I (Alyson Walker) spent most of the day today at Oklahoma Foster Care Forum in Tulsa. I heard from different people from different agencies all caring for orphans. I heard sad numbers today. Oklahoma needs 1197 more families who will become foster families to take care of the 10,600+ children in the foster care system today. It is not the child’s fault that they are in the system. We are commanded to care for these children. What is your church doing to care for the orphans?
I have talked about Sweet Sleep before and I want to share an update on what they are doing now! They have kicked off an new arm of Sweet Sleep called Heart for 1. Read below what Madelene Metcalf, Sweet Sleeps Global Ministry Director wrote while in Moldova kicking off Moldova’s Heart for Orphans event. Then check out their website to learn more www.sweetsleep.org.
“Weve been told this will be the coldest winter Moldova has seen in 100 years. Today that proved to be true. Beautiful Moldova greeted us with cloudy skies and brisk temps as Jen, on her 32ndvisit and I on my second, drove across the small Eastern European country to the South, where our Country Director, Pastor IonGroza,awaited our arrival.
It all began hereten years ago. The mission was simple: to show Gods love through the gift of a bed and a bible. Over the years, though, weve learned so much. Weve learned theres more that God requires of us and, in fact, is calling us to do. We believe that God did not create children to be orphans; He created them to be sons and daughters. He did not intend for them to grow up in orphanages;but in homes with moms and dads to tuck them into bed at night.
We are humbled and honored to announce the birth of Heart For 1, a ministry of Sweet Sleep. Heart For 1focuses entirely on family preservation;placing, and keeping, children in families as God intends them to be. Our vision is simple: we dream of a world in which there are no more orphans.
We are in Moldova this week (October 2-9) to participate in the Moldova: Heart For Orphans event. Over the next eight days, 120 meetings will be held throughout Moldova in round tables, visits to orphanages, government offices, poor families and local churches to motivate and sensitize the Church and country to a greater openness for orphans and to activate involvement of Christian families to take these children into their homes and families as the Government continues the process of closing its orphanages.
This year weve seen with complete clarity the way God is moving Sweet Sleep, through Heart For 1, toward placing children into homes. Just as God has moved us to establish Heart For 1, God has also moved each of our Global Staff toward placing children into families within their own communities. Please pray for this effort asMoldova: Heart For Orphansworks to encourage and equip the Church to rise up and care for the orphan. Pray forhow you can be involvedto ensureevery child in Moldova is tucked into bed by theirmom and dad. Our goal is to raise $20,000 to help place and keep children into homes. The solution is so clear but we cannot do it without you. Should you feel led to make a gift, go towww.sweetsleep.org, click donate, and select Moldova: Heart For Orphans to ensure your gift willbe used to make a family whole.”
Thankfully,
Madelene
If you have any questions about Sweet Sleep, Orphan Care, Foster Care, Adoption, how to care for orphans if you are not called to adopt or foster, or anything else please feel free to contact me, Alyson Walker, @ alyson@stbc.net. I would love to talk with you and brainstorm with you about what’s we can do to get these terrible numbers to zero!!!
Serving Him by serving children,
Alyson Walker
