Over the next week, two dollars from each Family Christian Stores sale of Mary Beth Chapman’s book, Choosing To SEE, will benefit Show Hope! These funds will go toward operating expenses for Maria’s Big House of Hope. Both online and in-store purchases made by next Tuesday, August 17, 2010 will apply.
I am one of the privileged ones who received an advance copy of this book. As an insider who walked alongside them during some of the harder moments life presented to them over the last couple of years, even I found myself turning the pages eager to soak in the golden nuggets of God’s truth that was or has been revealed to them as time has pulled them away from “the abstract painting” that Caleb alluded they were “too close” to see at Maria’s memorial service. You should know, however, that this isn’t a book only for those who have experienced loss. If we are honest with ourselves, many if not all of us can relate to the wrestling that goes on with God sometimes regarding our plans vs. His plans. Mary Beth’s transparency about that is admirable and I am proud of her for being vulnerable. I know she has put tremendous prayer, time and energy into this for God’s glory and Show Hope’s benefit. Ultimately, orphans will benefit. If you had thoughts of buying this book, now would be a perfect time to do so through our friends and long time supporters at Family Christian Stores.
Purchase Choosing to SEE online >
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This day holds a lot of emotion for our founders and the extended Chapman family. As someone who has had the privilege of walking alongside them during this season, I am astounded at how they have become even more committed to the orphan cause than what I would deem to be an already highly committed family. As it has been said, they would have every right to hang it up and call it quits, but as SCC often quotes “For Christ’s Love compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Considering we know where Maria is with a perfectly new body and the best seat in the house, may we take this opportunity to rejoice in the beauty that has come from the ashes as a result of God’s sacrificial, compelling Love.
Her legacy of hope and healing is just beginning and is far-reaching beyond what we even know and can imagine. I am not even referring to a building being named after her and the profound work inside it, but rather the work that took place and is taking place inside the hearts of hundreds of people through her story then and through her story now. She left an enlightening message behind for her family. Not just her immediate family, but for the body of Christ family at large. SEE! “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” To SEE the unseen, means to insert faith when the clouds have not yet parted. When the pain in our suffering goes beyond what our frail “self” can bare, insert faith as the bridge builder to healing. Then, faith becomes our compass always pointing to True North navigating us through the land mines of this earthly life. There is a secular saying which is “seeing is believing” and while there is truth in it, the greater truth is that ‘faith is believing’ - believing in what you cannot see which brings so much into focus, including the 20/20 vision we acquire when we experience the goodness of the Lord through trials and sufferings.
Remember with us!
My new heroes and I are getting ready to fly off shortly and return home to our loved ones. The mission at hand was accomplished but much work lies ahead. A healthy list of items remained to be acquired before the surgical trip in June, but this group of medical professionals can be proud of their dedication, sacrifice, hard work and accomplishment…I know I am.
The group stands tall in front of Maria's Big House of Hope
Today, the physicians made their rounds to the children who have cleft lip and/or palate at MBHOH, in addition to a few others with different medical issues, to look for anything out of the ordinary before the surgical team arrives in June – an important step. The good news is they didn’t find anything abnormal and it gave the team a chance to take a deeper look into their precious eyes and give a few hugs in the process. It was inspiring to watch the genuine compassion overflow from their hearts and sense the doctors’ connection with these kids.
I was reminded that these little ones share a common bond with you and me. Like us, they are children of God and He deeply cares about them. We share the same identity and worth – made in His image. While circumstances might tempt us to think otherwise, God’s word is true and when it is difficult to believe due to circumstantial evidence right in front of us, we must choose to believe. When we choose to believe as long as it takes, eventually it miraculously gives birth to Hope. And we all know Hope does not disappoint. This team may not solve the orphan crisis, but they have helped lay the foundation in hopes of changing the identity crisis for about 15 children. God knows, after all He is the “…author and finisher of our faith.”
Debra Strausser takes a break from writing evaluation notes with Jasmine
Dr. Ed Fannon, pediatrician and head of International Rotations at Geisinger Medical Center, likes what he sees.
