“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

Update 2: A THIRD anonymous donor is helping us extend our campaign to August 10. This time, each new LIKE means $1 for orphan care. Help us reach our goal of 80,000 total fans by August 10!

Update 1: A second anonymous donor has agreed to continue this campaign up to a total of $45,000 if we can reach 55,000 total fans by the end of July! Please LIKE Show Hope on Facebook (note: The “Likes” of this individual post located directly above this text do not count toward total Facebook likes) and continue to share our page with friends!

We have exciting news! An anonymous donor has agreed to give Show Hope up to $20,000, but we need YOUR help! For every 5,000 new “likes” on the Show Hope Facebook page, $5,000 will be donated to Show Hope up to $20,000 through July 31st.

The money that we receive from this effort will help bring orphans into families through Show Hope adoption aid grants and will help provide specialized care for orphans with special needs through Show Hope Special Care Centers.

We are thrilled about this opportunity, and we can’t wait to SEE how you will engage your friends in orphan care through sharing about Show Hope. Over the next month, we’ll be posting more pictures, status updates and blogs to our Facebook page to help our new followers learn more about Show Hope! All of this energy will help our current followers redouble their efforts to care for orphans too.

Remember, we only receive funding when we reach a new 5,000 new fans milestone. If you’re keeping track, we are currently at about 10,000 fans. Let’s see how quickly we can reach our first funding goal and get to 15,000 fans! We are depending on YOU to help us, so share this post through Facebook, share our page, suggest Show Hope to friends, tweet like crazy, be creative, and have fun!

You can find Show Hope on Facebook at facebook.com/ShowHope

One of my favorite things about getting to know the children at MBHOH is learning their individual personalities. I like knowing what songs they like to sing, what best soothes them when they’re upset, and which tickle game is their favorite. As I learn their personalities, I sometimes dream of what they might want to be when they grow up. One child I love to do this with is Lucas.

This little boy’s personality is the definition of the word JOY. Whenever someone walks into his room, Lucas immediately runs up with his arms outstretched ready for a big hug. His little belly laugh makes my heart dance. What would Lucas want to be when he grows up? A singer, perhaps? Lucas loves to sing “Happy and you know it”. Often times when I walk into the room, he immediately places his little hands on his cheeks as if singing the line, “If you’re happy and you know then your face will surely show it…” He rallies the other kids in his room to sing this song…over and over and over.

Or maybe Lucas would rather be a comedian. He loves to make people laugh and he does a good job at it, even when he’s not trying! A few days ago, I caught Lucas in a corner by himself trying to wear his Nanny’s shoes. A mischievous little grin crept across his face as he waltzed into the room to show off his new look. Everyone burst into laughter as Lucas skipped around the room constantly tripping over his oversized shoes.

Or maybe Lucas would like to be a clown in a traveling circus. Sometimes this boy is just plain silly. He loves to pretend to hide under a blanket and then rip it off his head followed by an eruption of giggles. Sometimes when we drive up to MBHOH in the van, we can spot little Lucas standing at the glass window making silly faces by pressing his face against the glass. A silly little bundle of joy, that Lucas!

Of course in our limited view, we don’t know what Lucas’ future will hold, we do know that God has special plans for each and every child. So whether Lucas actually becomes a singer, comedian or clown, we are trusting that God knows the plans He has for Lucas. “Plans to prosper him and not to harm him, plans to give him a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

As this little one comes to mind, please pray that God would open the door for sweet Lucas to come into the love of a forever family of his own.  He needs a family to walk into the future with him helping him to explore all the wonderful ways God has created him and his funny little personality.

Read more about Lucas here >

“Visiting Maria’s Big House of Hope has been such a blessing. It truly is a house of hope. The minute I walked through the door I could tell it was filled with love and compassion. It has been so much fun to make the children smile and to show them God’s love. One child in particular has been such a joy to play with. His name is Jay-ar.

“Jay-ar is super cute and pudgy, has the most adorable smile, and was born with Down Syndrome. I first played with him during a water play-time outside of Maria’s Big House of Hope. His contentment and joy surprised me. While he was in the sand box he did a face plant and got sand all in his eyes, mouth, and nose, but he didn’t cry at all. He just got right back up and went on playing. From then on, he has held a special place in my heart. I keep wondering what his future holds. What will happen to him when he grows up? Who will encourage him through hard times? Who will enjoy his special personality? What struggles will he face? The unknown overwhelms me, but God keeps bringing to my mind Jeremiah 29:11 which says: ’”For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”’

“Even though Jay-ar’s future is unknown to me, God knows exactly what will happen. Not only does He know exactly what will happen to Jay-ar, but He also promises that Jay-ar’s future will have hope. That promise is so encouraging for me. I continue to wonder about Jay-ar’s future, but not without hope – God has it all figured out. What a compassionate and loving God we serve!”

