two. Second of all most of the food I can eat is disgusting because usually it has to be homemade. And last but not least, one of the hardest parts of a diet, the sweets. They are limited & I mean limited! There is only one kidn of candy I can have Hershey’s & Hershey’s Kisses. And dessert is probably the hardest part of anything my diet could throw at me. No kid (except my little sister Natalie) should have to go through dessert choices as limited as mine (my sister Natalie could go with no sugar at all. From the way she acts at night you’d think she’d eaten nothing but pure sugar all her life! So that’s why I HATE MY DIET!!!!!!!!

I love how he throws his sister under the bus. And the excessive use of the word “many”.

And for the record Hershey’s are not the only candy he can have, it is the only one he likes.

First there were some rumors circulating that a large number of orphans were being airlifted to Indiana, but apparently this is not true.

The Christian Alliance for Orphans posted a blog entry answering many of the questions about new adoptions of Haiti and what kind of care orphan refugees might be placed under (i.e. foster care, etc.)

Time magazine just published on article about how the quake is speeding up Haitian adoptions that were ALREADY in progress.

Today Hope for Orphans launched their new blog with a post titled “Responding to the Haiti Crisis (Part 1 of 3): The Question of Adoption” It does a great job of delving into the point that sometimes our first emotional response in a crisis like this needs to be prayed about, researched and talked about. Especially one as serious as bringing a new child into your FOREVER family.

At the end of the article they do provide a link to Bethany Christian Services for those interested in adopting from Haiti. Please be aware though that there is absolutely no way of knowing what is going to happen with Haitian adoptions. If God is really calling you to adopt, pray and seek his wisdom about the when and where? There are thousands of children in the U.S. and abroad that are ready to adopt now. They are just as precious to Him!

On the one hand, my heart is thrilled that many new eyes are being opened to the plight of the orphan – not just in Haiti but hopefully all over the world. While circumstances are desperate right now, none of these children were living in ideal circumstances before. Many orphanages cannot even provide 3 meals a day for the kids in their care – something we take for granted.

However, what most people do not realize is that international adoptions in Haiti are most likely going to come to a complete halt.

The Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) is working hard on developing a plan to help those U.S. families already in process to complete their adoptions. These are often families who have been matched with children for several months, many who have visited Haiti and met their children before coming home to let the Haitian courts complete the process. I am praying fervently for these families and their children.

Why not rush to get these other orphans adopted and out of this dire situation? The JCICS site explains it perfectly with this statement…

Bringing children into the U.S. either by airlift or new adoption during a time of national emergency can open the door for fraud, abuse and trafficking. Every effort must be made in a timely fashion to locate living parents and extended family members. Many children, who might appear to be orphaned, may in fact be only temporarily separated from their family. Our efforts must be to provide the families and children of Haiti with shelter, nutrition, water and safety. Once the situation in Haiti stabilizes and timely reunification has taken place, adoption may be an option for the children who remain outside of permanent parental care.

So, if you’re one of those that have begun to think about adoption, I would urge you to do 2 things:

1. Find a way that you can help the orphans of Haiti right now. Of course I’m pretty biased to World Orphans – we’re putting long range plans in place to engage Haitian churches in caring for the orphans in their communities. This is something World Orphans does all over the world and is well equipped to train pastors and church people in the holistic orphan care model. Give to World Orphans Haiti Relief.
2. Pray about adoption and see if it is something that is right for your family. Photos and moving news stories can kick in our “save the world” instinct and often create a dreamy picture of “rescuing” a child in need. There is certainly nothing wrong with that desire, but it has to be more than that. Your adding a child to your family that you must love as much as your biological children. They will be forever yours. It will not be a walk in the park. Even the “easiest” of adoptions isn’t easy. Trust me. If adoption is something you are considering there are a ton of great resources online – below are a few to get you started.

If you have questions about adoption – international OR domestic, please leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them and point you in the right direction.

• State Department site on International Adoption
• U.S. Kids waiting on forever families
• Foster care adoption information

Update: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced the provision of “humanitarian parole” for certain Haitian orphans. For now that means  children that have previously been documented as eligible for adoption and matched with a U.S. family for adoption. More Info.