Today’s guest blogger, Cheryl J., is the administrator for the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance and one of the leaders of the Brentwood Baptist Orphan Care Ministry.

It’s almost impossible to put into words how you feel after a big conference, isn’t it? Whatever words you choose, the Empowered to Connect conference in Nashville was a huge success! There were more than 900 people in attendance to learn more about the principles taught by Dr. Karyn Purvis and lived out daily by Michael and Amy Monroe. Almost everyone who walked into the conference had a different story, a different reason for attending, a different need or heartache. But the common thread as all left the conference was hope.

As we listened to Dr. Purvis break down the science into meaningful and helpful guidelines, we heard that cognitive behavior therapy is not enough; we have to heal through relationship on all levels: body, soul and spirit. Hope.

We heard that bad behavior is seldom a reflection on the parents or caregivers but rather a consequence of the child’s history. Hope.

We learned that if a child spent any time in an orphanage or abusive situation, they were met with hundreds if not thousands of “no’s” by their needs not being met, but we can overcome this by giving a “yes” as much as possible. Hope.

When our children ask for something, they are usually not being needy; they are seeking relationship and connection. Hope.

Parents and caregivers can teach through play and repetitive scripts but seldom get anywhere with force or sermons. Hope.

Just to hear Dr. Purvis say that a child’s preciousness is never up for grabs means that every child IS precious. Hope.

The biggest hope, I think, comes from knowing we are not alone on this journey. So, where do we go from here? If you live in the Nashville area, there are two classes being offered by the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance to help you connect with other families, dig deeper into the principles introduced at the conference and continue to find building blocks that will equip you to connect with your children and deepen relationships that will last a lifetime. Come join us for there IS hope! Like the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance on Facebook to keep updated when additional classes and events become available.

Journey to Hope
Sunday 10:45 – noon
Join this group as they dig deeper into Dr. Karyn Purvis’ book, The Connected Child.
Location: Christ Community Church (Franklin)
More Info: Terri Coley

Empowered to Connect – Insights & Gifts
Sunday 5:00 – 6:30pm (begins October 16)
A 6-week look into “7 Insights and 7 Gifts to Equip Those Who Are Adopting or Fostering Children.” This video series was developed in partnership with the Texas Christian University Institute of Child Development and features a discussion guide for each topic. Childcare will be available for children through fifth grade by reservation only.
Location: Brentwood Baptist, Room 2004A
More info: Orphan Care Ministry

-Cheryl J.

Question: What was your biggest takeaway from the conference? Have you experienced successes through implementing these connecting strategies in your family? Leave us a comment and let us know about your experience.

Join us in 2012 for the Empowered to Connect Conference in Dallas or Denver. Register Here >

“When we first told our family that we were adopting a little girl who was blind, my grandma almost fainted. Our daughter, Sondra, came to us when she was 3 ½ years old. She was born prematurely, abandoned in a government hospital, and sent to a small orphanage. The orphanage gave her the best care they could, but by the time we met her she was an angry and unattached little girl. It took a lot of sacrificial giving and relentless reassuring once she was home to help her understand that we would always be with her.

“The same grandma who almost fainted at the news of our adoption was also the grandma who instantly became attached to Sondra once we brought her home. Even as Alzheimer’s has taken its toll, Grandma still has a special connection with Sondra. After all, she raised two blind sons–one of whom is my husband, Tom. With Tom’s disability he has been been able to turn something inconvenient into something to use for the glory of God in helping Sondra. Now Sondra is a mostly happy girl who loves to sing, go places, and make Braille letters. Most of all Sondra is a little girl who was given a chance at life.

“Four years after Sondra came home, we welcomed home our son Luis. During his Luis’ adoption process, we lost half of our income. Although the timing and provision of God is not always known to us, He knows. The grant we received was again a huge encouragement to us, even making this adoption  possible. When we met Luis the first time, he greeted us with a large bouquet of flowers and the hugest smile imaginable. Luis has weakness on one side of his body as a result of cerebral palsy, but it hardly slows him down. He loves to play basketball, color, and run.

“Each time through the long adoption process, we had to believe God would provide. Thank you to Show Hope sponsors and donors for letting God use you to bring Sondra and Luis in to our family.”

-Devona Kubas

Question: How have you turned an “inconvenience” in your life in to something that glorifies God? Tell us your story in the comments section.

Read more adoption aid testimonies here >

Show Hope is excited to share a new informational video about the conference with you! As we prepare for the Empowered to Connect Conference in Nashville next week, we ask that you send this video with your friends or family who may be interested in attending the conference or learning more about Empowered to Connect. We encourage you to share the video via email, blogs, and your social networks (use the buttons on this blog post for easy posting).