-Annie Ownbey

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Brittany Baker wrote this song, “Make It Me, Lord” for a little girl named Dreena (pictured) and another little boy she met at Maria’s Big House of Hope.

Pulling into a ‘Great Big House’ on Father’s Day night
Hoping to SEE the needs of the orphans plight
But when she called me ‘Mama,’ then my heart did break
All they need is a family; who will fight for their sake?

Make it me Lord; take my hands.
I may be broken Jesus, but I’ll fulfill your commands.
Help me live out your example of love,
That they may know it comes from above.

Walking into a small room with mats on the floor
Seeing so many children that are broken and poor
But when I put the boy down, he reached up to me
All they need is a family to love unconditionally.

Make it me Lord; take my hands.
I may be broken Jesus, but I’ll fulfill your commands.
Help me live out your example of love,
That they may know it comes from above.

The needs are so great; our hands are so small.
Give us ears to hear Your specific call.

Make it me Lord; take my hands.
I may be broken Jesus, but I’ll fulfill your commands.
Help me live out your example of love,
That they may know it comes from above.
That they may know it comes from above.

“BROKEN. The first thought that pops into my head when I think of that word is of this morning when Chris Wheeler was being the incredible leader that he is and getting some Emergency-C for a couple team members. One second the glass cup was in his hand and an instant later it was shattered on the floor. On its way down it cut nicely into his ankle. The glass BROKE right before my eyes, and I’m sure it caused him PAIN on one level or another.

“One of the prayers that I most fervently prayed leading up to this trip was that God would BREAK my heart for what BREAKS His. I had no idea what that would look like and honestly, I don’t think I understood the gravity of my prayer. More times than not, when something BREAKS, it is PAINFUL. I hate pain. Who doesn’t? I asked God to give me His love as I invested in the lives of these kids. This week I can truly say my heart has been broken.

“I was nervous coming into the trip that I wouldn’t find “that kid” who I fell in love with and would spend every waking moment holding, kissing, and rocking to sleep. I am so thankful that God knows me better than anyone. The first room I walked into at Maria’s Big House of Hope was the Nemo room on the 2nd floor. I instantly fell in love with all those precious children and their nannies, but was specifically drawn to a 4-month-old baby named Edward. I call him Eddy (: He is completely content when sitting in my lap and watching all that is going on in his room. Eddy and I have something in common—we are both very ticklish and love to laugh. I have rocked him to sleep four times so far ( . . . PRECIOUS, I know).

“Even though I have only known that little guy for a couple days, I love him. I was holding him today and could not hold back the tears welling up in my eyes when I began to think about his future. My heart continued to BREAK as I faced unknown answers to countless questions. Will he be adopted into a forever family? Will he live long enough to build a relationship with his Creator? Does he even have a chance? I have never experienced PAIN like I felt today.

“Jesus commands us to LOVE our neighbors. Until this trip, I have always connected loving my neighbor to basically loving my friends and family. Today I put myself in Eddy’s shoes and experienced the joy of Jesus’ invitation on a new level. Today God allowed me a glimpse into the PAIN he feels when his heart is BREAKING for his precious orphans all over the world. I’ll tell you this.—it is difficult, and it hurts. Being BROKEN is challenging and uncomfortable. However, be encouraged. Once your heart has been BROKEN for what BREAKS His, you understand and be able to share Your Daddy’s love with others like you never have before. I loved my precious baby boy tonight but not with my BROKEN, pathetic love. I loved Eddy with GOD’S LOVE.”

-Callan Kreidel

“My wife Tresa and I both hurt deeply knowing that there are so many children around the world with no one to love or care for them, so with three biological children already we decided to look into the possibility of adopting to add to our family. We met with an adoption counselor about international adoption. She began to explain our limited options in regard to the high costs, and in our case the only exception would be if either of us was Native American. Tresa is, in fact, Native American and through this we very clearly felt God opening a door for us to walk through.

“In 2004 we welcomed Aja Leigh to our family and in 2007 TJ arrived. Most recently, our family was blessed with the addition of our daughter Cherish. Although the adoption process for Aja and TJ went quickly, it was a totally different story for Cherish’s adoption. During our waiting period we knocked on MANY different adoption doors (international adoption as well as adopting domestically from the foster care system), but every door seemed closed to us.  When at least we received a phone call from our agency asking us to come meet with some birth parents, we felt very sure that God had been deliberately saving us for this child. Our family was an exact match to everything these parents wanted, including the birth mother being enrolled in the same tribe as Tresa, making us eligible to adopt the baby!

