As some of you may know, this Sunday, November 2nd is Orphan Sunday.
We, as Christians, are called to care for the orphans.
With millions of orphans in our world today though, how could we possibly care for all of them? You look at the stats and the need is so incredibly overwhelming, you wonder what you could possibly do to make a difference.
Let me share something God has taught me - every time you reach out to care for an orphan, no matter how small it seems, it makes a difference. It makes a difference for that child.
Every day I look around at the huge need that surrounds me and I feel like the 11 kids I care for is such an insignificant number - and look at all the people that have come together to care for just those 11. But then I look at my 11 and realize that it is all worth it.
I can't change the lives of the hundreds of orphans I see on a daily basis.
But I can be a part of changing the lives of Promise, Lily, Molly, Nolan, Jasmine, Dinah, Cedar, Chloe, Theo, Louise, and Charlotte.
And even then, I'm only a part of what God is doing in their lives. But being that little part is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.
So I'd like to ask you something: Will you become a sponsor of one or more of my kids?
I'm not asking you to just give me money. I'm asking you a part of the team that is needed to give these kids the best life possible. I'm asking you to be a part of their lives. I'm asking you help change the lives of our world's orphans - one child at a time.
There are currently 5 of our 11 kids that are only partially sponsored or completely unsponsored. 3 of them are our newest girls, Louise, Chloe, and Charlotte. The other 2 are Promise and Dinah who were completely sponsored but recently had a few sponsors back out, leaving them partially unsponsored again.
I want to share a little with you about each of these special girls. As you read, please be praying about whether God is calling you to become a part of what He is doing in one or more of these girls' lives. There are always more unsponsored SCH kids as well. You can find them here: SCH Children in Need of Sponsors
Louise
I feel like that picture says it all and Louise now needs no more introduction! ;)
Louise is about to have her 3rd birthday and is deaf. In September she heard for the first time with the help of a cochlear implant!
She joined our family a little over 3 months ago and the change that we've seen in her in that time is just incredible. I can't be sure exactly when it happened but at some point the scared, anxious little girl that came to us from the state orphanage has become a crazy, quirky, outgoing, troublemaking, joyful little diva who always keeps us on our toes and puts a smile on our faces.
Here is a blog post I wrote all about our first 3 months with Louise: Louise Blog Post
I can not imagine my life without Louise. She is truly a joy and I am so blessed to know her!
Louise is still in need of $125/month in sponsorship. Become Louise's sponsor for all or part of that amount here: Louise Sponsorship Page
Chloe
This photo was taken at the state orphanage the first time I met Chloe. I had been praying for her for months and already knew that one day she would be joining our family. The second I saw her I fell instantly in love.
Chloe is 3 years old and joined our family a month and a half ago. She is blind and has a lot of autistic tendencies. She taught herself to walk within the first few days of moving into our home and now that she has space is always up on her feet tottering in circles! ;)
She is very outgoing and crazy and is the most ticklish child I've ever met. Even when I'm not trying to tickle her, any touch makes her crumple up into hysterical giggles!
She is almost always smiling and making goofy babbling noises and loves our noise making Tigger toy more than anything else.
We waited a long time for this one but boy was she worth the wait! I am so incredibly glad Chloe is finally home with us.
Chloe is completely unponsored and in need of the full $300/month. To become one of Chloe's sponsors, click on the link! Chloe Sponsorship Page
Charlotte
Meet our beautiful little Charlotte!
When Charlotte moved in with us at the same time as Chloe, she became our youngest child at only 18 months old.
We absolutely love having a baby in the house!
Charlotte is blind and very shy and reserved. At first she had a very tough time transitioning into our home and would cry almost any time she wasn't being held. She didn't smile for days after moving in.
She is now much more settled and is smiling all the time now. She also has the cutest little giggle in the world!
Charlotte is doing so well now and really starting to come out of her shell. I feel like we get to see a little bit more of her each day and I know there is still so much more to learn about this special girl.
I highly doubt you've seen anything cuter than this little girl in her first pair of jeggings ;)
Charlotte is still in need of $225/month in sponsorship. To join team Charlotte, visit her page and become a sponsor! Charlotte Sponsorship Page
Promise
Promise is our oldest at 17 years old. She is blind and has spina bifida.
Somewhere along the line, God gave me a huge love for this special lady. She has been through so much more than I can even comprehend and yet is filled with such joy.
Every time her laughter rings through the house, it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
Promise loves music more than anything else. She loves listening to music with our big headphones on, having dance parties, and shaking tambourines or anything else that makes noise.
She loves listening to all that is happening around her and is very happy when in a room with lots of people and things going on. She also loves for someone to just sit with her, holding her hand, talking or singing to her.
