Warancha ... First quarter of 2013 update

Thank you in advance for all our sponsors!  We now have 105 of the 200 children profiled sponsored.  That is 52% of the children.  Your dedication to sponsorship is what is making these things below possible!  Here is the update for the First Quarter.  

	A MESSAGE FROM COUNTRY DIRECTOR

 Dear Donors and Sponsors,

 Welcome to this edition of our quarterly newsletter!

 I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to those of you who are graciously supporting the desperate children and needy community through Children’s HopeChest Ethiopia. Your contribution would enable us to provide opportunities to further develop survive, thrive and succeed programs. The organization has been providing basic necessities to all the registered children and making positive influences. Children’s HopeChest Ethiopia is also involved and committed to supporting youths through our Youth Development Program (YDP). The new model project, YDP focuses on young girls and boys to continue their high school and college education. Through YDP, the number of young girls receiving support has increased from 4 to 9 girls; an additional young boy’s home has been established and 7 boys have been enrolled in the program. Those in the program are housed in a gender-specific group home for girls and boys. Each home has a home supervisor acting as a big sister and a big brother consecutively for the girls and boys. This project holistically addresses the desperate needs of abandoned youths and has the potential to expand it’s ministry in different parts of the country.

 Children’s HopeChest Ethiopia is partnered with 23 local churches and local NGOs, and supports more than 3,000 children through partner CarePoints. CHC office has been supporting leaders and staff at different partner CarePoints in all courses of action. Capital project implementation has been benefiting sponsored children, their families and the whole community located around our partner CarePoints through construction of schools, wells, health clinics and other infrastructures.

 One of the devastating effects of poverty is illness. CHC strives to support those children suffering with various curable diseases. With the support of our donors and sponsors, plans and medical funds are created for this purpose. With that in mind we are also working to construct health clinics in different places to protect the children from life threatening diseases and provide primary and preventative healthcare.

 I would like to thank you all for your generous support and the continuous impact you’re making on numerous desperate children and their families.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Mr. Tesfatsion Tsegaye

	DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM

 This quarter’s discipleship lesson theme was “Jesus Blesses Children.’’

 In this quarter, we have been discussing children, as those who are blessed by Jesus.

 One day, Jesus was teaching people early in the morning. As he finished his lesson, he went to a disciple’s house to get rest. Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

 The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them. (Matthew 19: 13-15, Mark 10: 12-16; Luke 18: 15-17)

 From this lesson, the children understand that Jesus loves and blesses them whenever they believe and live in him. They also learned that they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and that they are not despised in front of God.

God Bless You All!

	SPECIAL UPDATE

 For the school year the children received exercise books, pens and pencils, textbooks, school uniforms, school bags, and personal hygiene materials.

 During this quarter many activities were carried out at Warancha Hiwote Birhan CarePoint. Among these activities were:

• Supporting children with no family by providing clothing that were sent from donors
• Distribution of educational supplies
• Bible class is taught every day as a subject matter and children who are attending enjoy the class
• Witnessing the word of God for children’s families by the social worker as a result of this, five parents confessed and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior

	A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDREN

 My name is Ayelech Atote Jofie (ET3004053). I would like to forward my gratitude to my sponsor family for their commitment to share their life with me. I have been benefiting a lot from the sponsorship program at Warancha. I have been getting supplementary food, school supplies, a school uniform, clothing, and my school fees are paid for, and an opportunity to learn spiritual lessons about Jesus. My life is changing and I can see a bright future. Once again, thank you so much for what you have been doing for me and your prayers too.

I wish you a Happy New Year.

	A MESSAGE FROM THE CAREPOINT LEADER

 First of all, I would like to extend my appreciation to our beloved sponsors and donors, connect community leaders and Children’s HopeChest for your unreserved commitment to serve these children. Even though we struggled a bit with limited amount of money coming to us due to low sponsorship, we have been able to serve the children in various ways. Out of 201 registered children, over half of them are not yet sponsored. As a result, the church elders as well as CarePoint staff members are getting a number of requests from unsponsored children families. Moreover, we were struggling to serve the children with limited money as per our plan.  Currently, we have been seeing a good progress on the sponsorship rate and the revenue that our CarePoint is receiving from our sponsor donor community has increased.

