Tooth Miracle

Steele had fallen and killed his front tooth when he was 2, he had to have it pulled a couple months ago because it was black, rotten and made his breath smell like poop.

A couple weeks ago Steele said "mom look at my tooth way up high in my mouth" he pulled up his top lip to show me a corner of a tooth sticking out of his top gum, way up above where the new, permanent tooth was supposed to come in. I was mortified. It was gonna grow straight out of his gum up there it looked like. I kept looking at it, touching it, trying to figure out if I should call the dentist, watch it or what. It was definitely his tooth coming out of his gums where it didn't belong and I wasn't sure what or if there was anything that could be done about it.

The other night during our bed time prayer I said "Steele, mommies gonna put her finger on the tooth sticking out up there and we are gonna pray that God will heal it and make it go back into your gums and down into the space it supposed too." Steele said "ok" and he closed his eyes and we prayed.

Today, Evangeline was asking Steele if she could look at it,(we had all become morbidly fascinated by this tiny corner of a tooth coming out of his gums) Steele lifted his lip to show her and when she went to touch it, the little tooth fragment fell out! His gum had a dip in it, like a mark where that piece of tooth had been sticking out but there wasn't a hole!

I told Steele that God had answered our prayers. Now the tooth could come on down under the gums, into the space it's supposed too cuz it was no longer coming out way up high in his gums.

I think it would be cool if that new tooth when it comes in, has a corner off it, like a reminder from God that HE did do this. He cares about even the little things and the prayers of a 5 year old boy.

It was a tooth miracle and we know it.

Orphan Sunday-weekend

Yesterday, Aimee and Tommy Poche, who lead His Heart for Orphans, the Adoption ministry that we are apart of at HPC, received an award of recognition from the state of Lousisana for their work with the Foster Care System and adoption! Click HERE to read all about it. I am so proud of them. They are paving the way for many to follow and I am blessed to be a part of what God is doing for Orphans through the His Heart for Orphans ministry.

AND then last night at church Stephanie and Randy Rhoner dedicated baby Hayes (miracle story, they had been through 6 failed adoptions in the last three years!) and Heath and Dina Slack dedicated baby Grayden. It was a wonderful start to Orphan Sunday weekend.


Dina and Heath Slack with Jacob, Olivia, and new baby Grayden. whom they just adopted.


Randy and Stephanie Rhoner with Hayden, Kaylee and new baby Hayes.



Pastor Dino and Pastor Johnny Greene praying over the families.

And below are some pictures from today at the Dream Center. My life is full. I am a former Orphan whom God adopted. I received the grace of a beautiful marriage, a miracle daughter by birth, an adoption miracle baby, an adoption miracle 7 yr old Orphan and a niece who lives with us. And it all just makes me want more kids.

Helping Orphans, from sponsorship to adoption, to funding a Care Point or and Orphanage, all these things will make YOUR life better, while at the same time make THEIR life better.

This Orphan Sunday the miracle of adoption fills my heart in so many ways.


Family picture: Steeele, Me, Dean, Abel, Megan, Evangeline.


Evangeline kissing Abel. She so loves her little brothers.


Me and Dean. I love him.

THE BATON ROUGE DREAM CENTER-WHO WE ARE AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

Holidays are just around the corner and there are many volunteer opportunities at the Dream Center if you would like to help the less fortunate this Holiday season. I've listed the up coming events for November and also below that is all the information about the Dream Center. I am blessed to be a part of this campus, daily I thank God for allowing our family to be a part of what He is doing in the inner city of Baton Rouge. We love it!!

Here are the Thanksgiving Holiday outreach dates for your calendars:

Saturday November 7th and 14th we will be meet at Roselawn Dreamcenter at 10am to get the word out about Thanksgiving.

Saturday November 21st we will be delivering Thanksgiving Baskets to the community. We will meet at 10am at Winbourne Dreamcenter.

Sunday November 22nd after Service we will also be serving a hot thanksgiving dinner to the community.

So there are many opportunities to serve this month, come out and join us we would love to see you there.
_______________________________________________________

The Baton Rouge Dream Center is an outreach campus of Healing Place Church. We are located in the Winborne Baptist Church facilities, in one of the most crime ridden and poor areas of the city. We hope to be a light in the darkness and reach the ones forgotten and abandoned by society for Jesus Christ.

SUNDAY SERVICES
Church service starts every Sunday at noon with lively worship and preaching from Gods word. Our discipleship classes, Walk It Out, start at 11:00am. During this time we study the word of God, share some breakfast, and build relationships in a small group setting. Buses head out into the community at 10:00am to bring people to church. If you would like to be a part of our Sunday services, we need greeters, bus drivers and workers, ushers and help in the nursery and kids church. For more information contact Hope Boutte by email at hope.boutte@healingplacechurch.org

CAFE
The Cafe is one of the main entry point for people from around the Baton Rouge Dream Center that are seeking assistance or curious about all we have to offer. Many hurting, lost souls come through the doors. Often times they are in great need. Some are in need of a home, others an escape from a pimp, or maybe some tutoring, groceries, diapers. etc. The cafe is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Free Community Coffee is served, along with snack breakfast foods. On Friday, our boutique of free clothing is open during Cafe hours. A representative from each support service area of the Dream Center is available to meet with people and get them plugged into the resources that will hopefully meet their needs. Right now we need volunteers to greet the people, sit with them, fill out the intake forms, which tell us what each person needs, and also just to hang out, be a nice face, talk to the people, make them feel welcome and at home at the Baton Rouge Dream Center. If you would like to help with the Cafe please contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org or jillian.ortells@churchunited.org.

STREET YOUTH OUTREACH
In an effort to bring hope into hopeless situations, this is an outreach targeted specifically for homeless youth, at-risk kids and child prostitutes. We go to the streets to reach these kids by offering food, care kits and a listening ear. Our goal is to develop trust with these young people that they will allow us to help them to seek another life. Along with our street outreaches we will also be offering a drop-in center where homeless and at-risk youth can take a shower, wash their clothes and spend some time with people who really care. We are looking for volunteers who are willing to serve a forgotten and discarded population. It may not always be easy, but the rewards will be phenomenal. We do street youth outreach on Monday nights and Thursday during the day, drop-in hours vary (day and night), so please contact Charity Trahan at charity.trahan@churchunited.org.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm-6pm we open our doors to the youth in the community with a special youth leadership meeting Wednesdays from 3pm - 6pm. In an effort to build relationships and offer positive avenues of recreation, we offer young people ages 12-18 the chance to be involved in sports, crafts, dance and a myriad of other activities. We are in need of volunteers who are willing to give up a few hours of their time to pour into the lives of these young people. Whether you’re a sports enthusiast, a stay-at-home mom or a teacher, everyone has something to offer. More than anything else, these kids need someone to care about them and their lives. If you are interested in volunteering with our after school program please contact nathan.robert@churchunited.org

RESCUE AND RESTORE
Human trafficking is a huge problem across the globe and here in the United States. The Rescue and Restore coalition works together with other faith based organizations and government agencies in the fight against Human Trafficking. If you would like to help Rescue and Restore the victims of Human Trafficking, contact alliece.cole@healingplacechurch.org or natalie.laborde@healingplacechurch.org

