Monday, June 24, 2013

New Week: Welcome the Kramer Family

Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Welcome our featured family of the week - the Kramer family! Daune and Alicia Kramer have three children,  Devin (11), Lexi (10), and Ava Mae (8). After hosting 15 year old Miranda from Latvia last year at Christmas, the Kramers have decided to adopt her. You can follow the Kramer's adoption journey at their blog.


 
How You Can Help

1. PRAY for the Kramer's adoption.

2. SHARE their video via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. Please help us spread the word!  The Kramers are traveling on their first trip to Latvia in July to bring Miranda home. Latvia is a three trip country. Three trips adds up to a lot of travel expenses for their adoption! The good news is the Kramer's have a $4,000 matching grant, so every dollar you give will be doubled! We would love to raise $4,000 dollars this week so the Kramer's would be $8,000 closer to bringing Miranda home!

3. GIVE $1 (or more if you feel led.) You can give your tax deductible donation to the Kramer's matching grant at Promise 686. Just click below to donate.

Click here to check out the world map that will take you to the other Give1Save1 pages: US, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Adopting from Europe and want to be a family of the week? Send me an email at give1save1europe (at) gmail.com and I'll send you an email explaining how to apply!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Country Shout Out: Poland

Hi, there! Hope your day is going well! Have you met our family of the week and watched their video yet? If not you should check it out and give $1!

This week's country shout out goes to Poland! In 2011, 52 children were adopted from Poland by American parents.

In case you were wondering, Poland is located right here:


Now, for little bit of Polish culture and history brought to you by Rick Steves:




For more information about adopting from Poland, check the Department of State's website on Intracountry Adoption.

The following adoption agencies have Poland adoption programs. (There may be other agencies with programs, these are just the ones of which I am aware. I am not endorsing any of these agencies. Please do your own research, ask for references, etc.)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ways to Help Orphans Without Adopting #2: Sponsor an Orphan

Welcome to the 2nd post in the series, Ways to Help Orphans Without Adopting. If you have ever thought, "Our family isn't able to adopt family. We still want to fulfill James 1:27.  How can we care for the need of orphans?" then this series of post is perfect for you! I know that not every family can or should adopt. I would love to suggest some ways you can support orphans.

Sponsor an Orphan

Did you know that for a small amount of money every month, you can provide clothing, food, clean water, and perhaps most importantly education for an orphaned or at risk child? There are many reputable organizations through which you can sponsor a child. I will feature a few on this blog.

Every Orphan's Hope

 
100% of your $27 goes toward the care of your child. That includes food, clothing, school supplies and healthcare. You’re not just sending money, you’re raising an orphan to life! By writing letters to your child, you can follow their daily triumphs and challenges, learn their prayer requests, and share your own. You can meet your sponsored child when you sign-up for one of our mission trips! Don’t be surprised if you find one of your letters hanging on their wall. You, as a sponsor, are now part of the family!

Every Orphan’s Hope pairs eight orphans with one widow whom they call “mama.” They live in a one-story red brick home where they are loved and cared for in a godly environment. The children pray together, cook and clean together, and walk to school together. They become a newly formed band of brothers and sisters who look after each other.

Because every one of our homes has its own private Facebook page, you can meet your child’s friends, watch videos of them singing, laughing and playing, and you can foster relationships with other sponsors of your child.

Our goal is to match 12 sponsors to each child. This enables sponsors to commit to an affordable monthly investment; it forms accountability between sponsors and Every Orphan’s Hope; and it showers our orphans with love!

