There are so many exciting ways to get connect to serving in the
Orphan Care Initiative. Check out the events and teams below for ways that you
can take your next daring faith step to serve orphans and vulnerable children
locally or globally!
Daring Faith Expo - Serve at the Orphan Care Booth!
On the weekend of May 16/17, each Saddleback campus will have the
opportunity to learn how to join the Orphan Care Initiative during the Daring
Faith Expo at every service - and we need your smiling face to help people get
connected! If you are interested in serving at the Orphan Care booth for just
30 minutes after any service(s), let us know and we will get you all the
information you need!
Thinking About Adoption or Foster Care?
Have you considered adopting or fostering, but aren't sure how to get
started? Every first Wednesday of the
month from 6:30-8:30pm in MO2, families from our church who
have adopted and fostered share helpful overviews and answer your questions in
a no-pressure environment. If that time doesn't work for you, we'd still love
to talk to you. Free to call or meet with us for more information on fostering
and adopting!
Orangewood Play Group
You can brighten the day of a child living in Orangewood group home,
OC's temporary shelter for children who have been removed from their homes due
to abuse or neglect. The first group will be visiting the evening of May 22nd.
This is a great opportunity for those looking to care for vulnerable children
right here in Orange County. Email orphans@saddleback.com for more information.
Rwanda: Empty orphanages and strengthen churches on
a PEACE trip
Orphan Care PEACE trips train local churches in promoting adoption,
assisting newly adoptive families, and training lay social workers within
churches. We'll train you in everything you need to know, and help you or your
family make a difference in ways you've always dreamed! Let us know when you
would like to go, and we will get you connected to a trip leader. To join an
upcoming trip email orphans@saddleback.com.
Mentor a child in the foster care system
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) mentor children in the
foster system and act as their voice in the legal system. With a commitment of
2 hours twice a month, you can help represent the best interests of a child and
support them on their journey to a lasting family of their own. If you would
like to learn more about becoming a CASA in Orange County, please visit their
website http://www.casaoc.org/advocate/ to RSVP to the next info session, or email orphans@saddleback.com for more information.
Join a local or global action team!
You can serve in ways too numerous to name, but here's a sample: Serve
orphans and vulnerable children in our neighborhoods, help teach local churches
in orphan care, or come alongside adoptive or foster families. Serve in
sponsorship, social media, website development, writing, hospitality/event
hosts, or advocacy. There's a place for you!
Adoptive and Foster Family Support Group
This season's Adoptive and Foster Family Support Group meets on
Tuesdays from 11am to 1pm in room 409/411 on the Lake Forest Saddleback Church
campus. The support group will be studying from the DVD curriculum The Connection written by Dr. Karyn
Purvis and Elizabeth Styffe. Unfortunately, no childcare is available. Please
RSVP by email to orphans@saddleback.com.
Interested? Just let us know and we will find the exact spot for you,
your family or your small group. We'll help get you connected and provide any
necessary training.
Have questions? Need more information? Connect with us by email (orphans@saddleback.com) or phone (949-609-8555)! We can't wait to serve
with you soon!
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Ariana Crary plays soccer, works hard in school, and goes to
church with her family. She is an average thirteen-year-old girl, and this past
summer she chose to go with her family to Rwanda to serve on an Orphan Care
PEACE trip. During her time in Rwanda, Ariana learned about the plight
of vulnerable kids her age who live half way around the world from her, and she
learned that her life can have a global impact. “It was very moving,” she says. “When we went to the
Genocide museum and it made me realize what these survivors really went through
and how so many kids were orphaned Then the first orphanage we visited was for
special needs kids. I couldn’t imagine living there, but the kids were
delighted to see us and play with us.” Ariana and her family experienced stories of lives changed
first-hand, going on home visits to families that had recently adopted children
from the orphanage. “In the home visit that I went to, a girl was reunited with
her uncle. I was inspired by the way she described the differences between living
in an orphanage and a family.” Over the course of the trip, the Crary family saw their family
grow closer as their lives changed together. “Going to Rwanda has changed my life,” says Ariana. “Through
my trip to Africa, I became exposed to the harshness of reality people have to deal with. It inspires me to help. I think this trip’s
experiences and its impact will stay with me for the rest of my life.” Her mother, Brenda, states “One of the most fulfilling parts
of the trip for me was to see my kids step up and into their role to serve
others, no matter what it took. It was by far the best family trip I have ever
been on with my children. It brought us closer as a family and we’ll forever
have the memories of Rwanda.”
If you and your family are interested in an Orphan Care PEACE
trip to Rwanda, contact us at orphans@saddleback.com
or call the Orphan Care line at 949-609-8555 for more information.
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Did you know that for $38 a month, you can change a child’s
life? Saddleback’s
Rwanda
Orphan Sponsorship
program provides hope for children in orphanages by
sponsoring families who need a bit of financial support to bring a child into
their home. When orphans gain a family they become permanent sons and
daughters.
Listen here to Kay Warren’s message on how you can get
involved:
Hi I’m Kay Warren. I’d
like to tell you about a new kind of child sponsorship. Children need the love
of a family, which is why we’re working in Rwanda to help them empty all their
orphanages and place those children into permanent caring families.