MIDNIGHT OUTREACH
We reach out to those involved in the sex trade, drugs and violence. Whether they’re dancing at a strip club or selling drugs on the corner, we believe that God has a purpose for them. Through handing a dancer a rose or giving a dealer a cold drink, we have seen these simply acts of kindness speak volumes about the love of God to these lost and hurting people. For more information about Midnight Outreach please contact Summer Kelly summer.midnightoutreach@gmail.com

WAREHOUSE PREP
Every Thursday a group of volunteers help sort food, inventory products and prepare grocery bags for the weekend outreaches. We meet at our Roselawn location at 9am and usually wrap up around 12:30pm. If you are interested in being part of our behind-the-scenes prep team please contact hope.boutte@healingplacechurch.org

GED PREPARATION CLASS
Through partnership with Literacy Coalition. The Dream Center facilitates G.E.D. Preparation classes, Monday - Thursday from 9am to 1pm. Email Susan Rogers at tavelrogers@cox.net for more information.

STAND
This is a State ran program for youth who are aging out of the Foster Care system. Life skills are taught in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. Volunteers are needed to partner with this program in visiting Foster homes on special occasions, mentor the kids and the young adults as they transition into adult life and help with special events. Contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org for more information.

VICTIMS ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES
When an act of violence or sexual assault takes place, it affects the victims and their families long after the immediate act. This program provides assistance to these victims and their families in such ways like helping them connect with financial assistance for funerals, court accompaniment for the victim, along with raising awareness and building relationships with the families after they have lost someone to homicide, while walking them through their grieving process. To find out more about the program and how you can serve in this ministry contact Aaron Domingue at aaron.domingue@churchunited.org

STEP OUT
Step Out is a federally funded program that helps recently released offenders to develop life skills and to find meaningful employment. Along with job training and education, we also provide case management and mentoring to non-violent, non sex-related offenders. There are lots of people in our community who are in need of a second chance. If you are interested in investing in the lives of these men and women we invite you to join us at our mentoring program, Equip. We are always looking for men and women who could invest a few hours of time a month to help change the course of people’s lives. Please contact william.bradford@churchunited.org if you are interested in helping out.

SATURDAY OUTREACH
If your heart beats for the poor and the hurting then you need to check out the Baton Rouge Dream Center. Reaching out to the inner city through block parties, grocery giveaways, and street outreach, the BRDC endeavors to bring light to the darkness and hope to the hopeless.The first, second and third Saturday of each month at 10am we meet at 450 Roselawn for street outreach. For more information contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org.

HOMELESS OUTREACH
On Thursday mornings we serve a hot meal to the homeless population of Baton Rouge. So often these precious men and women spend their lives being overlooked and ignored by society. By providing a free meal and doing what we can to meet some of their basic needs, we can make a huge difference in someone’s life. We need volunteers to cook breakfast at 5am, at the Highland campus Outreach building, and volunteers to help serve the breakfast at 7:00am at 450 Roselawn.

We also need donations of:
1. Men’s jeans in any condition,
2. New socks and underwear.
3. New or nearly new towels.
4. Travel size personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.)
5. New or used men’s shoes.
6. Men’s coats
7. Tents
8. Blankets

You can drop off your donations at the Cooking for Christ Shed, which is adjacent to the HPAC Concession stand which is behind the HPC office building on the Highland road campus (call or email Vince prior to drop off). Or you can bring your donations by 450 Roselawn on Thursday’s between 7:00 and 8:00am. For more information contact Vince at vince@noplaceoutreach.org or call 225-445-3226.

CLOTHING BOUTIQUE
The boutique is open during Cafe hours on Friday. We always need help sorting and organizing the clothes. If you would like to help please contact jillian.ortells@churchunited.org or if you would like to donate here is what we need:

1. New clothes (or clothes that look like they’re new).
2. New socks and underwear.
3. New or nearly new towels.
4. Travel size personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.)
5. New or nearly new shoes (no heels or dress shoes)
6. New or nearly new Baby Items (diapers, blankets, strollers, clothes, etc)
7. Also we gladly receive couches, chairs or mattresses that are new or nearly new.

You may drop these items off at the BRDC/Winbourne on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday between 10am to 1pm. Please contact jillian.ortells@churchunited.org to let us know that you are coming, especially if you are bringing furniture so we can make arrangements for the items. Please label donation containers with the sizes and gender.

Authority

Authority Song - John Mellencamp

As I am typing this post I am listening to "Authority Song" by John Mellencamp. It's a true classic. I know people now that every time they gripe to me about leadership stuff, I start hearing this song in my head. I know completely what it means to fight authority, come out grinning, but in the end, authority always wins.

My boss once told me "no matter where you go, you will always be there" In that moment I realized that all the trouble I had was not the other people but my inability to work with them. I was so completely guided by an independent spirit that I had no ability to see past having to always be right. Hard lessons are hard. I was raised without a father and by the time I was 17 I was living away from family and completely on my own, so the concept of learning from and submitting to authority was very foreign to me. I have fought authority and authority won. I feel like God has taught me some hard lessons in this area and is still teaching me. (go read all my post under the category "Unmedicated child birth while getting a root canal" to see the worst of it)

Here's the bottom line. God sets up authority. God. Not you. Not the devil. God. Jesus was not a rebel in the sense that so many rebel Christian's like to say he was. He embodied love, grace, forgiveness, NOT pride, attitude, selfishness, which are at the core of fighting the authority we are under. Jesus even said "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" The entire bible is full of stories about people having to submit to one another, to authority and mostly to God. When we think we know better then the person we are under and we start bad mouthing all we are doing is hurting our selves and dripping poison into the ears of people around us.

Here are a few things God spoke to me about authority:

-Don't jump on the ship and start trying to change the way the captain does stuff, you aint the mack daddy you think you is.

-The hard truth is, You are not the only person who hears from God or has a call to action on your life. Watch and learn.

-If you cant submit to authority, but want to lead yourself, how can you expect others to submit to you?

- Next time you start spilling the poison listen to how many times you say "I", that should be your first sign it aint God.

-Pride made Satan rebel against God. The bible says that Rebellion is as witchcraft.

Those are some things to think about.

A book that changed my life is "A Tale of Three Kings" by Gene Edwards. If you have authority issues, you should read this book. I often times have to ask myself, "right now, am I being a Saul, a David or an Absolom?"

Adoption Awareness month, Hard Questions

November is Adoption awareness month. Orphan care is the passion of my heart and adoption is a huge part of caring for orphans so I will be doing several post about adoption this month, which is not at all out the norm here at The Wardrobe and the White Tree BUT I'd also like to ask you some questions and ask you to submit questions concerning adoption.

This was actually inspired by a comment I received the other day on my post about the adoption booth at Live The Dream. This is the comment and my response to her really great question.

Anonymous said...

"God will provide the funds" Is that also what you tell young unmarried expectant mothers who are struggling to raise their baby themselves? How much of the money you raise goes to them to keep their families together?
Claire

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Carole Turner said...