 On the other hand, the teaching and learning process is in good shape. I can’t explain how many children are able to attend at our school these days those otherwise don’t have any other options that staying at their home. Their families’ have understood that education is key to the future of their children. I hope these children will be able to join university some times in the future and will support themselves their by contributing their part in building their country.

 I believe that God will change our challenges to blessings for his glory and the benefit of the children. The church and CarePoint staff members are always praying that God will bless and protect our sponsors and donors.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Philipose Yosef

CarePoint Committee Chairperson

	PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray for our children’s health condition this time of the year, as malaria is a danger
• Pray for the CarePoint leaders
• Pray for the school teachers and CarePoint workers
• We praise God for giving this opportunity of getting sponsor for our children

My life collides with "Their Story"

It's not drawn from passion.  It's not drawn out of obedience.  It's not drawn from an emotional need.  No, the drive behind our family "Sharing their Story" is that "their story" suddenly collided into our lives and became, on February 5, 2012, a part of "Our Story" .

In July of 2011, we set out to take on the role of "CarePoint Sponsorship Coordinator's" for Warancha CarePoint.  We believed in the ministry behind Children's HopeChest and believed it would be an awesome way to knit us back into the fabric of the country we longingly awaited our own son's arrival from.  We had a dream - but little did we know, he had a PLAN!

Just one month after our big launch, we received the long awaited call we had waited for.  We had a 3.5 year old son!  Upon receiving his paperwork, we began to see the first bread crumbs of a confirmation that Awassa, Ethiopia (Warancha's home) wasn't just 'our choice" but His.  Birth place of Zebene Martine - Awassa, Ethiopia.

We went through the process of Court travel, Court and Embassy Clearance and on February 5, 2012, we became Forever "ours"!  During that embassy trip we were blessed with the greatest gift we would ever receive - the opportunity of meeting the beautiful woman who was giving us the gift of Zebene.

How do you prepare for such an event?  I had for years dreamt of that moment for our daughter from China.  For 5 years we prayed nightly for a woman we'd never know.  We had only dreamed what it would be like to understand the "Why's" and to say "thank you" for her great sacrifice.  I dreamed of telling her how brave she was, wondered what she looked like, and of learning a story I'd never really know.  I envisioned what it would be like to look in her eyes and let her know that she was loved.  And now, 5 years later - I was having that chance with Zebene's mother.

Our day came and I was a nervous wreck.  I had prepared a photo album and a letter - such small tokens in exchange for her unimaginable sacrifice.  Without sharing Zebene's story and the heart wrenching cards that had been dealt to the hand of his mother, it would be suffice to say that I had one goal from our meeting - MiMi would know she was adored, beautiful and the daughter of the King of Kings.   As we sat across the table, I watched her as her adoring eyes took her beautiful son in.  She greeted him with an affectionate embrace and as we talked, her gaze seldom left his face.  It was very clear that she loved her son dearly, affectionately sharing sweet memories and stories of his personality and tender moments as a baby and young toddler.  She shared her last moments with Z, as she left him in the orphanage at 2.5 years old, sharing with us the last thing she told him  "Please never forget me, Please never forget me".  As she conveyed her dreams, her story and her great loss to us, I was overcome in emotion.

Life was not fair.  My son was simply an orphan because of poverty.  A young mother, against all odds and the desires of her family, had chosen life for him.  She had chosen with the whole world against her to keep her son and do whatever it took to raise him.  She had given him every chance she could and yet - life. had. failed. her.  As we sat at that table and as we shared in those moments - my grief and one reality overwhelmed me.  Zebene, our gift, was ours only because we had "much" and his mother had "too little".