Of the 3000 children
in orphanages, 1200 now have families to call their own. There’s still more to
be done. You can help empty orphanages by sponsoring a family in Rwanda,
helping a child reunite with or regain a family.
Sponsorship helps a
family provide school feels, food, clothes, and health insurance for the child.
You can learn more at saddleback.com/sponsorship. When you sponsor you are
helping an orphan become a son or a daughter again.
To begin sponsoring a
family in Rwanda visit
saddleback.com/sponsorship.
Thank you.
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Mike and Brenda Crary are ordinary Saddleback Church members
who responded to Pastor Rick’s challenge to step out in faith by going on an
Orphan Care trip to Rwanda in the summer of 2014. They decided to bring their
entire family, and together through Saddleback’s Orphan Care Initiative they
learned how to help equip local churches to empty orphanages. They thought they
knew what was in store for them, but as often happens on a PEACE trip, God used
them in a way they never expected. As part of their home visits made with local church members,
Mike and Brenda stopped by to check in on a family prior to their reunification
with their 17-year-old daughter. This family had placed their daughter in the
orphanage long ago thinking it would be the best place for her. It wasn’t until
they heard from their local church about the harm caused by institutional care
that they decided to reunite. The mother, Mama Evette, was tending to newborn twins as she
waited with anticipation for her daughter to return home from the orphanage for
good. As the Crarys held the newborns and chatted with the family, they learned
that Mama Evette was a genocide survivor who had given her life to Christ at a
local church sometime after the genocide. Soon after, she married her
ex-boyfriend when he gave his life to Christ. They had recently had the twins
whom the Crarys were now admiring. Noticing the babies’ strong startle response, Mike shared
how all babies have the inborn reflex to raise their hands when they feel the
sensation of falling. Mama Evette was astounded. She told the Crarys how she
had been praying about this behavior and was deeply worried her babies were
experiencing demonic attack. Friends had even visited and advised Mama Evette
to take her baby to the witch doctor for treatment. But in faith, Mama Evette
had refused to go because she was now a believer in Jesus. Brenda further explained how premature babies exhibit the
behavior more frequently because their developing nervous systems are highly
sensitive. Mama Evette confirmed that the twins were born prematurely. Excitement
filled the room as this mother realized both her babies were healthy and
growing normally. God had listened to Mama Evette’s prayers and responded by
granting her the reassurance she craved through the Crarys’ visit. God could have chosen anyone to answer Mama Evette’s
prayers, yet He orchestrated that the Crarys would travel to Rwanda to be the
vehicle of his love. It didn’t take any
special skills – just knowledge they already had, training they received, and a
willingness to say “yes” to God. Because the Crary family had the faith to go,
God used them in the lives of Mama Evette and her babies.
If you are interested in joining Orphan Care on a PEACE trip
like Mike and Brenda, join us at the monthly PEACE night gathering on at 6pm in
Tent 3 on the 4th Saturday of every month, or contact us at
orphans@saddleback.com or by phone at (949) 609-8555.
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Your presence will make a difference this Saturday night. 6:00pm at
the Lake Forest Campus. The Orphan Care Initiative community gathers at
PEACE night where your voice matters- you’ll also hear what God has been doing
what He has in store for you. You are making an impact for his precious
children locally and globally!
Here's a few great places to get connected to the Orphan Care
community, starting THIS SATURDAY:
PEACE NIGHT THIS Saturday,
February 28th – 6:00pm in Tent 3
Meet friends and get exciting updates from the Orphan Care
Initiative this weekend! We will start at 6pm in Tent 3 on the Saddleback
Church Lake Forest Campus, head to regional breakouts and come together for the
Orphan Care Initiative breakout at 7:30 in room 303. PEACE Night is also a
great time to learn how to go on an Orphan Care PEACE trip. Learn how to
take your next step and get involved!
THINKING ABOUT ADOPTION OR
FOSTER CARE? March 4th - Wednesday - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Have you considered adopting or fostering, but aren’t sure how to get
started? Every first Wednesday of the month from 6:30-8:30pm in MO2, families
from our church who have adopted and fostered share helpful overviews and
answer your questions in a no-pressure environment. If that time doesn't work
for you, we’d still love to talk to you. Free to call or meet with us for more
information on fostering and adopting!
JOIN OUR LOCAL AND GLOBAL ACTION TEAMS You can serve in
ways too numerous to name, but here’s a sample: Serve orphans and
vulnerable children in our neighborhoods. Play with children temporarily
housed for their protection in Orange County, serve an individual foster
children by being their volunteer/mentor in the court system, help teach local
churches in orphan care, come alongside adoptive or foster families.
Serve in sponsorship, social media, website development, writing, hospitality/event
hosts, or advocacy. There’s a place for you!
RWANDA: EMPTY ORPHANAGES STRENGTHEN CHURCHES
There’s room for you! Join an upcoming trip. Learn more
this Saturday or email orphans@saddleback.com.
Interested? Just let us know and we will find the exact spot for you,
your family or your small group. We’ll help get you connected and
provide any necessary training.
Have questions? Need more information? Connect with us by email (orphans@saddleback.com)
or phone (949-609-8555)! We can't wait to serve with you soon!
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