Sponsoring a child is an enriching life experience that you will treasure forever


Orphan's Tear



We've made sponsoring a child through Orphan's Tear a simple process. First, browse through the photos of unsponsored children and let your heart lead you to your special child. When you find him or her, click "Sponsor This Child" and complete your contact information and method of giving. 100% of what we receive from you is sent to the Christian orphanage where your child lives. We strive to do our very best to keep you up to date, albeit from afar, in the day-to-day lives of your sponsored children. When you sponsor an orphan, you are automatically subscribed to receive our monthly mini-updates highlighting things happening within the ministry of Orphan's Tear,  and often learning things about the orphanages where your sponsored children live. Additionally, every quarter, you can get updated news about the orphanage where your child lives by logging in to your online account. Once logged in, you can also download pictures of your sponsored child to print or use as desktop wallpaper on your computer.

Friends of the Orphan


Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, thousands of children receive the food, shelter and education that they desperately need.  We invite you to experience first-hand the difference that sponsorship makes in the life of a child. As a sponsor you may choose to support a boy or girl of any age living at a Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") home. Your friendship will help show a child that he or she is loved and your financial support will protect his or her future. When you sponsor a child you will receive:

• A welcome letter from NPH
• A photo of the child
• Personal history of the child
• An annual school progress report
• Personal letters from the child, in Spanish or French and translated to English
• The opportunity to visit the child you sponsor at the NPH home
• The satisfaction of knowing you are making a difference in a child's life
 

Compassion International and World Vision are also reputable child sponsorship programs, although they are not specific to orphans.

Monday, June 17, 2013

New Week: Welcome the McAninch Family!

Happy Monday! Hope your weekend was great! This week, we are excited to feature the McAninch family. Please welcome Tammy and Guy McAninch, and their two children, Liam and Eli, to Give1Save1 Europe!

 
Tammy and Guy are adopting, Max, a 15 year old waiting child in eastern Europe. You can follow the McAninch's adoption on their Facebook groupThe McAninchs created this video about adopting Max! Enjoy!



 
Tammy shared this about their adoption journey:
 
"As many of you may know, we have decided to embark on a crazy beautiful adventure that was truly designed by God. We have decided to adopt a 14 year old, Eastern European boy named Max.

Let me begin by telling you a little bit about Max. He lives in an orphanage with 200 or more other children. He has strabismus (lazy eye), and he walks with a limp. He is very small for his age, and we've been told he is often picked on by the bigger children. Max desperately wants a family. He wants to be loved. He wants to be sacrificed for. He wants to be redeemed.

Guy and I have felt led to adopt since before we were married. We knew there were kids out there hurting, and we knew that we could offer them a family. Not long after we were married (almost exactly 9 months) our first son was born. He was beautiful and perfect and we loved him with our whole hearts, but we knew there was more. There was still a child still out there who needed us. A child who was searching for a family. Not long after our son was born we became licensed foster parents. Foster parenting was rewarding in so many ways, and we saw children joyfully reunited with their families. Our hearts swelled with the work God was doing, but we knew there was more. There was someone still out there who we were meant to love. Our second son was born two short years after our first and we didn't think we could love more than we already did, but our hearts grew and we loved him just as much as our first. We had two beautiful, healthy boys, but we still felt God whisper that there was more. There was still a child lost and alone who wanted a family. We prayed and trusted God to guide us, and on New Year's Day of 2013 I picked Jeremiah 29:11-13 as our verse of the year. Little did I know the comfort and reassurance this verse would bring us over the next few months as God unraveled our adoption story.

It was an ordinary day in early January filled with the busyness that toddlers bring to a family when we got an email that would change our lives forever. It was an email passed through the grapevine advocating for an Eastern European orphan named Max. There he was in our inbox telling us he wanted a family. Telling us he wanted a home and that he couldn't explain why, but he knew there was more. We felt God fill our hearts and say "This is him. This is the child I have prepared for you". We looked at each other and agreed that this was it! We immediately hit the ground running and God has grown us and guided us through this crazy adventure. We have struggled, doubted, and fell to our knees in prayer, and some how God has used us. We are weeks away from traveling to go get Max, and we are still in need of funding. We have done fundraising and more fundraising, and then topped it off with more fundraising. We are now down to the wire, and will be leaving in just a few short weeks to bring our son home. To give Max the family he has been praying for. We have generously been given a $5,000 matching grant that, if achieved, will mean Max's adoption is fully funded!"
 
