Last week it occured to me that Nov 4th was Orphan Sunday, and I remembered how last year I vowed to do something to recognize it. Last year at this time, we were living with my parents because our house was being moved AND we were getting ready to head to China to meet Quinn. I just didn't have the time or resources to get anything prepared. So I scrambled this week to get something ready to show our church family.
Sunday we had worked it out with Pastor Steve that Loren would show a video that I found on YouTube to promote Orphan Sunday and I would say the Prayers that are listed on the Orphan Sunday website. I also spent almost 4 hours (grin) making posters to put up in the narthex. (I gotta admit, that was just plain fun- I need to add more art opportunities in our homeschooling!)
Here is the video that we showed:
The video is powerful and I hope it made an impact on our congregation, but considering most of the folks there on Sunday were over 70 years old, I don't think it inspired anyone there to adopt. However, I'm hoping that it made them aware of the orphan crisis and maybe they will support other families who do choose to adopt. If nothing else, it makes them sensitive to the feelings of the children that we foster and adopt and bring into the church family.
A second interesting thread in regards to this presentation- I called Pastor Mark in Irene to borrow their digital projector and had a lovely discussion explaining Orphan Sunday to him. He is an awesome pastor with a real heart for children, and he was enthralled to learn about this promotion, and he confessed that he and his wife support a child through World Vision.
Any-who, I found out that he ended up preaching on Orphan care on Sunday- something that he hadn't planned on doing!! My good friend, Sara, also spoke to the congregation at that church about the importance of adoption, as she is adopted and is a firm supporter of adoption. She also found out that her other church preached on Orphan Sunday as well due to her influence, so that makes 3 church families that were touched by the message on Sunday.
The word is getting out to the rural towns in this area, and even though we are small in numbers, I believe that together we will all make a difference in the lives of children. I can't wait to see what God does with this, now that we have planted the seed in these three churches. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment