House of Faith in Thailand is without water. 

Since their well quit working
approximately two weeks ago, they have had to go to the river for water to bathe
and have had to purchase water for drinking and cooking.

They have raised $1,000 for a new well, but need an additional $5,500 to complete the
project. they need your help.

Giving New Life (Haven of Hope, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)

Greetings in Christ!  We hope that all is well with
each of you as we are starting a new year! Two months have passed since our last
newsletter and we are excited to share with you all the things that have been
going on at Haven of Hope. All of us are involved in this ministry, one
way or another, because Jesus has given each of us new life. In this issue we
want to share with you how YOU are giving new life to the children at
Haven of Hope! Each child that comes to Haven of Hope
has little or no hope for a brighter tomorrow and when YOU step in with
your prayers, your gifts and your letters to the children you are breathing new
hope into their hearts, loving them back to life.

   This past December my daughter and I, along with Renee Hooey, had the privilege
of visiting the staff and children at Haven of Hope. Over the years I have taken
several trips to the orphanage and once again I am inspired to continue to
support the work at Haven of Hope in any way I can. The eyes say it
all. The burdens these little ones carry, burdens that even adults should not
have to deal with, disappear from their eyes as God restores the innocence that
He meant for them to have from the beginning.
  During our stay we were able
to share in the daily life happening at Haven of Hope. We joined the
children and staff as they participated in two events hosted by the local
Newspaper, El Deber.  Thanks to our very own Psychologist (and talented singer),
Abisag, "our" kids competed in several different age classes, against other
orphanages, and won most enthusiastic!  A title they have held for several
years.  Winnings included a juice extractor, beautiful dishes and a small
stove/oven.

The second event was open to all children in Santa Cruz that wrote in their
"wish list" for Christmas.  Local "celebrities" including international
athletes, models and local businessmen sponsored the children and all attended a
luncheon where they gave the children their gifts. This was an incredible
blessing to the children as many received bicycles for the first time in their
lives! 
  In addition to these special events our days were spent loving the
children and encouraging the staff. We had the privilege of meeting Mercedes, a
volunteer from Spain that has been using her background in social work to teach
the kids much needed social skills.  She lives life with the children and has
many opportunities to coach them with their interactions with each other and the
staff.  She is an incredible blessing to Haven of Hope.
  But the
Highlight of our trip was provided through the generosity of YOU, our sponsors:
seeing the children who have so very little, receive gifts and this year it was
truly beyond their belief.  I sent many of you a request to purchase a child an
outfit and thanks to your generous giving, we were able to cover each child! 
They each wore their new outfits at the Christmas dinner and their smiles were
from ear to ear.  They were thrilled to see your pictures that you sent with the
donations.  Gladys has said on many occasions that part of their healing is
through the love they receive through their connection with us.  Thank you for
your generosity.  Stay tuned, I have pictures to send you of your child with
their outfit.
  As always it’s amazing to see the transition in the children
from year to year, they have become an extension of my own family and evidence
that God is still doing miracles.  The joy and love in their hearts is
overflowing and contagious!

Infected with the Hope bug,
Alice Skaff

 In May of this year, it will have been 2 years since Yuliana had to flee from
her home, to get away from the adults in her life who were mistreating her.
“I lived with my sister Gabriela before I had to leave, because we were in
danger. We used to play together and had a good time together.” Few of us
would call it a “normal life” when siblings live without their parents, trying
to make it through each day on their own. But in Bolivia, where 2.5 million
children live in severe poverty and are often abandoned by their parents because
there is just not enough food for everyone, life without parents is just another
way to live. According to UNICEF, respect for child rights does not yet exist in
Bolivia. Daily life reflects the perception of children as objects, their
parents' property. A large part of the population still considers it normal to
smack or beat children to discipline them, to make sure they respect their
elders. So when parents abandon their children, the children have no protection
from someone who truly loves and cares for them. Other adults step in and
exploit them in many different ways, including physical abuse, sexual abuse,
child labor, and the list goes on.
  Yuliana puts a face for us on those
statistics. She is 10 years old now, and after years of no schooling and not
knowing where her next meal would come from, she has found a safe and happy
place to call home. When we asked her if she likes living at Haven of Hope, her
face lit up, and she said, nodding enthusiastically: “Si, mucho!” (Yes,
very much!) She remembers that when she first arrived at Haven of Hope,
she was crying because she didn't know if these adults would treat her any
different from the ones she had to flee from. “And then I met Mama Gladys
and Papa Marco (leaders of Haven of Hope), and I talked with another girl who
lives at the home, Cinthya, and I met the Tias, Esther and Olga. I started to
feel very happy right away, because they were so nice and kind to me. Cinthya
gave me one of her stuffed animals for me to keep and hold. That made me feel so
good. I am very happy here. I love to play dodge ball with the other kids and my
favorite food is rotisserie chicken. The Tias taught me how to pray and trust in
God!”
  At Haven of Hope Yuliana now has a cozy bed, clean
sanitary facilities, toys to play with, three healthy meals per day, medical
care, adults who love and nurture her, and many friends who treat her right. For
the first time in her life, she is receiving an education and even finished at
the top of her class this past year. Now Yuliana’s life resembles much more a
normal, healthy life in which she can thrive, and thriving she does. “Here
they taught me that it is not ok to beat others and that it is not ok when I get
beaten. I learned that we should not insult each other and fight.”
 
