What's Your Brick?

The wall of orphan ministry will be built brick by brick, and there are MANY,
MANY different bricks. This page provides a sampling of some of those bricks. As
you read through this list, pray that the Lord will quicken in your spirit what you
and your family's bricks are. He will equip you for the work.

This page has many links. Please click on anything that interests you.

**PRAY... God has a will for every child, and people are needed to pray for
them. Orphans may not have anyone else praying for them. If you know
orphans, please pray for them by name. If you don't know any orphans, there is
a beautiful opportunity for you to have a specific orphan to pray for. Reece's
Rainbow is a beautiful ministry that finds forever homes for children with Down
Syndrome in other countries, and you can have the opprotunity to be a prayer
warrior for one or more of the waiting children. You'll receive a photo of a child,
and you can "pray them home." Never underestimate the power of prayer!

**GIVE... You may or may not be able to adopt a child, but you CAN play an
instrumental part in placing children into forever families. There are families
stepping forward to adopt children, and they need the necessary funds to do
that. Show Hope gives you the opportunity to donate toward adoption grants.
And Reece's Rainbow allows you to sponsor a waiting child or sponsor an
adoptive family. Every penny counts, so collecting loose change is a wonderful
way to start!

**SPREAD THE WORD... Pass along our web address to your Christian friends,
family and church members. Remember that if ONLY 7% of Christians care for
ONE orphan, we'd essentially have no more orphans. We'd love to find that 7%,
so please pass this information along to the people in your circle of friends.
Together we will rebuild this wall!

**HOST FUNDRAISERS FOR ORPHANS... Find what you love to do, and use it
as a fun way to raise money for orphans. Perhaps your family loves theater and
can put on a play for your friends or church. Maybe your family has extra "stuff"
that can be sold in a yard sale. Perhaps your church can host a church-wide
spaghetti dinner. Perhaps your children can host a bake sale among friends and
neighbors. Maybe your co-workers would be interested in a walk-a-thon to raise
money for a specific orphan that you read about on Reece's Rainbow. Perhaps
your family is known for making excellent cookies, and you could turn this into a
fundraising event for orphans. There are almost unlimited ideas! Let your
imagination run, and have a fun family-oriented event to benefit God's children
while they await forever families. Remember...as we love our own families and
keep watch over our own homes, we can easily overflow that love to care for
orphans in one way or another.

**SPONSOR AN ORPHAN... Some children are in need of being sponsored
until they are adopted, and Show Hope gives you the opportunity to be a
sponsor. And in some cases adoption is not the best option. In some countries,
instead of adopting the children out to other countries, they are raising them up
to be the next Christian leaders of that country. They have created incredible
children's villages, with Christian "house moms" who care for the children in
homes within a village. Watoto in Uganda is a beautiful example of this, and
they are in need of sponsors for their orphans and house moms. An incredible
ministry to be part of! This is a perfect opportunity to bring a child out of
"orphan status" and place them into a family situation.

**GIVE ITEMS TO ORPHANS OR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE... Some
orphanages list their needs, and your family or church group can collect these
items and send them to the orphanages. One oprhanage that provides an online
list of needs is God's Littlest Angels in Haiti. You can ship your donated items to
their Colorado office, so you will not have to pay international shipping charges.
Also, many states have special things that you can do for children in foster care.
For example, some states allow you to decorate shoe boxes and then fill them
with little items like pencils, lotions, coloring books, etc. This provides a fantastic
way for your family to work together to do projects that touch the life of a
waiting child. Contact your state for more information. Or be the first to begin a
similar program in your church for foster children in the church.

**BEGIN AN ORPHAN MINISTRY IN YOUR CHURCH... There are fantastic
resources that will guide you in doing this. Focus on the Family has a wonderful
step-by-step guide on DVD available for purchase. Spreading the vision for
orphan ministry in a church is an essential ingredient in finding the 7% of
Christians who will step forward to care for orphans. We need orphan ministries
in churches. Feel free to use this website as another resource in pointing others
to the many different ways that they can be involved.

**BECOME A FOSTER FAMILY... There is a great need for foster families to
provide a safe loving home for children as they wait to either be reunited with
their birth families or to be adopted by their forever families. This provides an
opportunity to influence a child's life in a profound way right in your own loving
home. Contact your state to receive information about becoming a foster family
in your town.

**ADOPT... There are MANY waiting children. You can adopt children who are
waiting in foster homes. You can find these children through your state foster
system or through websites such as Children Awaiting Parents. You can also
adopt children in other countries who are awaiting forever families. Some of the
reputable adoption agencies are: Bethany Christian Services, Buckner
International, and Gladney Center for Adoption. Each agency has its own list of
waiting children, and they will be happy to assist you in finding a good match
for your family. Keep in mind that there are also many children in other countries
who have special needs (such as Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy). Oftentimes
if these children are not adopted at a young age, they are placed in mental
institutions where fatality rates are high. Reece's Rainbow is a beautiful ministry
that finds forever families for special needs children who would otherwise be
placed in institutions. Adoption is a picture of what God has done for
us...adopting us into His family when we were most needy. And what a precious
way to extend the love that lives within the walls of your home!

**BECOME A "WRAP-AROUND" FAMILY... If you know a family who is
fostering or adopting children, you can be a wonderful support system for them!
Help them raise money for their adoption expenses. Have a family cooking day,
and take a meal over to a foster or adoptive family. Buy the children diapers or
formula or a gift card for a fun kids' meal. Host a "baby shower" with new things
for the children. Pray for the foster or adoptive family every day, and send them
a note letting them know you're praying. Offer to allow the parents to go out
alone while you care for their children (if the children are ready for this, of
course). Wrap around them and let them know they are not alone.

**BECOME A CASA VOLUNTEER... There is a need for volunteers who will be
the child's voice in the court system. Often, children can slip through the cracks,
and CASA works to change this. A CASA volunteer often represents a child and
works to get that child placed in a safe home.

**TAKE A MISSION TRIP TO SERVE ORPHANS... There are many
opportunities out there. Show Hope has missions trips. God's Littlest Angels in
Haiti invites individuals or groups to come serve at their orphanage. And Watoto
has an "adventurous, life-impacting" opportunity. Please check them out and
send the information to your church leadership too.

**START AN ORPHANAGE OR CHILDREN'S VILLAGE IN ANOTHER
COUNTRY... We've run across several people who have this God-given vision.
There is an awesome opportunity to learn how to do this successfully. Watoto
Children's Village in Uganda has a working model of this, and they invite people
to come learn how they do what they do. Maybe your family has this vision, or
perhaps you are a single person who feels led to relocate to another
country...this is an amazing way to serve orphans. Obviously, this "brick" requires
leaving your own home and working on a part of the wall in another location,
and some individuals or families may be led in this direction.