Absolutely I would Claire. My sister was 15 when she got pregnant with my nephew. If an unwed girl came to me and said she wanted to keep her baby but was afraid she couldn't do it financially, I would definitely encourage her to seek her father God, believe he loves her, will provide for her because she is his beautiful daughter.

Carole Turner said...

Forgot to answer your question, none of the money we raise goes to girls wanting to keep their babies. We are an adoption ministry but we do partner with a single moms ministry led by Jennifer Maggio who herself raised two kids by herself till she married a few years ago. Our church even partners with a home for unwed mothers.

I really do appreciate Claire asking a hard question. I don't claim to have all the answers to every adoption question, I don't know if Claire liked my answer to her question but all I can do is answer honestly and I do know lots of people living out many different adoption situations, I know they will help me if any of you hit me with a real doozie.

So send me your questions (you can post anonymously if you like) and here are a few I would love for you to answer:

Have you ever felt a pull toward adopting a child?

Why not adopt?

What are your fears?

Adopting Every waiting Child in the United States

by Jason Kovacs

Did you know that there are roughly 130,000 children that are waiting for adoption in the United States today? These children have had their parental rights terminated and living in temporary situation (either a temporary foster family or group home). Legally they are wards of the State with no parents but the government. You can adopt these children at no cost! In fact, in most States, you will receive a monthly stipend.

Every child in America (in the world) should have a permanent family. There is no excuse for this! So, what would it take to find each of these kids a family? To start off, I broke down the numbers by Southern Baptist Churches (they were the easiest to find figures for – as I have time I will add up all the other evangelical denominations – my initial count is roughly 170,213). But, just counting Southern Baptist churches the results and ratios are very powerful. There are roughly 40,000 Southern Baptist Churches in the US. If every church committed to 3 children, every child would be cared for. In 11 States all it would take is 1 church committing to 1 child. Again, that is just counting the SBC!

Will you please 1) Look at the numbers below, and 2) pray with me that God would move in an unprecendented way among His church to see that every one of these children (every number is a child!) have a permanent home. And in the case of the children represented below who are 16-17 years old and about to age out of the system, pray that they would have a family who would commit to care for them when they are left on their own in a couple months or a year.

For the full chart with all 50 States click here to download in pdf.

http://abbafund.wordpress.com/

Blankets and Coats for the Homeless

Winter is on it’s way and we are in need of blankets and/or coats, mittens, hats, etc. to give to our homeless brothers and sisters so they can stay warm.

This Holiday season, you can bless someone who will never know who you are.. but God knows. So if you have any clean, used or new blankets and coats that you would like to donate, please put them in a bag labeled “homeless outreach” and leave the bag at the Cooking for Christ shed behind the HPC offices. We will be handing them out at the homeless breakfast on Thursday mornings, at 7am, 450 Roselawn Ave and after the breakfast when we go out into the city where the homeless sleep and live throughout the down town area.

Thank you and God Bless you for helping the less fortunate this winter.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, you can contact Vincent@noplaceoutreach.org

What brings me joy..

Life in the fast lane

My weekend consisted of trying to get back into life as usual after being at the Story conference for four days. I have never gone away from my entire family, for even one day, much less four. I came home to a clean house, sweet husband and children and a day to rest and recuperate. It all was such a blessing.

Going to Story inspired me greatly. I really pray I can go back again next year. And being with Donna Frank and Natalie Spera at the conference was an added joy. We are all so completely different and we had a blast. I am so honored to call these two ladies my friends.

Meetingh with Carolynn Twietemeyer and Melinda Devonouge of Project Hopeful the Tuesday before Story really inspired my heart. It's like they were part of my conference experience because talking with them about Ethiopia and HIV+ adoptions, was just as educational, inspiring and God ordained as was the conference. My favorite speakers at the conference were Dave Gibbons, Chris Seay, Donald Miller and Skye Jathani who did a workshop. I have also been reading Skye's book, The Divine Commodity ( I will be writing a review of this book soon) and it is rocking my world! It is so speaking to me right now, where I am and where I am headed. I love when God drops a book into your life that confirms your path.

The cool ladies I got to go to Story Conference with, the people I got to spend time with there, the speakers that spoke to my heart and the book God has me reading, all have been a great blessing from My father and I am so grateful He allowed me to do it.

He's been dealing with me for a bit about somethings I need to change. It's hard because when I say yes to something it's because I really love the idea of it, I want to do it, but that doesn't mean God wants me to do it. I gotta make some changes in my life that are hard. I gotta learn to say "no" or "Let me pray about it" and really pray about it and find what God wants me to do before I commit to something. Time management, priorities, all that is hard for me cuz' I really do want to do it all..but I gotta do what He wants, that is where the blessing is, the life, the peace.

But after this time of refreshing, I can see clearer, I know what I need to do today and I feel more equipped to handle life in the fast lane.

Me Monster

This was shown at the Story Conference workshops. I love humor, especially humor that convicts your heart while your laughing uncontrollably.

"Lord, how many times have I been the 'Me Monster' ?"

I came away from Story 09 with so much. Way more then I can articulate right now. I'm actually still processing it all and basking in the gratefulness to God that He allowed me to go. BUT one big thing I came away with was to really care, really listen and actually hear other peoples stories and then when allowed, tell their stories. Don't be a "Me Monster".

Check out all the Story pics taken by professions HERE.

Pics from Story

I don't really have time to type all I would like about Story but here are some pics..

The drum line. AWESOME!!


Me and Natalie with Ben Arment. He is the creator of Story 09. Super great guy.


Natalie and Me with Carlos Whittaker.


Me with Carolynn Twietemyer and Melinda Devenouge. Melinda picked me up at the air port Tuesday morning and her, Carolynn and I spent the day Tuesday talking about Ethiopia, Adoption, HIV+ orphans, all that kinda great stuff. It was a super day. So grateful to these two amazing ladies for taking time to hang out with me and for lunch.


And Tuesday night I also got to hang out with Arianna, a childhood friend who now lives in Chicago. Thanks for dinner Ari :-)

I will blog more later, I'm using Natalie's computer and she's ready for bed. Check out my facebook page for more pictures.

The Workshops are tomorrow so I will be twittering bout them too.

Headed to Story 09

It's 5:45am, I'm in the car on my way to Chicago for the Story conference. I'm typing this from Dean's iPhone.which I still don't have n sure could use on this trip, but anways.. I'm super excited but also sad I'm gonna be away from Dean and the kids so long. Dean took the week off so he's mr mom this week..pray for Dean and the kids :-)

I will try to post pictures, and I will be twittering for sure so check the side bar for twit updates.

Buy Responsibly

Our demand for cheaper products is one of the big drivers behind human trafficking in a number of industries, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the houses we live in. In fact, slavery in the production of consumer goods is so pervasive, I can guarantee that both you and I own at least a handful of items made by slaves; we have eaten food grown, harvested, or produced by slaves. So if we are going to get serious about ending human trafficking, we need to take the Buy Responsibly campaign's message to heart and make an effort to purge our buying habits of slave-made goods.

