|
CHRISTMAS
ADOPT-A-FAMILY
This
Christmas LifeGroups and families from 121 have adopted 11
refugee families from  World
Relief. These families have come from all over the world but
in particular Burma, Iraq, Burundi & Somalia.
These 121 LifeGroups and families have been a tremendous blessing
as they have provided warm clothing, household items, toys or
even invited a refugee family into their home. Many of these
families have never experienced Christmas and may not even know
who Jesus is. This has been a really neat way to share about
the true meaning of Christmas.
Tonight
my LifeGroup actually went to deliver the gifts to the refugee
family that we adopted. It was so neat to see the youngest
boy's eyes light up when he saw his gifts. We even caught
him singing “Happy
Birthday to me!” He was so happy. This family spoke very little
English so we did our best to communicate through hand gestures
until we finally got one of the refugees from another family
to come over who was able to understand English a lot better.
He told us the family was ready to open up their gifts. So
we sat there, helping them, watching them as they opened their
Christmas presents. We soon found out that the family was Christians,
so we were able to pray with them and communicate the love
of Christ in a very real way. It was such a joyous experience
as I can imagine it has been for each and every one of the
life groups or families involved with this ministry this Christmas.
If you
or your family are looking for a special way to bless some
refugee families during the week between Christmas and New
Years, there is a great opportunity.
The staff of World Relief typically provides transportation to and from work
for several refugees. However, the staff will not be working
from December 25th until the 30th.
If you are able to provide work rides for these special people,
please contact Lisa Olsen at 817-881-2831.
::Lisa
Olsen |
FREEDOM
LIVING How will I get the medicine I need? Where do I get money for
school books? How do I make soup? Who do I call if someone is
harassing me?
These
are just some of the questions that thousands of orphans in
Russia are faced with each year when they transition out of
their orphanages between the ages of 15 and 17. The Fireworks
program provides answers to some of the endless questions facing
the unprepared youth. An outreach of Spoken For, Fireworks offers
young people in Penza, Russia an alternative to struggling alone
through independent living. The program provides housing and
meets their many spiritual, physical, educational, and medical
needs, as well as providing job placement assistance.
By building long-lasting relationships with the young people,
adult mentors are able to give valuable guidance on life issues
that can be carried into adulthood.  Most of the orphanage graduates
have never had an adult consistently invest time, energy, and
care into them. One of the goals of Fireworks is to ensure that
each participant in the program knows that there are people who
will always care about them. Having the basic needs of belonging
and acceptance met contributes greatly to becoming a successful
adult.
Now
there is an opportunity to invest in the lives of the young
people of Fireworks by helping provide for their daily needs.
Freedom Living is a recently launched project that profiles
the lives of several individuals in the program as well as
highlighting their practical needs. You can “purchase” items
such as sheets, school supplies, dressers, tools, and more
to be given to the young adults. To view the Freedom Living
opportunities online, visit www.spokenfor.org/fwcatalog.
You can also pick up a print version at the 121 Information Desk.
The opportunities to learn more about the participants and to give
are available year-round. |
