Unbelievable Ways to Touch Lives

Kim Smith
Calvary Church, St. Peters, MO

Our adoption ministry started almost 5 years ago when I was asked to help direct Summer Hosting programs for Russian Children. At that point I knew that this was my purpose in life: helping the orphans. I saw God in every one of those faces! They were God's most precious treasures and they too were part of God's family.

As a believer I knew that I was called to be the first to reach out to orphans and abandoned children. God had a plan, and I was part of this plan to protect and provide for these orphans. I knew that I needed to gather others who had compassion for the least of these and together make a difference in the lives of orphaned children and families that desired to adopt.

Seeing that the adoptive families needed support during their waiting period, I decided to start our first adoption support group. God also placed on my heart that we needed to help educate the church and the community on adoption, so our ministry held its first Adoption Expo. From there we held two more Russian Hosting programs; in total, 65 children were able to find forever families. Even though I had not adopted, I felt as if these 65 children were my adopted children!

I saw how God provided homes and the necessary finances for each adoption. But I prayed that someday our church would start it's own adoption fund to help our own church families. What a statement this would make! After fours years of many prayers God finally answered just last week! Our church board unanimously voted to provide funds to start up our adoption assistance program. We have also just added an Adopted/Foster & Soon-to-Be Adoptive Mom's Night out each month. This Fall we will expand our Adoption Expo into a Adoption/Foster/Orphan Care Conference with the help of our St. Louis Alliance of Church Orphan Ministries.

Our ministry last year expanded to include orphan ministry by collecting used cell phone and using baby bottles to collecting change to help orphans, sending supplies to orphanages, collecting shoes for Shoes For Orphan Souls shoe drive annually, Orphan Awareness Sunday, brought in the Children of the World Choir to help build awareness on orphan sponsorship, and mission trips to orphanages. We are looking into starting up Air Miles Donation for Adoptions to help our families that need to fly over seas.

This year we are focusing more on our Foster ministry with starting up our Portraits of Grace Photo Gallery with photos of adoptable foster children from the St. Louis County. This photo gallery will travel to Christian churches throughout St. Louis to help find Christian homes for each child until we have emptied out the St. Louis Foster system. We have set up a Community Outreach Volunteer program to supply church volunteers to help with year round projects at two local Children's Group Homes. We're collecting baby supplies & clothing, school supplies for foster children, and offering informational classes twice a year on foster care & adoption. We have started a Notes of Prayer & Support to Foster Care social workers.

This last year God had really placed on my heart to start helping other churches in our area to launch a ministry of their own, so we have stepped up & offered classes to the area churches quarterly to learn how to launch an orphan’s ministry in their church. From these classes we have been able to form a St. Louis Alliance of Churches for Orphans with thirteen other churches. God had shown us if we believe in serving, be dedicated regardless of the personal cost, and pray for direction. He will use your ministry in so many unbelievable ways to touch so many lives!

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