So does that mean you should boycott every industry that has used slavery? No. For one, it's not a very sustainable lifestyle choice. Information about which products have been tainted by slavery is often outdated or inaccurate. Plus, the use of human trafficking in supply chains is so prolific, you'd be starving and naked before long, and very few people are willing to live like that voluntarily. While boycotts have changed and can improve corporate behaviour, boycotting may put non-trafficked workers' jobs at risk, making some workers worse off. Before considering boycotting a certain product, think about who will profit from and who will be affected by the boycott. If you do boycott, make specific demands and agree to end the boycott when those demands are met.

Another effective way to buy more responsibly is to buy products from companies that have a commitment to fair labor practices. When given a choice between a Fair Trade item and another one, go with the Fair Trade option. Choose products from companies with reputations for treating workers fairly. Tell companies that the rights of workers is an important consideration in your choice of products. These may seem like very small steps, but as companies see that fair labor standards are important to consumers, they will meet that demand like they now meet our demand for low prices.

Livin' the ADOPTION Dream,Thank you HPC

The Live the Dream conference is over. I was only able to sit in on Bobbie Houston speaking once, which was great, and I was able to watch the Natalie Grant concert, and I did catch the song and dance routine at the end, which was very cute but that's all the sessions I was able to attend. BUT I still had a life changing, never forget time at the Live The Dream Conference this year because I had the privilege of working in the His Heart for Orphans booth to raise adoption awareness and money for families that want to adopt.


the images of the children in this picture are blurred for legal reasons but I wanted you to see how it was laid out.

We had poster size pictures hung all around the tent, of Orphans from all over the world, and the US foster care system, who are waiting to be adopted. On the bottom of each picture was their name, the country they live in and the adoption agency they could be adopted through. Anyone that came to the booth saw all these children. At one point last night, during one of the sessions, a lot of HPC staff guys were outside waiting for the next job to do and I looked up and about 5 of them were studying the wall of waiting children. I love it.

I also love that DURING Live the Dream two His Heart for Orphans volunteers brought home adopted children!!! On the first day of Live the Dream, Stephanie and her husband Randy had there court date finalizing the adoption of their baby boy Hayes after 6 failed adoptions. Hayes was with Stephanie when she was helping in the booth yesterday. And Dina, who worked the booth Thursday and Friday, and her husband Health, took home their new baby boy Greydon TODAY! How cool is that?

I also love that three ladies who are in the process of adoption came by and talked to us and I love that MANY ladies asked us about agencies, adoption cost, the process, and all kinds questions. We also had the opportunity to tell them how God will provide the funds. He is faithful. We know. We have ALL been there and had to walk that faith journey. I love how God uses what He has done in us and through us to encourage others. God is SO moving for Orphans!!

AFTER cost for the shirts and scarves, the HPC-His Heart for Orphans adoption grant fund made $1700 at the Live the Dream Conference!

AND Jason Laird, the HPC Student Ministries pastor said we can sell T-shirts one Wednesday in November at Epic for Orphan Awareness month!!

But honestly, none of this would be possible if not for our pastors Dino and Delynn Rizzo and Healing Place Church. Thank you for allowing His Heart for Orphans to have this booth at Live the Dream to raise awareness of the cause of orphans and raise money for HPC families that wish to adopt. And Johnny Green, your enthusiasm and support is such as ray of sunshine that does not go unnoticed by the His Heart for Orphans team. Thank you. I truly believe that God blesses HPC for many reasons but mostly because you extend your hand to the poor, the hurting, the lost, the widow and the orphan. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Livin' The ADOPTION Dream

This is the His Heart for Orphans Live the Dream booth crew. Cept' Megan, she was off eating when we took this picture. We are in the I Carry Hope tent outside the conference (see my last couple post for info about the tent) and we WERE selling scarves as well as T-shirts but the scarves are all gone!! 85 gone in like two hours! Praise God!! Cuz' all this money goes to start an adoption fund so we can provide grants for HPC families who want to adopt but feel that adoption expenses are just insurmountable.

Aimee, Stephanie, Dina, Natalie, Evangeline and Megan you are all the best people to work with!!


Me and Natalie Landry ( I know I got the double chin thing going but it's a good pic of Natalie and my shirt :-) She brought these scarves back from Ethiopia in September when she went to get her baby girl Olive. She used the same agency we did, adoptionguides.org.


E helping that ladies pick a scarf. It was CA-RA-ZY!!



Table of shirts..

OH yea, if you want to order a T-shirt and you aren't at the conference, you will have to e-mail His Heart For Orphans at ephesians1five@cox.net and tell them the size and color you want. We have white long sleeve and black, grey, and brown short sleeve. They are women cut, fitted T's. Like in the pictures above, I have on a large, so that can help you see how they fit. They sell for $20 plus shipping.

Will blog more later...

Pray for Amos and Story

I only know these children through blogs. I have never met their parents, Aaron Ivey or his wife Jamie Ivey but I have followed their adoption journey for two years. That is how long they have been in the process of adopting these two beautiful children from Haiti. Yesterday Story, the baby girl, got her Visa and can now come home to America BUT she is now very sick. She needs a healing now. Please pray for her healing. Also, Amos has not gotten approved yet. So sadly, Amos will not be able to come home to America with his parents and his sister. As you can see, the devil is fighting this adoption HARD. We MUST pray and pray hard! God WILL be victorious in this.

Look at these babies, let them scar your heart and then pray for them to be healed and finally home. Every time you think of them, please pray.

Here is a link to Jamie Ivey's blog. Please check it out and leave her a pray or word of encouragement. dreamingbigdreams.wordpress.com

Video from Love In Action's visit to BR

As you know Evangeline helps with Homeless outreach, now Megan does too. Last week Love in Action ministries out of Alabama came to give out work boots and mattress covers to the homeless.

Also, Jason, one of their board members who was in town for the homeless outreach, went with us on Truck Stop Outreach and he talks about it on this video.

I love when churches work together to help lost hurting people. God is good. Check it out...

Love In Action traveled to Baton Rouge, La., for an outreach to the homeless on Oct. 17, 2009. Love In Action teamed up with the Healing Place Church and Baton Rouge Dream Center to minister the love of Jesus Christ to the homeless. Love In Action filled its cargo trailer with about 400 pairs of new boots and took them to Baton Rouge. The outreach team gave out 150-175 pairs of boots on Oct. 17, and the Dream Center will give out the rest of the boots in the weeks to come. Socks were also given to the homeless, and chili was served for lunch. It was a great outreach with a lot of people receiving the physical items that they needed and prayer and encouragement. Click here for more on this outreach. Click here for an online photo gallery of the outreach.
Video highlights from Baton Rouge, including a homeless man singing. There is great talent on the streets.

Baton Rouge homeless outreach from Love In Action on Vimeo.

Steele and Abel's first school pictures

Look at my baby boy!! He loves to show off that missing tooth that he knocked out while wresting a bear to the ground (just kidding. Break dancing). I can't believe he is 5!! He loves school and is doing great. The teacher said when I walked in for the parent teacher conference "Steele. That little stinker" ha! But she said he is good, obeys, helps, listens. I'm so proud of him.