With just 9 days left until the Nashville conference, we are thrilled that this event has doubled in size since last year and is nearly sold out! Keep watching showhope.org/connect for information on 2012 Empowered to Connect Conferences in Dallas, TX and Denver, CO.

What are you looking forward to learning about at the Empowered to Connect Conference? Let us know in the comments.

Tweeting from the Empowered to Connect Conference? Use the hashtag #ETC11.

[In Love] he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:5-6 (ESV)

“For years my thoughts on these verses had left me lacking the proper wonder that I should have had for the realities spoken of here. But then I entered a season in life where the Lord granted me waves of understanding and personal significance that overflowed in to a deep treasuring of what has been done for me. It began to seem like a natural next step that God would lead us to enter the process of adoption – it is a great living parable of this grace by which we stand.

“Although this adoption journey began in college, as a dream and goal of two engaged young adults, it took many years to fulfill. Three and a half years ago, we were invited on stage at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in Metarie, LA to receive a Show Hope grant. At the time, we were in the paper chase for our precious daughter from Ethiopia, trusting God to provide for the adoption that he had called us to. Now we have been home for 2 years and Jane-Grace is thriving! I cannot but be amazed at God’s grace to me and our family.

“To my wonder, the parable is being retold in many corners around our region. When we started our adoption journey we were the only Ethiopia family in Louisiana with our large agency. Now, there are several families in our city pursing the heart of God in adopting children from Ethiopia, some of them inspired by us!

“Show Hope was a HUGE blessing to us by reducing the financial burden of adoption costs, and we truly praise God for the work that you do. The grant from Show Hope also challenged our small church to host a benefit, whereby they were able to match your gift! In Louisiana, there is always a lot of excitement about the New Orleans Saints… but to our family, now of 5, the greatest saints in Louisiana are the people who gave to Show Hope so that one orphan could find her forever family.”

-Dean Delfosse

Help make more adoption miracles possible! Become a Show Hope sponsor >

“I had been looking for months at international waiting children’s lists. We wanted to adopt again ever since we brought our son home from Guatemala in the summer of 2005. We were thinking about a child who was from a Latin American country, was younger than our son, and who was relatively healthy. Just weeks before our home study was completed, I received an email notification that a child who matched our profile was just added. The brief description was of a 20-month-old girl from Colombia.

“Four weeks later we received two photographs and her medical evaluations. The more I read, the more scared I became. ‘This is way more than we can handle,’ I thought to myself. My husband, Kevin, and I  prayed together and talked some more, then decided that we’d at least have her medical files evaluated by a specialist here in the States. So we went upstairs and as I climbed into bed, I reached for my Bible. I opened it up to the page in Luke where I had left off the night before.

“My eyes quickly scanned the page and stopped on a verse. I read it to see if this is where I had left off. It was Jesus talking to his disciples and he said, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name, welcomes me; and the one who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’ A lump formed in my throat. I read it again. I turned to Kevin and read it to him. We both looked at each other wide-eyed and speechless. Out of all of the verses in the entire Bible, this is the first one that I read after praying about this little girl just moments ago?! My body felt hyper-alert. We prayed together for continued guidance, and eventually fell asleep.

“The next morning I sent her files off to a pediatric specialist, and they confirmed the high likelihood that she will have ongoing special needs. Kevin and I asked each other what would cause us to say no to adopting this little girl. We sat in silence for a few moments and couldn’t think of any reason good enough to make us turn away from this child, which is amazing because her diagnosis was more severe than we would have ever sought out on our own. We went back to that verse, and we couldn’t get past it. So we looked at each other, and said….YES! And then immediately felt tremendous peace.

“Almost seven months later we were in Colombia, and from the moment we held Maria in our arms it’s felt like the most natural, meant-to-be thing to have her in our family. We can’t imagine our life without her! She is absolutely precious, and I’m in awe of this gift that God has entrusted to us. Thank you so much to all of the amazing Show Hope sponsors who helped us bring her home. We didn’t know how we would be able to afford all of the adoption expenses, but God has provided!”

-Stephanie Kammeraand

To help make more adoption miracles like this possible, become a Show Hope sponsor >

“When we decided to adopt, we began researching South American countries because my wife, Paige, had traveled to Ecuador and had an interest in that country. After a little research and much prayer, we decided that we wanted to adopt a little girl from the beautiful country of Peru. Over the next year and a half we worked diligently to bring her home.

“Through the adoption journey we discovered just how much God loves the orphan. His desire is to place them in families. God taught us to rely upon Him for His timing in bringing our daughter home and for the funds to do so. We are so thankful that Show Hope sponsors were able to help us with the daunting task of international adoption through a grant. Thank you for partnering with us in giving an orphan a forever family.