As MiMi walked away from that meeting, I held OUR beautiful boy on my hips.  Turning to Job, our guide, I began to sob.  Nothing about that moment felt right.  This - this card that life had dealt this beautiful woman, was not right.  Her loss would never be my "gain".  A truth that would forever be etched on my heart.

But, as we know, the Lord always is the perfect author of our stories.  Our relationship with Zebene's mother has continued.  On Doug's most recent trip into visit our kids at the Warancha CarePoint in Awassa, Ethiopia, he had the awesome and beautiful opportunity to see MiMi again.  Meeting up at the orphanage that she had left Zebene in, he learned one more amazing piece to our story he was penning.  Shilom Children's Hope is only miles from Warancha CarePoint!   The reality sinking in further - Warancha could have been her answer!

For over 300 plus children that are a part of the Warancha community, the same fate is only a meal - a day away.  The truth is, our sponsorships and that CarePoint is the lifeline and the breaking point between one more young mother, one more desperate family having to gut wrenchingly choose the same sacrifice for their child.  Warancha is orphan care at it's best - allowing those with "much" to keep those with "too little" together as a family!

  Those moments, at that table, in a small guest house propel me forward to continue to Share Their Stories.   My prayer is that their stories collision into your life would result in not a loss of a family - but the HOPE of a future!  Perhaps this Christmas, we really can "Change Their Story".

Here's How you can get involved and become a Story CHANGER!

Sponsor a child today (34$/month)!  www.hopechest.org/community/warancha

Give the Gift of Nutrition this Christmas!  www.donate.hopechest.org/goto/warancha

Our first moments

Looking for a treat?

Halloween has come and gone, but one thing still remains ... 216 children looking for their treat!  While we were filling our bags with candy and goodies, these sweet kiddo's were awaiting the Hope of a sponsor family that will provide them an education, meals, discipleship and more.

Who could resist these faces?  All of these children still lack a sponsor family.  Could that be you?
Please leave me a message and I will give you all the information you need to make it happen.

A Christmas wish to "Change their Story"

"And then you came" were the words spoken by the Pastor as he clutched his hand over his heart.   For 16 months we had been busy working towards building sponsorships, bringing awareness and working to make our kids, at the Warancha CarePoint famous on this side of the globe.  But on the other side, a Pastor, a field staff and a Board of Directors were ministering each day in Faith, with minimal resources, that we were indeed doing those things.  They also wondered ... would we come?   This was the story our Pastor shared.

There is often controversy over short term vs. long term mission trips.  Are we scratching our own itch and providing a poverty tour complete with pictures?  Are we bringing our "American" ideas and cultures and imparting them on a people group to make ourselves feel like we have "done something"?  Would it be more cost effective to take those very finances we used to get there and simply give them towards the needs?  I've listened to the arguments and I've weighed the financial costs of a trip .... but through the very words of our Warancha Pastor, I have learned that both of these things are critical and valued to those we are seeking to serve and love.   So we went!  Our first Warancha trip out of San Antonio was a huge success.  Our kids were loved, the vision was caught and advocates were created!

But what now?    There is much to be done!  For certain, sponsors are still needed!  Please visit our community page  and initiate your sponsorship today.  Please also, share with your friends.  

What else??  

 My prayers is that this Christmas, you will join me in reminding our children in the Warancha Community that they are the best gift of all.  This year, Americans will spend billions on Christmas gifts and cards.  Instead, what if some of us decided that we'd ask our family, friends and co-workers to pool their resources to help orphans and children living in extreme poverty?  We have seen what a dramatic difference our presence does make, but with your help, we can also see the dramatic difference our gifts can make as well.   The list of the needs in the community is great, but the reality is, those needs cannot be met because our children's basic needs still go unserved.  Our children lack nutrition and so this year, we hope to meet that need together!

I have signed up to lead our team in the "Change Their Story" campaign through HopeChest , and have committed that I would recruit TEN of YOU to join me!  WILL YOU?