And my boy Abel! Funny story, the photographer said "don't smile" like trying to make Abel smile, reverse psychology. But Abel doesn't quite get that whole reverse psychology concept yet so in this picture, he was attempting not to smile. He is doing so good in school. He is a math FREAK! Like never misses a problem, loves it. And he's catching on slowly with reading and writing English. Our language is hard! He LOVES school.

Abel and Steele in the morning getting up, putting on their little uniforms, making their beds, eating breakfast, giving me sleepy puffy faced lovin, walking to the end of the driveway to catch the bus, um, it just melts my heart! I can't imagine my life without them. Adoption is such a huge blessing. I feel sorry for people that never get to experience the wonder, the joy, the heart stretching love, it brings to a family.

It's amazing that the more we give love the more we can love and the more we can receive love.

I Carry Hope

I talked in my last post about the scarves we are selling at Live The Dream Women's Conference this weekend, as part of the His Heart for Orphans adoption ministries booth . Well our booth is just one of three booths in the "I Carry Hope" tent. We get to share a tent with:

Cyrus International Cyrus International (Cyrus) is a US non-profit organization with a goal of helping oppressed and hurting people across the world through projects committed to bring humanitarian aid and relief. Our core belief is not only to provide aid, but also to offer restoration, rehabilitation, and vocational training in order for these individuals to have a chance to succeed in everyday life.

I personally get to work closely with Cyrus because they are a part of Rescue and Restore Coalition.

HPC Mozambique Africa. Isaac and Carol Williams are a precious couple who have followed God's call to Mozambique Africa to establish a healing place for a hurting world. God has placed them in a very strategic area filled with needy children and families, all hungry for hope. Each week they have the opportunity to feed children, teach men and women necessary life skills, and lead a life-giving church. HPC Mozambique has grown into a thriving, lively campus full of people who are excited to live the life that God intended!

The conference is gonna be great. I know I will learn so much from the speakers. Chris Caine is one of my favorites. I know Natalie Grant will be amazing, I love her music. I know Charlotte Gamble and Bobby Houston will challenge me with the words they bring. I know I will laugh and be entertained, sing some great worship and feel Gods presence in the services BUT for me, I am most excited about the "I Carry Hope" tent and what it says to the world about where the people of HPC's heart is.

Please come to the "I Carry Hope" tent and buy a shirt from Cyrus, buy a shirt from His Heart for Orphans and a scarf or just donate to the adoption fund or Donate to the Mozambique campus, any or all of the above because when you do you will be a part of changing the world, making someones life better, someone who is imprisoned, afraid, alone, orphaned, hurting and hungry. You will be a part of giving the only real hope to the world which is Jesus.

I see Scarves and Shawls!!

My bedroom is command central for all things Scarves and Shawls!! We are sorting, tagging and ironing 90 of them!!

We are selling these beautiful exotic scarves and shawls in the I Carry Hope Tent, at the His Heart for Orphans booth, at Live The Dream Women's Conference, which is this Thursday through Saturday at HPC. All the profit goes to help us have an adoption fund so we can give grants to families at HPC who wish to adopt but need help financially.

They will sell for $15 to $30 depending on style, size and fabric.

Attached to each scarf is a card that tells the story of these scarves and why we are selling them:

"Your purchase of this scarf will enable us to provide grants to families wishing to adopt. These beautiful scarves were brought back from Ethiopia by the Landry family who had traveled there to adopt their baby girl Olive. Thank you and God bless you for helping Orphans."

If you are at Live the Dream, come by and purchase a scarf and we are also selling His Heart for Orphans T-shirts for $20 each. They are way cool and you will definitely want one!

And it's all for a great cause!!


Megan showing off one of the $30 shawls..


Evangeline flying away in a silk and Pashmina scarf for $30.


E lookin very Cosmopolitan in a Navy n Neutral scarf for $15.


The Mother Mary AKA Megan in a silk scarf for $20 and E blowing kisses to Africa in a satin scarf for $25.


Meg and E displaying yet another way these scarves can be worn.


The full effect of this beautiful scarf.


Abel and steel rocking the man scarves! $15

Don't Stop Believing-A Strip Club Story

It was a cool and windy night. The first of it's kind this year in south Louisiana. It had been a very busy day for me and the Claritin I had to take that morning was making me so tired. I thought a few times about not going on Midnight.

I prayed and heard that small voice that says "Girl that is the devil. You know tonight is gonna be great. God is gonna move. You gotta fight this and go". So I rebuked the devil, the fatigue and after a good nap, I was ready.

We had a team of six great ladies from First Baptist Church of New Orleans, who drove in just for this outreach. We also had Valerie from Coast church in Pensacola, Kelly and Joe from Life Church in Memphis and three first timers from here at HPC.

We went to the normal clubs, made some great connections with the dancers, bouncers and patrons. Gave all the ladies roses with the HPC card attached that reads:

"We hope this small gift brightens your day. It's a simple way to say 'God loves you'-no strings attached. Let us know if we can help you. healingplacechurch.org"

And on the back of the card is the phone number to HPC, service times and a map to the church.

We then went north side.

When we stopped at Benny's Bar it was dead. I thought the cold was keeping everyone at home or something because even the Alamo Hotel was a ghost town. So we headed to Plank road where for the last two months we have encountered ten to fifteen transvestite prostitutes..but there was no one. We did not see one prostitute. So, we decided to head back, hit the Waffle house on the way and give their lady employees roses. And as always drop off 25 or so roses at the upscale Strip Club in our area. For over 3 years we had faithfully gone to this club, left roses for the dancers, but never been allowed in. I did not expect this night to be any different.

As we headed that way Dean says to Summer "ya'll are going in tonight Summer". Summer looked at him and said "Yea, that's right Dean. We just need to believe we are going in tonight". I tried to believe like Dean and Summer but I have to admit, I didn't really think it would happen. Summer explain to everyone how we had faithfully gone to this club for 3 years and had never been allowed in to hand deliver the roses. But we kept believing that one day we would be able to go in.

I looked to the back of the shuttle and I heard the baptist ladies praying quietly.

As we approach the club, Summer instructs me, Lesley who was a first timer from HPC, Valerie from Coast Church, Kelly from Life church and Allie from the baptist church in New Orleans to get 50 roses and each carry some. We were gonna walk up to this club like they WERE gonna let us in. We got out, and walked to the door...

..now most of the people in the shuttle are praying..

We approached the security guard. Summer boldly says "Hello, we have roses for the ladies. We'll take them in if that's ok?" and the security guys says "Sure. I don't think the manager will mind."

At that moment I knew I had to concentrate on making sure my face did not show the shock I was truly in!

My heart was racing...we were walking in. Surely we would be stopped at the front desk, No. On we went. Summer, Kelly and Lesley headed up stairs, Me, Valerie and Allie stayed on the main floor and handed out roses. Surely any minute the manager would realize we had been admitted into the club and throw us out. No. We gave out all our roses. One of the dancers came up to me. Shocked, almost in tears. put her hand over her mouth and exclaimed while hugging me "I go to Healing Place!! Oh my gosh!" Thank you!!" I told her I liked her bathing suite and wished her "Have a great night". My group exited the building. Followed shortly by Summers group. They also had given out all there roses. They had been stopped by a manager who only said "I love what ya'll are doing. Think it's great. Just next time call before you come".