“Emma has been home for 10 months now, and so much has changed in her little life. She has brought such joy to our home, just by being who God made her to be. Emma is a happy, sunny girl, full of spunk and giggles. She loves the special attention of her big sisters and brothers, and affection of her mommy and daddy. We are so thankful that God has worked out her adoption to His glory.”

-Jim Nachtigal

To help make more adoption miracles possible, become a Show Hope sponsor today! >

To read additional adoption testimonies, click here >

I think James 1:27 scares people. For those of us engaged in orphan care this verse is the one we “hang our hat on,” and for obvious reasons. Through this verse, God directs us as believers to care for widows and orphans. I have commented many times that this verse is wonderfully vague as it doesn’t tell us as Christians exactly what to do. Just as the parables given as examples by Jesus throughout the New Testament, this verse is a bit open-ended and leaves interpretation up to the reader. What exactly does “care” mean for me? What does “care” mean for you? The reality is it could and does mean entirely different things to different people. Caring for orphans doesn’t always mean adopting an orphan. We are not all called to adopt, as many people reading the verse may fear!

I recently attended a fundraiser event for friends Ron and Leigh Ann Taylor who are adopting. This was a silent auction and concert event at a local church here in the Nashville area. I was excited to see so many people “caring” for orphans at that event, all in their own unique and personal way. The Taylor family, who is bringing their sweet Jenni home from China, was at the center of the event, but there were countless other friends, family and church members coming alongside of them as well. These friends and family were helping the Taylors raise funds to pay for some of the adoption costs as well as to encourage them in the long journey. These other “carers” handled everything from the logistics of the event, to securing items for the silent auction, to providing snacks and drinks for the attendees.

My encouragement for potential adoptive parents is that you have friends and family members who would be willing to come alongside your family to care in a similar way. You just need to be bold and ask for help! I also want to encourage those of you who are not called to adopt. Rest in the fact that you are participating in the command God has given us all in James 1:27 to care for orphans as you assist others in their efforts to adopt. While caring for orphans is most definitely the heart of God, I encourage each of you to seek His will on what that means to you and your family.

If you’re looking for a way to come alongside even more adoptive families, we invite you to become a Show Hope sponsor. For $35 a month, your gift will provide adoption assistance to help orphans come into their forever families and orphan care through special care centers like Maria’s Big House of Hope. Click here to learn more about sponsorship >

“Adoption is something that was not the most logical possibility for our family. Honestly, with a small house, 3 children, and single income it seemed to make more sense to have more biological children to complete our family. However, my husband, Jeremiah, and I both felt a stirring in our hearts to adopt. As a family, we began to pray every night for God to lead us if this was what He wanted for us as family. We talked about it all the time with our biological children; we knew this would be a huge step of faith for all of us! We wanted to be faithful with what God had asked us to do even if we had no idea how it was even possible, especially with the financial aspect of adoption.

“We found an agency, completed our home study, and spent hours completing our dossier. When it was finally ready to mail to the Ethiopian government, it sat on my desk as we waited for the money for the filing fee. We had tapped out our own personal resources to get this far in the process and had nothing left for the filing fees. I remember praying every time I dusted off the file of paperwork. We were beginning to wonder if we had heard God’s voice correctly. We waited for four months for the amount we needed to file the dossier. We unexpectedly received a referral for a little boy and girl very shortly after our dossier was received in Ethiopia. We accepted the referral without any idea where the rest of the funding would come from. It was an overwhelming situation, but we truly felt God’s peace and leading.

“The letter about the grant from Show Hope arrived one week after we accepted the referral. We immediately knelt down as a family and wept at how God was already providing the necessary funds needed to bring our two children home. We also sent out an email to our family and friends. For us, the grant from Show Hope was an undeniable confirmation that God was going to provide. But even beyond that, this gift was a huge testimony to others about God’s provision in impossible situations. We had a friend who is not a follower of Christ send us a letter saying how this grant from Show Hope confirmed for her that God wanted us to adopt…and that being able to see how He is providing was changing her own heart!

“We brought Birtukan and Elias home in May 2010. Adopting was a step of faith every single step of the way and continues to stretch and challenge us daily. As we look back on it now, it is quite easy to see the hand of God steadily at work. When we were going through it, it was not always so clear. We trusted God to be faithful, even if we had no idea how it would work out. We cannot fully express our gratitude to God for all the ways He unfolded His plan for our family to adopt.

“Thank you again and again to the Show Hope sponsors for being a huge blessing and a part of this unforgettable experience with us!! It is truly making a difference in the lives of children who need a forever home and family!”