Promise will often just break out into giggles for no apparent reason and it always makes me wonder what is going on in that mind of hers - I wish she could tell me...
I feel like Promise is the one of my kids I know the least as she is so hard to get to know, but each little glimpse into who she is is so special and makes me fall more and more in love with her.
Promise has aged out of the possibility of being adopted so will stay at SCH the rest of her life. She has $150/month in sponsorship left. Will you help us make sure that her life is full and lacking no good thing? Promise Sponsorship Page
Dinah
Dinah is the one of our kids I feel has made the most progress since I moved in.
Last December she could scoot around the house but rarely did, even for a favorite toy. She couldn't stand for more than a few seconds. She didn't make eye contact or really focus on anything and almost never interacted with anyone.
Now she is almost a completely different kid.
She has always been a happy, easy baby but now she is just plain joyful. She is walking now and if you say, "Dinah, up!" she'll get up to a stand and start walking to you. Almost every time I see her, she is walking all over the house to get to where she wants to go (which is usually the couch to lie down when no one is looking!).
She will look up when one of us comes into the room and typically come over to say hi and lift her arms up to be held.
She is interacting with toys and games now, engaging in activities, feeding herself, and has become quite the trouble maker! We are having to learn to not leave cups of water out as she will find it, dump out the water, and start splashing in the puddle! She loves shoes and is always pulling our shoe rack over or pulling the shoes out one by one. She also empties out the toy box at least 5 times a day!
Dinah is constantly surprising us with the things she learns and does and I am so excited to see where she will go next!
Dinah only has $100/month left in her sponsorship! Become one of Dinah's sponsors here: Dinah Sponsorship Page
So what will you do this Orphan Sunday? How will you show an orphan they are not forgotten? You don't have to change the world - but how about one special kid's life?
How about one of my girls or another SCH kid? As an SCH sponsor you will get 4+ updates a year about your child and the ability to view tons of updates and pictures on the SCH website. I also post about my kids obsessively so you're always sure to get more updates from me and maybe even a Skype call if you ask nicely ;)
We really want you to be a part of your sponsored child's life.
A little bit can go a long way. What may be a few cups of coffee or a new outfit a month for you could mean healthy meals and needed medication for a child in India with special needs.
In the end, what really matters?
Please share with your family and friends. Together, we can make a difference this Orphan Sunday!
We, as Christians, are called to care for the orphans.
With millions of orphans in our world today though, how could we possibly care for all of them? You look at the stats and the need is so incredibly overwhelming, you wonder what you could possibly do to make a difference.
Let me share something God has taught me - every time you reach out to care for an orphan, no matter how small it seems, it makes a difference. It makes a difference for that child.
Every day I look around at the huge need that surrounds me and I feel like the 11 kids I care for is such an insignificant number - and look at all the people that have come together to care for just those 11. But then I look at my 11 and realize that it is all worth it.
I can't change the lives of the hundreds of orphans I see on a daily basis.
But I can be a part of changing the lives of Promise, Lily, Molly, Nolan, Jasmine, Dinah, Cedar, Chloe, Theo, Louise, and Charlotte.
And even then, I'm only a part of what God is doing in their lives. But being that little part is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.
So I'd like to ask you something: Will you become a sponsor of one or more of my kids?
I'm not asking you to just give me money. I'm asking you a part of the team that is needed to give these kids the best life possible. I'm asking you to be a part of their lives. I'm asking you help change the lives of our world's orphans - one child at a time.
There are currently 5 of our 11 kids that are only partially sponsored or completely unsponsored. 3 of them are our newest girls, Louise, Chloe, and Charlotte. The other 2 are Promise and Dinah who were completely sponsored but recently had a few sponsors back out, leaving them partially unsponsored again.
I want to share a little with you about each of these special girls. As you read, please be praying about whether God is calling you to become a part of what He is doing in one or more of these girls' lives. There are always more unsponsored SCH kids as well. You can find them here: SCH Children in Need of Sponsors
Louise
I feel like that picture says it all and Louise now needs no more introduction! ;)
Louise is about to have her 3rd birthday and is deaf. In September she heard for the first time with the help of a cochlear implant!
She joined our family a little over 3 months ago and the change that we've seen in her in that time is just incredible. I can't be sure exactly when it happened but at some point the scared, anxious little girl that came to us from the state orphanage has become a crazy, quirky, outgoing, troublemaking, joyful little diva who always keeps us on our toes and puts a smile on our faces.
Here is a blog post I wrote all about our first 3 months with Louise: Louise Blog Post
I can not imagine my life without Louise. She is truly a joy and I am so blessed to know her!
Louise is still in need of $125/month in sponsorship. Become Louise's sponsor for all or part of that amount here: Louise Sponsorship Page
Chloe
This photo was taken at the state orphanage the first time I met Chloe. I had been praying for her for months and already knew that one day she would be joining our family. The second I saw her I fell instantly in love.