 - Tammy McAninch

  How You Can Help

1. PRAY

2. SHARE their video via Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram,  etc. Please help us spread the word!  The McAninchs are traveling in August to bring home their son Max. They need to raise $10,000 to be fully funded for their adoption and travel expenses. The McAninchs have a $5,000 matching grant!  Every dollar given will be matched dollar for dollar! If we could raise $5,000 this week, it will be matched with another $5,000 and the McAninchs' adoption will be fully funded!

3. GIVE $1 (or more if you feel led.) You can give your tax deductible donation at Reece's Rainbow or Pure Charity. Just click below to donate on Pure Charity or click here to go to Reece's Rainbow.

UPDATE: We have raised $534! Thank you for your generous giving! Only $4,466 left to go!




Click here to check out the world map that will take you to the other Give1Save1 pages: US, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Adopting from Europe and want to be a family of the week? Send me an email at give1save1europe (at) gmail.com and I'll send you an email explaining how to apply!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

On My Adoption Play List..."Just May Be" by Karyn Williams

"Just May Be" by Karyn Williams expresses the reason many of us our choosing to be parents through adoption! I love it!



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Ways to Help Orphans Without Adopting #1: Prayer

Welcome to our new series, Ways to Help Orphans Without Adopting. If you have ever thought, "Our family isn't able to adopt family. We still want to fulfill James 1:27.  How can we care for the need of orphans?" then this series of post is perfect for you! I know that not every family can or should adopt. I would love to suggest some ways you can support orphans.

Pray

Pray for orphans world wide. Pray for their spiritual and physical needs. Pray that these children will receive the gift of parents and families. Pray that they will have food and shelter and someone to care for them. Pray that they will learn of Jesus love for them and in return love Jesus.

Kay Warren prepared a 40 day prayer guide for orphans you can download for free here.

"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." -James 5:16b
 

Monday, June 10, 2013

New Week: Welcome the Johnson Family

Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! This week on Give1Save1 Europe, we are featuring the Johnson family! Please meet Phillip and Erin Johnson and their children, Wesley, Mariah, and Wyatt. The Johnson will be adopting a sibling group of four brothers from Ukraine! You can follow their adoption journey on their blog.

"We felt the call to adopt shortly after the birth of our second son, and we chased that calling immediately despite not having "enough" money, only being in our 20s, and having 2 very young children. We watched God provide for us time and time again. We never met a mountain that He could not move. After returning from Ukraine in 2010 with our 4 year old daughter, we knew we could never return to "life as normal." How can a person look into the eyes of orphans and not be changed? Yes, our daughter had a family now, but we knew we had to do more. In the summer of 2012 we hosted a 7 year old boy from Ukraine with no intent to adopt him, but fell.in.love. For Christmas 2012, we took a huge leap of faith and re-hosted him AND his older brother. God very clearly spoke to us during that time, that these were OUR boys, and we firmly believe that if God has called us to it, He will see us through it. The boys we hosted also have 2 younger brothers. All 4 boys (ages 10, 8, 7, and 2) need to be adopted together." - Erin Johnson

The Johnson created the video below from the pictures they took while hosting the sons! Enjoy!



This week instead of Give1Save1 it is Give1Save4! Could you spare $1 (or more) to help the Johnson family bring home their 4 sons? The Johnson's still need to raise $17,000. This week your gift will be tax deductible though Adopt Together. Just click the link below to give! Please share this post with all your family and friends!


Update: So far this week, we have raised $2,166 for the Johnson family! 5 more days to go!

For more information about orphan hosting, check out Children's Cultural Connection and New Horizons for Children.

Click here to check out the world map that will take you to the other Give1Save1 pages: US, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Adopting from Europe and want to be a family of the week? Send me an email at give1save1europe (at) gmail.com and I'll send you an email explaining how to apply!