-Amy Chaney

Help make more adoption miracles possible by becoming a Show Hope sponsor >

“My husband John desired to adopt ever since he became a believer in Jesus Christ. At that time, I was not ready but remained open to the possibility for the future. By the time we had 5 biological children, God began working in both of our hearts to think more seriously about adoption. At the time, we had friends who were asked if they would adopt a young child with special needs who they were fostering. When they decided to adopt this little boy, we were truly touched to see the love they extended to him…love from God. When we saw him months later, we were amazed to see the developmental improvements their son made after being brought into their family.

“Because of this experience, John and I began researching and praying more specifically about adopting a child with special needs. Children with even minor special needs are often abandoned and cast aside, especially in orphanages. These children face the reality of not having someone to love them and they also may not receive any education or therapy to develop their potential. Orphans may face neglect, abuse, and lack of medical attention. We grieved as we learned more about the plight of orphans, particularly those with special needs. From the beginning, our 6 year-old son (who really wanted a brother, having only 4 sisters!) had a special interest in Sean, a little boy with Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe who we saw on a shared list.

“Even in those early stages of the process, we understood that one of the greatest roadblocks for us to adopt was finances. We knew that if it was God’s will that He could and would provide. We were humbled when another mom, whom we didn’t know at the time, started organizing a local family festival as a fundraiser for our adoption. Soon afterward, we committed to adopting Sean and began the long process of medical and fingerprint appointments, preparing our dossier, and hosting our own adoption fundraisers. I applied to Show Hope knowing we would need further assistance to bring Sean home. We were aware that there were many families like us applying for grants, but in faith we just kept doing what we could and trusted God to provide one way or the other. We were very surprised and blessed when we heard we received a Show Hope adoption aid grant! It was a great encouragement to us!

“When we traveled to adopt Sean, we saw first hand what it was like at the orphanage. The many, many children with no home and no family would smile at us and say “mama?” and “papa?”. We were sad, but knew God was sovereign. After 2 weeks, I came home to be with our youngest children and our oldest daughter stayed with my husband to complete the wait period and bring Sean home. Then the real fun of learning to be a family began!

“Sean has adapted very well—I’m amazed at how well he dealt with all the changes in his life. Suddenly he had a family, traveled in a car, train and airplane, saw new places, had a new home and had people talking to him a different language! It has been very meaningful to be with for Sean so many “first” experiences…from praying and singing to God to seeing the ocean to petting animals to kisses goodnight. While it has been an adjustment for all, there is a lot of love and laughter in our family. God has given our entire family a heart for orphans…we can never forget what He opened our eyes to. We hope to advocate for and help more orphans with special needs.

“‘Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.’ ~Proverbs 24:12″

-Traci Adamson

Become a Show Hope sponsor to help more orphans like Sean come into their forever families >

“Several years ago, God put the idea of adoption on my heart. I thought about it for a few months before deciding to discuss it with my husband, Eric. To my surprise he said “Yes” and we decided to talk it over with our 5 children. They also loved the idea. We had already saved several thousand dollars for adoption when our porch roof sprung a major leak, and there went the adoption money. We began saving again and thinking some day this ‘may’ happen. More than two years after our initial conversation, we could no longer deny God was calling us strongly to adopt.

“We started our home study and prayed the needed money would come in God’s timing. Financially we were totally stretched during this process. As a home schooling family of 7 on a tight budget we had to get pretty creative to find the $30,000 plus required for the adoption. We started drastically cut our budget wherever we could. We also sent out a support letter, did odd jobs, sold items on E-bay, used our tax refund and emergency fund. Every time we encountered another financial or paperwork delay God would bring us to our knees and to a place of surrender. Many times Eric prayed, ‘God this is your adoption and I don’t know what you are going to do about this problem, but here it is!’

“We received word from Show Hope in October 2009 that we were the recipients of a grant… A cause for great celebration! What an answer to prayer and a blessing to our family. We cannot thank Show Hope sponsors and donors enough for being part of God’s plan for adoption in our family and in so many others!

“We chose Ethiopia and a toddler aged child by God’s leading. Mercy seemed a fitting name for our precious girl who is a great example of God’s mercy to His children. We kept her Ethiopian name “Misirach” as her middle name which means ‘good news’ in Amharic. Mercy has been home with us since January and she is filling our lives with her laughter and smiles. Yes, there are challenging moments, but we know the Lord is in all of them as well as the joys. We praise God for our new daughter and for the difficult but rewarding journey that brought her to our home and her forever family! Thanks Show Hope for being a part of that wonderful journey!!”

-Billie Grant