Yuliana  will face many more challenges growing up in a developing nation. One
sad challenge that she already has to face is that her sister Gabriella is not
at Haven of Hope. “I  pray every day that God would protect her and
take good care of her. And I pray that God would bless Haven of Hope, that it
will always be a happy place, and that I can stay.”

Six years ago, they applied to adopt. Forms submitted, requirements complied with. A name was even chosen… a name that would help them hold on, even though somewhat premature. Rain. That God would reign in their lives and the life of their child-to-be.

As time went on, they prayed and waited. Life moved on, questions swirled, but they still believed that one day, they would get their precious child. A walk in the field last January. ‘Let’s choose the second name GRACE for our child, if it is a girl.’ ‘Yes’, was the reply. ‘It is only the grace of God that keeps up holding on in hope.’

The rest of their walk was in silence, each heart so full of anticipation and hope. How long could they sit here waiting? They just wanted a child. Was that too much to ask for?

On a bright sunny afternoon, two years ago, my social worker and I went to pick upan abandoned child from a government hospital. We were surprised when we were offered another baby at the same time. The nurses laughing quietly, ‘We have lots ofabandoned babies here. Take your pick!’ I was irritated at their laughter.

I asked to see the babies that were abandoned and already cleared for discharge. On that day, we went to pick up one child and we came home with 5. I’ll never forget the looks on the faces of the medical personnel. Nor will I forget the faces of those 5 precious little ones.

One of the babies, was a tiny, premature, little waif. She had been left in the hospital and had not even been given a name. As is our custom, we prayed and I asked God for her name. I believe names are significant and children can grow into their meaning.

One year later, after papers were organized and requirements on our end all settled, we went to choose a family from the long roster. The family we chose sat well in ourhearts. We were excited.

On the day they received the ‘allocation phone call’ from their government, they were of course, thrilled. How many years had they waited for this moment. As no information is given over the phone, they nervously went to the office of the social worker and waited.

As they opened the file, they saw their beautiful daughter-to-be. Her name was written in big letters at the top of her picture. Raina Grace.

No one can argue how God prepared that couple for this child.

No one can argue the struggle it is to wait and wonder. And no one can question that God was in control of this match. I believe the couple was chosen long before she was even born.

As 2012 begins:

May you be encouraged to pray for our orphans and children waiting for permanent families.

May you be encouraged and uplifted if you are still waiting on a long sent application for a child.

 May your heart remember this story and know that while each child orphaned or surrendered was once in their own mother’s womb, whatever circumstances led to their eventual adoption, God saw and God knew where He would place that child.

There is no question, it is hard to wait and hard to hold on. But while you are anxiously waiting, your child may be healing, may be learning, may be only about to be born.

Pray. Believe. And don’t lose heart. God’s timing is always perfect.

For Raina Grace and her new family…she was worth the wait.

Ricki

As with many of our children,
someone who knew our work, brought the sibling group of 4 last week.

The
mother has been in jail for several months. The father goes to work on Monday,
leaving the 7 year old to care for the 5, 4,and 2 year old. He leaves no food
and no money. When he comes home on Saturday night, if he finds out they have
been asking the neighbors for food or water, he beats them.

There are no words to describe the tears of a 7 year old, aged beyond her years
with the burden of the lives of her siblings. Her tears are steady as she tells
of doing laundry, cleaning the house, scrounging for food for the four of them,
and  then the spankings if something is not done right. 

I can't seem to
believe what she has lived through.

And the littlest one is the casualty.
Born the night of the horrible floods of super-typhoon Ondoy, almost exactly 2
years ago, he lived only to now be slowly starving to death.