“We were delighted to bring Cherish home from the hospital two days after she was born. We all immediately fell in love with her, but our circumstances soon changed. Just days after Cherish was placed with us, our social worker called to tell us the birth mother decided not to go through with the adoption plan.  We were in shock. That evening, we grieved and cried. When we took her back to her birth parents, our hearts and lives were empty, raw, and hurting.

“The following months were understandably filled with questions about why God had allowed this to happen. God very gently, but firmly reminded us that He is God, and what He does is always right…no matter if we can see it or not! Just after we were told we had to take Cherish back, we received an email from Show Hope indicating they had received our application but that they needed some additional information to continue the process. How confusing!  Because we had lost our referral, we didn’t understand the need to move forward with our grant application. Our social worker encouraged us to simply talk to Show Hope, asking them to allow any grant money awarded to be used with a future referral of another child. Show Hope was a blessing to us when we called to explain our situation. They asked if they could pray for our family and Cherish, and brought us much needed encouragement.

“Just two months after we lost Cherish, our social worker called again. This time she told us the birth mother realized she truly wasn’t able to care for Cherish and that she wanted to move forward with the adoption plan. We were overjoyed! As we waited for our court date to arrive, we received a letter from Show Hope announcing that we had received an adoption aid grant! God truly is ‘Our Provider!’

“God is so good and we’re thankful He took our family through that painful experience. We learned to trust Him, even when we can’t see His hand. We are also thankful for the Show Hope sponsors who support their work. We would have moved forward with our adoption plans even without the financial assistance of a Show Hope adoption aid grant, but it would have been EXTREMELY difficult. God knows the needs of all His children, and always provides for them. In this case He chose to use Show Hope and we are so thankful for that!”

-Daniel P

“God works in amazing, extraordinary, and unexpected ways. I never expected that God would use a mission trip spent playing with precious children to change my life. God has broken me, but built me up more beautiful. As Caroline mentioned in her blog post, our team has received the challenge to reach out to kids at MBHOH who aren’t always played with. With that in mind I walked into the Peter Rabbit room today. Without even thinking about it I gravitated towards the kids who were ‘easy’ to love–those who responded quickly to my tickles and who were fun to play with. Suddenly I realized what I was doing. I was avoiding the kids who needed love the most because it was too difficult. I selfishly put my needs and my comforts above these precious children.

“I decided to go to the mat where two children with very obvious special needs lay. One little boy responded when I touched him; he used all the energy he had to smile. The other little girl, however, did not respond to anything I did. Things that would make other children laugh, smile, and giggle caused no sort of response from her. It was so discouraging to not get the response I so desperately desired. I became frustrated with myself and with the situation. I wanted to feel the warm feelings of hearing her laugh or seeing her smile, but there was nothing. As I sat staring into her big blinking eyes and looked at her small frail body, my heart broke thinking of the possibility that her mind and her body are not aligned, that she was furiously fighting her body. I prayed that God would give me a sign that she would be okay, that she was content inside. I sat there stroking her just to make sure she knew that I was there. My heart continued to break as I looked into her eyes.

“At that moment I did the only thing left that I could do. I began to sing. Or rather I tried to sing. I’ve always been embarrassed to sing out loud, but I thought that this could be one thing I could do for this little girl; I could try to comfort her with my singing. I began singing my favorite childhood song- ‘Jesus Loves Me.’ Softly I sang: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong.’ Unexpected tears began streaming down my face as I sang that line… Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. The little girl I sat trying to comfort has a body that was weak, but she has a God who is so strong and loves her so much. That was the sign that I needed. This little girl’s future is in God’s hands and He is strong. He will never let her go. He has His hands wrapped around her. In His arms, she will be comforted.

“‘How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance for your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you the fountain of life in your light do we see light. -Psalm 36:7′”

-Sarah Rooker

“Being back at Maria’s Big House of Hope has been surreal. I had my first experience here in June of 2010 and I am so thankful for the Lord’s leading in bringing me back to this incredible place. Today was a ‘play with kiddos all day’ kind of day, which I absolutely loved. Mikey gave our team the challenge of loving the kids that others pass by. He was talking about the kids who have more serious conditions–the ones that don’t smile right away or run into your arms when you enter their room. They are the ones that cause you to go out of your comfort zone. For me, it was a little boy named Jordan.

“When I entered the Peter Rabbit room on the 4th floor of MBHOH, most of the kids were napping so I sat and chatted with our team leader Chris and team member Dan. I noticed a little boy who looked very agitated and  scooted over to his rocker to see if there was anything I could do to comfort him. His nanny was rocking him and I began scratching his back and rubbing his head in an attempt to stop his tears. He seemed uncomfortable and continued to shake his head back and forth. It broke my heart that there was nothing I could do to make him feel better. I was overwhelmed with emotions and began to weep over Jordan. I prayed over his little body and questioned God. What had Jordan done to deserve his condition? Why do I have a family, but he goes to sleep every night without one?