"Next time" He said. Not, "Don't come back" but "Next time"!! YES JESUS!!

And the entire time we were in there the ladies from the baptist church in New Orleans were praying.

Lesley, who is a friend of mine, goes to HPC and who came for the first time last night, told me today, "God allowed us not to see anyone on the north side so we would have enough roses to hand out in that club ."

Amen Lesley.

What a great night.

Thank you Jesus.


Dean talking to a man outside Benny's bar. This man lives at the Alamo and said he is gonna come to church at BRDC Sunday.


Getting to meet Benny himself outside of Benny's bar. Benny said he might come to BRDC Sunday.


Exiting one strip club..


MOST of the people that were on Midnight last night. 'Cept Dean, Me and Chris Joy aren't in the picture.

All that you have is your soul..

All That You Have Is Your Soul [Live] - TRACY CHAPMAN

For Karen

Precious

I can't wait to see this movie. I can't tell you how many girls I know, work with, and care deeply for, that their story is so much like Precious' story.

My friends new baby boy after six failed adoptions

My friends Stephanie and Randy have endured 6 failed adoptions. Yes, 6. Every time there was so much hope. One time they had the baby for a few days. Another time a birth mom took them on a wild goose chase through the gulf coast and up the east coast. There were scams ran on them and crooked online schemes and just two weeks ago, after 5 months of going to doctors visits, seeing Sonograms, falling in love with this baby, paying living expenses, treating the birth mom like a queen, the birth mom SOLD the baby to another family at birth! I ached for them. I couldn't imagine the pain. They didn't understand. But they prayed. And we all stood with them.

They had spent THOUSANDS of dollars in legal fees, agency fees, birth mom support. Thousands and thousands over the last few years, and still their arms were left wanting. And the crazy thing was that they were not wanting a lilly white American girl. All these failed adoptions had been of biracial boys and girls. They had a heart to give a home to the babies that are considered hard to place. So, it was confusing.

After this last baby selling one, I was just so broken for that family. I had played a part in this process, I was mentoring the birth mom and I was the one who had to break the news to Stephanie and Randy that she had told me, herself, that she could get more money for her baby from a couple in Utah. Yes, that is what she said. This didn't shock us really because this girl made a living by staying pregnant, (4 times in 4 years) getting families to support her while pregnant (like with a personal driver, lavish clothes, etc) and then getting a huge cash payout after the baby was born. I had talked to her about this, I felt like she was changing, she came to church faithfully, but in the end, she chose what she knew to do to survive instead of listening to and trusting God. She chose evil over good and she almost destroyed Stephanie and Randy and their kids.

But the most wonderful thing happens when the devil thinks he has crushed us, broken our hearts beyond repair, That is when Jesus scoops us up and hold us, comforts, and gives peace. He did that for the Rohners and now he has given them baby Elijah Hayes Lawrence Rohner.

Pray for them as baby Hayes attaches to them, as they attach to him and please pray for the birth mother who gave him this wonderful family.

God is here.

Please take a minute to click HERE and read their blog post about baby Hayes. It would be great too if you would comment, maybe leave a prayer for them and congratulate the Rohners on this amazing miracle.

Hope

Check out my new necklace. It's so special to me. I love it!!



The house represents a home and a family for orphans. Red is the color of AIDS. The word "Hope" is what it means to an HIV+ orphan to be adopted, to have a home where they can receive love, have a family and get the medication they need. The heart symbolizes the love and the beads represent the country (in this case Ethiopia flag colors) that the child is from.

Please order one of these necklaces. I will be wearing mine as MUCH as possible.

All you have to do is email carolyn@projecthopeful.org to order one.



Selah's Little Red House Campaign

Selah is a FORMER orphan. In an attempt to be reunited with her siblings after being separated because of AIDS, a mission began. Selah decided it is inexcusable that children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS live as orphans. Thus, her Little Red House began. Proceeds from the sales of LRH items will directly help families adopt children with HIV/AIDS, or be united with siblings separated because of HIV.

projecthopeful.org

Follow, Unfollow, Tales from Twitter Purgatory

Twitter is weird. The genius who thought of it is well, a genius. I absolutely loved it when it first came out. Shoot, during Gustav I was like the Geraldo Rivera of Twitter, reporting even unverified, and later proven untrue things, as fast as I heard them via Twitter.

I use to Twitter like 30 times a day. It was bad. I was ranked "Nuclear" on the grading thing for Twitter. After losing MANY followers and being scolded by Jesus, I mean @daddygriffis several times, I decided to check my twitter self before I wrecked my Twitter self. I cut back to 16 or less a day. I put myself on a "Twit" diet. (Yes, I know I'm supposed to call it "Tweet" but I like "Twit" better). I then found myself asking self "Hey, who gives a crap about that? Seriously. Do you really NEED to twit that?" and next thing I knew I was down under ten twits a day..then some days..only one or two.

"Hey, hearing yourself talk isn't as impressive as you thought it would be huh?" Me to Me.

I guess also I had learned the hard way that 140 characters is not enough..and sometimes to much to say things in. Ah the paradox, the irony of having a little voice to much.

And then there is politics. Yes, that fickle little thing we call government, mixed with 140 character sound bites of opinions, make for a brand new world of getting-ticked-off-ness. SO, I start the game of Follow Unfollow..follow again..wait..now unfollow.

The Unfollow hall of fame:

A friend of mine from church. He's probably one of the funniest people I know. Him and His wife are pure gold. Wonderful people. He's a great teacher, preacher, Dog lover but I have unfollowed him two or three different times on twitter. He's so stinkin Conservative!! He says sarcastic mean things about Obama and any politics that are not 100% Rush Limbaugh worthy. I try..I really try not to take the bait..but sometimes I just can't fight the urge...so I have to unfollow.

My conspiracy friend. Did you see the movie Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts? my libertarian lovin conspiracy friend IS the Mel Gibson character. But his bait is easier to resit because it is obvious bait...I aint a stupid fish...most of the time. But I have also unfollowed this friend twice.

And sadly I have discovered that there are way to many friends of mine, that I worship with, who are Camo wearing, hunters, who love God, are Christians but who really get sick to their stomachs when the words Obama or Democrat are mentioned, so they use twitter to vent their frustration... and in turn I get ticked..fire back..and then I unfollow them. Yea, It's wacked. Cuz' then I struggle with forgiving their Twits.

The truth is. We are all so much more exposed now. We worship together, we are family, but now we get to hear 140 character snippets, all day long, of our off the cuff reaction to events, life, grace, mercy, love, hate. I have felt very sad knowing someone I respected and looked up to could be so ungracious. And I have had to repent many times for being so ungracious, angry and reactionary via the now infamous 140 characters. I unfollow leaders I respect so I can continue to respect them. That may be too honest for some of you reading this, but it's my reality. They think I'm a cool aide drinking Liberal and unfollow me, and I'm ok with that.

SO, like everything in life. We now have to submit our twits to our Lord. When is a reaction good? How can I walk in the grace I scream for and also stand up against injustice? THAT is my biggest dilemma. I feel Twitter can be used for good, and should be. I believe God gave me a fearless voice to be used and submitted to Him, even on Twitter. And that is my struggle.

I also believe that the people I have unfollowed, due to the fact they talk hateful about Obama, also believe THEY are speaking out against injustice. They believe they must say something...and so do I, so the dance continues.

Ah, the tongue or in this case the Twit is a flaming fire..catching all the trees a blaze.

Help me Jesus to Twit in love, grace and mercy and deliver me and all that claim to love you from Twitter Purgatory. Amen.

Speak My Lord, Speak to Me.

I remember the first time I saw The Color Purple. I was 20 years old. Me and my friends Ammye Burdick, John Smith and Jimmy Clyde stayed up WAY late and watched it. Jimmy fell asleep and John sat watching Ammye and I bawl like freaky babies at this scene and even worse at the next scene.

I just let the girls watch this clip. I cried like I always do when I watch this scene.The girls have never seen The Color Purple..but we are gonna rent it.


I really want to do this song at The Dream Center...

Three years ago..

..this month, October 2006, I started leading a book club at HPC and Johnny Green told me about a new outreach facility that HPC had down town, off Roselawn Ave. At the time they called it "Inner City Unit".

One of the first programs they started there was Jump Start which was a preschool program. I knew as soon as I heard about it, that this would be the outreach our book club would be involved in.

Three years ago this month, Summer, Lorri and I went to Roselawn on a Friday, representing the book club, to read to the Jump Start kids. After a few weeks Summer and Lorri were helping with Thrive, which was the ladies bible study that Alliece, Donna and Charity led on Fridays and I helped Susan and Margaret with Jump Start. We did this every Friday...

That was three years ago this month. I celebrate this anniversary with my beautiful friend Lorri, who moved to Washington a year ago but before that was right there, at Thirve and the After School program, loving the people of the inner city. And Susan, THE AMAZING Mother Therese with a southern drawl and some country attitude and Summer, who served the ladies of Thrive until they discontinued the Thrive meetings last year. She now helps with HP Women and alter counseling at the Highland Road HPC campus, leads a connect group for women struggling with food addiction and is now the team leader for Midnight Outreach.

What started as Inner City Unit, a couple outreaches from a small building on Roselawn, became the Baton Rouge Dream Center. A thriving church campus of Healing Place with A Cafe, GED programs, Prison release initiatives, classes for kids aging out of Foster Care, after school activities, help for homeless youth, victims of Human Trafficking, people suffering from substance abuse. Meals, groceries, daily outreaches to the community such as lawn care, block parties, hygiene, grocery and drink giveaways. A free clothing boutique. Sunday services, a breakfast for the Homeless, gardening and hip hop dance classes, and so much more. THIS is where our family serves and we are SO grateful and blessed to be there.

Thank you Healing Place Church for opening the Dream Center. For taking a risk, investing money, time, leadership, resources to love on the people of the inner city. Thank you Dino and Delynn for loving the poor and for allowing us to be a part of a church family that goes into the hard places of the world to reach the one..and in return we are blessed and changed.


This picture was taken at Jump Start, October 2006. standing: Natasha (Summer's daughter) Margaret, Nadia (Summers daughter) me, John Austin (Lorri's son). Sitting in front of them: Susan (holding baby) Steele and Israel (Lorri's daughter). Sitting in front of Table: Raisha (Summer's daughter) and Evangeline.


This picture was taken in 2006 at the Roselawn location. This is Alliece Cole with the first Thrive ladies to be baptised.


Susan holding babies and Evangeline reading to the kids. Look at my baby Steele!


Megan, Evangeline, Caroline Boutee and Anne Marie Boutte at the first Thanksgiving outreach at Roselawn November 2006.

Take a look back at some blog post from the first few outreaches at the Dream Center.

ICU 10/06

Inner City Unit last Friday 10/06

Thanksgiving at ICU 11/06

The Top Ten Books I Love

My friend Nancy Cleary asked me the other day, what my top ten books of all time were. I have to say, it's hard to pick only 10, there are hundreds of books that I love but I've narrowed it down to the ones that changed my life the most, stretched my brain, expanded my heart, my intellect, my reach, encouraged my sense of adventure, stimulated my imagination, left me with deep scars of joy, sadness and/or inspiration. All of the ones listed below did that. I have read every one of them more then once and I probably will read them all again before the fat lady sings. I HIGHLY recommend all of them to you...they will change your life for the better.


#10


#9


#8


#7


#6


#5


#4


#3


#2


#1

Funky Town today..

Diva's Angela Musso and Kristin Bailey. Two of the greatest ladies I get to stand on stage with and worship with!


Anrie Hayes, Key board player, music Theorist extraordinaire! And he TORE up the lead on "Stand up On Your Feet" today. AMAZING!!


Essence, serving the kids in the Pre-K class. She has a story, one day I will tell it cuz she is gonna beat all the odds in Jesus name!


Meg and Caroline Bouttee with Elijah. He's such a doll baby. All the ladies love him.. foreshadowing of things to come Esther?


This is just a cool pic. Yea, I pimped it a bit.


Steele with Ethan in their class..


Jordan leading BRDC Kids worship. He gets the kids to sing and Erica Doucet and Catalina really think it's funny!


Worship practice before service..


Yes I have on Pink shoes and I am reading Twitters..


Abel's church action shot!


Eric Doucet securing the surroundings!


Abel took this picture of Jordan by putting a Kaleidoscope on the lens of my camera. He's very creative.


The BRDC worship team sans Jordan. (from left to right: Danny, Arnie, Me, Frank, Sherod, Angela, Sean, Kristin, Josh)


Megan in a skirt from Ethiopia, Teala in the middle and Evangeline in PJ pants cuz' everything else hurt her scratched up legs.


My boys.

Life is not good it's wonderful!! Funky Town Forever!!

Burnside Writers Collective Interview with Tom Davis

It's no secret how much I admire Tom Davis and the work he is doing for Orphans. Also his book Scared is amazing! I read it and now Evangeline and Megan are reading it aloud each night for Homeschool.

I sent him some questions about the book, an Email interview. I haven't gotten the response to them yet (he promised he will send them soon :-) so in the mean time I found this interview with him on Burnside Writers Collection (Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz' writers site) and I really LOVE the questions this interviewer ask and the answers Tom gave. Read it and be moved.

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR TOM DAVIS
BY BRYAN CATHERMAN ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2009 AT 12:00 AM

I met Tom Davis a few years ago at K2 Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was there to check out the cool warehouse-church with the beach sandal billboard; Tom was there to tell the church about suffering orphans, young girls entering the sex-trade, and a generation decimated by HIV/Aids. Three minutes into Tom’s story, the billboard became insignificant.

