A Burning Passion

Yesterday I went to a luncheon hosted by the 111Project. What's the 111Project you ask? It's 1 church, 1 family, 1 purpose! It was a room full of people who are passionate about orphan care, foster care and adoption.

"The 111Project launched in April 2011 and began as a campaign to recruit 111 foster families from Metro Oklahoma City churches. What began as a number goal has evolved into an ongoing focus of: 1 church, 1 family, with 1 purpose. That purpose is to leave no Oklahoma child without a father or a family."


During the luncheon we also learned about the Wait No More campaign, sponsored by Focus on the Family. Here's a bit of information from their website:

"Right now, more than 114,000* legal orphans in United States foster care are waiting for adoptive families. The US also has more than 300,000 churches, and God has given clear commands for Christians to take care of His orphan children.
So if the command is clear and the need is apparent, why are these kids still waiting?
At Focus on the Family, we believe that every child has the right to have a family. That's why we're collaborating with adoption agencies, church leaders, and ministry partners to raise awareness of and recruit families for those waiting for permanent families.
Through one day events and targeted marketing campaigns, Focus on the Family is highlighting the urgent need for adoptive parents. For too long, these children and youth have been overlooked.
But that is changing. God is stirring the hearts of His people to welcome these children and youth into forever homes. To date, more than 1,525 families have initiated the process of adoption from foster care as a result of the collaborative efforts of Wait No More. And this is only the beginning."

God has ROCKED both mine and John's world through our infertility, through our adoption journey. He has truly given us a heart for the orphan and a desire to see children placed in families. After the luncheon yesterday I was SO fired up! There is SO much that we can do. SO much that we are called to do as Christians. As Christ followers we are commanded to care for the poor, the orphan and the widow. What will you do?

Oh how I pray that the church will get it! That their hearts will beat for this cause! John and I are in the process of planning Orphan Sunday for our church and I am boldly praying that people will leave that Sunday passionate about being God's hands and feet for the fatherless.

We are SO excited that we will have resources available for people to sign up to sponsor a child through Compassion International, a representative from the 111 Project to talk about foster care, information on domestic and international adoption.