It's super easy, to get started just click here.  By filling out that registration, HopeChest will provide you with a personalized donation webpage and the online tools to engage your friends, family and co-workers.  Be sure to put "Warancha" as your community you will be campaigning for when you sign up.  As well, our Field staff has asked that our funds would be used for  the "Nutritional needs" of our children.  You set your goal and together, we make a difference!!

Campaign will run November 15- December 31.

Let's make 300 precious children's wish come true this Christmas!

Reunited again!

4:00 am, that was the time I awoke this morning with one thing on my mind - today was the day that Doug was to visit with MiMi (Z's birth mother) again!  My heart beat fast and I could not go back to sleep.  So,  I gathered myself, my coffee and my bible and began to pray.

10:00 am arrived and sitting in the Dr's office I received a text from Doug "Amazing Visit.  Will share more later, can't put it into words".  My eyes filled with tears.  I knew my prayers for an amazing visit had been answered - I mean, Doug is never speechless!   I could hardly wait to hear about the day!

This afternoon's skype session was therefore, an emotional one.  I got off the phone feeling wiped out.  I can only imagine how exhausted my hubby must be.   Needless to say, the day was more than we could expect and had prayed for.  While many of the details of Doug's visit, I will not share (including photos as I would like to respect MiMi's privacy)  - I will definitely share enough to give you a little glimpse.

But first ...

The team is doing awesome and their day at Warancha went wonderfully!  They went in prepared and more mentally ready for the many kids that overwhelmed them the day before.  Doug said the "Minute to Win It" games we had planned have gone over huge and today the kids loved stacking the dice on the popsicle sticks in their mouth!  The kids love playing each of the activities, some soccer and parachute and the feel of the day was so different than yesterday.  They also acted out different bible stories.  Doug and team shared and acted out the story of Jesus's birth and then some of the kids came up and acted it out again back to them.  All in all, the morning was a huge hit!   Doug was super pleased.

The afternoon was the sweet treat of the day.  The team headed over to Shalom Children's Hope.  This is the orphanage that our sweet Z is from.  By the blessing of our America World staff (our agency that partner's with that orphanage), they were able to arrange for our team to spend the afternoon visiting Shalom.  It was also here that we knew MiMi would arrive.

Doug said that when they arrived she was already there.  The staff of Shalom had arranged chairs in a circle and they all gathered in together.  Doug said she was shy at first and held her head low as to not look directly at him.  He asked Alex if she was ashamed.  He said she was not but that in her culture, the woman didn't speak to crowds of people.  Funny, as I had texted Doug today because I was worried that if the whole team were at their visit she would be overwhelmed.  But, MiMi is a courageous woman and Alex said it was fine that they stayed.  So, they greeted with a hug that Doug said felt like 5 minutes.  Doug then began to show MiMi the photo album I made for her of Z's last 8 months with us.  He said she immediately began to weep.  He said he went through each picture and described to her his personality and his gifts and how well he is doing.  She loved it.  He said though, that as he got to the last picture (one in which I had taken a picture of the picture of her on our shelves), she became overwhelmed in emotion.  Doug said that he knew today that MiMi got it ... she is loved and is definitely not forgotten!  The staff of Shalom were overwhelmed as well and made a very big deal to her and to Doug that they had never seen a family return and reunite with their birth family after their original meeting.  They kept reiterating to MiMi and Doug over and over at how rare this occurrence was.  For MiMi, I think it was such a confirmation in what we had said we would do 8 months ago ... return!  For Doug, it was a realization that the Lord has indeed blessed us with a sweet and special connection to Z's birth family.  It was also a confirmation in what we had told her "We love her and consider her like family".  During the meeting, the team left the room a little at a time and began going into a room where some of the babies and young ones were.  After a while, the only ones left were Alex and Doug and Jaime and the social worker helping do translation for MiMi.  Doug said it was then that MiMi really began to open up and she also began to kiss each and every picture of in the album of Z.  Doug said it was a sweet sweet time.  He sent me a picture of that moment and it left me in tears!  My Momma heart just aches that she could see her boy!