I hug them
all and tell them they are safe. They have seen too much. There is no emotion;
their eyes are deep, black holes. Their hearts are heavy, they walk slowly. They
cry no tears at being brought here. They sit staring off in the distance. I am
afraid to think what is in their minds. Their little spirits are all but
broken.

And the littlest one doesn't want to live.

I held his bony
little face in my hands last night. And I told him he had no choice; he had to
live - he had to fight - he was valuable and beautiful and I loved him. And
Jesus loved him. He could do this.

He closed his eyes as if to think deeply. It was a few minutes and he opened
them slowly. He looked at me. Yes, I said. You will live. I wrapped him up and
held him close and carried him for a long time.

"On the day you were born... you
weren't bathed and cleaned up... No one did one thing to care for you
tenderly... you were thrown out into a vacant lot and left there, dirty and
unwashed.
And then I came by. I saw you all miserable and
bloody. I said to you, 'Live!' And live you
did."

Donate Now

Today there are more than 147 million orphans in the world.  That is enough children to go three times around the world at the equator.

It is hard to grasp such large numbers, so picture being  on a very long road trip. If you had these orphans hold hands in a line, you would see over 1,700 orphans per mile.  If you were to follow that line of orphans holding hands, driving 60 mph, you could drive 24 hours a day seeing 1,700 orphans every mile, hour after hour, day after day without stopping for over two months, and you would still see orphans holding hands. How long would it take to stop and with compassion take one child in your arms to make a difference for at least one? They are hungry, lonely, afraid, have holes in their shoes, and face the greatest challenges of any children on the face of the earth. They are very real children who need someone to love them and help them. Join us!

Children of the World Ministries is dedicated to transforming the lives of these children and greatly needs your help today! There are children before us that we can't help without you. Please...

Make a Difference for One Today . . . DONATE HERE . . .

Over the last few weeks I've attempted to identify the primary factors resulting in a child becoming an orphan.  These factors include poverty, HIV/AIDS and child soldiers. Today I would like to bring your attention to perhaps the most disgusting and painful contributor of all - sex trafficking.

Faced with poverty, parents are often tempted into selling one or more of their children to traffickers. Some traffickers lure the girls away with promises of jobs and money they can send home. Their parents may or may not realize the end intent of the traffickers, but most often these children are beaten, drugged and forced into a life of sexual slavery.

Many of the orphanages we serve have a focused and specific mission of rescuing girls - and often young boys - from the grip and tyranny of sex traffickers.

Rescue an orphan . . . save the world!

Darrell Rice

In dozens of countries children are being used by resistance armies, militias and terrorist organizations. These children between the ages of 3-17 are either lured off the streets, bought from parents in extreme poverty or kidnapped during attacks by these same armies which kill their parents. Abused physically, psychologically and sometimes sexually, these children are forced into armed conflict, eventually being responsible for many more children being orphaned in these battles.

Many of the Children of the World orphanages, schools and feeding centers in Africa rescue and house child soldiers and their siblings. 100% of all gifts - large or small - goes immediately to the assistance of orphans.

Rescue an orphan . . . save the world!

Get involved HERE

- Darrell Rice

AIDS is ravaging countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. Parents are dying and leaving their children behind. With no government system to provide help the oldest child, sometimes only 8 or 9, becomes the head of the household. Without the protection of parents these children are often preyed upon by HIV-infected adults with the mistaken belief that having sex with a virgin will cure them. Now the child becomes infected and continues the cycle of abandonment.

We at Children of the World Ministries are doing our part in response to the extraordinary needs. You can help us make a huge difference.  Any gift - large or small - goes immediately to orphans for medicine, food, housing, clothing and education.

Rescue an orphan . . . save the world!

YOU CAN HELP HERE

Every 15 seconds a child is orphaned due to AIDS alone in Africa. It is no wonder that this region of our world has been coined the continent of orphans. Our covenant/partner orphanages are rescuing children, giving them a chance at life — abundant life at that. They are sharing the love of Jesus as they meet their physical and emotional needs. We get to be a part of this incredible transformation through providing for them physically with food, shelter, clothing and education. Working together we can coin this region . . . the continent of hope!

• Get Involved HERE

Darrell Rice

Why orphans? The reality is that 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. In developing countries families are often forced to choose which of their children get to eat on any particular day. Can you imagine having to make that choice? Eventually older children are often forced out onto the streets to fend for themselves. Without an education and job skills these abandoned children perpetuate the cycle of poverty as they eventually start their own family.
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