Chloe is 3 years old and joined our family a month and a half ago. She is blind and has a lot of autistic tendencies. She taught herself to walk within the first few days of moving into our home and now that she has space is always up on her feet tottering in circles! ;)
She is very outgoing and crazy and is the most ticklish child I've ever met. Even when I'm not trying to tickle her, any touch makes her crumple up into hysterical giggles!
She is almost always smiling and making goofy babbling noises and loves our noise making Tigger toy more than anything else.
We waited a long time for this one but boy was she worth the wait! I am so incredibly glad Chloe is finally home with us.
Chloe is completely unponsored and in need of the full $300/month. To become one of Chloe's sponsors, click on the link! Chloe Sponsorship Page
Charlotte
Meet our beautiful little Charlotte!
When Charlotte moved in with us at the same time as Chloe, she became our youngest child at only 18 months old.
We absolutely love having a baby in the house!
Charlotte is blind and very shy and reserved. At first she had a very tough time transitioning into our home and would cry almost any time she wasn't being held. She didn't smile for days after moving in.
She is now much more settled and is smiling all the time now. She also has the cutest little giggle in the world!
Charlotte is doing so well now and really starting to come out of her shell. I feel like we get to see a little bit more of her each day and I know there is still so much more to learn about this special girl.
I highly doubt you've seen anything cuter than this little girl in her first pair of jeggings ;)
Charlotte is still in need of $225/month in sponsorship. To join team Charlotte, visit her page and become a sponsor! Charlotte Sponsorship Page
Promise
Promise is our oldest at 17 years old. She is blind and has spina bifida.
Somewhere along the line, God gave me a huge love for this special lady. She has been through so much more than I can even comprehend and yet is filled with such joy.
Every time her laughter rings through the house, it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
Promise loves music more than anything else. She loves listening to music with our big headphones on, having dance parties, and shaking tambourines or anything else that makes noise.
She loves listening to all that is happening around her and is very happy when in a room with lots of people and things going on. She also loves for someone to just sit with her, holding her hand, talking or singing to her.
Promise will often just break out into giggles for no apparent reason and it always makes me wonder what is going on in that mind of hers - I wish she could tell me...
I feel like Promise is the one of my kids I know the least as she is so hard to get to know, but each little glimpse into who she is is so special and makes me fall more and more in love with her.
Promise has aged out of the possibility of being adopted so will stay at SCH the rest of her life. She has $150/month in sponsorship left. Will you help us make sure that her life is full and lacking no good thing? Promise Sponsorship Page
Dinah
Dinah is the one of our kids I feel has made the most progress since I moved in.
Last December she could scoot around the house but rarely did, even for a favorite toy. She couldn't stand for more than a few seconds. She didn't make eye contact or really focus on anything and almost never interacted with anyone.
Now she is almost a completely different kid.
She has always been a happy, easy baby but now she is just plain joyful. She is walking now and if you say, "Dinah, up!" she'll get up to a stand and start walking to you. Almost every time I see her, she is walking all over the house to get to where she wants to go (which is usually the couch to lie down when no one is looking!).
She will look up when one of us comes into the room and typically come over to say hi and lift her arms up to be held.
She is interacting with toys and games now, engaging in activities, feeding herself, and has become quite the trouble maker! We are having to learn to not leave cups of water out as she will find it, dump out the water, and start splashing in the puddle! She loves shoes and is always pulling our shoe rack over or pulling the shoes out one by one. She also empties out the toy box at least 5 times a day!
Dinah is constantly surprising us with the things she learns and does and I am so excited to see where she will go next!
Dinah only has $100/month left in her sponsorship! Become one of Dinah's sponsors here: Dinah Sponsorship Page
So what will you do this Orphan Sunday? How will you show an orphan they are not forgotten? You don't have to change the world - but how about one special kid's life?
How about one of my girls or another SCH kid? As an SCH sponsor you will get 4+ updates a year about your child and the ability to view tons of updates and pictures on the SCH website. I also post about my kids obsessively so you're always sure to get more updates from me and maybe even a Skype call if you ask nicely ;)
We really want you to be a part of your sponsored child's life.
A little bit can go a long way. What may be a few cups of coffee or a new outfit a month for you could mean healthy meals and needed medication for a child in India with special needs.
In the end, what really matters?
Please share with your family and friends. Together, we can make a difference this Orphan Sunday!
Thank you for sharing this, Tori! I found you through your Courage Home Purple video. My best friend knows your sister, Taryn, and she shared it with me. Getting to know your family a little bit through your blog and Nikki's has been a huge joy and blessing over the past week. I pray God will bless all the endeavors you, Nikki, and your kids take on.
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