Dr. Erica McElroy checks the heart of a baby who will soon receive an operation
Katherine and the nurses finish their training and gather for a group photo
Resident Sarah Cates puts her stethoscope aside for a moment
Dr. Fannon evaluates a baby with a cleft lip
As the team hits the midway point of their brief journey here at MBHOH, they begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (and luckily it is not a train). While there is still medicine to organize and children to evaluate in preparation for the June trip, they begin to walk through and discuss a moment by moment surgical procedure and what may be missing in addition to what backups may be necessary considering various scenarios.
As I witness the discussion around the fictitious case, I became increasingly grateful for each of them and it was clear how handpicked by God each one of them were. For example, Debra Strausser, who is the OR Operations Manager at Geisinger, has been doing her job for years, knows exactly what is ideal and how the room should be set up, not to mention certain physician type specifications. She is perfect for the mission and has proven to be invaluable on this trip, just like every one of them. As I listened to them bring critical thoughts together, I noticed Sarah (who has her Doctorate in International Medicine) typing on a spreadsheet, so I walked over and noticed that there were over 100 line items of supplies and instruments listed right down to the detail of things like tape. It is amazing how much goes into getting things set up and how there is more that goes on beyond what we can see. I am grateful for this team!
The team gathers around the operating table to discuss a mock case.
Peter jots down anasthesia scenerios
A storage room discussion between the three docs!Sarah and Erica review and add to the list of supplies.
I woke up this morning and found the French press, the coffee grounds and the kettle at the second floor kitchen and thought – pfhew, I found it - this is just what the Doctor ordered. Then I chuckled to myself because I realized, it really is what the Doctor(s) ordered J! Well, they didn’t really “order” it since coffee is the universal medicine for jet lag and to start the day right, but they were right behind me waiting for the water to boil.
Another key ingredient to starting the day right, at least for me anyway, is to dig into God’s word and listen to what He might have to say. Once I had a hot cup of coffee in my hand, I turned to Ephesians and leafed through to what I underlined a while ago, which is Ephesians 5:2 and says “Live a life filled with Love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.” You can’t really love yourself and others at the same time, at least authentically speaking. One must take a back seat to the other (actually, loving self shouldn’t even be in the car!), especially if we are to take this exhortation seriously and “Live a life filled with Love for others…”
I was thinking of my new heroes and thought about how they are here in China over 6,000 miles from their homes and families because of their selflessness and longing to make a difference for others, namely these kids in our midst. It is a blessing to see a group like this committed to living out this mission. Today is a busy day for the team and great progress is being made. Over 400 lbs of supplies are being organized, filling empty shelves and being carefully laid out as if they were in their own operating room at their home facility. I had the pleasure of witnessing, Katherine Brady, a Pediatric Physical Therapist teach the head nurses here at MBHOH the techniques needed to care for some of the orphans here with special needs, like Cerebral Palsy. Meet Carissa, a vibrant five year old who seems to enjoy being the subject of today’s teaching lesson for the nurses.
Carissa grabs the reward...a piece of chocolate!
- Carissa holds herself up with some help
Nurses listen to Katherine for instructions.
Show Hope's very own David Trask with Geisinger Resident Sarah Cates
Dr. Erica McElroy sifting through medical supplies
Show Hope is surrounded by Heroes! We will often refer to the adopted families we are fortunate to come alongside and the many sponsors who make it possible as “heroes of the faith”. This week a new set of heroes have emerged in the next chapter of the beautiful story God is writing at Maria’s Big House of Hope. The chapter storyline – get the operating theatre at Maria’s Big House of Hope not just functional, but as Dr. Joyce Hill of New Hope Foundation (our operating partners) said at dinner last night, “a high quality operating room equipped, set up and ready for anything.” The cast of characters in this chapter for the week are six medical professionals from Geisinger Medical Center in my back yard in Danville, PA each with a very specific role and expertise.
This is the first trip to China for the majority of the physicians and thus far the jet lag is bringing them back to their tiring days as a resident student. There won’t be any surgeries done this week, but what I have found, as many of you have, is that when you are among the fatherless, surgery to your heart is needed. While I am blessed to be around so many wonderful physicians and medical professionals on this trip, I am especially grateful to be surrounded by, covered and loved by the GREAT PHYSICAN who heals our broken hearts that bleed for these kids by infusing Hope as we cling to Him and serve on behalf of the fatherless. Stay tuned this week for daily updates and more details about the heroes of the mission at hand.