“As I continued to pray, I was reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 that talks about the plans God has for each and every one of our lives. He has a plan for Jordan’s life just as He does my life. He has a plan for every single one of the children here at MBHOH and each of the 140 million plus orphans in the world. As I held, kissed, and comforted one of those precious orphans today, I am even more grateful for His plans. While they may be confusing or painful at times, they are always for the good. He knows these kids names and the number of hairs on their heads, and He loves them so much. I trust Him, and I hold onto that hope. At Maria’s Big House of Hope, these kids have hope.

 ”I go to bed tonight more passionate than ever about the calling God has placed on my life to care for orphans. We have to speak up for these children. I can’t wait to SEE what the Lord has in store for the rest of this trip. I can already tell that these children are going to teach me way more than I could ever teach them.”

-Caroline Greene

With the sound of cicadas in the air you know that summer is here… and with the 13-year cycle of cicadas returning to Nashville this year, it has been somewhat of a rough welcome for such a beautiful time of year. Yet with the summer comes another season of a great pastime called baseball!!

Nashville is home to the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. As you walk into Greer Stadium, you are instantly greeted with the sounds and smells of the stadium that houses over 13,000 cheering fans. At a select few games this year, fans are also welcomed to enjoy Purity Faith and Family Nights. These special nights feature concerts from some of your favorite Christian artists such as Chris August, Jonny Diaz, Jaci Velasquez, and many more!

Show Hope is very blessed to have the opportunity to sponsor all six faith nights throughout the summer. We will have a booth set up selling merchandise and giving fans the opportunity to learn more about Show Hope and become Show Hope sponsors. While it may seem like a daunting task to help 140 million orphans, let me say this: first Nashville, then the WORLD!

We had a wonderful time at the first faith night, and we look forward to seeing you all this summer at the Nashville Sounds games!

Friday, May 27th – 6pm
Friday, June 3rd – 6pm
Sunday, June 26th – 5:30pm
Saturday, July 23rd – 5:30pm
Sunday, July 31st – 5:30pm
Saturday, August 13th – 5:30pm

I just love watching children play. Recently, a friend had a Fisher Price Little People doll house delivered to me at MBHOH. This dollhouse has been a constant companion and entertainment to Jaelynn ever since. One morning I began watching as she carefully set up her little home. As she was making her little people talk, I realized that her nannies were using this tool to teach her about life in a real home…WOW!

Jaelynn knew who the grandma and grandpa were, where the dog belonged, and how the kitchen was supposed to be set up. Although she has never heard anyone knock on the front door of a home, she was having her little person knock with the grandma answering as she asked, “Who is it?” Jaelynn had the little “mama” cooking in the kitchen and had “baba” leaving for work. This little girl, never exposed to a family in action, was putting into play the things she had picked up from the world around her.

Shortly after she began playing, Jaelynn looked up at me, held out her hand with the baby and stated, “Look, she is just like me. She has a tumor just like mine.” For any of you who have had the opportunity to play with Fisher-Price Little People, you may recall they are designed with round bases that fit into their furniture and accessories. The baby Jaelynn had fit into one of these bases had a basket full of accessories. One of these accessories was a ball on a blanket next to the baby, but to Jaelynn’s mind, that was a tumor that looked just like the one on her back. The baby was “just like her.”

As Jaelynn looked around the room, she told me that there wasn’t a baby just like one of her “sisters” in her room who had a tube in her nose. When she asked “Why not?” I simply smiled and said, “I don’t know why.” The nannies giggled. Later I noticed that one of the dolls now had a line marked in ink from her nose – I think the nannies were fixing the problem.

I thought about this the whole rest of the day. While we so often necessarily get caught up in taking care of the medical needs of these little ones, we don’t want to miss the moments that are just like every other child…the “why” moments. To the little ones under my care, it does not matter how well I care for their medical needs, how well I can give injections, start IV’s, put in a tube, or calculate the medications they need- all they care about is who gets into my arms first, who gets kisses, who has a story read, or a doll played with, who gets to fall asleep as I rock and sing to them, and how I answer their “Why’s?” In short, they want to be loved and to know that they are uniquely special. They are “just like me” — made in the image of God. I want to have the faith of a child that simply trusts my Father. Though my language skills may fail at times in being able to answer the “Why,” it will never fall short in sharing with them the “Who” that loves them and made them uniquely special!

Read more about Jaelynn >