Tom Davis is the author of Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds, Fields of the Fatherless: Discover the Joy of Compassionate Living,Confessions of a Good Christian Guy: The Secrets Men Keep and the Grace that Saves Them, and his latest book is a work of fiction titled, Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World (advertised on this site). He’s the CEO ofChildren’s HopeChest, encourages us all to drink Saint’s Coffee, and daily lives James 1:27.

—

Bryan: Tom, you went from a post-modern church planter in Texas to an advocate for orphans all over the world. What sparked the change?

Tom: In the mid-’90s I started making trips to Russian orphanages. The kids I met in those places changed my life forever. These orphans stopped being statistics and became human beings. They were beautiful kids filled with hopes and dreams for their futures but without help, there was no way to fulfill them. Most of them were forced to leave the orphanage at fifteen to sixteen years of age. 15% of those kids would end up committing suicide in two years, 70% of the girls would end up as prostitutes and 80% of the boys would end up on the streets or in jail. Those statistics shot an arrow through my heart. I couldn’t walk away and do nothing.

Bryan: What has been the most rewarding moment of your ministry?

Tom: Only one?! I met this little girl named Valya in Russia. She had a terrible story about being severely abused by her father who was later killed. Her mother was an alcoholic and blamed her for her father’s death. She was so upset with her she beat her incessantly until one day she couldn’t stand to look at her anymore and dropped her off at an orphanage. Valya never heard from her mother again.

This little girl was so amazing. Talent and beauty radiated from her life. Her dream was to enter college and play the flute. This was impossible because she could never afford it. We were able to buy her a flute, help her with her education, and take her to St. Petersburg to see the symphony and a ballet!

Bryan: What do you find most challenging about your ministry for orphans?

Tom: The need is always greater than our ability to meet it. We go into villages in Uganda and people are eating cow dung and boiling grass to survive. That kind of desperation is overwhelming. With the help of our partners, we meet those needs only to find out there are fifty villages within a few hundred miles just like it. We keep going, by God’s grace, helping as many as we can.

Bryan: It has been said that America is becoming more homogenized, often influenced by our media and entertainment outlets rather than the circumstances of our neighbors. If you think this might be true, what does it mean for orphans around the world? Has this hurt or helped? (What are the effects of say, Bono’s One Campaign or the movie, “Orphan”—no matter how bizarre the twisted ending might be?)

Tom: I hate making blanket statements, so forgive me in advance. Media has numbed most of us into thinking that people starving in Africa and girls in the sex-trade industry are just stories made up in Hollywood. The sensory overload causes people to shut down because they hear it all the time and many people think others are handling the issues.

Every single Christ-follower, has a biblical obligation to get involved in helping the poor. There are over two thousand versus in the Bible talking about poverty and many are commands for us to help those in need.

Bryan: Where do your see your ministry for the orphans in five years? Ten? Twenty?

Tom: I’ll do this the rest of my life. The goal I’ve set for myself and Children’s HopeChest is to care for one million orphans over the next thirty years. There are over one hundred and fifty million orphans in the world and trying to reach them is a daunting task. But if we can reach a million, a generation, then that generation will reach themselves. One million will reach one hundred and fifty million.

Bryan: When given the opportunity, what do you tell the churches you visit?

Tom: I tell them about how passionate God is about them caring for widows and orphans. If “pure and undefiled religion is caring for widows and orphans,” (James 1:27), then every single church on the planet must to be involved in orphan ministry.

Bryan: What lessons do you feel the American Church should learn from your ministry and experiences overseas working with orphans?

Tom: Every time I go overseas I fool myself into thinking it’s about me helping them. Although that’s true, I end up receiving way more from them then I’m able to give. Being with the poor is one of the greatest activities on earth. As Mother Theresa said, “When I’m with the poor, I’m with Jesus.”

Bryan: In what ways can someone get involved, from the lowest level to the highest?

Tom: Contact me at tdavis@hopechest.org or check out the Children’s HopeChest webpage atwww.hopechest.org. We’re all about involvement. We’ll take you overseas, get you connected with orphans and entire orphan villages. We’ll even show you how you can help a child for the rest of their life, for less than you spend on coffee each month. You can even buy coffee that fights poverty at www.saintscoffee.com. For every pound you buy, you feed an orphan for a month.

Bryan: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Tom: Helping the poor, the widow, or the orphan changes your life forever. There isn’t a better way to connect with the heart of God. In Matthew 25 Jesus talked about how significant these acts are in the kingdom of heaven. God turns to the righteous in eternity and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you came to me, in prison and you visited me.” Those are the words I want to hear.

Twitter users, follow Tom Davis @cthomasdavis.

burnsidewriters.com

A Case for Knee Pads?

EXHIBIT A

Yea, this is nasty. I actually got nauseated yesterday when Evangeline came in and first showed me. She didn't even cry..but she did lie. she told me she was just walking and fell. Yea, I guess her and Megan thought I was born yesterday. But after much prodding Evangeline confessed that she was riding on Megan's bike pegs and jumped off. Only problem was Megan had not stopped the bike so the back of her leg met the moving front tire, hence the wonderfully long strawberry in Exhibit A and then her other knee met the gravelly concrete, (shown in exhibit B). THIS one actually needed a couple stitches according to our Pediatrician. But look around it, nothing but mushy under layer, so stitching that would have been..well, maybe not to productive. So we have both oral and topical antibiotics and Motrin. What's crazy is Exhibit A hurts her way worse then Exhibit B.


EXHIBIT B

I told her that this just proves they need to always wear knee pads when on the bikes. I now can always refer to this pain and scars to remind her to be safe. Her and Megan both hate the idea of Knee, elbow and wrist pads when just riding around the neighborhood. I make the boys wear helmets but I don't even make the girls wear them.

This morning God reminded me of my motto "Safe is overrated" Do I believe that for my kids too? What is the balance? How do I walk the line between protecting my kids from pain and letting them experience the pain that helps them grow and learn? The pain that grows us closer to Jesus? Heart break, disappointment, rejection. These pains I have no desire for my kids to experience but I know they will.

We can all play it safe and get the end of life alive, or we can jump on the bike pegs, laughing in the wind, flying down the road, and fall off, get hurt, get medicine and heal, learning from the experience but not fearing the next bike ride.

Parenting is hard. God our father is a great teacher.

Jesus is Art

Over the summer the Dream Center had a day Camp for the 6-11 year old children. One day local artist and BRDC member Malyia Trahan, taught the kids a little art and let them paint a master piece..


Maylia instructed the kids as they worked...


All the kids contributed to this truly one of a kind work of art..


It now graces the office of Pastor Bouttee..


Along with these two master pieces that were also painted by the kids.


This painting is amazing. It's layered, complex, simple, vibrant, fun, reaching, stirring, full of hope, longing, comfort, strength, color, energy, light. IT IS THE CHILDREN OF THE BATON ROUGE DREAM CENTER!!

I love it.

Please check out http://restorethearts.com, Maylia's Site. She does some really great, totally God inspired art.

You can also order cards and prints of "Jesus is Art" HERE and proceeds go to fund the Art program at the Dream Center.

You can see all the pictures from the workshop by clicking HERE.

Jesus IS Art!