The television images from Haiti are overwhelming and catastrophic and the world is seeing, some for the first time, the heartbreaking circumstances of orphans in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Yet, stories of hope, faith and love bring light to the dark, tragic backdrop, and it is clear that God is in the midst of the hurting and destitute. It is a blessing to hear from so many Christians across the country who desire to help out in some way. Each day we continue to be humbled by the outpouring and love of the many families who have written and called Show Hope inquiring how they may adopt children from Haiti.
The United States government, in conjunction with the Haitian government, has expedited the cases of approximately 500 adoptions that had been in process prior to the January 12th earthquake. The U.S. government granted Humanitarian Parole for these adoptions and the specific procedures for such cases must meet the eligibility requirements listed on the CIS & State Department websites: www.adoption.state.gov or www.uscis.gov .
Show Hope was invited to be on a conference call yesterday, organized by the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives on behalf of the White House for adoption and orphan care stakeholders. One of the things they pointed out to the listeners that I wanted to convey to our audience was that just because children live in what most of us call an orphanage, that doesn’t mean that every child is an orphan by definition. Many countries, especially third world countries utilize institutional care for families who are poor and can’t meet the basic needs of their children. Considering the scope of this disaster, it is our understanding that no new adoptions will be processed in the immediate future until efforts at family reunification are made.
Although new inter country adoptions are currently closed in Haiti, God may have used the plight of the orphan there to stir your heart toward adoption; perhaps you have been praying about adopting for some time and this has prompted your heart again in this area. Due to the many inquiries about adopting we have received as of late, we wanted to be able to provide families with resources and information to assist in this journey.
We encourage any family who may be considering adoption to continue to seek the Lord in fervent prayer along with diligent research, education and counsel. Show Hope provides a website that gives a general overview of the adoption process: be it from foster care, domestically or internationally. http://www.howtoadopt.org/. Also, for a list of Christian Adoption agencies with more specific information about domestic and international processing, visit the Christian Alliance for Orphans website.
Thank you for your on-going support and prayers for the people and children of Haiti.
Every day we are fielding calls and inquiries from partners and friends that we know, discussing the Haiti crisis, in particular about orphaned children. As we continue to discern our role as a ministry in response to this disaster, in addition to our continued prayers for the people, relief workers and orphans of the country Show Hope is allocating some discretionary funds to a couple of small organizations the Chapman family is connected to personally. One of the major challenges of a disaster of epic proportion like this one is coordinating emergency relief efforts, especially when there is infrastructure damage to the government. We are grateful for organizations like the American Red Cross (among many others) that exist and are trained for times such as this. The organizations that we have decided to support in the immediate short term thus far are quite smaller and have people on the ground that we know. You can find links to them below.
Hands and Feet Project
Makarios International
Also, our good friend Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International has a long personal 33 year history in Haiti as it was the place where he and his bride, Donna exchanged their wedding vows. Roughly 10% of their 65,000 sponsored children in Haiti resided in Port Au Prince near the earthquake’s Epicenter. We lift up their team and their children in prayer as well.
The state department is working hard to get their arms around CURRENT cases of families who were in the process of adopting a child from Haiti. If you fall into this category and have not been notified by your agency, click this link below for policy information. As of two days ago, the following policy was put into effect.
Humanitarian Parole Policy Announcement
Can we adopt orphans from Haiti moving forward?
It is a good question. One that many of us most likely have pondered in the process of discerning what we can do to help in the shadow of this unimaginable catastrophe. (In a conversation with Mary Beth yesterday, even she stayed up ‘til 2am wondering, searching and praying about how to open her home). Keep in mind that inter-country adoption is a legal process which entails government involvement. Each child must be identified as adoptable and have paperwork with their profile. Currently the government of Haiti’s infrastructure is shattered so unless some broad policies are announced it may be a while before adopting an orphaned child from Haiti is possible. DHS and the U.S. Department of State continue to evaluate additional eligibility criteria and will provide additional information as soon as it is available.
Adoption Updates