Doug was able to learn during that time a bunch more about MiMi's life and where she lives.  We learned of her desire to start her own business.  Alex, the guide, after visiting with her told Doug that she had a "strong spirit" and was a strong woman.  Doug said that as the day went on, she never left his side.  He said that if he were to walk away, he would see MiMi looking for him and she'd quickly return to his side.  She stayed right near him, wrapped her arms around him and made sure that she was close by.  Doug said that it felt so good to be able to really show her how loved she was and that he KNEW when they walked away that MiMi also knew these things.  Her smile in the pictures says it all!  I wished I could show you.  She is just beautiful!

What an answer to prayer!

After their very emotional visit, the team then had the awesome chance to go do 4 home visits of 4 of the children of our CarePoint.  One of those visits was to our sponsor son, Wendgegm.  What an awesome privilege to see where our children are living and to hear the stories behind their families.
Doug said that they have learned quite a bit about Warancha and that the Pastor has really been sharing the depth of the need they have.  As I have been sharing for months, without more sponsors - Warancha's hands are tied to do little.  With only 68 of 278 children sponsored, the Pastor has little resources to do the things he really needs to do for our kids.  At this time, only the basic of education and care can be given.  We realize that we only launched this CarePoint 14 months ago - and it is a HUGE one - but today the team saw for themselves just how important you each are to their longevity and vitality of this community.   The Pastor also opened his heart and humbly shared these needs and the burden he feels.

Doug said that by far, this was the best day yet.  I could tell that he was emotionally and physically exhausted but so well pleased!  Tomorrow they will spend the morning with the kids and provide them with a large feast.  After lunch they will have the opportunity to sit down with the Pastor and hear more of the needs, his long term vision and how we can be involved.  Please be praying for that time ... and most importantly, for the community here that the Lord will raise up to serve our community there.

If you are reading this post and feel prompted to sponsor one of our kids, please contact me.  I'd love to get you connected into our community!  We will return to our kids - and next time, YOU could be joining us.  (October 2013!).

Here are a few pictures of the day.  As I mentioned, I'd love to share with you the beautiful photos Doug sent of MiMi - but I am going to refrain so that I can respect her privacy. I assure you, her smile in the pictures confirms what we now know ... she KNOWS she is loved!

YAY - It's Doug and Wendgegm, our sponsor son

Zach is a hit!  

The dice game

Nice balance!

Uh oh - I think Marie found herself a cutie!  

A Hard but Good Day - Day 1 Warancha

 By Sue Henderson - Team member extraordinaire!  

We are sitting down right now planning out what we are going to do tomorrow with the children from Warancha. Today was our first day there and it was wonderful to spend the day with the kids but it was overwhelming in many ways.  We are seven people and we encountered about 400 children. If you are any good at math, you can figure out the numbers were not in our favor! We planned last night for quite a while but we were not fully prepared for the numbers we encountered. Our minds and reality were not on the same page. Now we know what to expect and we are talking to be better prepared for tomorrow. Our hearts are definitely in the right place. The kids have touched us in many ways and we want to be there for them and bless them in this time we have together. What we have determined is that we need more structure. Every minute has to be planned out.  Having said that here is what we did today…

We got up early and met for breakfast at 7:00 leaving the hotel at 8:00, arriving at Warancha at 8:30. We were swarmed by the kids. Then the children came out with the teachers and very nicely sat in rows, quietly. Alex introduced us one at a time and had the children repeat our names. This went well until he introduced Doug and all the kids said “Hello Dougie”. Needless to say, he is now Dougie to us! We (the Firje) then sang songs and attempted with our best effort to teach them the words. Fortunately, they already new Chick A Boom, Chick A Boom, which is what we started with. These children love to sing. We sang the Banana song and then taught a Bible story about how God made the children of the world, and how he loves us all. Dougie did the narration of this story and he did a really good job! After doing this we had a game called “In it to Win It”.  We had two teams (a guys team and a girls team of about 5 kids each) and they all had an Oreo. They placed the Oreo on their forehead and the object was to get it into their mouths without using their hands. The kids loved it! They probably loved the Oreo too! It was great fun listening the cheering and watching the concentration on their faces!

After that we took the kids back into their classrooms. Warancha has classes for Pre-K through 3^rd grade. Neda took the youngest kids along with Zach. Jaimie took the next level, with Marie, Dougie and Judy taking the older kids. I had no responsibility for individual kids as I am the recorder of the mission. Sounds easy, but it was a real struggle today. The classrooms were more controlled chaos though the second grade class has 60 kids in it! Imagine 60 kids in ONE classroom!

After this we went back outside and attacked the soccer field. The girls took on the boys with all the Frije playing except Judy and me.  Dougie has no mercy. Winning is everything to him, even if it means taking out little kids (at least that is how he talks!). In reality, the only people he tried to take out were his fellow frije!! I was impressed with the talent level all around. The girls did a great job and held their own, doing very well!  While the teams were playing the other kids stood behind a wooden fence and cheered on their teams. When a respective team scored the bystanders yelled and jumped in excitement. After each score the players rotated out and new players came in. One of the teachers joined in the fun (she played for the girls side) and she was quite a good player! I was proud of my fellow Frije. They managed to stay on the field and remain standing the whole time without collapsing from exhaustion!

And then we broke for lunch… The kids leave at noon to go home to eat so we went out to eat. Another amazing restaurant with another awesome meal! After lunch, and some revitalizing we returned for the afternoon. We started back in the classrooms coloring pictures.  The hope was that this would take a while but it was done in no time at all. While this was taking place I was going from classroom to classroom and taking pictures. This was becoming increasingly more difficult as my entrance was always a distraction. The kids just wanted their pictures taken and would not take no for an answer. The lack of communication did not help! The more I asked them to wait, the more they pulled and pulled on me to get my attention. There was frustration for all involved. I was frustrated because I was getting pulled in all directions (literally) and they were frustrated because I was not taking their pictures fast enough! Good news is this team is such a good group of people that I could vent my frustrations tonight and explain my reasoning and now I feel better.  Part of the equation is that these children come from a background so different from ours that it is hard to understand fully where the other is coming from. They have nothing and have had to beg and plead for all they have. They do not give up easily. I, on the other hand, am use not use to being pulled on and pushed on to get my way. At times I finally put my camera away and walked away from the fray because the constant shoving was unmanageable. Then of course I would feel guilty and try again. By the end of the day I was exhausted and had nothing left to give. I have spent the better part of the evening in silent prayer asking for forgiveness and for patience and for understanding. I love these children and I want to give to them. I want to take their pictures and give them the pleasure of seeing what they look like. I want to honor their wishes and honor my pledge to God to give to them.  I want to see joy on their faces and let them know they are loved. 

And so I leave you tonight and ask for your prayers. Prayers for patience. For peace. For strength to give unconditionally and to persevere and they did today.  Prayers for the children of Warancha to find joy in life and to learn the love of Christ. Prayers for our team for rest. I love you all.

A visual glimpse this morning ...

Got to skype with Doug this morning.  The internet connection was sporadic and a little fuzzy, but just knowing he is safe in Warancha makes this Momma happy.

After getting off, he e-mailed a few pics.  They are small files, so they might be a tad fuzzy.  I thought, however, you'd like to see a glimpse of the team for yourself.  There are pictures in Korah, one with precious Mulu (Mama KiKi and Mercy - that one is for you!) and the team's time dying scarves.  Looks like the last pic is the precious little girl Doug described that took him by his hand this morning at Warancha - and didn't let go.  Looks like we need to see if she's sponsored - we may have us a new "family member".

It's MULU!  This pictures makes my heart beat fast.  That smile of hers will light up a room.

Do I spy a Kaldi's treat?

Enjoy a peek - I sure did!